Premium Only Content

Training & Rehab Exercises: Lateral Flexion
Lateral Flexion is, in my experience, one of the most valuable exercises we can teach our horses. Not only does it release tension in the poll, neck and ribs, improve suppleness, and create lightness, but it builds the horses trust in the handler / rider by teaching him to let go of his innate need to keep the ribs straight.
Whilst carrot stretches very effectively exercise the physical horse, it is lateral flexion from the halter and bridle (with no bribery) that exercises the mental and emotional aspects of the horse. You see, in order to buck, bolt, rear, spin, kick, strike etc, the horse needs his ribs to be straight. For him all of these behaviours are necessities for survival, but for us they are undesirable. So in order to help the horse let go of this innate "need", he first needs to trust us enough to let himself be put into a position where he has no power. We are asking him to yield to us in that moment and trust that he is safe in our hands.
Soft Ribs... Soft Mind!
The timing of the release is the most important aspect of this exercise. Always ensure you release when the horse is light. If you consistently release when the horse is heavy then he will never learn to self-support and be light in the hand.
The degree of flexion in the early stages is not important, but lightness is. If a horse is struggling then I would rather take longer to work through things, expecting only a tiny amount of flexion to start with if necessary.
Later in this video series you will learn how this exercise can be adapted to assist in moments of fear and worry, to help you stay safe in the saddle. It has saved my skin on many occasions!
Happy Trails
Viki x (Tom-ah-toe) www.beau-cheval.com
©2-Tomatoes 2022
All text and video content is the copyright of 2-Tomatoes.
-
1:15:29
Flyover Conservatives
22 hours agoFrom Cool to Cringe: How Democrats Lost America’s Ear | FOC Show
23.5K3 -
8:19
MattMorseTV
8 hours ago $0.26 earnedTrump is ACTUALLY DOING IT.
21.5K32 -
ZWOGs
11 hours ago🔴LIVE IN 1440p! - Tarkov w/ Casey & crgoodw1n, Kingdom Come Deliverance, & More - Come Hang Out!
18K5 -
LIVE
We Like Shooting
15 hours ago $0.03 earnedWe Like Shooting 625 (Gun Podcast)
162 watching -
1:45:02
Glenn Greenwald
6 hours agoIsrael Slaughters More Journalists, Hiding War Crimes; Trump's Unconstitutional Flag Burning Ban; Glenn Takes Your Questions | SYSTEM UPDATE #504
113K124 -
1:29:31
Killerperk
3 hours ago $0.36 earnedRoad to BF6. Come hang out #regiment #bf6
19.8K1 -
LIVE
Jokeuhl Gaming and Chat
4 hours agoDARKTIDE - Warhammer 40k w/ Nubes Bloobs and AoA
43 watching -
LIVE
Cripiechuccles
5 hours ago😁💚💙MOTA MONDAY WITH CRIPIE💚💙 👌SMOKING, GAMING & WATCHING FLICKS!:😁
43 watching -
36:11
Stephen Gardner
3 hours ago🔥'Burn ALL TRUMP FLAGS’ says Tim Walz + Democrat CAUGHT rigging own election!
20.1K12 -
10:10
robbijan
1 day agoHollywood’s Hidden Messages: Predictive Programming & What’s Next
15.7K18