Is your horse leaning in or drifting to the outside?

What not to do:

Do not keep “correcting” it or compensate by leaning the other way!

Do not try to hold the balance. The more you hold it the more your horse loses it.

What to do:

Get curious! Explore the range of motion for leaning the opposite way. I mean … really! … overshoot target if necessary … you should feel the weightshift!

Do not be afraid to mess things up! You should encourage you horse to really shift his balance. Even if just for a few steps. Immediately relax and reward for this try!

You want him to discover that he can and that there is a place that feels better. Of course he will swing back at first into his usual unbalanced place, but that’s a good thing, for in the process he wil pass through a moment of balance. The more often he discovers that balance feels good, the easier it will be to find this place of balance… a place somewhere in the middle of leaning in and drifting out!

Develop self-carriage

Allow your horse to enjoy the balance and keep it by himself. Then you’ll find he can keep it longer and longer. THAT is “self-carriage”!