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Mix up collection and lateral work with this quick and simple exercise to improve your horse’s engagement and impulsion
A very small circle followed by shoulder-in requires your horse to maintain his balance and energy through the collection into the sideways and forwards movement
German dressage legend Christoph Hess suggests this flatwork exercise to help your horse work towards collection, without losing impulsion.
First you ride a small, balanced circle, in trot, in a corner. Then you move straight into shoulder-in down the long side, which is useful for testing your horse’s balance, energy and suppleness.
Christoph says: “Collection without impulsion is worthless, and I’ve yet to see a horse at any level who has no issues with straightness.”
No setup required. You can ride this in an arena or a field, but you’ll need markers to help you stay disciplined on straightness and circle sizes.
(Image credit: Future)
How to ride this exercise
Approach the short side of the arena in an active trot. Before the second corner, half-halt and, instead of a normal corner, ride a very small circle (6–8m) keeping your horse in balance.
You’ll need to bend your horse around your inside leg, controlling the shoulders with the outside rein. You want to keep the trot’s activity but ask for more engagement. This helps collect your horse.
As you finish the little circle and return to the long side, straighten your horse’s body while keeping that energy you have created.
Immediately ride in shoulder-in down the long side. This asks your horse to maintain the balance and engagement from the small circle while moving forward and sideways.
This lateral work can help with straightness as the horse needs to align his shoulder and quarters rather than drifting or falling out.
Straighten up and do the same exercise at the opposite end of the arena.
Repeat several times on each rein.
Troubleshooting tips
1. Losing impulsion
Make the exercise a little easier. Don’t force it – a slightly larger (8-10m) but correct circle followed by a few strides of good shoulder-in is more productive than a messy circle and the lack of balance that follows.
2. Falling on to inside shoulder
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Use your inside leg to support the bend, and the outside rein to control the shoulders, do not try to lift with the inside hand. Make the circle bigger so that your horse can stay in balance.
Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
