Maria Eilberg

The international dressage rider shares a simple exercise to help you improve your horse’s balance and suppleness in preparation for lateral work

AIM

I FIND that when people come to me for training, their horses are fairly straight, but have limited independent neck bend. Correct neck flexion is where you bend your horse’s neck a little bit on whichever rein you are on, and the horse’s body stays on the same line. Riders are often afraid of bending the neck because they feel they’ll lose control of the body.