Horses are capable only of developing in stages and in the earlier periods they don’t yet look technically correct but the only way to solve that is to ride them in a manner that will eventually allow them to sustain a more desirable frame. Horses can be behind the vertical for various reasons. We are often in the process of retraining (or redeveloping) horses that have developed this evasion of contact. Usually its because they have been previously been ridden from “front to back”, sometimes its a conformation issue.

Whatever the cause it has to be dealt with in a systematic process, and yes they will be in a less than ideal position occasionally but you have to ride the horse in whatever position the horse needs AT THAT TIME and sometimes that means the horse will go through stages that appear not “correct”. What is important in all of this is the hindlegs. If they occasionally come behind the vertical this is acceptable if the horse is starting to come through, reach and bend his hindlegs, use his back then , and only then, will the horse start to become strong enough and accept the correct contact, and will no longer be “behind the vertical”.

behind the vertical correct form riding