Two Kinds of Suppleness

– Lateral suppleness

Lateral suppleness refers to the horse’s ability to bend his body and neck and also depends on the horse’s ability to balance. The horse that has lateral suppleness can bend comfortably appropriate to the degree of the circle. The horse should be able to bend without falling on the inside shoulder or swinging the haunches out of the circle. Lateral suppleness can be improved by performing lateral exercises such as: 1. leg yield, 2. shoulder-fore 3. shoulder-in and counter-shoulder-in 4. renvers and travers

- Longitudinal suppleness

Longitudinal suppleness refers to the horse’s ability to lengthen and shorten his topline and his ability to lengthen and shorten his stride while maintaining his rhythm. Longitudinal suppleness can be improved by: 1. stretches in each gait, 2. transitions from gait to gait, 3. frequent lengthening and shortening of stride, if done correctly by maintaining forward motion and rhythm

Go and play with these exercises – in an arena that has good footing. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

You can’t just ride your horse on a circle, going around and around, expecting suppleness to appear magically. Suppleness requires three kinds of change: Change of bend Change of gait Lateral change, with the horse moving sideways off your leg

Remember that while you're practicing, your horse might perhaps lose his rhythm, raise or lower his neck, tilt his head, slow down, etc. Do not expect it to be perfect. If the execution were perfect, it wouldn’t be an exercise.