Lateral movement

Lateral movements are important tools to help with training problems, as they encourage better balance, suppleness, and response to the riding aids. When performed correctly, they ask the horse to move their legs further under their body, thus increasing impulsion and improving movement, and can help build muscle evenly on both sides. They are also required in some competition, such as dressage and reining. Additionally, they may have a practical purpose, such as allowing the rider to easily open a gate, or to ask the horse to move sideways to avoid an obstacle.

Incorrectly ridden lateral movements, such as those that emphasize the horse to be forced into a position, rather than maintaining rhythm, relaxation, straightness, and acceptance of the aids, will create more training problems than they solve. The horse will usually become resistant and stiff, instead of more supple.

When performing a lateral movement, the rider should strive to maintain:

• Forwardness: lateral movements usually cause many horses to slow their tempo and lose their rhythm and freedom of movement. While a slight loss of forward movement might be acceptable when the horse is first learning what is expected, the rider should always ask for the horse to move forward after the movement is completed, and work towards keeping the horse's rhythm and freedom of movement constant before, during, and after the movement.
• Straightness: The rider should always keep correct bend through the movements, with the horse moving from inside leg to outside rein. Incorrect bend, such as the shoulders or haunches falling in or out, decreases the benefits of the exercise (such as balance, impulsion, and collection), thereby eliminating the purpose of the movement. It can also teach a horse to move in a crooked manner. The rider should be especially wary, as many horses will try to do movements with incorrect bend because it is physically easier. If a horse is having a very difficult time maintaining correct bend, it is usually an indication that the horse is not ready for a movement physically, and it is best to go back to a slightly easier exercise (for example, back to shoulder-fore from shoulder-in) or perform movements to help strengthen him muscularly. If the horse can maintain the bend for one or two steps, and then loses the bend, the rider should work slowly, gradually building a greater number of quality steps. Forcing a horse to do something before he is ready for it will never help his training. The rider should always begin and end a lateral movement with the horse moving on a straight line.
• Correct position of the rider: Some riders have a habit of riding crookedly when performing lateral movements, especially if the horse tends to do so. To counteract this, it is often a good idea to have a person on the ground watch your position. Common faults to avoid include the dropping of a shoulder, raising or lowering a hand, collapsing a hip, leaning (rather than staying centered over the saddle), and twisting the body. Although it may be possible to perform correct movements when the rider's body is contorted, it makes it more difficult, decreases the balance of the rider, and reduces the independence of the seat which tends to decrease the clarity of the aids. Loss of position also tends to give incorrect signals to the horse, and if it creates a stiff seat, will make the horse move stiffly, discourage impulsion, suppleness, and forwardness, and therefore decrease the benefit of the exercise.

There are three movements in place that are commonly used in dressage training: turn on the forehand, turn on the haunches, and the pirouette. Additionally, the pivot on the hindquarters and turn on the center are seen in Western riding. The roll-back turn, seen in jumping events and in reining, is a variation on the pirouette. All these movements are performed in relatively one place, in a circular motion.

The turn on the forehand is the simplest of the exercises, asking the horse to move his hindquarters around his forehand, so that the hindquarters inscribe an arc. The turn on the haunches asks the horse to move his forehand around the hindquarters, so that the forelegs inscribe an arc, with the horse bent in the direction of the turn. It is therefore more difficult than the turn on the forehand, requiring better balance and engagement. The pirouette is the most difficult and advanced maneuver, asking the horse to bend in the direction of movement and remain engaged, and requiring collection.

The pivot on the hindquarters (or spin) is commonly seen in reining, and asks the horse to ground the inside hind leg and pivot forelegs around that point. The turn on the center asks the horse to turn around an imaginary pivot point located at the center of his barrel. The horse bends in the direction of the turn, moving his forehand in the direction of the turn and his hind end in the opposite direction. This allows the horse to turn in a very confined area. Neither movement is practiced today in dressage (although the turn on the center used to be a training movement in the 18th century).

These movements ask the horse to move away from leg pressure while bent, sending the energy of the horse on a circular rather than sideways path, and therefore require a greater application of the restraining aids.