Introduction
I thought I would talk a little bit today about the difference between using a lateral movement and performing it in a competition or in an exhibition. There is a general tendency among dressage riders to have a somewhat rigid view of lateral movements and to evaluate them only as a judge in a competition would do. There is also a tendency to ride lateral movements mostly down the long side of the arena, and to stay in the movement for the entire long side. And while there is nothing wrong with that, it is only scratching the surface of the gymnastic potential of lateral movements.
These movements were not (only) invented to evaluate a horse’s training, but they also have very valuable gymnastic properties that can be used to improve the horse’s balance, straightness, suppleness, and collectability.
In order to take full advantage of the gymnastic effects of the movements, it is often better to ride them only for a few strides as part of a compound exercise in order to engage or flex one hind leg.
And I have found that smaller angles are often perfectly sufficient, and sometimes even more effective than the familiar versions on 3 or 4 tracks.
Biomechanics background
The angle between the horse’s body and the line of travel depends on the horse’s ability to collect, because in a true lateral movement (i.e. excluding the leg yield) the horse needs to bend laterally in order to maintain his alignment. The steeper the angle, the more the horse has to bend and to collect.
The bend in a lateral movement is actually equivalent to the bend on a circle of a specific diameter. That’s why the Spanish Riding School in Vienna used to ride a volte in the first corner of the long side before a shoulder-in, haunches-in, or half pass. The volte helps to establish the bend, which facilitates the initiation of the lateral movement. As you transition from the volte into the lateral movement, you maintain the same bend.
If you look at a photograph of a horse in a shoulder-in with the hind legs on the first track and the front legs on an inside track, you can’t easily tell whether this is the beginning of a circle or whether the horse is in a shoulder-in. If the horse follows the direction of his front legs without changing the bend in his body, he will move onto a circle whose radius corresponds to the degree of his lateral bend.
If you look at a photograph of a horse in a haunches-in, it could be the last stride of a volte, with the front legs back on the first track, and the hind legs still on the line of the volte, or it could be a haunches-in (depending on the moment of the footfall sequence in which the picture was taken).
The steeper the angle of the horse in the lateral movement is, the smaller is the corresponding volte. The smaller the volte, the more collected the horse needs to be. This is perhaps the reason why lateral movements were not introduced in German competition tests until Medium level, because a 3-track shoulder-in or haunches-in with an angle of approximately 33 degrees is the equivalent of a volte that may require a higher degree of collection than a lower level horse is capable of.
If you ride a lateral movement with a steeper angle than the horse’s ability to collect allows, the horse won’t be able to bend in his body enough, which results in the haunches or shoulders leaving their line of travel. In other words, the horse gets crooked, and one of the hind legs no longer steps under the body, so that the movement loses its gymnastic value.
In order to determine the steepest angle the horse is capable of in a lateral movement, you could ride the smallest volte the horse can perform on a single track. If you stop with the hind legs on the first track, you get the steepest possible angle of the shoulder-in. If you stop with the front legs on the first track, you get the steepest possible angle of the haunches-in.
If you want to ride a lateral movement with a steeper angle, you can try to ride a volte whose diameter corresponds to the lateral bend of this angle, and it will become obvious very quickly whether your horse’s degree of collection is sufficient for a volte of this size, or whether it is still too early. For instance, if the angle of the shoulder-in you are trying to ride corresponds to a 6m volte, you will need an FEI level horse to be able to bend and to collect accordingly. But if your horse is only able to perform a 10m volte or a 12m volte, he won’t be able to bend as much as would be necessary to keep all four feet aligned in the lateral movement.
What to do with a lower level horse?
So where does that leave you with a lower level horse? You can either postpone introducing lateral movements altogether until the horse is able to collect enough to perform a “proper” 3-track shoulder-in or haunches-in, or you risk making your horse crooked if you insist on the 3-track angle anyway, even if he isn’t able to trot or canter on a volte of the corresponding size yet.
But how is the horse supposed to develop collection without being able to take advantage of the gymnastic effects of the lateral movements?
There is another option, and that is to ride lateral movements with the angle that corresponds to the diameter of the circle that the horse IS able to perform correctly - even if it’s only a 20m or 15m circle. I call these shallow angles homeopathic doses, and over the years I have started using them more and more, even with horses who were able to collect enough for a full-fledged lateral movement.
