ROMANCING MY HORSE
By Darrel
Purdy
Even just their image caught on photograph or film
can touch our hearts and take our breath. Where there is a soul there is
admiration if not sheer passion for a horse. Though, for the fortunate
ones who have taken the journey, it is something all together over the
moon to dance with one. Dressage runs over with poetry because it tells
the story of a relationship between two all together different creatures
with completely different characteristics that brought together can create
something beautiful to watch and remarkable to share with each other.
Unlike anything else dressage blends the very best of horse and rider into
something uniquely singular and as any romance will testify, the
commitment, care and discipline required can be seen and is what stirs the
emotion beneath the beauty within the motion they create.
The romance is important to keep alive, because
dressage can never withstand the shallows of an affair. True romance grows
and continues to evolve and so must have a practical side by which to be
measured and rules where by its limits can be tested. In dressage that
practical side is called “The Training Scale.” It is the theory behind
the dance that all the desire and passion in the world can never go far
without. But such practical details shouldn’t cool the artistic spirit
because the sheer beauty and romance of the training scale is watching it
appear from the saddle and crossing the threshold between holding on and
truly meeting the motion and making a partnership with your horse.
Dressage should be an inspired process of familiar components, not a
desperate search to feed a passionate infatuation, flirting with vague
descriptions of an ambiguous puzzle.
So, for the once bitten who may have had their desire
undone by the expense or frustration of seemingly convoluted theories and
interpretations, take heart it isn’t as overwhelming as one might think.
After all, there is only one scale with just six parts to recognize. The
rest is practicing those skills that physically define and manage them.
And that is where the romance and adventure begins.
If you’ve never heard of “The Training Scale,”
it is a very carefully laid out formula that has been passed down to us
for the purpose of outlining exactly how to communicate with a horse on
their terms (in their body language). Some well-educated expert’s work
very hard re-examining and tweaking the dressage tests every four years in
order to better illustrate the training scale and how each of the parts
should be introduced and developed through the levels. Competition is
important for this very reason - judging progress is An important tool for
keeping on track.
There are a few ground rules to help keep the romance
from becoming a fatal attraction. First, no infatuating on the end goal,
this scares off both people and horses and is why many of us go out for
coffee before agreeing to dinner. Discover fulfillment in the journey and
fall in love with the process. Second, your sins will find you out. There
are no short cuts that will not withhold punishment sooner or later. No
rationalizing, skipping, discarding or exchanging a seemingly easier
strategy to satisfy yourself - your partner will know the difference.
Third, searching, wishing or whispering after some mystic connection only
raises glorious distraction around something simpler, more beautiful and
easier to realize on its own. Finally, and this may be more of a law then
a rule, nothing on this planet is “born free.” Dogs live by the rules
and boundaries of the pack, horses live by the rules and boundaries of the
herd, people live by the laws and rules of society. When working with an
animal you enter their world. You do not gift to them human
characteristics that are not in their nature and then take out your
frustration when they are not obliged to accept.
One last suggestion, at the end of this piece it will still be there, so relax and don’t try and get it all the first time through. Each of the six individual parts sheds fresh insight and perspective on the others. In other words they all work together, the objective being to ride them as a whole. Part of the ambition going into this project was to make it as short and simple as possible. To make it easy to look back a paragraph or two if a flash of light suddenly helped clarify something else. In that way this project is meant more to open doors than tell everything about what’s on the other side.
Three Steps to
Romancing “The Training Scale”
Step 1: Physically defining “The Training Scale” from the horse’s perspective.
Step 2: Creating a Workspace for the “Training Scale” from the saddle.
Step 3: Visualizing and Shaping, “The Training
Scale” with the horse.
Dressage is often compared to dancing with a horse,
because it is. The goal then should be to break “The Training Scale”
out of the theoretical classroom and bring it to life on the arena floor.
To make that happen we need to know “The Training Scale” from our
partner’s perspective; second, recognize “The Training Scale” within
the space of the saddle and relationship with our partner; and third, know
how to shape and manage “The Training Scale” with our partner.
Three steps to an endless adventure filled romance.
Who in their right mind would want to end goal a proposal like that.
