As you’ve learned, shoulder-in is one of the most important movements for you and your dressage horse to master because it allows you to move his shoulders and is necessary for more advanced collection that involves mobility and elevation of the shoulders. When correctly ridden, the shoulder-in feels balanced and has a degree of self-carriage, which means your horse is not relying on the bit or your hands to balance himself.

For a quick refresher, shoulder-in requires you to take the bend you learned on a 10-meter trot circle in First Level and then retain that bend on a straight line. As a result, your horse travels in bend down the long side of the arena at about a 30-degree angle from the wall. This bend creates a three-track position, as seen when viewing your horse from the front: His inside foreleg travels on its own track, his outside front and inside hind legs are on the same track and his outside hind is on the outside track.

In her video lesson on EQUESTRIAN+, Grand Prix dressage rider Laura Ashley Killian demonstrates the correct aids and rider position for achieving a quality shoulder-in and offers tips on how small adjustments can produce correct articulation through the hind leg for proper engagement during the movement. We hope you can utilize the following tips to improve your horse’s shoulder-in and your overall partnership.

Creating the Fulcrum for Shoulder-In

“You can use the corners of your arena to prepare for shoulder-in to help create the angle you’re trying to achieve. In reviewing the aids for shoulder-in: As I come through the corner, I want my horse to bend around my inside leg while my outside leg is in a guarding position. It’s called a guarding leg for a reason. It’s not an active aid. It’s just there to take action if your horse pushes against it. Just like the guards at the gates of a castle. If my horse swings her hip toward the rail, my outside closes to tell her nope—there’s a gate there that she can’t push through.

“In shoulder-in, we want the hind legs to point straight down the rail. As I close my outside leg, my horse folds her pelvis underneath. If I don’t keep that outside leg there as a guard, then we don’t get the proper articulation through the hind leg. And we can’t achieve the proper engagement that’s supposed to be created through the shoulder at work.

“Your inside leg should be gently on at the girth to create that fulcrum or pull that my horse wraps her body around. My shoulders are angled so they’re pointing out over her left ear to match her shoulders. When I go to straighten, my shoulders straighten and she straightens along with me.

“This movement is called shoulder-in for a reason. We want the shoulders to quite literally move to the inside. When my amateur riders are learning shoulder-in, I let them go to the middle of the arena if that’s what it takes. They have permission to make mistakes, as long as they accomplish the goal.”  

Gaining Control Over the Shoulders

“Take one baby step at a time to create just one correct solution; then, you can start to build on the components. Don’t try to conquer it all in one day. Here, I use my reins almost like a Western rider neck reining, but without actually crossing the reins over my horse’s neck to bring her shoulder with me.

“As I make a square turn here, I start to position my hands toward the left side of her crest so she can easily rotate through. I’m applying gentle pressure with my outside thigh to help her bring that shoulder around with me. My left rein is anchored at the base of her withers, and I now feel like I have complete control of her shoulders. This should make shoulder-in feel effortless.

“As we reverse directions to check the other side, my left leg is back to guard while my inside leg is at the girth creating bend. My reins are asking the shoulder to move while my outside thigh asks the shoulder to come off the track.

“I maintain that shoulder off the track with a pulsing half-halt on my outside rein. Every time the left front, or outside leg, reaches forward, I gently close the fingers of my left hand to tell her to wait, which helps keep her shoulders in alignment over every stride, so that I don’t lose my positioning. At the same time, I use my inside rein to keep a light degree of flexion, and then I straighten her by straightening my body.”

The Importance of Weight Placement During Shoulder-In

“When riding shoulder-in, it’s very important that you pay attention to your weight placement. Your inside hip should be down in the shoulder-in to send energy diagonally down the rail. That is the trajectory of the energy in shoulder-in. If you sit in, it will cause your horse to collapse in. You don’t want to lean out either.

“You want your horse to move up the line on the side of the arena, so think about your inside hip being slightly dropped to move your horse down the line toward the direction of travel. Keep your shoulders beautifully level and maintain a swivel in your hips. Think about sitting on a bar stool; you’re just doing a little twist with your hips as rotating planes.

“When in doubt, I always have one annoying answer: Make sure you’re level and sitting in balance with your horse; you must be in alignment right in the center of his back. This is still true in shoulder-in, but our energy is sending the horse up the line. It’s a little bit of a balancing act to find that sweet spot.

“Once you hit that sweet spot and everything’s going smoothly, you can settle and remind your horse to stay on the rail while keeping that shoulder off the rail. Then, you’ll find nuanced corrections to keep your horse in position. You don’t need to override or continue to beg. They’ll get it. As long as you stay consistent in where you position your body, your horse will start to stay consistent with where he places his body.”

For More:

• To watch the full episode of Laura Ashley Killian demonstrating shoulder-in on EQUESTRIAN+, click here.
• For more hand-ons training tips and live video demonstrations with Killian, click here.
• Read “8 Shoulder-In Problems and 8 Savvy Solutions With Janet Foy” here.
• Learn how shoulder-in progresses as you advance through the levels here.

About Laura Ashley Killian

Laura Ashley Killian is a Grand Prix dressage rider and trainer as well as a USDF Gold, Silver, and Bronze medalist with Silver and Bronze freestyle bars. She is also a USDF Certified Trainer/Instructors through Fourth Level and a USDF “L” Judging Graduate. Killian uses her expertise to train both horses and riders from their first ride to the FEI level. She lives and trains year-round in Loxahatchee, Florida.