Collection

Your horse was not designed to carry the weight of a rider, so it is absolutely crucial to therefore teach your horse to move in an efficient fashion to ensure long-term soundness and health, even if you never take that collection to its highest levels or have intentions of competing at the FEI level. So, how is it developed at its foundation, in the beginning stages??

This question is asked over and over again - people asking as they bring a new or old or re-habbed or young horse (back) into work, so I felt a post further addressing and elaborating this oft seemingly intangible subject, was in order. I myself am still learning and evolving so I will address what I can and continue to add as my knowledge increases.

So where do you start?

Keeping in mind the training scale, your first goal with a horse commencing dressage work or flatwork is - relaxation. This starts with developing the horse in an emotional sense - developing him to be calmer (ie, relaxed), braver (ie, more confident), and smarter (ie, less reactive). When the horse is developed in an emotional sense, it reflects in his body. With a mentally relaxed horse, you have a physically relaxed horse (barring physical pain of course!). With this, rhythm in gait is established and developed, as is suppleness. At this point, the horse starts reaching for contact, impulsion is developed, and with that straightness occurs. The last step is refining what the horse is offering - refining and further developing that collection. Asking the horse to engage and lift its shoulders, to load the hind end and increasingly work from behind.

In respect to relaxation - the foundation of the training scale, take a look at the following article:

Let Your Nervous Horse Realize It's Tired

Expanding upon this, it is important to incorporate relaxation into your session with any horse, whether naturally prone to nervousness or not. Don't underestimate the importance of rest breaks and neck rubs! All too often (and I am probably the worst offender!), we riders get into 'work mode' and forget the importance of the simplest of things. Incorporate as many rest breaks into your session with your horse, as possible - it is just another tool, another (crucial) task. The more encouragement toward relaxation you incorporate, the further relaxed your horse can become throughout the session. Each session will feed into the next and with time, you create a habit of relaxation.

Keep in mind throughout this it may be necessary to balance trust vs. respect, draw vs. drive, and go vs. woah, to name a few qualities. Each horse will have certain tendencies toward these qualities, based on their innate personality (or, horsenality). The laid back, confident, 'lazy' horse will require a person to earn more respect (which will transfer to respect toward your aids), more draw (ie, desire of the horse to want to be with you), and more forward. The spooky, fearful horse will require the rider to earn more trust (in them and also in their ability to lead that horse), to ensure an appropriate balance of draw and drive (ie, neither an insecure horse who bolts over top of you for security nor a horse unwilling to follow your lead and have sufficient draw), and to ensure sufficient 'woah'. All these qualities can easily and simply be balanced out via exercises and patterns that engage and teach the horse. Each horse will have certain tendencies based on certain traits and characteristics, so it is vital to understand your horse and thus how to tailor your program to your horse, so as to have the ability to progress the horse through the training scale (you need a 'balanced' horse ready for work, to start!).

The very first step in developing collection in the horse, as it pertains to the physical aspect, is to develop 'pushing power'. Pushing power eludes to the development of the hindquarters. Without correct development of the hind leg, it cannot be expected of the horse to later load its haunches. Sufficient strength must first be developed in the hind leg so as to generate sufficient power - the horse's engine. As strength is developed, power may be generated - this power, this energy, is then permitted to flow over a loose back, and into the hand of the rider, where it may be recycled via a 'circle of aids'. This circle of aids is comprised of the hand and seat and leg, which merely guide throughout. Pushing power can be developed via hills, groundpoles, lateral work, spiraling circles, small jumps, transitions, changes in pace within gaits, etc. Start with very large, loopy circular exercises - 20m circles at most (smallest) to start. This can all be done on very little to no contact (ie, on a loose rein); the exercises themselves prevent the horse from plowing around on the forehand - they naturally require some level of engagement when the horse is ridden correctly, yet they do not ask of the horse a higher level of collection and engagement than the horse is capable. Developing pushing power can take months to up to a year or more.

It is important to note that all levels of the training scale are initiated by the horse and not the rider. The rider - and the rider's aids - are merely (softly) guiding. The rider can no more force contact than they can relaxation or rhythm. This means the rider sets the horse up - with certain parameters - via patterns and exercises, to naturally progress through the training scale on their own. My two favourite exercise books to recommend are: Progressive Schooling Exercises for Dressage & Jumping by Islay Auty, and 101 Dressage Exercises for Horse & Rider. The rider may then use their aids to guide, then refine, what their horse offers.

The next step is to develop 'carrying power'. This requires the horse to further develop its topline (including its neck, which is very crucial to self-carriage!) and abdominal muscles, among others. Carrying power and self-carriage is further developed with natural progression of the above such exercises and ultimately involves encouraging the horse to gradually and progressively lift its shoulders and load its haunches. This is where the well-timed half-halt (soft closing of the hands - ie, squeezing of a sponge) may be used! The shoulders lift and become freer, the poll lifts with the progression of balance and strength, and the haunches increasingly load as weight is shifted from the forehand to the hind.

If your goal is (re)conditioning your horse and developing at least a moderate level of collection, start with developing your horse's pushing power. From there - and even during this process - it is important to seek the correct instruction so as to continuously guide and encourage your horse into offering energy and correct movement you can then refine and further develop. Everything should be a natural, harmonious progression and if you are experiencing resistance in your horse, you should consider you might be asking the wrong question(s) or asking the question(s) wrong.

The 9 Ethical Principles of the True Horseman

From Tug Of War: Classical Versus "Modern" Dressage by Dr. Gerd Heuschmann

I found the below at the conclusion of the book above and thought they were pretty important principles to consider and always keep in mind as we work with our horses. So, here, the 9 ethical principles of the true horseman:

1. Anyone involved with a horse takes over responsibility for this living creature entrusted to him.

2. The horse must be kept in a way that is in keeping with its natural living requirements.

3. Highest priority must be accorded to the physical as well as the psychological health of the horse, irrespective of the purpose for which it is used.