Step
1: Physically Defining “The Training Scale” From the Horse’s
Perspective:
There are six active parts to “The Training
Scale.” The order is important and why the scale is sometimes referred
to as “The Training Pyramid,” rhythm being the foundation and
collection being the peak. Tip: the order is important to understanding
how each part works with the others from the horse’s hindquarters
forward.
The six parts of “The Training Scale are:
1. Rhythm
2. Suppleness
3. Connection
4. Impulsion
5. Straightness
6.
Collection
Rhythm: “Rhythm” is the foundation of the
“Training Scale” because the forward thrust and balance of the horse
is initiated by the placement and timing of the horse’s hind legs. In
other words the horse has to push off with equal balance on both hind legs
in order for they’re to be an even rhythm. Think of rhythm as having two
active parts that just so happen to be their own parts of the scale,
“suppleness” and “impulsion”. The compression phase of the
horse’s motion is where “suppleness” begins with the placement and
weight bearing of each hind foot on the ground, followed by
“impulsion,” or the thrust of each hind leg pushing off the ground.
Compression, thrust, compression, thrust equals rhythm and managing that
locomotion is the starting point for both the lateral and longitudinal
balance of the horse’s forward motion to the contact.
Suppleness: “Suppleness” has been replaced
with “relaxation” which arguably opens the door for more vague
interpretation. Maybe “suppleness” is to narrow a term for some people
but apparently it is closer to the German translation that so happens to
be the language the “The Training Scale” originated from. Not being
much of a committee type guy, lets stay with “suppleness”.
Once the horse is pushing off with equal weight and
balance from the hind legs it is a natural next step in the conversation
to ask them to give through the neck. “Suppleness” is the process of
engaging the top line of the horse’s neck with the dorsal muscles over
the back, by gently flexing or rotating the pole from side to side and
removing any tension between them. “Suppleness” is key to the
horse’s back and neck going forward in sync. One half of the back cannot
swing so well without the other. In other words, if the hindquarters is
not properly balanced and engaged the dorsal muscles over the back cannot
lift equally and swing properly. Likewise, if the neck is stiff or
blocking in the base, the back hollows and hindquarters cannot properly
engage. What all that means is once the horse is balanced in the rhythm
the next step is the neck must be loose (supple or relaxed) enough to move
or bend easily from one side to the other without catching or blocking and
thus laterally and or longitudinally disconnecting with the rest of the
horses back. “Suppleness”
in the neck allows the energy created from behind to channel through the
neck so that the horse can comfortably accept and move into the contact.
It’s important to understand the contact is created not by pulling or
drawing back with the reign but supplying the neck so that the horse
reaches down to the bit, encouraged by the balanced rhythm from the
hindquarters.
Watch a horse in side reigns on a lunge line. When
pushing off with the correct weight on the hindquarters the inside
(pivoting) hind leg hits the ground under the horse so that when they push
off they are able to give at the girth. Followed by the outside hind
pushing off in the direction of the bend. From the center of the circle
you can see more of the surface of the saddle, the compression in the seat
is deep and the tempo regular. The Dorsal muscles over the back lift
(contract) and push off (swing). That energy from the hindquarters is then
able to continue through the neck, to the bit and toward the direction of
the circle. By contrast if the weight shifts more toward the outside hind
leg the haunches drift to the inside of the circle as well the rib cage
bulges inward rather then giving at the girth and the horse is now pushing
off out of balance in relation to the line they are suppose to be
traveling. In this case the surface of the saddle is less visible, the
compression shallow and tempo irregular, the dorsal muscles over the back
are flat and there is little if any swing (Contraction and stretching),
the horse then uses their neck in much the same way that we would flail
our arms to attempt to recover our balance, causing the muscles to push
back from underneath. Whether on a circle or on the rail makes no
difference, proper balance of the horse begins with the hind legs pushing
off the ground in balanced rhythm, which engages the back and is projected
through the supplying of the neck to the contact.
Connection: “Connection” has both a
lateral and longitudinal component. Laterally, the base of the neck must
be managed so that it remains in alignment with the rest of the spine, so
that when the horse pushes off with equal weight on the hind legs the
energy created from behind can continue un-interrupted over the back and
neck to the contact. In other words, the neck is the horse’s back in
front of the rider and must be in sync and alignment with the spine and
dorsal muscles over the back in order for the horse to move forward in
balance. For example, if the base of the horse’s neck drifts to the
right the horse pushes off with more weight on the right hind leg than the
left causing them to drift through the left shoulder and vise versa. In
either case the uneven stride from behind results in unbalanced alignment
with the back and neck causing a loss of balanced contact to the bit.
