Crimson Jewel Equestrian

Sunset rides are the best! 🥰

Pit crew for Dos! 💕🐴

“losing the shoulder”
“shoulder falling out”
Are you confused by these terms?
When beginner riders start to learn bend, us instructors are not looking for perfect bend….. WE STRUGGLE with “perfect” bend!!!  So initially, we are just happy if our students can steer the horse’s nose separate from steering it’s shoulders.
So if your horse looks like the sketch on the left while going left, but no longer looks like this while going to the right, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! 🎊🍾🎉
That’s a huge accomplishment.

But then, eventually, you take a clinic, or your instructor gets pickier, and you start hearing phrases like “his shoulder is falling out! You are losing his shoulder!” Since you just spent the last six months learning how to tip the horse’s nose towards the inside of the circle, without the entire horse spiraling into the middle of the arena, the shoulder going out kind of sounds fantastic to you!

But as we get pickier, improve the horse’s balance, and prepare to learn new movements, we don’t want the horse to over bend at the base of the neck. Instead, we want the horse to “bend” through the rib cage (what is technically happening is axial rotation, not lateral bend, but it feels and looks like lateral bend, so don’t worry too much about the semantics) and lateral flexion at the poll, BUT NOT much lateral bend at the base of the neck.

If the horse is straight in the rib cage and straight in the neck, but practically hinged where the neck meets the spine, it gives the feel/appearance of the shoulders bulging outward. To fix it, we start to utilize inside leg to outside rein connection.

This is when the magic starts to happen in your riding!!!! It’s not the easiest stage to understand but stick with it. You are now at the point that you can start to really influence the horse in a positive way.

Instead of taking from the horse, you are soon in a position to really give to the horse, and make them feel better in their body!

Happy New Year 2024!! You are spectacular! ♥️🐴

Use those trainer rewards everyone! They expire 12/24/23! Shopping with them gifts the school horses! ♥️🎄🐴

There’s still time to get great deals on Holiday items! Don’t wait too long though, supplies are limited!

Sunset and moon rise with beautiful Gitana ♥️