Welcome to our clients Nooitgedacht „Memphis“! He’s quite stiff and heavy on his inside shoulder, bending outward. Through clicker training he had learned to put his head down for a forward down stretch- BUT- you only get the back raise effect of the forward down position if the hindquarters are swinging further under. ALSO: a forward down stretch is not supposed to be dragging nose in sand! The old masters called this stretch a “remonte position”, meaning we let the horses find their own balanced position, in which they can use their necks for counter balance. The head should not be lower than the breastbone- otherwise the horses will be on their forehand, not using their backs correctly.
We are working Memphis on a light slope for him to regain his own balance, forgetting about the cues of “head down”.
