Cherry Hill A collection of articles and tips by author Cherry Hill on ground training, mounted training, English and Western riding, arena exercises, horse health care, hoof care, lameness, buying and selling horses, grooming, showing, and horse facilities design and maintenance. When moving to the right, the horse is moving in response to the sideways driving aids from the rider's left leg. Lateral exercises supple a horse and strengthen him so he can be ridden in balance in any maneuver at any gait.
Lateral bend occurs from head to tail along the horse's entire spine.
The horse remains parallel to the arena rails. In the most elementary of these 3 movements, the two track, the horse is bent away from the direction of movement. He has the most lateral flexion and bend and shows more sideways than forward movement. Because the horse is counterflexed, it is easy for the horse to cross over and move sideways. Common problems are overbending, shoulder bulge, losing balance and rhythm, rushing, excessive lowering of the head and balking.