How to Ride Shoulder-In
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
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Shoulder-in is an extremely important movement in Dressage. It can be described as “the parent” to all Dressage exercises. Shoulder in helps to straighten and to engage the horse and it is what you use to prepare for transitions, half passes, and pirouettes!
Shoulder-in is a 3 track movement where the horse brings the shoulder off of the rail and the hind end stays on the rail. The horse should be bending in the body for this movement and should engage the inside hind leg and lift up more through the withers and front end.
The Aids for shoulder-in are as follows…
Inside leg at the girth - the horse must bend around the inside leg
Outside leg behind the girth - to keep the horse from swinging out with the hind end
Inside seat bone - to place the weight of the rider over the horses’ center of gravity
Outside rein brings the shoulders-in off of the rail
The inside rein to flexes the horse
Here are some great exercises to improve the shoulder-in…
-Ride a volte in the corner to set up the shoulder-in and get the correct bending. As you finish the volte, think of letting the horses’ shoulders take one step off of the rail as if to start a second volte, and then the inside leg comes on to keep the horse on the rail.
-Ride shoulder-in on the rail, then come off the rail towards the 1/4 line and ride shoulder in on the inside track. This exercises will challenge the engagement of the horses’ outside hind leg and the correctness of the aids for the shoulder-in
-Ride shoulder in 1/2 way down the long-side, then turn onto the half diagonal and ride medium trot. Mixing in medium trot with the shoulder-in work will improve the shoulder-in as well as the engagement in the medium trot!
Common mistakes in shoulder-in:
-Neck in- too much bend and not enough angle
-Make sure that there is not more bend in the neck than in the body. Head in the middle of the chest and the shoulder actually coming off the rail
-The riders inside leg goes too far back and pushes the haunches out
-Horse looses impulsion
Practice your shoulder-in this week and let me know how it goes! All horses will have an easier side and a more difficult side so it’s important to work the shoulder-in in both directions and work towards getting the horse even left and right.
Happy Riding!
Incredibly well described in words. I am a Canadian trainer in Germany and so I now just need to translate what you said in German.
...inside seat-bone; inside lower-leg on girth; outside thigh pressing; outside rein; got it; I look forward to trying it; and the ground work. excellent demo wile talking; Your multi-tasking is astonishing:)
Thanks for the great Thanksgiving thoughts. I am 77 and so blessed to be able to ride and have a very supportive husband who helps me to continue to practice my passion of horses!!!!
So helpful with the Visual aid. Thank you.
Thank-you!
Excellent demonstration. Thank you!
Nice Job you Two! Love the medium trot after shoulder in, great example!
Inside seat bone, that's what was missing. I rode today and added that aid and voila, shoulder-in. As an amateur training my own horse, these tips really help. Thanks, Amelia!
Absolutely brilliant demonstration and explanation! The best I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much!
Thank you for your kind words! And thank you!
Such a cute horse. Great video !!
Amelia! Thank you so much! You have a great way of explaining what is needed to do or improve the shoulder in. I can’t wait to try it and incorporate the exercises.
Amelia I can't thank uyou enought for your videos! Your diagrams are very helpful as are your drone footage for geometry. I could watch you ride all day long and someday I'll ride like you. : ) Thank you!! One comment is that it's helpful for those of us learning is for you to always refer to your aids as 'inside' or 'outside' as right and left depent on your direction... Ie... keep it consistent helps. Thank you! Thank you.... You not only have the gift of riding beautifully but can break it down to teach. Grateful for you!
So very well explained, really helpful to my wife and I, we've been trying to improve shoulder in, I'm sure this is going to help us a lot, great!thank you Amelia
Great!!
Great video thank you. Some great exercises to try and a great image of 'lifting your horse up and diagonally to the outside'.
So glad it's helpful!
Thank you for breaking this down step by step!! 😊 Easy to understand!
Glad it was helpful!