4. Man must respect every horse alike, regardless of its breed, age and sex and its use for breeding, for recreation or in sporting competition.

5. Knowledge of the history of the horse, its needs, and how to handle it are part of our historical-cultural heritage. This information must be cherished and safeguarded in order to be passed on to the next generations.

6. Contact and dealings with horses are character-building experiences and of valuable significance to the development of the human being - in particular, the young person. This aspect must always be respected and promoted.

7. The human who participates in equestrian sport with his horse must subject himself, as well his horse to training. The goal of any training is to bring about the best possible harmony between rider and horse.

8. The use of the horse in competition as well as in general riding, driving and vaulting must be geared toward the horse's ability, temperament and willingness to perform. Manipulating a horse's capacity to work by means of medication or other "horse-unfriendly" influences should be rejected by all and people engaged in such practices should be prosecuted.

9. The responsibility a human has for the horse entrusted to him includes the end of the horse's life. The human must always assume this responsibility and implement any decision in the best interest of the horse.

Competitive Trail

I wanted to share the video below of what constitutes to me a REAL trail class! Enjoy:



In my opinion, THIS is a true test. The horse is asked to do all the things it would find in the real world - boulders, logs, steep hills, water... isn't that what Trail is all about? These are ALL the things I have always expected of my horses out in the real world. The rails-on-the-ground competitive trail the AQHA has out there just is not an accurate test IMO, as it does not relate to reality whatsoever. I mean, how many times have I had to ask my horse to go over various rails (granted, laying in various directions and at differing heights...) and little flat wooden bridges, or open a ROPE gate? Never. Yet we have had to jump massive logs at a moment's notice, gallop through brush, swerving trees, or gallop down rutty roads where the footing was terrible and iffy (and invisible, thanks to long grass), bolt or slide down steep hills, clamber up impossible-looking cliffs, and tromp our way through rivers, streams, and thick sinking bogs. We've had to walk over wooden and concrete bridges that actually had WATER beneath them, and open gates that were NOT, I can assure you, made of rope. I suppose "to each their own" and maybe the modern version of Trail is okay by some people. I just find it absurd. On the other hand, I do recognise it to be a challenge to perform in itself and so give credit where it's due in that regard - I suppose it is sort of like agility for dogs (and even that is different , much more respectable IMO, and has more variance!). At least the horse has a job to do, just since we often rely upon our horses for practical purposes, I feel like we should maybe be competing in a more practical sense too, like our competitions should reflect what we REALLY do with our horses. HOWEVER, who am I to impose MY beliefs on others ;)

Enjoy the below, if you enjoy the AQHA version of Trail:



Let me say I DO respect and admire the fine nuances and intimate/subtle communication between horse and rider. That takes a LOT of work and refinement! BUT, it is almost (ALMOST) over-ridden by my severe dislike of the lame-looking jog and lope and the nose-to-the-ground fad upheld even at the World levels (and every level below). These horses are not using themselves correctly. Of course a horse has to have its head lowered so as to see the obstacles set in front of him, but what is demonstrated in the above video is to an extreme. Yes, I know what a horse should look like doing Trail and going over obstacles in real life, because I've ridden such horses in real life. My Quarab drops his nose literally to the ground when he is watching his feet in the bush, especially at high speeds. But that head comes up sometimes too!! It varies according to how he is using himself, the footing at hand, etc. It doesn't STAY on the ground, irregardless. The horse in the video has his nose dropped as soon as he enters the course, even BEFORE he has to go over obstacles, so the excuse "well, he has to be able to see the obstacles in front of him!" doesn't fly with me. That nose dropped so low is much too extreme for my taste. BUT, then again, to each their own. The only place I draw the line is if/when such a position becomes detrimental to the horse because the horse is not using its body efficiently, etc. *sigh*

Laying Horses Down

Recently I spotted the below video, which initiated between an acquaintance and I a conversation about the benefits versus the possible detriments of laying a horse down. Said acquaintance felt that laying a horse down would trigger a dissociative response in said horse, that it would cause a horse to "shut down". While the below video showed actually very little of the actual process, I like the man's thinking and overall way of working with horses, which leads me to believe the way in which he laid down the horse in the video to be beneficial and not harmful to the horse in question. I particularly like the following statement by the man in the video: ‎"...and what I'm doing with a horse is just to change what he thinks, to listen to me, what I think...to get control, in a nice way. And in the horse's language too." Personally I do not feel the horse would be apt to shut down if handled appropriately - overall, whether that include laying the horse down or any other work one might do with the horse. Laying a horse down I feel might be equated to an extent to laying a dog down - something I have done, with success, and without the dog shutting down. It is not the action itself that causes the animal to shut down, but how the action is performed. That said, laying a horse down on the ground places the horse in a very submissive and vulnerable position. While it requires trust of the horse, it will also initiate a lot of trust in the horse, when done correctly. It places the horse in situation where he is gently "forced" to trust his handler and as such, the horse is able to relax and build further trust in his handler as he learns and the handler earns said trust. Personally, I think laying down a horse could be a very valuable tool, though I have yet to use it myself (though I definitely have intentions of doing so!). I think the proof is in the pudding: doing so (correctly) with many horses seems to greatly benefit training and development of the horse in question, and I have yet to meet a horse who "shut down" or who did not respond positively overall, when it was done (again, correctly). A trainer has to be careful in their approach however, as laying a horse down incorrectly - ie, roughly and in a manner where the horse is scared and distrustful, will only undo a horse's training and development as opposed to further it.

Check out the video below and research the method further, then draw your own conclusions:

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