What's Inside
Search the Site
Tip/Quote of the Day # 246
If your horse tends to lean heavily on his inside shoulder when making transitions, think about a few steps of spiral out before asking for the transition.
Did you enjoy this article? If so, please share with your friends! Look for the share buttons on the far right side of the page. Thank you!
Related Articles:
- How Centrifugal Force Affects Your Riding
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2895
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1689
- Where a Rider Should Look When Riding the Various Lateral Movements
- Video # 87: This is my lesson from today. This is my new 4 year old OTTB (never raced, just race trained).
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 344
- Counter Bend is Your Friend
- How Your Driving Habits Relate to Your Riding Habits
- The Corridor of Aids
- Question # 229, and Video # 70: Problems with halting!
- Is Your Free Walk Really FREE? And Do You Make Good Use Of It?
- All About the Volte!
- Training and Conditioning the Young Event Horse
- Lateral Work as "Medicine" For the Dressage Horse
- Question # 308: Wondering if I could get some advice on choosing a bit to try for a horse of mine. He's an ottb who is not far into retraining and is a fantastic horse with a great brain but I'm a bit stumped on what to try for a bit....
- Adding More *Scope* to Your Lateral Work - For Better Dressage Scores!
- Question # 261: I have had my 8yr old gelding about 3 months, previously he had done lots of hunting in his native Ireland but no competing. We have completed four BE 90 classes...
- Question # 104: My horse is always heavy on his right shoulder, and on the right rein. What can I do to straighten him and get him to stop leaning on my right rein?? (Rebecca)
- Horses that Tilt Their Head in Dressage
- An Exercise to Help Improve Your Trot to Canter Transitions
- Basic Suppling Exercise # 4
- Stop Your Habit of Pulling the Inside Rein!
- Question # 203: I am having issues with my canter to trot transitions...
- Basic Suppling Exercise # 1
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 438
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1897
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1139
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 951
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 932
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3487
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1594
- The Wiggly Worm Exercise
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1182
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1178
- 3 Signs That Your Bending Aids Are Working Correctly
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 982
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 975
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 962
- Introducing the Counter Canter
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 802
- Discussion # 129: Who can tell us what causes this situation?
- Question # 258: We are finally at the point where we are working on fun stuff like haunches in and half pass. But now that we are, a new problem has developed. My horse wants to go in haunches in position all of the time when I don't want him to!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 707
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 674
- Quiz # 25: Should you maintain inside flexion and bend on a canter lengthening or medium canter that goes in a straight line?
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 232
- Question # 164: In USDF First Level Test 3, there is a "one loop" at the canter... Basically a shallow serpentine....
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 90
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 88
- Basic Suppling Exercise # 2
- My All Time Favorite Suppling Exercise!
- Discussion # 66: Who can tell us how counter bend improves the horse's ability to bend properly to the inside?
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2937
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1641
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1022
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 645
- The Different Bits, and Their Actions
- Question # 176: What can I do to keep my TB from leaning on the bit when we are on a long canter? (Brooke)
- Question # 94: what exercises would you recommend for a horse who gets heavy in the bridle in flatwork. Not resistant, just heavy… he used to be uncomfortable with contact… now he seems almost too comfortable with it. (Vita)
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4242
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4210
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4201
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3446
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3386
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2341
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2333
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2223
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1979
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1917
- Question # 338: Nancy has a question about one of her legs, which tends to be too far back.
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1718
- Video # 103: This is Kayla doing Novice level Show Jumping!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1435
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1434
- Lauren's Blog post # 5: It's a Balancing Act
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1386
- HOW to Use the Turn Into Each Jump to Balance Your Horse
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1091
- Video # 90: This is Vita and her newly off the track TB!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1027
- Discussion # 122: How do you best handle this situation?
- Photo # 65: Kellyn would like a conformation critique on this coming 2 year old Iberian Warmblood filly!
- Discussion # 114: Which horse has a better shoulder angle? And what about pastern angle?
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 543
- Discussion # 102: Which horse has a better shoulder? And what about front leg conformation?
