Dressage's Lateral Exercises
Turn on the Forehand, Shoulder-Fore, and Leg-Yield
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) and the Federation Equestrian Internationale (FEI) are dressage’s governing bodies. They recognize the lateral movements as turn on the haunches, shoulder-in, renvers, travers, half-pass, and pirouette, and these movements are called for in the dressage tests. These three lateral “exercises:” turn on the forehand, shoulder-fore, and leg-yield, are either not called for in the tests, or are not called “lateral.” They are defined here, with reasons why they are not true lateral movements.
Turn on the Forehand
Turn on the forehand is not seen in recognized dressage tests. It is also not considered a true lateral movement because there is no “forward” aspect of the exercise – the horse’s front legs remain stationary, and the hind legs pivot around them. Also, recognized lateral movements are intended to encourage collection (weight on the hind end) and elevate the front end, which is not possible when the front end remains still! However, it goes hand-in-hand with introducing lateral work to green horses because it teaches them to yield to leg pressure, a major precursor to more advanced work.
The turn on the forehand is achieved by asking the horse to bend slightly in the direction of “travel” (for instance, to the left), and the rider uses the inside (left) leg to push the horse’s haunches to the right. The front legs do not move forward or backward, but instead march in place as the horse turns his body.
Shoulder-fore
Shoulder-fore is also a movement that is not asked for in dressage tests. It is a common exercise that dressage horses spend a lot of time in. It is just like shoulder-in, but to a lesser degree. Shoulder-fore is performed with bend to the inside, and many top trainers explain that shoulders are displaced slightly to the inside. From behind the horse, the outside front should be seen between the two hinds and the inside front to the inside, making four tracks. However, the Official Instruction Handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation Advanced Techniques of Dressage says “The horse steps with its inside hind leg between the tracks of the forelegs, while its outside hind leg follows in the track of the outside front leg.” This means that instead of displacing shoulders to the inside, the inside hind leg steps closer to his centerline. The horse travels on three tracks, and he is increasing his hind end’s carrying power.
Leg-yield
The leg-yield is not recognized by the USEF (United States Equestrian Federation) or the FEI (Federation Equestrian Internationale) as a lateral movement, with the reason being that lateral bend is not present, nor a degree of collection. This is because leg-yield can be done with or without bend, and collection is not required or improved. Leg-yield is an exercise for improving response to the rider’s leg, and suppleness. It is called for in dressage’s First Level, tests two, three, and four. In leg-yield, the horse moves forward and to the side (for instance, to the left) while his body is bent slightly away from the direction of travel (bending to the right). It is only performed in walk and trot.
Turn on the forehand is neither a lateral movement, nor is it present in the dressage tests. Its purpose is a training aid. Shoulder-fore is a lateral movement, but to such a small degree that the dressage tests do not call for it. Lastly, leg-yield is present in the dressage tests, so a competitive horse and rider should be prepared to showcase it. It is not, however, technically a lateral movement. More on lateral movements can be found here.
Some great dressage reference books include “The USDF Guide to Dressage,” by Jennifer Bryant (Storey:2006) and the USEF website.
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