To lift the back, the horse must be able to reach forward and stretch downward with his head and neck …
Imagine that your horse’s shoulder blades form a slot through which his neck must fall in a downward direction. In order to reach and stretch, his neck must come straight out of his shoulders. If his neck isn’t aligned with the slot, the horse is unable to lower it.
—Beth Baumert
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This article first appeared in the February 2015 issue of Dressage Today magazine.
Beth Baumert operates Cloverlea Dressage LLC where she trains horses and riders from Training Level through Grand Prix in Columbia, Connecticut, and Loxahatchee, Florida. She is a USDF Certified Instructor and an “L” program graduate with distinction of the USDF judging program. Baumert is the author of When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics, released in 2014 by Trafalgar Square Books. She is currently the technical editor for Dressage Today and president/CEO of The Dressage Foundation.
