The exercise “hindquarter in”, also called travers, is the second most important corner stone in the Academic Art of Riding.
The goal of hindquarter-in is to teach the horse to step with his outside hind leg under the point of weight.
Hindquarter-in can only arise from a perfect shoulder in. This last exercise should therefore first be comfortable to the horse, before teaching the hindquarter-in.
Hindquarter-in is first trained in hand before riding.
The rider guides the horse in hindquarter-in mainly using the outside leg and inside rein, the so-called ‘’traversal’’ aids.
Hindquarter-in can be ridden on the straight line along the wall, through curves, and also in a circle- The exercise can be done in walk, trot and finally also canter.
- When riding in a circle, the collection of the horse can be improved through this exercise, because the hind legs take shorter steps and take more weight.
- Fluent transitions from shoulder in to hindquarter-in improve coordination and suppleness of the horse and the response to the aids.
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