Dressage

What is the correct angle and bend in each lateral movement?

Each lateral movement has specific requirements for the angle of the horse's body relative to the track and for the degree of bend through the horse's body, and these requirements are not arbitrary but reflect the specific gymnastic purpose of each movement and the degree of collection and engagement it is designed to develop. In leg yield, the horse should travel at approximately a forty-five-degree angle to the track or the direction of travel, with the horse's body remaining parallel to the original line rather than angled, and the flexion should be very slight — just enough to see the inside eye — without genuine bend through the body. Shoulder-in should show the horse's shoulders approximately thirty degrees off the track, traveling on three tracks, with the horse bent uniformly away from the direction of travel at a degree appropriate to the size of a ten-meter circle — enough bend to be clearly visible but not so much that the horse is overbent and loses the quality of the inside hind's engagement. Travers, like shoulder-in, shows the horse's haunches approximately thirty degrees off the track, traveling on four tracks, with the horse bent uniformly in the direction of travel at the same ten-meter circle degree of bend. In half-pass, the horse should travel at approximately forty-five degrees relative to the long side of the arena with a clear bend in the direction of travel — enough bend to be clearly visible to the judge, with the horse's whole body from poll to tail following the arc of the bend. The forelegs should be on a line slightly ahead of or parallel to the haunches, never behind them. In all lateral movements, the angle should be consistent throughout the movement rather than varying, and the bend should be uniform through the horse's spine rather than concentrated in the neck with the rest of the body remaining straight.

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