Alignment & Balance | Asia Thayer | PART 04

As the mare relaxes into the canter, Asia is able to add a small fence to the exercise. She explains that shortening the stride is completely dependent on the horse's ability to flex in their hocks and their stifles. As the rider starts to lift the horse's shoulder and keep the alignment this communicates for the horse to start to sit back. Asia points out that the mare is not quite strong enough in her hind end yet to hold that position by herself, so the rider has to constantly push her forward. They continue to apply counter flexion as a means to deal with the head tossing issue, and achieve some nice fences.