Sometimes I think bend is one of those "strive but never arrive" efforts of horse riding. It truly is one of those "conceptual" aspects, aside from just being a skill. You know the one - just when you think you know it all, you discover that there's so much more to it. Then you start all over as if you're still a beginner...
There is a good exercise you can always revert to which will help you establish, keep, and ultimately feel a true "through the body bend." Not the one that just pulls the horse's head and neck into the turn or circle, but one that helps him bend through the rib cage and step deeper underneath the body with his inside hind leg. The one that improves balance, releases tension and increases lateral suppleness.
You can use this exercise with a young or uneducated horse, a novice rider, or even a seasoned horse/rider going through stiffness at a higher level of movement. It's just basic and biomechanically easy to produce. It's called a leg yield on a circle, but I think of it as a "drift out" because I find that gives me a clear mental image to keep in mind.
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- Ride a circle - but place it in an area where you can have room to the outside.
- Squeeze with your inside leg at the girth. Make sure you're sitting on your inside seat bone - but let the horse "escape" a little to the outside.
- Your outside leg is behind the girth to keep the hip from swinging out.
- Your inside rein is slightly open and your outside rein is on the neck - as in, a "neck rein."
- Your body is turned slightly into the turn as well - from the seat all the way up. This helps to keep you balanced on top of the horse's movement.
- Then encourage your horse to step out on the circle. Let him drift out a little, all the while getting him to step away from your inside leg and rein, and step into your outside leg and rein.
If you do it well, you'll find that your outside rein "naturally" lands on the horse's neck. That is, you don't have to place it there with a pulling or active rein. Suddenly, there's a neck rein - because the horse actually stepped out and bent through the body.
That outside rein can now control the direction of your movement (as in, the horse steps away from it into the turn), the amount of drift (as in, don't let the horse just drift on out till he hits the rail) and the balance (as in, half-halt if needed to slow the legs down and keep them underneath the horse).
I've written about this and other exercises in more detail in the posts below. If bend is something you're working on, there's lots of ideas there.
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Horse Listening – Book 2: Forward and Round to Training Success
If you enjoyed the above article, you'll find many related chapters about training horses and and the rider in Horse Listening - Book 2. Your favorite Horse Listening training articles are compiled in this beautifully bound paperback (or digital) book.
happier in his bodyhappier in his "work"better balanced all-around