Longitudinally, the base of the neck must be allowed to move forward with
the rest of the back and not be reigned in. This sort of tension in the
reigns translates into the neck pushing back and resisting or blocking the
energy from going through the neck, which hollows the rest of the top
line.
Impulsion: “Impulsion” follows
“connection because neither horse or human wants to commit to forward
thrust if they are out of balance. When the horse is pushing off the
ground in a balanced rhythm from the hindquarters, is supple to both sides
and in alignment through the back and neck so that they are comfortable
accepting the bit (the rider is neither pulling back or letting go of the
contact) next comes the confidence to engage the thrust from behind and
move into the contact. Such balanced, engaged thrust from behind
establishes the “longitudinal balance” of the horse while helping
manage the “lateral balance” much the same way a bicycle needs to
cover ground in order to stay upright and follow a balanced track.
Straightness: The coordinated elements of
rhythm, suppleness, connection and impulsion can all be physically defined
by their contribution to the longitudinal and lateral balance of the
horse’s motion. “Straightness” comes with aligning those elements
(longitudinal and lateral balance) of the horse on a designated track.
That is, “straightness” is the engaged, rhythm of balance, suppleness,
connection through the back to the bit and thrust managed on a confident
line.
Collection: “Collection” is managing and
adjusting the length of stride without disrupting or changing the rhythm.
For a young horse this means establishing the half-halts for re-balancing
or preparing for transitions while in either a working frame or stretching
in a long and low frame. A half halt has two ends, first shortening the
stride and then lengthening the stride. Between the two ends is
“collection” which builds muscle over the top line of the horse.
Muscle they will need for shortening and lengthening the trot and canter
at the mid levels and later on where still more thrust over even less
ground is required for higher degrees of collection in both the trot and
canter in the upper levels.
Summery: “The Training Scale” is made of
six active parts, significant to the nature of the horse’s motion. They
are rhythm, suppleness, connection, impulsion, straightness and
collection. Each part can be physically defined by their active role in
the lateral and longitudinal balance that creates the horse’s motion.
“Rhythm” is the foundation of the scale because the horse’s motion
begins with the placement and timing of the horse’s hind legs, which
establishes the balance and forward thrust of the motion. “Suppleness”
is the flexibility through the neck, pole and jaw that makes it possible
for the balanced thrust from the hind legs, which engages the dorsal
muscles over the horse’s back to follow through the neck to the contact.
Once the horse’s neck is “supple” from side to side managing the
“connection,” that is the alignment of the horse’s neck with the
rest of their back makes it possible for the thrust from behind to
continue uninterrupted over the entire top line of the horse to the bit.
Once the horse is in balance they are willing and able to commit the
“impulsion” that is activate the thrust from the hindquarters.
“Straightness” is then the alignment of these first four elements on
the designated line or track. “Collection” is the shortening of stride
without interrupting the rhythm of the horse’s locomotion.
Tip: For some this might be a good place to
take a break and go visit your horse. Maybe work them a little on a lunge
line and identify each of the six parts of the scale in action, watching
from the ground. In any case don’t rush into a great pile of words, let
them breath a little. The next step will be to create a workspace from the
saddle from which to identify the scale. Then revisit each of the six
parts from the saddle so that they become visible and manageable. Take
your time.
Step
2: Creating a Workspace for the “Training Scale” from the Saddle.
Before you can physically define the training scale
from the saddle you need a visual frame to put it in. This technique is
similarly used for speed and comprehension reading. The idea is to keep
all four corners of a book within your vision and not hard focus on one
word at a time. The idea being hard focusing stresses the brain into
memorizing individual words while passing over actual information
thoughts, concepts and ideas.
There are multiple tasks to manage while in motion
with a horse. Hard focusing on one element at a time allows others to slip
by and riding becomes less managing and more having to catch up and try
and recover. That said, experiment with stretching your peripheral sight
line vertically and then horizontally. You may have heard riders and
trainers refer to this technique as “soft eyes.” However, make no
mistake this is not meant to relax your vision and there is nothing hazy
or blurry about it. It takes some practice to maintain.
