Lateral bend horse

Lateral bend in horses is the most uniform, continuous, and complete lateral curvature possible within the spine.

 And it extends from the first cervical vertebra (the atlas-axis joint) all the way to the caudal (tail) vertebrae.

The purpose of lateral bend is to straighten the horse and to encourage the inside hind leg to carry weight. This makes the leg stronger, more flexible, and more supple, allowing it to take on more weight and relieve the forehand. Due to the lateral bend, the inside shoulder and inside hip come closer together, which gives the inside hind leg the space to step under toward the center of gravity. The outside shoulder and outside hip move further apart.

By asking for this on both sides, the horse learns to stretch its short muscles and contract its long muscles.

Step by step, the horse learns to adopt the correct lateral bend on both sides. In fact, your horse essentially needs to take on the shape of a banana—in this case, either a left-bending or a right-bending banana.

Lateral bend is highly important and is central to the horse’s training. When your horse can travel with the correct lateral bend, its center of gravity is in the middle, and its weight is distributed evenly across all four legs; the horse is now moving in balance. This allows your horse to properly carry a rider and perfectly execute circles and movements (such as shoulder-in, travers, etc.). If the lateral bend is incorrect, a circle or exercise cannot be performed properly.