Tried this for the first time in my lesson yesterday! This video is super helpful - thank you so much! Looking forward to trying again next week!
Glad it was helpful!
beautiful! thank you for explanations
Excellent! Thank you!😊🐎
I love this! I've been visualizing my "human" while doing the shoulder in as well as not swinging my haunches out! Starting to really feel my guys both drop the inside and keep the swing! I suppose it helps that I found my left seat bone and am finally starting to unlock my hips to the keep swinging with the motion rather than freezing! The journey continues! 👏👏👏🙃❤
Thanks!!
Thanks!
Thank you Amelia, can't wait to try this.
You are an excellent teacher!!! I am learning so much 🤗
Thank you! 😃
I love how you break it all down into small steps. Such great explanations Amelia.
I am so thankful for your excellent videos! This is something I really want to master! I had just been achieving this with my Arabian mare,, and sadly she suffered a sudden and deadly colic. I have her daughter who is very green, have lots of work to do! Will be searching your library for videos to help with beginning horses. Blessings be on you.
Thank you so much. ⚘⚘⚘
Beautiful examples of this exercise and comments about varying its execution as well! Thank you!
So beautiful to watch this video so well done
And explained
Glad you liked it
nice job. thank you.
Happy Thanksgiving! 🤗
This is realy usefull for me! Thanks!
😄🙌🏽 love it
Brilliant, just introducing this ridden & your videos are so so helpful, you explain everything really thoroughly which is amazing, big thanks!
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LOVE your videos - THANK YOU!
You are so welcome!
Just did the shoulder in during my lesson today. I was using way too much inside rein! Weakness of mine. Also need to work on inside seat bone and keeping my inside leg at the girth! Ugh so much to remember :)
keep at it! It's a journey!
Wow! Epiphany....bring the shoulders off with outside thigh and outside rein and imagine a human between the horses shoulder and the rail!! I've totally been pushing the haunches to the rail. Thank you!!
Yes!! That image also helped me so much!!
Fantastic. Love the shoulder-in into a medium exercise.
Thank you for this! We are just learning this at the walk. My Q is, do the in/outside legs maintain contact to prevent drift either way, pulse, or applied intermittently? Or something else? 🐴🤎
they should be light but steady pulses with the rhythm of movement, but depending on how established your horse is, you might need to apply it greater or softer
You're just The best. Thank you so much Amelia . I think I speak for all of us when I say , your exploitation to the exercises alone give us the confidence to go out and try in , therefore making us better and more confident riders. Thank you ❤️🙏🏼
What a happy partnership! Thanks for sharing Amelia :)!
This has been a huge help.. thank you Amelia! Love your work :)
I have said before that I only ride western. However I know I’m getting better at riding' with your training videos! Thank you so much
Can you please make a video on how to prepare your horse for canter?
I have a few! But this is a great free course on canter that has it all organized: www.amelianewcombdressage.com/canter-with-confidence-o/
My horse slows down when I start the leg yield. You suggested a small circle if they speed up, but what do I do for the opposite problem. The main focus in my riding lessons is keeping him in front of my leg
Hi Michael,
Usually your horse will slow down during a leg-yield because it is harder or they may not be straight in their body. You will have to focus on keeping your horse straight and use your leg so your horse doesn't get behind your leg. Here is a video that might be helpful for getting your horse more in front of your leg: ua-cam.com/video/eUfNFbCXO2s/v-deo.html
Try these exercises before you work on the leg yield to get your horse more sensitive. Here is another video on the leg-yield: ua-cam.com/video/o1RbcojXL5w/v-deo.html
Hope this helps!
So what do we do if your horse blows through the outside rein? Escpecially if we are riding in a snaffle? How about if we switch to using the outside leg forward to bring his forehand inside the track- whilst using our inside leg to cause forward momentum, bend and limit the amount of inward turn so he doesn't just collapse inwards.. Thats a way that Buck Brannaman uses to bend his horses laterally.
best
Bruce Peek
Amelia, can you do a shoulder in using posting trot?
