Lateral Walk

[jawa]

Without eyes on the ground, how do you tell that your horse has developed a lateral walk?

The horse in question has had body pain issues that were present before I bought him, awful feet and poor saddle fit.

He has a fabulous walk sometimes, and in a moment it can go to crap and those all motion through his back. I don’t think he is just short striding his walk, I think something else is going on.

If I leg yield, or move his shoulders (shoulder in) or move his haunches a few a few steps he will go back to a lovely big strided walk.

I hope to get a lesson on him in the next month, but would love some feedback on what might be going on. I know that “breaking his body up” by asking him to not go straight fixes it for a few strides, but I want to be sure It’s not just a band aid and that it is actually doing something to fix the issue permanently.

Side note, his saddle had been fitting pretty well, but I had a sneaking feeling that it wasn’t 100%. I had a different fitter come out, one I had used before but she is doing something different for her main income these days, to triple check the fit. The saddle is the right size and shape, but didn’t have quite enough flocking in the center of the panel and had to tiny lump/bumps at the rear of the panel.

After riding him in the new flocking job, his cowlick in the center of his mane almost 100% disappeared and no jaw crossing at the canter. So I know his tells for being uncomfortable, jaw and an unruly mane.

TIA for any advice.

[J-Lu]

When you are in the saddle, really concentrate on what the hind legs are doing. You can compare to what you see the front legs doing by looking at the shoulders.

Some horses simply pace more-it’s genetics. That’s independent of saddle fit, training, work-load, etc. You can’t “fix” a horse that paces more but you can control the foot-falls, as you’ve mentioned.

I don’t understand your comments about “unruly mane”. I’m very apprehensive of the idea that a cowlick is determined by the balance of your horse.

[jawa]

A

@J-Lu

I don’t understand your comments about “unruly mane”. I’m very apprehensive of the idea that a cowlick is determined by the balance of your horse.

This is my 3rd year owning this horse. In the three years, a section of mane around 3” long in the center has either stood straight up or flopped to the opposite side of the rest of the way his mane wants to lay. The next morning after riding him with the adjusted saddle only a very small section of the cowlick was unruly. It’s the first time his mane has laid almost 100% flat. I had tried braiding the offending section to tame it. As soon as the braids came out it went to standing straight up to halfway going to the opposite side of the way the rest of his mane naturally laid.

I took it as a sign of tension in the neck being released.

[anon55755751]

The rhythm of the walk changes when it is lateral - in some horses more obviously than others. Listen to the rhythm when he is walking on concrete/pavement or hard ground if he has a true 4-beat walk in hand. Once you get the rhythm in your head, you can do the same from the saddle to connect the sound of the rhythm to the feeling of it. Then you can start to detect a lateral walk by any deviations from that rhythm. If you can induce the lateral walk on hard ground too, then you can learn what the change in rhythm sounds like as well, which makes the comparison by feel easier.

In your case, with the prior/known body pain issues, suppling exercises are a reasonable strategy for long-term improvements if there is a tendency to go lateral. Any exercises that help him learn to keep his back relaxed in work will help. You can also refine your current tactic if you can feel the tension coming on to ask for more bend, or a half step of leg yield or similar to release that tension before he really goes lateral.

[merrygoround]

Sometimes he walk simply needs to slow down.

Is it possible that when you are pushing for those long, free strides, he feels that you are hustling him?

[Scribbler]

My understanding is that when I feel that great swing in the walk and my hips are following the side to side roll, the walk is good. Basically when the back is really moving

[SuzieQNutter]

@Scribbler

My understanding is that when I feel that great swing in the walk and my hips are following the side to side roll, the walk is good. Basically when the back is really moving

Correct. In the walk you want him to move your body back and forth. You will probably notice that when he is moving laterally your body is not moving much. I just watched a DVD of the Day that Tortilas won 3 gold medals. A shot of Isabella Werth in walk and man her body looked like it was moving a metre forward and back (more or less)

Make aire your hands are following his mouth in the walk and not blocking him. Canter as well.

Yes the mane indicates correct riding. (Putting on flame suit.)

A horse that is broken necked from incorrect riding will have its mane on 2 sides of the neck or 3 one side near the ears, the other in the middle and back on the other side near the wither. As you have found there is nothing you can do about it. You can pull, plait, put on skinny hoods, whatever.

Correct riding and the mane is on one side.

I am not talking about breeds that have double manes.

[jawa]

@merrygoround

Sometimes he walk simply needs to slow down.

