Haunches In
This exercise works
on: contact,
suppleness,
straightness.
The haunches in is
similar to the shoulder
in. It asks the horse to move the haunches to the inside track
again, traveling in three tracks. For training purposes the original
emphasis should not be that the horse travels in three tracks but rather
that the horse travels with the haunches in and shoulders on the track
while being bent and soft through the jaw. The haunches in gets the
horse riding from the leg into the contact. It also supples the horse
while working on straightening the horse by lightening the horse to the
leg aid.
As with the shoulder
in it is easiest to begin the haunches in off of a ten meter circle.
As you approach the wall again keep the outside leg behind the girth keeping
the haunches off the track while using your outside rein and inside leg
to ask the horse forward and keep the horse's shoulders on the track.
The haunches in showing the active and passive leg's and reins.
` As the horse progresses
the haunches in should aim for the three tracks. Thus the outside
hind is traveling in line with the inside fore, creating three tracks:
the outside fore, the outside hind and inside fore, and the inside hind
leg.
After this the haunches
in can be schooled off the wall, quarter line and center line. It
can also be done then the horse is straightened and asked for the shoulder
in. For an even harder variation
the haunches in can be done on the large circle at the walk and trot.
This asks for an extreme amount of obedience
and training on the horse and rider's parts. Care must be done to
not do this exercise too much as haunches in on the circle can make the
horse tend to do it on any circle if the rider is not careful.