Using lateral movements, rather than performing them
I also moved away from “performing” lateral movements as an end in themselves, as if I were riding a competition test, a long time ago. Instead, I like to use them for gymnastic purposes, and depending on what I am trying to achieve, I don’t necessarily need a steep angle, and I don’t need to stay in the lateral movement for an entire long side. From a gymnastic point of view it’s often sufficient to move the front legs or hind legs only on hoof breadth or even half a hoof breadth sideways. The important thing is the correct alignment of the horse’s feet and the bend through the body.
Let’s take a look at what the individual lateral movements “do” for the gymnastic development of the horse.
The shoulder-in can be used to bring the inside hind leg more under the body, i.e. closer to the outside hind leg and closer to the front legs. Hind legs that move close together are a prerequisite for collection, as the Duke of Newcastle discovered.
The counter shoulder-in can be used to bring the outside hind leg (in terms of the arena) more under the body. It also draws the horse’s attention to the rider’s outside leg and rein, and it helps to control the outside shoulder better and to maintain a good connection between the shoulder and the base of the neck.
The haunches-in and half pass can be used to flex the inside hind leg with the help of the combined body mass of the horse and rider. They also draw the horse’s attention to the rider’s outside leg.
The renvers can be used to flex the outside hind leg (in terms of the arena) with the help of the combined body mass of the horse and rider. It also draws the horse’s attention to the rider’s outside rein (in terms of the arena).
All lateral movements mobilise the hind legs, and they bring them closer together as well as closer to the front legs. Lateral movements in which the horse is bending AGAINST the direction of travel (shoulder-in, counter shoulder-in) mobilise the hind legs mostly in a lateral direction. Lateral movements in which the horse is bending IN the direction of travel (haunches-in, half pass, renvers) mobilise the hind legs also in a vertical direction. They require greater flexion of the inside hind leg.
If you have never thought about lateral movements in those terms, try walking them on foot and observe how your “hind legs” are moving, which one has to support the body mass, and which one is advancing the body mass more. Then do the same thing in the saddle at the walk so that you have time to pay attention to the details.
Developing suppleness, straightness, and collection
From the theoretical background in the last segment you can extrapolate the gymnastic potential when you combine lateral movements with each other, or with voltes, corners, and turns on the haunches.
If you want to supple and strengthen a hind leg you need to bring it underneath the body first so that you can flex it with the help of the body mass. Looking at the information of what the individual lateral movements “do”, you can quickly see that combinations of shoulder-in and haunches-in, shoulder-in and half pass, or counter shoulder-in and renvers are quite useful, because the shoulder-in and counter shoulder-in bring the hind leg that is on the inside of the bend more under the body, and the haunches-in, half pass, or renvers flex it.
Combinations of shoulder-in and volte or shoulder-in and turn on the haunches are also valuable for the same reason, because the volte as well as the turn on the haunches flex the inside hind leg too.
These combinations are often most effective if you stay in each lateral movement only for a short distance (3-6 strides) and alternate between the engaging lateral movement (shoulder-in, counter shoulder-in) and the flexing lateral movement (haunches-in, half pass, renvers). This is much more effective than staying in any one lateral movement for a very long time.
As I mentioned above, it’s not necessary to ride the lateral movements with a steep angle. Sometimes the shallow angles actually seem to be more effective to me than the steeper ones. You can feel the effects of the lateral movements even if an observer can’t see that you’re riding a lateral movement, but you and your horse can feel the bend and the increased engagement in your body.
Conclusion
While there is nothing wrong with practicing lateral movements on 3 or 4 tracks, if the horse is able to collect to the necessary degree, you can expand your gymnastic toolkit by exploring the entire range of angles between the horse’s body and the line of travel from 0 degrees to 45 degrees (4 tracks). Try to find the angle that seems to have most beneficial effect on your horse’s balance, suppleness, and straightness. Experiment with riding lateral movements on a variety of different round lines and straight lines. Feel the effects of a lateral movement in which the hind legs have to cover a longer distance than the front legs because they are on a slightly larger circle than the front legs. And explore the effects of lateral movements in which the hind legs have to cover a shorter distance than the front legs because they are on a slightly smaller circle.
Try “stacking” different lateral movements and observe if there is a cumulative effect in terms of balance, straightness, lightness, and permeability for the aids.
