I wanted to say something that was on my mind after watching this video! I love the way you aim to make sure that everybody can understand this and work on it and get it. Like really get it. Why is it, that in this sport, so many people, (especially other riders and coaches) don't like thinking about it this way? It almost feels like the people who can ride and ride really well don't really want to acknowledge that they are doing something that other people are perfectly capable of learning? It's almost like in this sport, nobody wants to share how they became so talented. Lots of times, people say you either can or can't ride or can or can't get it. The more and more I watch Alicia, the more it becomes clear that it isn't a failure of the rider whose learning to ride, but an inability of most coaches and horse people to be able to mold something into a shape everybody can fit into. They may be able to teach the few already naturally talented riders to be better, but nobody can teach the entire world like this. We should all sincerely make a "thank you Alicia and YRS team" video for you guys to watch for once! ❤️

For those of you still on the fence about joining Dressage Mastery (DMA) I was as well and it wasn't a FREE trial for a month, just a little cheaper. I was nervous too but I jumped in with both feet, I was greeting with open arms, DMA is a family and community that will help you with your riding and your equestrian knowledge everything from helping find the right horse for you to preparing for a Grand Prix Dressage Test, you will make friend from around the world it's a kind, safe, fun place to be NO BULLYING ALLOWED! If you're thinking, "but what if I ask a silly question." Don't worry there a no silly question and never feel embarrassed about asking either, everyone is on their own learning journey at all different level from learning the basics to advance learning and everything in between. "But I'm a jumper" I hear you say yes DMA will help you with your jumping and western riding too, Especially DRESSAGE! You will learn what THE PRO KNOW! So come join us, have some fun and learn some stuff too!😀

I can not thank you enough explaining the seat positioning and all the other aids. It is like magic. Why have no one ever told me about that before! Works absolutely wonders! And futher more thank you thank you for explaining the rein position when they fall out through the shoulder the two things against you're cheeks and the earlier explanation about outside rein as a wall has just made it click. And last thank you for saying in another video that the horse should do it on a simple aid it has just me stop doing all kind of things and it works so well!! Just done renvers, shoulder in and shoulder out in trot on my five gaiter thought that was impossible!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 Please just continue sharing and stay safe!!!

Flying changes, I'd loooove for you to break them down next, the aid, the timing, seat and leg position! Thanks for sharing and giving so much time & knowledge ❤️

It is so helpful to understand sitting to the small side of the banana to effect the horse's way of going!!mind blowing!!

I do have to say, it Does make it so simple! I learned the “sitting on the inside of the banana” from a previous video of Alicia’s, and it’s like magic. 😊 My next project will be to work on renvers like that.

As someone who resembles your last canter example, leaning forward and unbalanced, I really appreciate you showing how to break it down like that at my little level.

My biggest takeaway from this video is how simple this actually is! Instead of looking at it as one huge big scary movement that seems so out of reach, the way you explain it down into little bite size pieces, it seems so much more achievable and so much less daunting!! Thank you so much Alicia ❤️

Just finished riding. Can’t do much at the minute as got a back injury so most of session is in walk as too painful for anything else! :’( however omg, this totally works! I think because my horse is a little baby, I have been over exaggerating requests and ending up with over riding and not getting the desired result but literally today, just shifted my balance and ‘boom’, shoulder in! Amazing! Thank you so so much! Xx

I constantly think “can I teach the hunter/jumper I’m riding to do a shoulder in?” I’m certainly not that great of a rider but I do like playing around with my seat and seeing how weight change creates movement. I wonder if he could do it without knowing that movement. Thank you for the encouragement Alicia!

How great is this!. I now need to rewatch the leg yeild videos to gain better shoulder control. Linking it all 2gether to try an create better understanding for me and my horse.

Biggest learning: having fun!!! Please show us flying changes - how to train a young horse.... Thank you for all your inspiration!

The biggest takeaway from this video for me was just learning to play with your horse and experiment until you get something right, it doesn’t have to be perfect! Thank you much for making this video!! I have been struggling with this for a while and I didn’t completely understand the term ‘shoulder in’ until now. Super excited to try it tomorrow! 😀😀

Tried shoulder in when I finally got connection and I did have to go little bit by little bit otherwise she ended up like a wiggly worm! 😆😉 Thanks Alicia we will keep working on it 🤗

Yes! Baby steps. A little done well, better than a full wall done disconnected.

Thank you!!! This has helped me so much! Now I know why my Icelandic always changes from trot to tölt in the shoulder-in… like Gee changed the lead in canter when you changed your weight! In tölt, I only need to move my own shoulders to achieve shoulder-in (thus putting enough weight on the inside), trot was always a bit of a bet. Thanks to your explanations, we managed to do it a few steps in a stable rising trot today! 💪 Thank you again and keep up the good work!

