Via: Horse Times' Categorized Training Articles
By: Eng. Emad Zaghloul
In all lateral movements- shoulder-in, travers, renvers, half-pass- the horse is slightly bent and moves with the forehand and the quarters on two different tracks.
As all bending or flexion at the poll and neck has a repercussion on the whole spin, the bend or flexion must never be exaggerated so that it impairs the balance and fluency of the movement concerned; this applies especially to the half-pass, where the bend should be less evident than in the shoulder -in travers and renvers.
At the lateral movements the pace should remain free and regular, maintained by a constant impulsion, yet it must be supple, cadenced and balanced. The impulsion is often lost, because of the rider’s preoccupation mainly in bending the horse and pushing him sideways.
At all lateral movements the side to which the horse should be bent, is the inside. The opposite side is the outside.
Shoulder-in. the horse is slightly bent round the inside leg of the rider. The horse’s inside foreleg passes and crosses in front of the outside leg; the inside hind leg is placed in front of the outside leg. The horse is looking away from the direction in which he is moving.
Shoulder-in, if performed in the right way, with the horse slightly bent round the inside leg of the rider, and at the correct tracking, is not only a suppling movement but also a collecting movement, because the horse at every step must move his inside hind leg underneath his body and place it in front of the outside, which he is unable to do without lowering his inside hip.
Travers. The horse is slightly bent round the inside leg of the rider. The horse’s outside legs pass and cross in front of the inside legs. The horse is looking in the direction in which he is moving. Renvers. This is the inverse movement in relation to Travers, with the tail instead of the head to the wall. Otherwise the same principles and conditions are applicable as at the Travers.
Half-pass. This is a variation of Travers, executed "on the diagonal" instead of "along the wall". The horses should be slightly bent round the inside leg of the rider in order to give more freedom and mobility to the shoulders, thus adding ease and grace to the movement, although the forehand should be slightly in advance of the quarters. The outside legs pass and cross in front of the inside legs. The horse is looking in the direction in which he is moving. He should maintain the same cadence and balance throughout the whole movement.
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