- Photo # 61: Melanie would like a conformation critique for her horse!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 422
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 359
- Question # 188: I have a student who has a hard time seeing her leads while on the horse. I've tried to have her watch the front leading leg to see what lead it is, but she says she cannot see the legs at all.
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 68
- Photo # 46: Laura would like a conformation critique on her 6 yo OTTB!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3889
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3103
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2947
- The Order of Aids For Changing Your Horse's Bend From One Side to the Other
- A Test to See If Your Horse is in LATERAL Self Carriage
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2584
- Question # 353: Amanda has a question about how to teach her young horse to lift and use his back correctly.
- Video # 314, and Question # 337: Lauren has a question (with video) about her new OTTB mare.
- An Exercise to Help Improve Your Horse's Connection Over the Back
- The Benefits of "Stair Stepping" Your Lateral Exercises
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1710
- Video # 309 and Question # 325: Kayla is finding it difficult to keep her horse on the aids in walk to halt transitions.
- Video # 106 and Question # 320: Kayla asks if her horse looks to be accepting the bit as she lunges him in side reins.
- Video # 105: This is Kayla training her horse to jump!
- Video # 102: This is Kellyn, riding Novice level test B
- The "Shoulder Yield" Exercise
- Question # 289: My ottb was trained before me with draw reins, and now he over flexes to where he touches chest almost at trot even when i let the reins loose. I drive him forward but he keeps doing it. How do i stop him? (Eileen)
- Question # 280: When using side reins or surcingle for lunging, do you allow the side reins to be of equal length or do you make the inside rein slightly shorter? (Melanie)
- Question # 279: I am working on up and downward transitions to the canter with my 17 year old OTTB. He is going great the the right, really lifting in the upward and going down to the trot easily. When I switch to the left...
- Question # 275: My little quarter horse mare likes to tilt her nose to the left at the trot and canter when working indoors...
- Question # 238 and video # 71: I have been working on leg yielding in the canter, and have encountered a problem!
- The Paradox of Training - Energy vs Relaxation
- Question # 210: I recently bought a nice 14 year old Oldenburg mare that has been used as a lesson horse for several years. She is sweet, quiet, responsive to my leg; but the most stiff and resistant in the bridle that I have ever come across...
- Video # 65: This is Vita and Toby!
- Question # 201: How do you get a horse to stretch long and low and go foreward with its nose? I have a horse that ends up running when I give the reins, but evades the bit by going behind the vertical if I pick up the contact! (Sandi)
- Question # 195: I have a client's horse that I'm working with, and she has an issue I've never had to deal with before. She thinks she is an accordion--she will shorten her neck and hollow her back whenever she has any contact in her mouth.
- Improving the Trot
- The Horse That Wants to Shorten Its Neck
- Video # 59: This is Rachel doing her Beginner Novice Dressage test!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 115
- Question # 140: I have a question about lunging. Normally my horse is very good on the lunge line,
- Question # 124: I had hip surgery about 5 weeks ago, and it will be another 2 months before I'm back in the saddle. In the meantime, Johnny is spending lots of time on the lunge to build topline muscles without rider interference and work on that weak...
- Question # 116: I'm not a gadget person - I don't own draw reins, a chambon, or even a running martingale. However, after lots and lots of time (nearly a year) trying to convince my OTTB that stretching forward and down into contact is far better than
- Video # 29: This is Kate having a dressage lesson! And we are told that her chestnut mare does not care for dressage, and much prefers the jumping phases!
- Question # 86: My horse is so fussy in a bit, she is always moving the bit around and chomping on it. Her head is never still! And the judges really mark us down for this.
- How to Show More Bend in the Corners and Turns
- Changing Rein Through the Circle
- Spiral In and Out on a Circle
- Question #4: My name is Cheryl and I just bought a 7 yr old chestnut Irish Sport Horse Mare. Her name is Winnie and we've had probably 6 rides all together. The first 3 were absolutely wonderful and the last 2, not so much!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4393
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4341
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4332
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4291
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4223
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4147
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4128
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4019
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 4010
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3832
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3803
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3701
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3698
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3684
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3620
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3565
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3519
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3434
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3418
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3395
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3362
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 3009
- Guest Blog # 115: "The Words Are Not Magic" by Bill Woods
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2917
- Guest Blog # 113: "Less Making, More Allowing" by Bill Woods
- Video # 325: This is Bridget doing a Dressage test!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2755
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2715
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2553
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2546
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2533
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2529
- An Exercise to Rev Your Horse’s Motor - Building Impulsion & Hind Leg Engagement
- Video # 321: This is Bridget again, this time with her young 4 year old horse doing grid work for the very first time.
