10/13/2026
Hey upper level students….you guys ready to cry with me as we learn something new?
Jk jk
Might be some groaning though.
I have discovered there (like much of the silly horse world) are multiple definitions for the same term again….so here we go
3-TRACK SHOULDER-FORE ON A SINGLE TRACK
&
4-TRACK SHOULDER-FORE ON A DOUBLE TRACK
There’s been a ton of confusion since my post on shoulder-fore taught on a single track.
People unfamiliar with this were sure I must be mistaken!
That’s the thing about studying classical horsemanship…
What might at first seem contradictory, is often consilient.
For me, that’s why it’s so important to rely on direct sources.
As a rider and teacher, I find it very helpful to understand ALL of these progressions, and when and why each one might be of benefit to a horse or rider.
A single track shoulder-fore, as taught by Seunig and Herbermann, among others, and also known as ‘first position’ by Seunig, but not others, is started with the outside limbs aligned on the same set of hoof tracks.
It’s entered back to front, via our inside seatbone connection to the inside hind.
We simply swing the inside hind to aim between the front legs…
Someone in the comments called this ‘threading the needle,’ and I love that description.
It’s actually surprisingly difficult to do without the outside shoulder or hind popping out of alignment, so being able to feel their position in our outside rein and outside leg is key.
You’d be suprised how many riders who consider themselves adept at lateral work CANNOT swing the inside hind with their seatbone without the horse falling off the track with their outside limbs...
Often because we are using our seat or leg when the wrong hind leg is in the air!
And then we wonder why we have no bend or rotation!
The inside hind can only create as much bend and rotation as the outside of the horse is capable of containing.
There are also a lot of riders who can’t manage lateral work without hanging on the inside rein…
I can ride one-handed, here, because the bend is coming from my inside seatbone and outside leg.
To me, the real beauty of this exercise is that because there’s no shoulder displacement, not only is it that much easier to notice any misalignment that does occur, there are no rein manipulations, so there’s no risk of creating incorrect spinal rotations or head tilting with the hand.
I find this progression particularly helpful for hypermobile or rotationally asymmetric horses, and riders with inside rein-itis.
Steinbrecht taught his version of shoulder-fore/position on a single track as a shoulder displacement to the inside to align the inside shoulder with the inside hind.
Herbermann progressed his 3-track shoulder-fore on a singular track to a 4-track shoulder-fore, angling wider than the horse’s width to come onto a second track, where finally, he progressed to a shoulder-in with 3 hoof tracks.
I find that while the 4-track shoulder-fore does help progress the necessary shoulder displacement for shoulder-in, many riders will lose track of the outside hind at this stage, falling into a leg yield as they lose the bend and rotation out the outside hind.
In closing, we could talk about whether or not we need to displace shoulders to compensate for shoulder/hip width discrepancy.
But does shoulder/hip width discrepancy affect limb alignment?
And is lining up shoulders and hips synonymous with lining up limbs?
I find the answer is… it depends.
I prefer to focus on feeling hoof tracks, as all horses are different.
Some horses have shoulders just as wide as hips, or their hoof tracks don’t necessarily match their frame.
Photos from this excellent article…
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2020/11/erik-herbermann-essential-reading-for-any-dressage-rider/
BELOW:
3-track shoulder-fore on a singular track.
4-track shoulder-fore on a double track.
3-track shoulder-in.