Looking straight ahead from this field of vision you
should also be able to take in the horse’s pole, the base of the neck
and even the top front of your thighs. From this field of vision one can
multitask; that is ride the test or exercise with the horse in one fluid
composition by watching the track ahead and using it as a reference for
visually shaping and managing the horse’s balance and impulsion. All six
parts of the “Training Scale” can be seen and managed from this
perspective. The skill comes with knowing exactly what to do with your
body to positively effect and communicate with the horse.
Step
3: Visualizing and Shaping “The Training Scale” with the Horse.
Once you have created a frame of reference or
workspace, filling in “The Training Scale” is as simple as recognizing
the physical relationship each component has to the lateral and
longitudinal balance of the horse. This is where “The Training Scale”
begins transforming itself from theory into action, which illuminates the
communication sparking the romance that develops the confidence between
rider and horse (aka. the magic).
Rhythm (Balancing the Compression and
Thrust):
The horse’s power or thrust is initiated from the
hindquarters. We want to manage that thrust off the ground so that it
doesn’t propel itself out of balance from the start. We are told to do
this by sitting in the middle of the saddle, which sounds ridiculously
simple, but in reality is anything but. We all have individual
asymmetries, and trying to overcome them by sense of touch or “feel”
can be a long and arduous task, since our bodies are so well accustomed to
the way we carry ourselves. A much easier way to train and manage our
bodies to the correct center of balance is to visually (from the lower
peripheral vision) simply point each knee down toward each of the
horse’s respective front legs. This effect’s the “longitudinal
balance” of the horse and rider by vertically aligning the rider’s
hips and pelvis closer to the pommel which is the horses center of
balance. Note this also moves the rider’s leg off the back of the thigh
to positioning more emphases on the front of the thigh and in a far more
balanced position where the legs hang directly below the rider’s seat.
From this position experiment by pointing one knee slightly out and notice
how it draws the inner thigh and pelvis away from the pommel, shifting the
weight and balance to the flat part of the seat and behind the horse’s
center of balance. Consider if someone sitting on your shoulders leaned
back that much? The horse’s reaction is remarkably similar; adjusting to
the weight dropping backward from their center of balance their neck
raises from underneath and pushes back from the withers, hallowing their
back just the same.
This changes the lower leg as well by allowing it to
drop away from the horse’s sides (what some trainers refer to as a
“breathing leg”). Tip: No pinching with your knees, all you’ll do is
restrict your horse’s shoulder and give yourself rug burns on the inside
of your knees. Major Anders Lindgren would walk up to students, position
their leg, gently lift them away from the saddle then let them drop back
into position, “like sweat dripping off the horse’s sides,” he’d
say.
This is where I tell my students not to get hung up
on “equitation” because though looking good is always a plus, the
romance is more about what the rider and horse can do for each other.
Trying to hold a position or hang on to your partner is no way to swoon
them. Like dancing, dressage is fluid motion, the art of which is managing
the flow.
Experiment next with how this position effects the
“lateral balance.” Again, point one knee slightly out and see how it
shortens the length of thigh on that side of the saddle and shifts the
seat and weight respectively to the opposing side, resulting in the
horse’s weight moving off the hind leg on the side the rider’s knee is
pointing out and settling on the other. Not a good thing for square halts
or balanced movement from the hind end.
Tip: Spend some time watching some great Olympic rider’s, they have this seat position down solid. Also, if this position feels uncomfortable or you find yourself struggling to hold or hang on, there is a term for it, “fighting the tack,” and it’s very likely that your saddle doesn’t fit either you or your horse or both. Sorry for that.
Now that you have a visual reference of where the
center of the saddle is and a system by which to manage it, ask the horse
to walk by first deciding which hind leg you want to push off with first.
For example, if you decide on the right, begin by dropping your knee so
that your hip rotates toward the pommel and right seat pushes down and
back against the cantle. The horse will respond by applying more weight
and pushing off with their right hind leg. If they don’t, then use a
little lower leg on that side without sacrificing your position. It
doesn’t take much because you are not desensitizing the horse’s sides
by gripping there with your leg. Follow this with the following left leg,
hip and seat.