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2448
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2442
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2404
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2192
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2181
- An Exercise to Improve Your Horse's Carriage in the Dressage Ring
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 2055
- A TEST of Your Horse's Rideability & Adjustability
- Question # 343: Kayla has a question about her horse hollowing and tossing his head in his canter transitions.
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1980
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1974
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1914
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1856
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1804
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1744
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1650
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1643
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1552
- Video # 104: This is Kayla riding Novice level test B
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1447
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1443
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1409
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1399
- A Variety of Exercises to Do With 3 Poles on the Ground - For Riders of All Levels!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1381
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1377
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1346
- Does Your Horse Pick Up the Canter With His Haunches In?
- Video # 95: This is Krista and her horse Sparky!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1197
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1193
- Question # 298: Your tip of the day about the walk made me think about this question.... I have a nice warmblood mare that I have started and I am only doing exercises in the walk for the first year on her back to give her time to grow...
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1137
- Discussion # 148: What would you do in this common scenario?
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 1073
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 972
- Different Half Halts For Different Situations
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 917
- Video Discussion # 88: This short video shows a great example of a rider riding truly *forward* in a trot to walk transition!
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 873
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 872
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 868
- The Return to the Track in Counter Shoulder In Exercise
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 776
- Improve Your Canter to Trot Transitions!
- Question # 259: At a recent show I received multiple comments of "needs half halts" on my Dressage test. I am only riding at beginner novice, and wasn't aware that I should be working on something advanced like half halts. Please explain. (Anonymous)
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 714
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 694
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 664
- A Fun Exercise to Test Your Control and Your Horse's Responsiveness
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 542
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 507
- Question # 227: My horse is an “energy conservationist.” Out on cross-country or in the stadium ring, he is inspired to be reasonably forward and balanced. In the dressage ring? Not so much. The current struggle is canter quality...
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 391
- Video # 66 and Question # 208: This is Kymbre!
- Question # 198: There are a number of Dressage tests that call for cantering down the long side of the arena, a downward transition from the canter to the trot at the corner letter (either F or K) and the immediate 10 m turn and up the centerline...
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 294
- Question # 187: I'm working with a horse that insists on coming above the bit in the transition into the canter. She has a solid canter, a balanced counter canter, and can do the 1* canter work pretty darn well...
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 262
- Brianna's Blog Post # 3
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 259
- Tip/Quote of the Day # 175
- Video # 45: This is Becky!
- An Exercise to Help Your Lengthenings Last the Full Diagonal
- The Horse That Wants to RUN Into the Canter
- Question # 114: Any tips on helping a horse with walk to canter transitions?
- Video # 34: This is Kari doing the Training level test 1 Dressage Test!
- Question # 106: My horse carries himself nicely in the working canter. He feels like he is nicely balanced and in self carriage. But after every canter lengthening, he becomes rigid and is resistant against my hand...
- Photo # 36: This is Courtney! She sent this picture in to show the trouble that her horse sometimes has with verticals that have no ground line. She would like some advice on how to help her horse with this problem.
- Video # 30: This is Nanna and her 6 year old mare doing their beginner novice dressage test!
- Question # 96: When the dressage test says you may do your trot work sitting or rising, will you get extra points for sitting since it's harder? Assuming you can pull it off well of couse...(Jo)
- Abort the Transition!
- Question # 89: Should we be keeping our outside leg back in all of our canter work, or is it only in the transition? (Jennifer)
- Asking For a Transition VS Making it Happen
- Video # 21: This is Briana and Henry doing their novice level dressage test! (Current freebie!)
- Question # 46: I am focusing on getting crisp departures and realize that I may be confusing Cotton with my "walk faster", "engage your hind legs at the walk" and "trot" aids - what exactly is the difference between each of those aids? (Lisa)






