Ep 216: Engaging and Disengaging the Hindquarters
Why Hindquarter Control is Important
Hindquarter engagement and disengagement is an important skill to master. In any discipline where you have quick maneuvers, especially those where you have to accelerate and then rate and turn or stop, hindquarter control is critical to helping the horse maintain proper balance and body position.
Challenges With Achieving Hindquarter Control
It can be challenging to get a horse disengaged on their hindquarters because of the fact that a horse is born front end loaded. “Front end loaded” refers to the weight distribution of a horse from the front to back end. I have heard it estimated that anywhere between 60-75% of a horse’s weight is distributed on the front end.
With this anatomical structure, essentially, your horse is born with a big anchor out in front of them. When we ask a horse to perform certain maneuvers and move their feet quickly, this extra weight on the front end can be challenging to overcome if the horse does not know how to distribute its weight properly and shift some of that weight to the back end. Hindquarter disengagement is key to keeping the front end of the horse freed up and moving.
The Connection Between Hindquarter Control and Collection
Hindquarter disengagement is closely related to collection. Collection is the process of helping your horse understand how to carry its body in a more “collected” or “evenly distributed” position. The balance needed to achieve proper collection is very dependent on the horse’s ability to control its hindquarters properly.
Hindquarter Control and Soundness
Helping your horse achieve better balance and control of their body can also have a positive effect on preventing or reducing the likelihood of soundness issues in performance horses. With the front-end loaded nature of a horse’s body, we often see a lot of soundness issues on the front end of the horse due to repeated impact on during stops and turns. Helping the horse disengage the hindquarter is no different than helping an athlete learn to use a more athletic stance during competition. It’s all about injury prevention, maintenance, and promoting better performance.
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