Is it possible that when you are pushing for those long, free strides, he feels that you are hustling him?

Maybe, but I’m not 100% sure this is this cause. I mostly trail ride and fox hunt, but want a very rideable horse. I find the wonky walk sneaks up on me. We had a great walk going and then it disappeared. This happens more when I ride alone than when I’m in a group.

[jawa]

@Scribbler

My understanding is that when I feel that great swing in the walk and my hips are following the side to side roll, the walk is good. Basically when the back is really moving

YES! And he can do this! And it is a fabulous ground covering walk and my hips move independently. It is a rolling walk. That kind of walk makes my back feel SO GOOD! He can do it, but will at some point shift into ,what I’m guessing, is a lateral walk. My hips no longer move, because there is no movement in his back. A leg yield, shoulder in, or haunches in seem to break up the lateral and he’s back to a ground covering walk.

He’s an OTTB. I wouldn’t think he had any lateral tendencies in his breed. (?). So just a hold over from body tightness and tension?

[J-Lu]

@jawa

A

This is my 3rd year owning this horse. In the three years, a section of mane around 3” long in the center has either stood straight up or flopped to the opposite side of the rest of the way his mane wants to lay. The next morning after riding him with the adjusted saddle only a very small section of the cowlick was unruly. It’s the first time his mane has laid almost 100% flat. I had tried braiding the offending section to tame it. As soon as the braids came out it went to standing straight up to halfway going to the opposite side of the way the rest of his mane naturally laid.

I took it as a sign of tension in the neck being released.

Ohhhhh, thanks for explaining!! “Unruly” is being on the other side of the crest from the rest of the mane. Ohhhhhhhh.

[2tempe]

@Susieq - I’ve heard this about manes also and believe there is some truth. That said my current horse has a “pony mane” - crazy thick from poll to about 6 inches in front of his withers. His bridle path is close to 2" wide - WIDE, not from the ear back but side to side. His mane, if left naturally very long might all lay over to the left. But with it kept at about 6" long, it simply parts down the middle no matter how much correct riding he gets. :yes: I tolerate all that mane because he has the fullest tail on the planet:D

[SuzieQNutter]

@2tempe

@Susieq - I’ve heard this about manes also and believe there is some truth. That said my current horse has a “pony mane” - crazy thick from poll to about 6 inches in front of his withers. His bridle path is close to 2" wide - WIDE, not from the ear back but side to side. His mane, if left naturally very long might all lay over to the left. But with it kept at about 6" long, it simply parts down the middle no matter how much correct riding he gets. :yes: I tolerate all that mane because he has the fullest tail on the planet:D

It sounds like he might have a double mane.

I used to ride a Norwegian Fjord. The owners used to cut his mane and it stood straight up. The black in the middle was longer than the buckskin mane on the outside.

[sascha]

You can break up a lateral walk going straight ahead (not lateral work) with your seat. Change from following forward and back to only side to side. It takes a bit of effort to find the side to side and not ride forward and back at all, but when you do you will break the lateral walk back into 4 clear even beats.

Once you have it back after a few strides, go back to following front to back, but more softly and with less “drive” and your horse should hold a correct walk for a while. Repeat as necessary.

[Scribbler]

@sascha

You can break up a lateral walk going straight ahead (not lateral work) with your seat. Change from following forward and back to only side to side. It takes a bit of effort to find the side to side and not ride forward and back at all, but when you do you will break the lateral walk back into 4 clear even beats.

Once you have it back after a few strides, go back to following front to back, but more softly and with less “drive” and your horse should hold a correct walk for a while. Repeat as necessary.

I find when I’m riding well my hips and legs take up the side to side swing of the barrell at a walk. My upper body stops pumping so much. When my hips follow the barrell it’s easy to know where the hind legs are. You automatically use your leg at the right moment.

[sascha]

@Scribbler

I find when I’m riding well my hips and legs take up the side to side swing of the barrell at a walk. My upper body stops pumping so much. When my hips follow the barrell it’s easy to know where the hind legs are. You automatically use your leg at the right moment.

I should be clear that all forward to back movement of the pelvis should stop and the side to side movement should be greatly exaggerated. It’s not pretty, but it works. Coincidentally, for the OP, the very first horse I was taught this method on was an OTTB. I was like 16 and didn’t know any better. I thought that was just her (awful) walk. When my dressage German dressage teacher saw her for the first time she was all “Ach, mein Gott!” and asked me why I hadn’t fixed her walk. That turned out to be one of the most valuable lessons I have ever had