Getting Better Crossing in Lateral Movements

To a large degree, the reason that you see such noticeable and extravagant crossing of the limbs in top horses is as a direct result of their level of engagement and suppleness.

Rather like gymnasts or dancers, these horses possess a huge amount of strength and flexibility, which allows them to use their bodies to the fullest extent – much more than the average horse at your local show!

That said, all of us can work on getting better crossing of the limbs during lateral movements.

This process can be broken down into two parts. Firstly, improving the crossing of the horse within the level that he is already working at by fixing common flaws and positioning errors.

What can you do in the short term to improve the amount of crossing your horse is showing in lateral work?

• Make sure that your horse isn’t crooked in lateral movements: If he is escaping through one shoulder, tilting his neck, or drifting with a hind leg, for instance, then it is much harder for your horse to step underneath himself to cross his legs
• Be sure that your horse is off the leg: If your lateral work isn’t fully established and/or your horse is on the lazier side, it’s often the case that the horse isn’t truly reactive to the lateral aid. If your horse isn’t responding to your leg aid by bending and energetically stepping sideways, the crossing of the legs is likely to be laboured and lacking in cadence and reach
• Make sure that he isn’t resisting the contact or rushing the movements: In hotter horses particularly, the anticipation of lateral work can lead to tension and resistance. They will also often hurry the steps by running sideways rather than by engaging the hind end and stepping sideways with rhythm, balance, and softness. If your lateral work is rushed and uncontrolled, you won’t develop the lovely, rhythmical crossing required.
• Ensure that you too, are positioned correctly: If you’re asking for half pass and twisting your body or shooting your lower leg too far forward, you compromise the horse’s ability to stay straight, even, and through and will unbalance him. Because the horse is compensating for your own crookedness, he will find it harder to reach and extend his legs.
• Ensure that your hands are creating and elastic contact for the horse to move forward into: If your hands are backward-thinking or you are over-flexing the horse, for instance, this can cause shortening of the stride, resistance, and lack of crossing.

As you might have realised, the other key element in improving crossing and reach of the legs is improving the overall way of going and working towards more suppleness, engagement, and collection.

Essentially, collection and lateral work go hand in hand. By improving your horse’s ability to collect without resistance and tension, you are giving him the elevation and balance needed to perform more advanced and expressive lateral work.

By teaching your horse to engage the hind end more, to be more supple and collected, you do a few key things. More engagement activates the hind end which create the impulsion and activity in the lateral work. Lightening the forehand through engagement and collection allows the shoulder the freedom to open and move as the horse is bearing less weight on the shoulders.

Without suppleness, it is not possible to create throughness and engagement. And of course, improving your horse’s suppleness both longitudinally (over the topline) and laterally (through the sides of his body) will always lead to improved crossing of the limbs. Why? Because they can reach further across and underneath themselves as their suppleness improves.

There is, of course, a degree of natural ability involved too. Even at very top levels, some horses display more natural aptitude for movements like half-pass while others show more aptitude for tempi changes or extended trot.

At the lower levels, any horse should be able to demonstrate enough crossing to get good marks with correct training and focused work. However, as you move towards FEI levels, the disparities in different horses’ abilities may become more obvious.

Check out our Teach Me section for more great tips…

Words by Sophie Baker