Training & Rehab Exercises: Lateral Flexion

Lateral Flexion is, in my experience, one of the most valuable exercises we can teach our horses. Not only does it release tension in the poll, neck and ribs, improve suppleness, and create lightness, but it builds the horses trust in the handler / rider by teaching him to let go of his innate need to keep the ribs straight.

Whilst carrot stretches very effectively exercise the physical horse, it is lateral flexion from the halter and bridle (with no bribery) that exercises the mental and emotional aspects of the horse. You see, in order to buck, bolt, rear, spin, kick, strike etc, the horse needs his ribs to be straight. For him all of these behaviours are necessities for survival, but for us they are undesirable. So in order to help the horse let go of this innate "need", he first needs to trust us enough to let himself be put into a position where he has no power. We are asking him to yield to us in that moment and trust that he is safe in our hands.
Soft Ribs... Soft Mind!

The timing of the release is the most important aspect of this exercise. Always ensure you release when the horse is light. If you consistently release when the horse is heavy then he will never learn to self-support and be light in the hand.
The degree of flexion in the early stages is not important, but lightness is. If a horse is struggling then I would rather take longer to work through things, expecting only a tiny amount of flexion to start with if necessary.

Later in this video series you will learn how this exercise can be adapted to assist in moments of fear and worry, to help you stay safe in the saddle. It has saved my skin on many occasions!

Happy Trails

Viki x (Tom-ah-toe) www.beau-cheval.com

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