Thank you so so much for taking your time to do this video and share it!!!!

“Making room for the outside of the bend” is a light bulb moment! Thinking this way makes you aware that it’s possible to leave too much room or not enough, which leads to the correct distribution of the horse’s weight, which determines balance, which determines connection and throughness. Knowing this helps you understand how much your weight influences the horse’s position instead of using your legs and/or reins in a way that disturbs the horse and actually breaks the connection instead of preserving it. You are helping us! Many thanks!

I learned to be mindful of what your body is doing. Your body is an influencer!

Great video, what I learnt from this one is stop trying to perfect each move, be more like a kid. Fearless, willing to play around with your horse and your body ! By freeing up your mind and body things will come easier. I've forgotten this important bit and I'm so happy this video made me remember 😁

Loved learning that if you change your seat it can mean a different cue.

My a-ha moment...where you sit is key for the shoulder in! Great video, very encouraging 🤓

For me the biggest learning is using the banana seat to do shoulder in. It's amazing! 😲🤩

Another amazing video. I'm going to rewatch and work on shoulder in during my ride today.....in small chunks.

After watching this , this morning , went off for my lesson. It was mainly pole work but I tried it AND 💣💥, It really does work. Weeks of struggling to achieve any semblance of shoulder in, and now it was just there....no real effort on my part. Thank you so so much for these gold nuggets of wisdom. 🤩🤩🤩

You are so great at explaining the mechanics! My biggest takeaway was related to how the canter became more collected with shoulder in. It was just a great visual. Thank you!

Yes that makes sense! I’ve done it the hard way. I’m going to try this my next lesson and see how easy it is! Thanks!

The explanation in these videos is so useful. Really helps my understanding of what to do and why!

Hi Alicia, Tash and team. That shoulder in video is awesome. I really love watching Gee, something unique about him I think. I still realise that I don’t quite use the banana analogy properly. Still get caught up being heavy and kind of pushing down on the wrong side, as I have wrongly been taught! I found it was easier to GET IT! whatching him. Particularly when you rode it the wrong way as I do. More walk shoulder in! Thanks for what you do for us. Vick from Oz.

Watching this again- so insightful to see how the position of your seat affects the horse. I am just mind-blown by all of this information! Not one instructor has ever told me this! I wish I would've learned this 20 years ago when I started riding more seriously and was younger.

Thank you for this, it was so helpful in my shoulder in work today!

Ahh that defibrillator analogy is excellent! and getting it just for a tiny bit at a time, definitely taking that to heart for my next ride.

I am in shock at how magical sitting away from whatever side of the ribcage you are trying to make bigger is. It just works 🙌🏻

Oh I love the analogy about the electric pads. Another saying I have to remember 😀

😀😀💙Another great learning moment with Alicia. I'm not ready for shoulder in yet but it will become a natural progression I hope.

This thinking about sitting inside the banana had been super great learning for me, and I've noticed now, that no-one never thought me to use the correct aids when doing the shoulder in. This is eye opening!

It’s the little subtle things that make us such a big difference overall it helps break down the process giving better results and more breathing time and reflection time when you’ve put it out to us the way you have today thank you for all of your bright cheerful and positive way of explaining and guiding for the better outcome for the horse and the rider it really is great to have these extra tools when you’re having a bad day

How great. How supportive and motivational 😍

I really love working with you I don’t care about winning money I am all ready a winner every lesson with you. Thank you thank you.

Thank you so much for the video! Whenever I finish watching your videos I am a way better rider when I was before the video! This video was super helpful because I have been working with my trainer with an OTTB for a little bit and this little series will be so helpful. We haven't started playing with shoulder in, but he is getting there! This little series will help us loads! My biggest takeaway(s) from the video were thinking about the banana and how to use my seat to ask. Thank you so much for the video! I know it will help a lot!

This is perfect timing, sitting to the inside really helps with moving the shoulders over, simple yet very effective 😊

Fabulous video, thankyou Alicia! Yes, we asked, you listened! I really wanted to better understand shoulder control ie shoulder in - & here it is!! I love that you demonstrate just how much the banana can affect the horse's movement & direction of travel! I've really started to implement this principle. And my horse & I are dressage newbies, but we're starting to get ìt! Starting to see results! And that's so gratifying. I've noticed that shoulder control is more difficult for my girl to achieve, than moving off the leg! I'm a bit confused - when you say we've learnt how leg yield helps the shoulders; but I thought leg yield was about hind quarter control & the reigns are about the shoulders! I can't find this message in the leg yield videos. Can you please clarify?? ❤ I really love the defibrillator analogy 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 - which so appeals to me! I happen to be a nurse educator of Advanced Life Support, so you're really speaking my language 🤣‼️ This is vìsual perfection! Ps I'm absolutely loving DMA - so thankyou so much for that gift!!! I hope Wesssl continues to thrive! 👋🥰🥰🐴🙏

