“Needs Bend in Ribcage”
In the walk, your horse’s rib cage swings left and right every time your horse takes a stride.
In the walk, your horse’s rib cage swings left and right every time your horse takes a stride.
when the horse’s left shoulder is furthest back, the left hind is pushing off and the rib cage is swinging right at the same moment—and vice versa. So when the rib cage is swinging away from your leg, you want to feel a little pulse of energy bounce down to your heel on the side on which the rib cage is swinging away.
In the walk, your horse’s rib cage swings left and right every time your horse takes a stride.
The ribcage is one of the most stable and unmovable parts of the horse – other than those that are solid bone. The ribs and the connective tissue between them, creates a pretty solid structure that is unlikely to ‘bend’ much – no matter how much it is jabbed and spurred.
The ribcage of the horse hangs from the spine, and swings to one side or the other, or swings more to one side than the other.
When the muscles under the spine are contracted, the back is pushed up. If the ribcage then, relative to the spine, swings outward, the outer side of the back rises, and the musculature of the outer side of the horse elongates. This gives the appearance of a ‘bend’ in ribcage.
When the horse moves this way, the rider feels the horse more level under his seat, and feels that there is a stable place for the rider’s leg on the bent side, as the ribcage, as a unit, is swinging more to the outside.
