How to recognize riding problems caused by natural asymmetry?
Problems you may encounter while riding that can be a result of the horse’s natural asymmetry:
- The horse falls on the inside shoulder
- Falls over the outside shoulder
- The horse finds it difficult to bend or turn
- Can execute an exercise on one side but finds it very difficult on the other side
- Fixates or grabs the bit
- Is heavy in the hand
- Refuses to stretch the neck (forward-downward)
- Strikes off in the wrong canter lead
- Or canters disunited (cross-canter)
- Walks in a pace (lateral walk)
- Jigs / prances
- Or is instead very sluggish
- Takes short steps
- Does not move regularly
- Is rein-lame
- Rushes or accelerates
- Cannot halt squarely
- Backs up crookedly (crooked rein-back)
- The rider ends up sitting crooked, collapsing toward the convex (long, weak) side
- The horse has limited shoulder freedom
Etc.
Through the Academic Art of Riding and straightening the horse, these problems can be resolved or reduced.