Alisha watching these videos I’ve realised I’ve been using my reigns wrong!! In between rides watching these videos are giving me a crash course in riding. Progressing faster and faster. Thank you ❤️

Using shoulder in to teach travers, love it! Hopefully, I am not too far away from doing shoulder in now that you have helped us achieve some sort of a contact *fingers crossed.* You are so motivational Alicia, I almost gave up riding recently and thanks to you and your team I am now more into riding than ever so thank you so much for allowing me to get my passion back ❤️

My instructor also has be vibrant my outside rein when the outside foot steps down and it works like magic but no one talks about it. Yes seat and body position is key but that extra little pump with the outside hand helps a lot.

another great lesson my biggest take away was that that the way you sit really effects the way that your horse moves thank you

Loved the small bite size chunks and small goals rather than looking at the big picture. It’s so easy to feel defeated if you can’t do something for long but as you say 2 strides perfect is better than 12 strides wrong! Thanks again for another awesome video! :) x

Such a great video! Super informative but also SUPER inspirational! It's been pretty hard because both my pony and I don't know a ton about dressage and we started because of Your Riding Success. Keep up the great work! x

I have a mare who I need to do less to get more with as she jacks up and I get into an argument with so I think I need to take a step back to take more steps forward and build slowly so thank you for your good reminder of the process not the end result that in fact gives you more process tackled in the way you explained it - I’m loving the little filling in the gaps moments if I’ve got a road block in my progress thanks for being a breath of fresh air in my days of disaster

Thank you for keeping it simple.

I loved the analogy about keeping the shoulders and chest in between the two reins. I think I'm finally learning the TRUE function of the reins. I can't wait to see Arthur in an episode!

In today’s video you taught me how to ride shoulder in!

Such a helpful and uplifting video, thanks Alicia! I think I really needed to hear that - that it’s ok to not do it perfectly or only for a few strides, the important thing is to try and to have FUN! Shoulder in is one of my favourite training aids, but unfortunately criticism from some instructors has dented my confidence. My biggest learning was in thinking of the banana and using my seat to ask for the shoulder in - I find it hard (especially when I’m nervous or a bit tense) not to be a bit heavy with my hands to bend the horse into a shoulder in position so I’ll be really focusing on that next time! x

My biggest takeaway from this session today Alicia is to break things down into smaller more manageable pieces!!!!! Yes! And also it was so good to hear you say INSIDE LEG TO OUTSIDE REIN IS NOT THE ANSWER 🥳🥳🥳

Another great video! Im always thinking about the banana when i ride. Biggest take away for me is small wins - i do tend to try, try, tray again and probably end up confusing the horse and myself! Will try and break moves down into smaller chunks and build up slowly 👍

They go where your weight is not, that seems like it explained %99.9 percent of dressage! 🥳♥️ Also, the giving yourself to be happy with the small victories is huge! Especially for us who are relearning or beginning as adults. Us adult beginners feel like we are behind or wish we could just be at that next level. We have to remind ourselves that we are not grand prix riders (we can be someday) and that being an equestrian is all about the journey, and the journey is laid out with small victories. Thanks for all you do! ♥️👍🏻

This helps so much! I can't wait to start playing with shoulder in ❤

Thank u once again for a fab video I have been using your advis3 with sear and its great xx

Thank you so much for this video! I can’t wait to apply this to my horse and me!

Thanks you so so much I’ve been struggling with the hole shoulder in thing so can’t wait to try this😆 and love you new horse 😍

What I learned is if you concentrate on your seat (banana!) the riding and the movements get light and effortless.

Thank you so much for these videos! I am an eventer (and feel about dressage how everyone else feels about fences) and the videos really help break the steps down and demystify dressage. If you are able to do a video on pole position that would be AMAZING 🤞. There are so many pieces to it - how it relates to warm up versus competition frame or training post warm up, where the poll should be in relation to where they’re at in training (green horses versus grand prix horses and everything in between), and then how to encourage the horses to move through the elevations properly and not “hold” the them there. Even clarifying the differences between pole position and self carriage or how they relate. Hopefully it’s something others also need some clarification on when to expect what 😊?

This was a great video session!

The banana works, it's Amazing, my seat is getting so much better😊🐴 could you please make a video how travere and ranvere looks like?

I love how you have the answer for everything 😹

Thank you! You are helping us a lot🥰 love the way you encourage us to celebrate small wins and have fun😊

Would love a video like this on the canter half pass - my horse is so good to the right but the left is a real battle even to get him to move laterally - I always think I’m the problem 🙈

Great video. Less strength/force in creating a movement and more finesse/softness will accomplish the results, but, BUT, it takes time.Groundwork to introduce is essential.

