12/14/2025
If lateral work feels like a brain teaser on horseback, you’re not alone.
Most riders have heard things like:
“Bend… no, not in the neck!”
“Shoulders in, ribcage yielded, hindquarters straight — nope, now you've lost the shoulders!”
“Forward… but sideways… but don’t lose the rhythm!”
And at some point your brain just says:
“I’m sorry… you want me to coordinate what??”
The truth is, lateral movements are incredibly powerful tools for improving the horse’s balance, straightness, and rideability — but only when we understand what we’re asking for.
So today I want to break down a few of these movements in simple, rider-friendly terms you can take straight into your next ride.
⭐ Leg Yield — Where it All Begins
Form: Slight flexion away from the direction of travel, moving forward and sideways.
Function: Teaches the horse to move off your leg and keeps the body mostly straight.
Feeling: Like the horse is “gliding” sideways with soft ribs.
Why it matters: This is the foundation of all bending and straightening work.
⭐ Shoulder-In — The Engagement Builder
Form: Slight inside bend, shoulders brought just to the inside on three tracks.
Function: Encourages the inside hind to step under and carry more weight.
Feeling: The horse feels “wrapped” around your inside leg, with lifted shoulders.
Why it matters: This movement improves almost everything — straightness, strength, balance, suppleness.
⭐ Travers (Haunches-In) — Teaching the Horse to Sit
Form: Bend around the inside leg, hindquarters step inward.
Function: Builds hindquarter strength and prepares for half pass.
Feeling: The inside hind steps more underneath your seat with a soft, even curve.
Why it matters: Essential for developing collection and power.
⭐ Half Pass — The Diagonal Dance
Form: Like travers but on the diagonal, with bend in the direction of travel.
Function: Combines strength, balance, bend, and coordination.
Feeling: Like the horse is carrying you diagonally uphill.
Why it matters: This is advanced work, but it grows out of all the basics above.
⭐ So What Do Lateral Movements Do as a Whole?
Regardless of discipline — dressage, eventing, hunters, western, trail — lateral work makes your horse:
More balanced
Straighter
Softer in the body
More adjustable
More responsive to leg, seat, and rein
More confident carrying weight from behind
And they help you, the rider:
Coordinate your aids
Feel correct bend
Influence shoulders and hindquarters separately
Develop timing and body awareness
Build a more educated seat
Understand when the horse is truly straight and connected
When riders truly “get” lateral work, everything else becomes easier:
Transitions, circles, straight lines, jumping, even hacking out.
If lateral movements have ever felt complicated or overwhelming, I promise—they don’t have to.
I’ve put together a resource that breaks down each movement into:
Form • Function • Feeling • Rider Aids
…in simple, rider-friendly language you can instantly apply.
The link is in the first comment if you want it.
But whether or not you grab it, I hope this explanation helps something click in your next ride. 💛