Quality leg aids depend on the subtle managing of
your knee, or thigh angles for proper balance, but they need to move with
the horse, don’t try and holding them there, being stiff is no way to
dance. More to the point, we want to accentuate the positive, and use
every instance one knee or the other shortens and lifts up and out as an
opportunity to practice making the adjustment. The art of riding is
reshaping the horse through these small adjustments. Tip: Note if while
articulating your seat and leg with the horse you collapse in say your
right ribcage, subsequently your left knee will lift up and out.
Compression in the saddle is created not by rolling from side to side, but
playing off the cantle. To be consistently balanced in the saddle both
knees must point down no matter what hind leg the horse is pushing off
with.
Apply this system to the posting trot. There are a
few things to add here that may help. First, the compression phase of the
post is most important. It’s where we influence where the horse will put
its weight and how then it will push off. The forward phase is a
reflection of how well the compression has been managed. That said,
beginner riders often have less weight in their irons in the down or
compression phase of the post then they do in the forward (or as they
think of it the “up phase”). Take notice, if the weight comes out of
the irons in the compression or downward phase the thigh shortens and
knees point slightly or worse up and out. Affording the rider absolutely
no means of making any coherent lateral adjustment to the horse’s hind
end placing their seat well behind the center of balance making it
unreasonable for whatever impulsion may come from behind to have any
prayer of making it over the horses back through the neck and to the bit.
Experiment by putting equal weight in both irons (not
the heals, the irons), but not so much as to sacrifice the knee and thigh
angles. Done correctly, this lowers the center of balance and draws the
lower legs under the seat adding to a deeper feel (some trainers refer to
this as riding from the waist down as opposed to the waist up). After the
compression allow the thrust from the hind end to rock your seat forward
instead of lifting out of the saddle. Play with influencing the balance
and shape of the horse in the compression by adjusting thigh (knee) angles
with similar weight and balance in the irons as the seat.
Suppleness (The Horses back in front of the
saddle):
Becoming more aware of balanced compression and
thrust from the horse’s hind legs sets the stage for “suppleness”.
While adjusting knee / thigh angles creates endless opportunity to
practice managing asymmetries and build a more sensitive system of
rhythmic balance, this is only half of the horse’s back. There is still
the neck (aka. the horse’s back in front of the saddle). It stands to
reason one part of the horse’s back cannot swing and be supple without
the other. There are numerous exercises, patterns and some conflicting
schools of thought on how best to accomplish suppleness through the
horse’s neck. Possibly because there are as many different conformations
and issues among horses. It takes time, experience and education watching
the masters to get schooled recognizing those differences and matching
them with the relative strategy. That said, approach “suppleness” like
a misuse. Approach the beginning of a warm up looking for that kink or
bottled up bit of tension in the neck and be empathetic. Really, is there
anything worse than being attacked by a bad neck massage when you’re
already tight or even painful; bony, unfeeling fingers recklessly digging
into already burning muscles, clearly more interested in what’s on the
television, “how’s that babe, is there any beer in the fridge.”
In the beginning training of a young horse and the
warming up of a trained horse the neck needs to be flexible so that it
easily bends and stretches down from one side to the other. Once this is
accomplished the horse is working to the contact and a reflection of the
balanced thrust from the hind legs swinging over the back and through the
neck can be felt in the reigns. This fundamental motion can then be
developed into the lateral movements which themselves become supplying
exercises of which build more strength and balance to move up the levels.
Tip: Try thinking less in terms of inside and
outside aids in the warm up, the partnership needs to be supple on both
sides equally regardless. Get off the walls of the arena and have fun
ridding the quarter line; play with changes of bend using figure eights
and serpentine patterns. Discover how much fun it is going from one bend
to the other, preparing the horse by moving a little more weight to the
new inside hind leg adding ease of balance to the new bend. Likewise, play
with this same idea going from one lateral movement to another. For
example, leg-yield off the wall a few strides then change the bend and leg
yield back, leg yield nose to the wall to traverse, shoulder-in to renvers,
leg-yield off the wall and half pass back. Try these same exercises off
the wall, on the quarter or centerlines but all the while regarding the
fundamental of loosening the horse’s neck and back.