Amazing as usual my horse would give you a medal from what I've learned from this channel, can't thank you enough ❤ 💥👌

Can you show how to go from shoulder in to a circle and from a circle to shoulder in and how to do shoulder in on a circle and back to two train tracks on a circle and the difference in aids. That would be awesome 🙏🙏🙏🙏 I am really amazed that you do not put your outside leg back when doing shoulder in I have read that so many places! The seat positioning had been an Aha for me..

Would it be possible to make a film how to start lateral movements with young horse, how and when to start , which exersises are the best at first stage ? I mean situation when the horse does not want to make even one step sideways while walking , he stops immediately after the aids. Great film :)

Awesome information, confirms what I’m working on. Love your video, you explain everything so well! Thank you!

It’s mind blowing how the banana and weight shifting seems to be the solution to so many things but nobody really tells you about it 🤯🤩

Not sure my other comment went through, but big aha was to not pull shoulder over and to make soace for rib cage to fill out. banana analogy wonderful! You are the best!!!!l

Love this video. Makes sense 😁

This was wonderful! It really helped me!

Dressage should be easy and a symbionic relationship between horse and rider. Not the rider forcing the horse to do “tricks”. Love the Way you explain how to do the movements without Force 🙏🏻

Love this!!

Thank you so much! Could you talk about fixing horses who like to curl or go behind the vertical?

Hey a few mos ago I was dealing with anxiety to even get on again .. but now I'm pretty confident & nearly ready to try centering but I've got to work on my aids . Thanks for your help though !

Please talk about the difference between doing SF on a horses hollow side versus his stiff side.

Loved this video!! Any tips on sitting to the canter? I tend to move my upper body more than my hips.

Great video!

One takeaway from this video that really helped me was that I know my angle is too steep when the horse loses rhythm and starts feeling different in the contact. I always struggle with knowing how much and how little in the shoulder in. Thank you so much! x Also you're close to always bringing up the banana and sitting on the right side of the banana. In one of your videos I asked how you find the energy to stand up and move to sit on the right side of the banana? I always struggle with sooo many other things (my seat, my leg position, just breathing haha) which really makes the situation way too chaotic for me to think about and do the banana - and when I do I start worrying that I am either doing too much, too little or tipping my torso to the inside for instance instead of sitting to the inside. Do you have any tips for having the mental and physical surplus to do the banana and some guidelines to be sure I am not just leaning in or out, but actually sitting in or out? x

Your explanations are always genius!! I’m still trying not to loosen one of my legs when I sit in the banana to keep my balance…

Great instruction again ! Thank you! Is a loss of Rythm caused by trying to make the angle too steep? I battle to keep the same rhythm as the two track trot and start to lose impulsion

Very helpful-- thank you!

so well explained thank you sooooooo much .xoxoxooxoxooxoxoxox Vivi

I see the banana talked about a lot, but am unsure what it is. I like when you showed with the cell phones about keeping the reins right where they are, not moving the rein out when they pop out.

Lovely thanks. How to do the change of the direction of the horses head softly while moving from shoulder in to the travers? Are both rains softly touching the horses neck all the time?

Waiting patiently!

Would love you to go through canter pirouette. At the moment I am struggling to keep the rhythm, my horse tends to quicken up in the pirouette then looses balance

Tried this today. Oh god. Works wonder. Never done shoulder in trot before on my five gaiter. Not a problem anymore. If not posting do you lidt your self up to position your seat or can you do it more smoothly?

I miss videos like this. 😢

Thank you for that great explanation! My biggest take away from that was just how simple the communication between you are your horse should be. And how much your weight placement affects things. Also, you did kind of touch on this at the beginning, but how do you fix it when your horse wants to cut the corners in a circle or going around the arena? I've been having this problem and I'm not quite sure how to fix it.

So much learning from these videos 😍 so what is the difference between shoulder fore and shoulder in? Or are they pretty much the same?

This has been so helpful, I tried the tip with sitting on the small part of the horse to do a legyield and he did it all by him self, so simple and unforced! And we tried the shoulder in also, worked great! But I couldn't figure out how to place myself in travers, I found that sitting on the outside/big side was better, sitting to the inside/the way you are heading he got confused. What is right? Also he gets too much bend in travers, if I ask him to straighten up a little he falls out of it, travers are tricky for us.

Love your training videos. How do I join Dressage Mastery? I would like to learn more. Thanks again Alicia!! 🎉

Shall I introduce the shoulder in first in a walk or straight in trot?

Has anyone won again Also LOVE your video’s