Shoulder-In Step by Step

What Is Shoulder-In?

In shoulder-in, the horse travels along a straight track (the long side of the arena) with its forehand brought in off the wall, so the horse is at approximately 30 degrees to the direction of travel, bent away from the wall. The horse's inside hind leg steps under the horse's center of gravity, and the inside front leg crosses in front of the outside front leg.

In a correct three-track shoulder-in: the outside hind travels on one track, the inside hind and outside front travel on a second track together, and the inside front travels on a third track. This is the classic three-track shoulder-in; some systems work with a four-track, but three-track is the classical standard.

Prerequisites

• Solid leg yield in both directions
• Horse accepts contact on both reins evenly
• Forward and responsive to both legs independently
• Consistent rhythm and relaxation on a 15-meter circle

How to Ride It

1. Begin on a 10-meter circle in the corner. Ride the horse deeply into the corner, establishing good bend around your inside leg.
2. As you come out of the corner, instead of straightening the horse, maintain the bend and bring the forehand in off the wall with your inside rein. Your outside rein controls the angle — too much inside rein and the horse bends too much rather than moving at an angle.
3. Your inside leg at the girth maintains the bend and creates the forward energy. Your outside leg behind the girth prevents the hindquarters from swinging out.
4. Travel 4–6 strides and then ride forward onto the circle to reward and reset. Do not push past relaxation and rhythm.

The Six Benefits of Shoulder-In

• Suppling: Bends the horse's entire spine uniformly, loosening stiffness on the stiff side
• Strengthening: Inside hind leg steps under and bears extra weight, building carrying strength
• Straightening: Paradoxically, the bent shoulder-in develops straightness by making the horse able to align itself correctly
• Collection: As the inside hind steps under more, it begins to bear weight — the beginning of collection
• Rein aid training: Teaches the horse to respond to indirect rein and outside rein contact
• Preparation: The position of shoulder-in is the position used before half-pass, canter pirouettes, and flying changes