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Unlocking the Shoulders
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One of the most prevalent problems encountered
in achieving a correct runwalk, is what I call the locked shoulder. Often it’s
not just the shoulder but the neck and jaw as well. The locked shoulder inhibits
the horse’s ability to roll and reach with their front end as well as reduces
the natural headshake counter-balance for the driving backend.
In a well-executed flatwalk and runwalk, the
head is at its lowest point of the headshake while both front hooves are
directly beneath the point of the shoulders. To accommodate this correct
position the shoulders must roll, just as a human must roll their hips as they
walk with a long stride. If you walk without rolling your hips, your stride is
dramatically reduced and the same holds true horses with their shoulders. By
unlocking and rolling the shoulders he will not only increase his reach and
headshake, but enhance his balance, increase over-all stride as well becoming
more relaxed and energy efficient in his gait. Below are some exercises that
will immediately benefit a horse with locked shoulders, and teach your horse to
use himself in a loose and rolling gait.
It is vital that your horse keeps his head in
a lowered position while executing the "gives" and all lateral work.
- "Drop Your Head" - I teach young
horses a "drop your head" cue early in their training to get them
started. While this cue initially begins as a simple "lower your
head" or, as John Lyons calls it, "a calm-down cue" since
horses naturally relax more with their head lowered, it can also evolve with
the horse’s training into a "follow the bit" cue. I start
teaching this while at a stop, allowing the horse to learn it in pieces. I
sit on their back with a snaffle bit in their mouth, and begin to waggle the
bit. This is NOT a sawing motion, but a slight wiggling using only my
forefingers on the reins with just enough tension to keep the slack out. I
never want to hurt his mouth, just be a little annoying. I don’t want him
to be uncomfortable, but I don’t want him to ignore me either. I continue
to waggle the bit until the horse starts trying to figure out what I’m
asking him to do and begins to move his head around. As soon as I see any
downward movement of the poll and ears, I quickly stop the waggle
and drop the reins loose. I wait a few moments, stroking the neck to let him
know that was what I wanted, then repeat. Remember: the quicker you are in
your release the easier it is for the horse to associate your release with
what he did, and the quicker that horse will learn. The horse quickly
figures out that every time he moves his head downward the waggle stops.
After we have learned this cue at a stop, I begin to slowly walk the horse
and re-teach the cue in motion. This is something they usually pick up very
quickly. A lower head carriage has a multitude of benefits for the gaited
horse beyond unlocking the shoulder that are far too numerous to go into
here.
- "The Give" - From the saddle, you
must get them to "give" to the bit. Sometimes it is also easier to
get a "give" to the side first (laterally) before asking for the
vertical "give". I’m not talking about pulling them in and
forcing a headset, but a "give" by the horse. Ask your
horse to bring his nose down and in toward his chest or to the side at his
shoulder point (never up toward the neck)… Again, start this exercise at a
stop first. Break it down and first get him to give his nose, then once it’s
becomes a learned response to your cue, start the horse walking and re-teach
it at motion. I recommend working this exercise in a snaffle bit because of
the direct rein action and pressure is less confusing than that of the
leveraged curb bit.
- "The Shoulder In" - Once you have a
"give" at the walk we then add lateral (side) movement of the
horses feet. Using leg pressure, ask your horse to move a step laterally
while going forward at a slow walk. I will often ask for a "give"
toward the right shoulder and use right leg pressure to get a small step
toward the left/forward (10:00 o’clock). Be happy and reward any small
effort, stop and praise your horse. This can be very confusing for some
horses that have never been asked for lateral movement before. So as soon as
they make that step toward 10:00 o’clock, release and praise, then repeat.
After a couple of steps you’ll soon get a half dozen. Your goal is to get
the front legs to cross as they step: the right leg moving in front of the
left when going to 10:00 o’clock. Remember to work to both directions
equally at first. You may eventually learn that your horse has a tendency to
lock up more on one side than the other and can use this to loosen that side
more. This will tax new muscles so do this exercise in small doses at first.
Our goal is not to make your horse sore, but relax his shoulder carriage.
This exercise is very similar to a dressage "shoulder in"
movement.
Once you have a learned and repeatable, lateral
movement you have a very useful tool to loosen the shoulders. When you feel the
tight shoulders as you’re gaiting, slow down to a walk and ask for a few steps
of this lateral motion in each direction then resume your gait and feel
how loose your horse gets. The looseness may not last for long, maybe
just a few strides at first, but it’s a start, and as with anything you can
build from there. It’s important that the "give" as well as the
lowered head is used in conjunction with the lateral steps, you need the
rounding of the neck and loosening of the jaw to encourage the shoulders to
unlock. If a horse is tight in his jaw or neck it becomes very difficult for him
to loosen in the shoulders. It’s a whole picture, and a balanced use of the
entire body. Good luck.
Anita Howe, Owner/trainer
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