Is one shoulder lower to the ground?
This one is
actually pretty easy to diagnose, anyone can see if the rider has one
shoulder higher or one shoulder lower than the other...it's just a
matter of straight lines...yet something so simple, and so common has a dramatic affect on the
horse's way of going.
You could not
really call it "twisted" shoulders, where
one shoulder is more forward - it's
simply the shoulders are not level.
If you really
do have level shoulders you will be the first person in approximately
10,000 that we have tested that have!
I have asked
audiences all over the world (and at the big events like Equine Affaire
or Equitana that's thousands!) to stand up and look at the person
next to them and tell them which shoulder is higher if one shoulder is
lower. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON has ever been totally level.
You
really need to get yourself a mirror, and don't forget, that's not an
enormous amount of money...just look in your local trading post in the
bedroom section under sliding mirrored wardrobe doors, and you'll pick
up 3 or even 4 for about $100!
One of the
best ways to see if you have one shoulder lower than the
other is to wear a shirt with a stripe across the front. One
thing I know after all these years is:
Mirrors
don't lie!
Q.
When you ride toward the mirror...which shoulder is lower...left or
right?
Q.
What happens when you lower the other shoulder? Does
the horse go crooked? Does the horse veer off the centre
line? Does he drag one hind toe in the dirt?
Having level
shoulders level is vitally important - especially on straight lines, and
sadly, very few of us have shoulders that are level. We
nearly always have one shoulder lower than the other.
Even the
slightest deviation will make the horse crooked on straight lines,
or will make the horse 'open' one front leg while jumping.
And definitely
when the inside shoulder is lower than the other then it definitely
contributes to the horse falling in on the circle.
In the next
few sections, we're going to see some great fixes for stopping your
shoulders interfering with the horse's way of going.
Copyright © 2005
[Colleen Kelly. Improve Your Riding ABN 76799531257].
