A horse can have a trot that is so uneven and unbalanced a rider will think the horse is lame. However, that may not be the case. The unevenness of a stride may come from muscle imbalance in horse's shoulder girdle. Shoulder blades do not move forward and back in the same circular motion on the left and right sides of his body. On one side the shoulder will go up higher and rotate more then on the other side. Usually the trunk is not carried in the vertical position. It is tilted. To correct this rider must have a good enough seat to feel what exactly wrong and then to start influencing a horse's motion with his posture and movement. When rider feels that one side of horse's body moves differently from another he/she will try to equalize the movement by using his/her body as a flexible frame around a horse. The rider's frame will create a gentle but steady influence on the horse. That can change the way a horse moves right a way and even more over a period of time.

The horse must receive massage and stretching exercises the same way a human who works on his muscle imbalance such as dancer, gymnast or rider. The older the horse the more difficult it is to correct these imbalances. That is why it is very important for a young horse to be ridden by a balanced and correctly seated rider who can feel how the horse is moving. The young horse will then be worked toward eliminating imbalances and natural crookedness from the first days under saddle. Years of working under crooked and unbalanced riders will engrave in horse's body crookedness in the same way people develop work or sport related muscle imbalances.

Happy riding...