I apologise for the length of this reply. As you have discovered, its a confusing, sometimes complex area.:-). And it has taken me a while to figure out how to send this to you (thanks Steph).
The right diagonal refers to the right foreleg and left hindleg (talking left and right with regard to horses is hard for me, I am so much more comfortable with near-side and off-side, so hopefully I wont make any dislexic mistakes). The left diagonal refers to the left foreleg and right hindleg.
It is well accepted in the US (for example, the article on Kerry Ridgeway's website) and Australia that a majority of horses have a stonger left diagonal than right. That is, the majority tend to bear more weight on the left fore-leg and as a consequence, the front left hoof is bigger, the right front hoof is smaller and more upright (there are a million theories of why this is so and would take a PhD to resolve, suffice to say it is multifactorial). This was certainly true of most of the Arabians I saw at Tevis. A consequence of this increased weight-bearing is that, when your horse is in motion, the left hoof spends more time on the ground (stance) and less time in the air (flight) and with a slightly shorter stride when compared to the right foreleg. The reduce air-time and stride length of the left foreleg means the left hindleg has less room to move forward and also takes a slightly shorter step. The increased stance time and weight bearing of
the left foreleg means that there is more time and ability to support the torso and abdomen as the horse moves forward over that leg, so your horse's belly swings more to the left than it does to the right. This increased swing of the belly to the left allows the right hindleg more time and more space to move forward and upward, so is more able to step under the body during the flight phase and so bear weight during the stance phase - further strengthening the left diagonal.This is true for your horse whether or not you are riding him.
On a circle or curve, you (usually) want to enable the inside hindleg to move forward and under the horse so you should rise as the inside hindleg (and outside foreleg) is moving forward. If you are riding a circle to the right, you want to rise as the left diagonal (left foreleg, right hindleg) moves forward. Similarly, riding a circle to the left, rise as the right diagonal (right foreleg, left hindleg) step forward. I think you will find trying to tie this in to looking at the shoulders makes the whole diagonal thing very difficult because the focus comes on the BRIEF INSTANT (not a whole movement, forward or backward, of a diagonal) where you sit or where you are at the top of the rise. By instead bringing you attention to the horse's belly you can focus better on which diagonal is moving forward and rise (or sit) accordingly. When circling to the right, you want to rise as the left diagonal (left foreleg, right hindleg) steps forward. This will
involve your horse's belly swinging from the right to the left, and your right seatbone and thigh will move down and your right calf will move toward the left. When circling to the left, you want to rise as the right diagonal (right foreleg, left hindleg) steps forward. This will involve your horse's belly swinging from the left to the right, and your left seatbone and thigh will move down and your left calf will move toward the right. Focus on the belly helps you become aware of the whole horse, including the hindlegs, withe resulting increased kinaesthesia and less reliance on sight (with its resulting left brain focus). Using this swinging belly also assists in asking for more impulsion when on the circle (asking the inside hindleg to step under and take more weight) by emphasising this swining motion and for asking for any lateral work with inside bend (leg yield, shoulder in).
Your horse's foot is telling you he will circle more consistently and comfortably to the right, where his outside (left) foreleg can support more weight, allow his belly to swing more to the left and allow the inside (right) hind to step under further and then take more weight. That is, you will rising as the left diagonal (left frontleg, right hindleg) moves forward. To make your horse more ambidextrous, you need to rise as the right diagonal (right frontleg, left hindleg) moves forward. Horses that shuffle step are very unilateral and usually require a lot more remedial work than simply riding their weaker diagonal. Also, most horses are much more kinaesthetically aware and able than their riders (ie few riders have the skills to actually correct their horse!)
So that is your horse. But wait, there's more. Most likely you are right handed. Unlike horses, where the horses handedness is considered to be their weightbearing diagonal (for your horse, left handed), in humans, handedness is there more dextrous hand. Usually right handed people do fine motor skills with their right hand and support and brute strength work with their left. Similarly, most of us are right-legged, where the right leg does the dextrous task (kicking the soccer ball) while the left leg suports the weight. Right handed (and legged) people will generally have contraction on the right side of their bodies: the right shoulder will be forward, the right hip will be higher, the right heel will be higher. This pattern of posture in the rider reinforces the postural patterns of the left handed (strong left diagonal) horse. There are definite objective differences that result (ie you rise higher on one diagonal than the other) but subjective
descriptions are more difficult ( you say rougher but what is rougher? some might say more vigourous, more energetic others might say requires more muscular effort; it is too vague to use as a guide as to which diagonal needs work, you need to reframe the discussion otherwise contributors personal perceptions will make 'felt' comparisons useless). Rider biomechanics and perceptions thereof are really complex, and I am too scared to go there. But, at a guess from your descriptions so far, I would say your right adductor is weaker than your left - if so you would find it easier to rise more vigorously (whether that is more or less comfortable depends on what you 'like'), regardless of the horse you ride, when you rise as the left diagonal moves forward.
The short answer is: post more often as the right diagonal steps forward.
cheers
Dunc
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