Shoulder In

In this movement the horse is slightly bent round the inside leg of the rider. The horse’s inside foreleg passes and crosses in front of the outside leg; the inside hind leg is placed in front of the outside leg. The horse is looking away from the direction in which he is moving. Shoulder-in, if performed in correctly, with the horse slightly bent around the inside leg of the rder, is not only a suppling movement but also a collecting movement, because the horse at every step must move his inside hind leg underneath his body and place it in front of the outside, while lowering his inside hip. If the rider is having difficulty keeping the hind legs on the track, think renvers to move the haunches out. If the rider is drifting off the track use the inside aids to block the horse from falling in, thus keeping him on the track with the correct angle.