The Horse Geeks Podcast - Where we look at horses and riding from the inside out

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Topic: Tracking up is a common way that we have been taught to assess horse movement. It means that our horse's hind hoof lands in the hoof print left by the front hoof on the same side. This is supposed to indicate engagement of the hindquarters with a free swing of the hind leg forward. But there are many examples of horses with a very unstable pelvis that are tracking up, even the back can be dropped in spinal extension and the hind hoof can land in the print of the front. So if an unbalanced horse can "track up" than why do we use this visual as a guide at all? It is also possible that the overloaded front legs are not leaving the ground as soon as they should, leaving a hoof imprint that is so far back that even if the hind legs are barely stepping forward the hoof will land in the print. Tracking up is just not an accurate way to assess our horse's balance at all. There are other ways we can see and assess balance if we just let this metric go.

Guest: Deb Romero, certified Alexander Technique Instructor
www.optimalposture.org

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Host: Kirsten Nelsen, professional horse trainer
Developer of Training for Optimal Balance
https://kirstennelsen.com/