Why do you use one movement vs the other? What is it helping you and your horse to achieve?
(These are not trick questions! I’m curious how you use them in training)
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SI weights the inside hind and movement is to the outside of the bend. Three tracks. Outside front leg reaches/abducts.
Renvers weights outside hind and movement is into the bend-more difficult for some horses. Four tracks so more bend also. Outside hind strongly adducts.
So it depends what you want to strengthen.
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I will add to lorilu’s explanation and say that in addition to being a great strengthening exercise, each help with getting the horse supple, establishing true bend and getting a horse through to a specific rein. I will do both at the walk as part of my warm up routine (both directions). I do a lot of both at the trot to help with conditioning, strengthening and as a set up/precursor to my half-pass(es). At the trot and canter I will throw the exercises in if my horse is evading a rein, not giving me true bend or I want to get him supple for the changes.
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For me, Shoulder-in doesn’t get my horse as supple as Renvers/Travers. Adding Renvers to my day to day rides have been a huge help in unlocking him when he’s stuck at the withers. Really great tool!
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Now I’m going to go read up on both! I would have thought the hips and ribcage would be more impacted than the shoulders.
If you can find it, I strongly reccommend “Effective Horsemanship” by Noel Jackson. Chapter 9, for a detailed discussion
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Well of course the suppling happens there, as well as the shoulders…
Exvet, which works on which rein? The outisde is classic but I have heard clinicians ask to add some inside rein if thats what is needed… so I guess either/ ?
The inside rein could be establishing bend but if you hang on it, this impedes movement in lateral work.
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yes, and using IS can dump the horse on that shoulder. thanks
I have a very handy Welsh Cob who likes to drop his right shoulder and not be honest in the contact on the right rein. This happens most at canter especially on the circle left but it’s there throughout his work if I’m not insistent; so for him, I will often get the feel of renver or shoulder in out going to the left in order to get him true into the right rein. I will rinse and repeat as needed. I will also find that using both SI and renver whenever I need to bring one specific hind foot up underneath him more but to that point I’m also making sure he’s coming into the contact correctly. He is one that I absolutely must establish contact in one rein at a time and often lighten on whichever is my inside rein once true and in front of my leg if I don’t want him to “swallow the broom” so to speak and get fixed, stick straight, nose out, using the under neck.
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I had a mare that would pop her right shoulder on a circle left or even a slight left bend. I think it was Tracy Lerc that had us working on shoulder-in on a circle while spiraling in and out. Damn it was hard to keep her in both reins doing that exercise!
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I think going from SI to RV is important in the horse/rider education. SI, I direct that with my inner thigh at the girth while looking across the diagnol to position my shoulders to say “stepover, front end”. Haunches in, I use my outer leg back and seatbone to say “step over, hind end”.
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Do you do anything different with your hands? I was taught to give slightly with the outside rein just enough to see a bit of the inner eye (ex- left SI I give with the right hand)
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IMO you have to “give” some because now the outside side of the neck is longer - and that is accomplished as you turn your shoulders to mimic the horse’s… you should maintain steady (appropriate,) contact on both reins, otherwise you might get nose tipping to inside or too much neck bend.
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Actually, I do little with my hands. My hands adjust to horse’s bend. If the horse is bent, I give a little bit more with the outside rein to facilitate the bend. In both of these movements, you are driving the horse to the outside rein with your innner thigh/calf. To ME, it’s all about my legs and seat. The outside rein is important for establishing the bend and keeping the shoulders in place. Some horses will want to throw their shoulders out or in and not want to be correct in these movements. That’s OK, the horse has to learn to use his/her body in these movements and that can take a minute.
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