Haunches in works the stifle.
Shoulder in works the hocks.
Hock is engagement; stifle is power
Notes & quotes from a clinic junkie: Francois Lemaire deRuffieu
12 Tuesday Jun 2012
Posted in Notes & Quotes
Reflections on Riding
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12 Tuesday Jun 2012
Posted in Notes & Quotes
Haunches in works the stifle.
Shoulder in works the hocks.
Hock is engagement; stifle is power
Good note to take! My horse tends to be straighter-hocked, and a lot of shoulder in work is what has gotten him bending more behind. However, he’s just now suddenly developing a lot more power. Given he also just now has gotten balanced and supple enough for haunches in, that makes sense.
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But shoulder in comes first, right?
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I do both, consistently and early on, at the walk first and then at the trot. I want to be able to put my horse’s feet wherever I want them. I think they are both suppling exercises that work well together.
Haunches in can be “dangerous” in that most horses want to travel crookedly (or what we call “crooked”), with haunches in, especially at the canter. But if you consistently come out of haunches in back to shoulder in or shoulder fore, it helps.
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