02 T R A I N I N G
neck to tail. The outside hind leg is stepping under the weight. Therefore, it carries more weight and this, in turn, lightens the inside shoulder. Nuno generally begins with quarters in on the circle to prepare for the travers so your horse is making a circle with you on outside of the circle. It is important that your horse maintains an inside bend. When the horse is at a calm walk, then Nuno gently taps the hindquarters asking him to move them off the line to the inside track. Maintain the position in walk and ensuring your horse stays in balance and rhythm. Remember to pat and reward him when he achieves even just one step correctly. Don´t be tempted to lean into the horse or push him into position. Your aids must be light and dynamic as the horse carries out the exercise with selfcarriage. Once you have achieved this on a circle on both reins, you can move to the outside of the arena to perform the travers position yourself one metre in from the wall or fence (for your safety don´t put yourself in a position where you are right up against the wall). Now in the same way as before ask your horse to walk forward with an inside bend and then 4
/ 4 / 5 / It is very important before beginning rein back that you can achieve a good square halt with the horses hind legs well under him. You can see that Nuno is asking Acarus to pick up and move his hind legs further under him by lightly tapping the leg he wants to move.
30 Baroque Horse DRESSAGE | www.baroquehorse.com.au
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ask him to move his hindquarters to inside track. Practise taking the 1/4, central and 3/4 lines. This exercise greatly improves the mobility and engagement of the hindquarters.
– HALF PASS –
/definition/ The half pass is when the horse moves diagonally in a lateral bend, in a forward-sideways mode, he looks in the direction he is going. During the half pass, the horse steps under with his inside and outside hind legs alternating. The outside leg steps in front and across the inside leg. It is by far the best to teach horses half pass in-hand before riding it. The half pass can be taught from quarters in, tracer or from the shoulder in. It is important that your horse understands both shoulder in and tracer before beginning half pass. It is most dynamic to use both methods and coming from the circle or on the outside wall using the 1/4, central and 3/4 lines. In the half-pass you want to go forward and sideways to develop the hind