Читать книгу 55 Corrective Exercises for Horses - Jec Aristotle Ballou - Страница 16

PURPOSE:

Counters leaning or bulging to one side.

When a horse has developed more strength in—or favors use of—one front limb, it causes him to travel crookedly. This comes about by one of his shoulder blades developing tighter soft-tissue connection with his torso. Because of this, he will commonly be seen or felt leaning to one side or “bulging” one direction with his shoulders or rib cage when in motion.

A helpful technique to partially remedy this is to stimulate his shoulder-girdle muscles with varying effort and coordination. Constantly changing slopes and surfaces help prevent him from traveling habitually with the forelimbs.

1 Find a ditch or canal that slopes downward approximately 5–10 feet, and then rises up the other side. Be sure the banks of this ditch are stable enough to ride on and not crumbly or dangerous.

2 Begin by standing in the swale, with the horse’s body parallel to the banks or sides (fig. 1.4 A).1.4 A: Some horses, especially those ridden primarily inside arenas, can be a little nervous about the changes of terrain in a ditch. Here, I start by asking Star to stand quietly in the ditch before we begin moving around.

3 Now proceed to ride a shallow serpentine that keeps crossing the ditch (figs. 1.4 B & C). 1.4 B & C: Star has to engage her stabilizing muscles as we head diagonally up the side of the ditch (B). I’m careful to guide her but not get in her way too much with rein contact. Star demonstrates how much flexion and stability is needed in the hind leg on the high side of the ditch as we turn to head back down (C). This type of maneuvering is more difficult than riding straight up and down hills.

4 With each loop of your serpentine, move just two or three steps up the side of the bank and then return back down. The loops should be tight and swift.

5 Remember to change your horse’s poll flexion and bend for each loop, the same way you would in the arena. Be sure to not let him “fall” down the slopes with quicker strides. His rhythm should remain measured throughout.