>> So it's not "lifting the front end" that you're looking for or meaning, >> it's "lowering the front end", and / or "stepping under with a hind leg". > > it seems to me, that loosening his > pectoral muscles gives him more freedom and lift in the front end, and > that that allows him to step further under with the hind
>>>>he sometimes at soft gaits will get heavy on the forehand, sort of dragging himself along by the front legs rather than driving from the back. i want him to step further under himself and lighten the forehand by using more of his rear.<<<<< I had to go back to the beginning of the thread (which is the quote above) to be sure of what we were talking about. In the easy gaits, especially the rack, the horse *will* be on the forehand, getting most of his forward movement from the front legs. The hind legs in rack don't do much driving. Yes, it's good for them to step under, but that doesn't necessarily lighten the forehand. In a classical trot, the pectoral sling is *active*; this helps to *raise* the trunk of the horse. In the easy gaits, particularly the rack (tolt), the pectoral sling is *inactive*, loose, and the ribcage is allowed to drop. When a horse racks too much, his shoulder muscles hypertrophy, his pectoral muscles atrophy, and he looks muscle bound laterally, yet narrow in front. Maybe what you are looking for is lift of the front legs, timing-wise, to get out of the way of the hind legs? When Stjarni is at liberty, does he naturally lift, or reach, with the front? Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
