Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Hello Duncan,

Thank You very much for such a detailed explanation. 
You have been very helpful as have many others who have spent
considerable time putting their knowledge and expertise in
writing.

I have printed out many replies, including this one, and I will refresh
the parts I have highlighted before going out and riding those pesky
diagonals. Thank you all for playing so far and please chime in with more
whenever you please.

A question.
My stirrup leathers and saddle flap are much more worn on the left side
of my saddle. Is that caused by increased belly swing to the
left?

Don Huston

At 01:57 AM 11/17/2009 Tuesday, you wrote:
>   
> Hi Don
>  
> I apologize for the length of this reply. As you have discovered, its a
> confusing, sometimes complex area.:-). And it has taken me a while to
> figure out how to send this to you (thanks Steph).
>  
> The right diagonal refers to the right foreleg and left hind leg (talking
> left and right with regard to horses is hard for me, I am so much more
> comfortable with near-side and off-side, so hopefully I wont make any
> dyslexic mistakes). The left diagonal refers to the left foreleg and
> right hind leg.
>  
> It is well accepted in the US (for example, the article on Kerry
> Ridgeway's website) and Australia that a majority of horses have a
> stronger left diagonal than right. That is, the majority tend to bear
> more weight on the left fore-leg and as a consequence, the front left
> hoof is bigger, the right front hoof is smaller and more upright (there
> are a million theories of why this is so and would take a PhD to resolve,
> suffice to say it is multifactorial). This was certainly true of most of
> the Arabians I saw at Tevis. A consequence of this increased
> weight-bearing is that, when your horse is in motion, the left hoof
> spends more time on the ground (stance) and less time in the air (flight)
> and with a slightly shorter stride when compared to the right foreleg.
> The reduced air-time and stride length of the left foreleg means the left
> hind leg has less room to move forward and also takes a slightly shorter
> step. The increased stance time and weight bearing of the left foreleg
> means that there is more time and ability to support the torso and
> abdomen as the horse moves forward over that leg, so your horse's belly
> swings more to the left than it does to the right. This increased swing
> of the belly to the left allows the right hind leg more time and more
> space to move forward and upward, so is more able to step under the body
> during the flight phase and so bear weight during the stance phase -
> further strengthening the left diagonal.This is true for your horse
> whether or not you are riding him.
>  
> On a circle or curve, you (usually) want to enable the inside hind leg to
> move forward and under the horse so you should rise as the inside hind
> leg (and outside foreleg) is moving forward. If you are riding a circle
> to the right, you want to rise as the left diagonal (left foreleg, right
> hind leg) moves forward. Similarly, riding a circle to the left, rise as
> the right diagonal (right foreleg, left hind leg) step forward. I think
> you will find trying to tie this in to looking at the shoulders makes the
> whole diagonal thing very difficult because the focus comes on the BRIEF
> INSTANT (not a whole movement, forward or backward, of a diagonal) where
> you sit or where you are at the top of the rise. By instead bringing you
> attention to the horse's belly you can focus better on which diagonal is
> moving forward and rise (or sit) accordingly. When circling to the right,
> you want to rise as the left diagonal (left foreleg, right hind leg)
> steps forward. This will involve your horse's belly swinging from the
> right to the left, and your right seat bone and thigh will move down and
> your right calf will move toward the left. When circling to the left, you
> want to rise as the right diagonal (right foreleg, left hind leg) steps
> forward. This will involve your horse's belly swinging from the left to
> the right, and your left seat bone and thigh will move down and your left
> calf will move toward the right. Focus on the belly helps you become
> aware of the whole horse, including the hindlegs, withe resulting
> increased kinesthesia and less reliance on sight (with its resulting left
> brain focus). Using this swinging belly also assists in asking for more
> impulsion when on the circle (asking the inside hind leg to step under
> and take more weight) by emphasizing this swinging motion and for asking
> for any lateral work with inside bend (leg yield, shoulder in).
>  
> Your horse's foot is telling you he will circle more consistently and
> comfortably to the right, where his outside (left) foreleg can support
> more weight, allow his belly to swing more to the left and allow the
> inside (right) hind to step under further and then take more weight. That
> is, you will rising as the left diagonal (left front leg, right hind leg)
> moves forward. To make your horse more ambidextrous, you need to rise as
> the right diagonal (right front leg, left hind leg) moves forward. Horses
> that shuffle step are very unilateral and usually require a lot more
> remedial work than simply riding their weaker diagonal. Also, most horses
> are much more kinesthetically aware and able than their riders (ie few
> riders have the skills to actually correct their horse!)
>  
> So that is your horse. But wait, there's more. Most likely you are right
> handed. Unlike horses, where the horses handedness is considered to be
> their weight bearing diagonal (for your horse, left handed), in humans,
> handedness is there more dexterous hand. Usually right handed people do
> fine motor skills with their right hand and support and brute strength
> work with their left. Similarly, most of us are right-legged, where the
> right leg does the dexterous task (kicking the soccer ball) while the
> left leg supports the weight. Right handed (and legged) people will
> generally have contraction on the right side of their bodies: the right
> shoulder will be forward, the right hip will be higher, the right heel
> will be higher. This pattern of posture in the rider reinforces the
> postural patterns of the left handed (strong left diagonal) horse. There
> are definite objective differences that result (ie you rise higher on one
> diagonal than the other) but subjective descriptions are more difficult (
> you say rougher but what is rougher? some might say more vigorous, more
> energetic others might say requires more muscular effort; it is too vague
> to use as a guide as to which diagonal needs work, you need to reframe
> the discussion otherwise contributors personal perceptions will make
> 'felt' comparisons useless). Rider biomechanics and perceptions thereof
> are really complex, and I am too scared to go there. But, at a guess from
> your descriptions so far, I would say your right adductor is weaker than
> your left - if so you would find it easier to rise more vigorously
> (whether that is more or less comfortable depends on what you 'like'),
> regardless of the horse you ride, when you rise as the left diagonal
> moves forward.
>  
> The short answer is: post more often as the right diagonal steps
> forward.
>  
> cheers
> Dunc
>
>
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