Need help with shoulder-fore in canter

Hi, I am not a coach, but am posting this question here because there are lots of coaches who can help me.
When they talk about doing a shoulder-fore in canter, do they mean bending slightly to the inside, like a slight shoulder in at trot, or do they mean keeping your horse straight but shifting the forehand (shoulders) in a bit and almost thinking renvers (just thinking it, not doing it). I hope this question reads clearly. One would keep the horse pin straight, the other would bring the hind end closer to the front end because of the bend - and I think both would keep the hind legs from swinging inside. But I don't know which is correct and I have been told to do it both ways. Thanks very much in advance.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Geoffrey Pannell on November 13, 2008 at 7:54pm

Hi Richard, Longitudinal flexion on a single track, shoulder-fore,in which the horse's inside hind leg tracks between the two front feet,with the outside hind leg tracking the outside front foot, is the starting point and parent position of all movment on two tracks. This position of the hindquarters with respect to the forehand automatically produces flexion of the ribs, which is lost only when the hindquarters turn outward. So shoulder-fore is keeping the horse strait not bending like a banana , the distance is small , only about half a hoof wide.

Permalink Reply by Richard F on November 17, 2008 at 2:07pm