And can you do prep work in the walk or is walk not good because it is a different beat/rhythm? I’d love to try it but it’s new to me and I don’t even know if the horse I’m riding knows it… Thank you!
Typically it is easier to ride while sitting! And yes - you can definitely ride it in the walk as well
This is helpfully, beginning I think my horses hind was cooked in a walk
What do you do with your outside rein?
The outside rein controls the outside shoulder and keeps it off of the rail.
Hey Amelia, this is super helpful - can you tell me exactly what I am doing with my hands? I know you said the outside rein controls the outside shoulder but what exactly am I doing with my outside hand to control the outside rein? And do I leave the inside rein alone or ask a little for flexion? :)
Just keeping the contact soft and consistent. The bend should come from your inside leg and seat pushing into a receiving outside rein.
@@AmeliaNewcombDressage thank you so much :)
Can you please make a video how to canter from sitting trot... please:)
I don’t know if that’s even possible to start canter from sitting trot. My teacher tells me to do sitting trot (super fast trot) then sit and ask horse for canter. HOW!?!? I’m plopping like sack of potatoes can’t even ask for canter because I’m afraid I’ll fall. I’m just starting to canter. Thank you
don't worry, we've all been there, it seems impossible at first, but it is possible!! I have a whole FREE course on the canter now! Check it out: www.amelianewcombdressage.com/canter-with-confidence-o/
When both horse and rider are learning this movement, is it best to practice first at the walk or the trot?
Great question. Practice it at the walk first, then move on to the trot once you have it down in the walk. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Amelia quick question - some riders face their body forward down the track and others folllow the direction of the horse, What is your opinion on why people do that differently
Everyone has a slightly different way of moving their body. The bend in the horses' body in the shoulder in (in my mind), tells me I should have my hips slightly in (matching the bend). While I still want to be going straight, I think people add a large amount of body turning when they're learning so that they get the aids down. And then it gets a little muddled in translation from rider to rider. In an ideal world, you have such good control in your body, and your horse is so tuned in that you only have to have a slight (almost invisible) hips in and you have that bend in the horses body, while looking like you are simply facing forward.
love your videos Amelia
It sounds a like you're collapsing in your core. Your pelvis shouldn't tilt when you're applying a weight aid, the seatbones should remain up and down in the saddle. In addition, if your shoulders are tipping, that means your alightment/core is compromised. I have a great rider position course that will really help with this! Check it out: www.amelianewcombdressage.com/free-rider-position-mini-course-o/
Amelia, can you please recommend a book that will help me with all the aids you just mentioned. I’m a visual person and it’s easier to understand if I see it.
Walter Zettl has a great one called Dressage in Harmony; it is available on USDF's website.
What is a volte? A small circle?
yes!
Inside leg at the girth outside leg behind the girth, so what is the difference between this and asking for canter?
great question! It's how your body is positioned and what your seat aids are doing! In the canter transition we change the movement to the swoop (for lack of a better word) of the canter motion while in the shoulder in we stay in the trot motion and turn our hips slightly into the direction of the shoulder in to add bend. Hope that helps!
So I've been watching a lot of your videos, but I can't seem to fix this problem on the downward canter transition. I can get him to come back to the trot fine, but he is very strong and pulls through me once I get him back to the trot. He then power trots around and the only way I can get him to come back is to stop him to a wall. I have a solid seat and light hands, and I don't enjoy having to pull on his face to get him to stop dragging me around after the canter. Any tips?
Going back and establishing the aids from the ground is always a great first step. I've also just released a video on how to slow down without simply 'pulling back'. Check it out, I think it will help. ua-cam.com/video/tY4WDG47Xg0/v-deo.html
Nice job! You are easy to follow and to listen to! Always get something out of your videos! Get your brother to wear a microphone!
😍😍😍
Volte?
A small circle