Haunches in - how to?

[Merlyn]

OK, I am still working towards this canter thing and I reckon haunches in must be a route worth trying. Last weeks attempts at haunches in resulted in nothing - Belle didn't understand what I was asking. So any suggestions on how to teach it? I am hoping I might be able to try this weekend, the ground will be too frozen to go out of a walk, just hoping it won't be too slippery to ride at all.

[Showjumper]

I've been teaching Dolly some dressage movements in hand. To get the hindquarters to turn in (turn on the hanches is what I've been teaching her) clip a lunge line onto each side of her headcollar/bridle and stand by her shoulder. Hold the lunge line nearest you quite close to her head so she doesn't move forwards and the other line goes around her hindquarters. To bring the hindquarters towards you, bring the line that's around her hindquarters closer to you, and keep your other hand on her shoulder to remind her to stay balanced. The horse should pivot on it's front legs and bring the hindlegs towards you.

I hope it's worked - I've only tried this with Dolly and she picked it up very quickly.

[belle]

Hi,

Haunches in a slightly different exercise showjumper. I think it can also be called shoulders out or counter shoulder in.

I know how to ride it, but explaining it is a different matter. If no one else replies I will try, but I cant promise that it will be understandable......

[galadriel]

Searched through my bookmarks to find this site (someone else posted it on NR a while ago):
http://www.geocities.com/gerrypony/school.html

On this sub-page, they have a good description of shoulder in, with aids:
http://www.geocities.com/gerrypony/shoulder-in.html

I was trying to explain how shoulder-in relates to haunches in, and re-wrote it about 3 times, so I went looking for someone else's phrasing ;)
http://www.ridinghabit.com/guide/lateralwork/travers.html
http://www.ridinghabit.com/guide/lateralwork/travers.gif

http://www.ridinghabit.com/guide/lateralwork/renvers.html
Physiologically, there is no difference between the travers (haunches-in) and the renvers. The only difference is the horse's relation to the rail or track.
http://www.ridinghabit.com/guide/lateralwork/renvers.gif

[IrisSilverMoon]

Think about it this way...there IS a difference between shoulder in and haunches in.

Shoulder-in is like leg yielding on the rail. Haunches in is like half-pass. you would need to shape you're body like you're making a circle, but you're shoulders are pointing you in the direction you want the horses shoulders to go. I'm not sure how to explain it without being there to see. Maybe if someone else at your stable is good in dressage you can ask them if they would be willing to do some shoulder in and haunches in for you and you can follow them and try to mimic their posture. That's how one of my instructors first learned to do it. feel free to ask any specific questions and i can try to answer them a little better than i did here...=/

[galadriel]

IrisSilverMoon--

Sounds like you were feeling as tongue-tied as I was trying to describe this ;) It's *hard* to describe without showing! I have a great image, but unfortunately it's in a book and not online (and I have no scanner).

[Merlyn]

Thanks for the help so far folks.
What I really need is advice on how to teach a horse to do haunches in - Belle has never done it before so I need to teach her from scratch. Today I got about 2 strides where her haunches were off the track, but unfortunately had no/wrong bend. Was a bit tricky though as it was too icey to go faster than a walk so harder to keep her moving forward and off her forhand.

[galadriel]

One of the ways I have read to teach haunches in is to circle off the rail. Just-just before you return to the rail, maintain your bend but ask for movement parallel to the rail. That is, you are still bent for the circle, but you are moving forward. If you look at the image above, it almost looks like a horse completing a circle.

[cvb]

I second whatr Galadriel said ! It might be worth warming up with a little leg yeild if you can.

Then ride e.g. 10m circle but ask strongly with the outside leg as you come back to the track. Just ask for a stride or so and then circle away again.

Tho' to be honest, when I tried my mare before selling her, all I did was apply a really strong outside leg and her bum came in :D . This was while riding on a circle. My upper body and arms were still on the 'original' circle but I took my outside leg slightly further back, so my hips and legs were on a tighter circle. Ask then for the quarters to respond to the outside leg my yeilding, get a response, and then you need to ask for canter within a few strides. You need to be quite co-ordinated as a horse that finds the canter strike off tough will almost certainly find a long stretch of quarters in tough too.

By the way, it is quite a good suppling and straightening exercise for a horse that is a little bit one-sided. By asking for quarters in and then moving them back to straight, you and they both get a better idea and feel for what 'straight' really is.

[IrisSilverMoon]

I agree with what galadrial said.

also at this point in the game i wouldn't worry too much about no bend. wrong bend is a problem, but the bend will come once she gets better at the movement.

[Merlyn]

OK, am going to try again today if it isn't too icey. It might not be helping that our schooling area is unfenced so no wall/rail to help us, but never mind, she will get there. Think I might try bareback today as it will be too slippery to do any trot work and I got cold legs yesterday!!!!