Connection (The Lateral and Longitudinal
Balance of the Neck and Back):
There needs to be a very clear distinction between
“connection” and “contact” in the mind of the rider. Contact is
achieved by balanced “rhythm” and “suppleness” through the neck.
“Connection is most easily physically defined by the relationship
between the horse’s neck and back and there is no better view than from
the saddle to see “connection” in action. For a moment forget
everything about the inside being the “bending reign” and the outside
being the “balancing reign,” and just think of using both to manage
(not hold) the base of the horses neck between the shoulders. Managing the
alignment at the base of the neck with the rest of the horse’s spine is
physically defining the lateral adjustments to the “connection”. As a
general rule the relationship between “suppleness” and
“connection” is performing the flexion through both sides of the neck
without sacrificing the alignment of the spine at the base of the neck.
It’s exciting to see the “The training Scale”
begin to take shape. To physical see when the base of the neck slips to
say the right the horse leans through the left shoulder taking weight off
the left hind leg. Responding by reloading the horse’s left hind leg by
readjusting you’re left knee poking slightly up and out to back down,
redistributes the balance on the horse’s left hind leg, helping to
correct the connection through the neck. Likewise, if the base of the neck
falls to the left, the horse is sliding through the right shoulder and
you’re right knee is poking slightly up and out and adjusting that knee
and thigh reloads the proper weight on the horse’s right hind leg.
At the same time, what better way to physically
define why the inside-reign is described as the “bending reign” and
the outside-reign the “balancing reign”?
The posting trot is maybe the easiest way to describe
the longitudinal part of “connection.” As in any gait the arms should
move with the hips, its just more obvious in the posting trot. If the arms
are not part of rocking forward with the rest of the upper body in the
post, the fact is the base of the horses neck is being blocked or jammed
backward into there spine while they are trying to take a stride forward.
The motion of a riders upper body posting inside their arms, even without
any contact on the reigns, pulls the horses neck back into there spine
every single forward stride, causing the horse to go forward with their
head straining above the vertical.
If you have this problem it may take you a few
minutes or a couple of rides to re-wire yourself to the new pattern but
once you have I promise it will be a great ah-ha moment and your horse
will be much happier as well. That said; the longitudinal balance part of
“connection” is that the horse’s entire top line (Behind, underneath
and in front of you) must go forward as one.
Impulsion (Balanced Thrust = Engaged Power):
“Impulsion” comes after Connection because both humans and animals prefer to move forward in lateral balance rather than out of lateral balance. That said “impulsion” is just as important to both of you. In fact the more you practice adjusting you and your horses lateral balance the more automatic it becomes and the more conscious focus turns toward longitudinal balance or “impulsion.” Without “impulsion” it is impossible to ride “straight,” let alone keep the horse laterally balanced with the hindquarters and shoulder on one track; as difficult as trying to stay upright on a bicycle creeping forward at to slow a rate of speed to manage the lateral balance. However, for our purposes “Impulsion” is much more about thrust and much less about speed. Thrust equals torque or power; speed can just as easily translate to loss of traction and or hydroplaning. What that means to a horse is that the hind feet need to come well under them before hitting the ground to push off which then causes them to lift there back and create forward power. This gives the horse far more leverage than pushing off the ground with the hind legs out behind them which lengthens and hollows the muscles over the back, disengaging the hindquarters from the back and neck which then makes any hope longitudinal balance impossible.
The “impulsion” is created within the tempo of
the compression in the rhythm. If the horse gets behind the compression,
thrust, compression rhythm of your seat, I believe it’s important for
the rider not to sacrifice their seat position or elasticity to encourage
the horses “impulsion.” Tension in your seat will transfer to the
horses tensing over the back. Instead a tickle with the lower leg or spur,
or a tap with the whip behind your leg within the compression phase of the
movement encourages the horse to move up. Likewise, if the horse runs
through the rider’s leg half-halt from the reign in the compression
phase of the rhythm, so as not to disrupt the connection, rocks the horse
back.
Straightness (Aligning with the Track):
“Straightness” is maybe the most vague for many
people partly because of human nature. Especially when things are going
wrong, human beings natural impulse is to reach or wish with their eyes
for the place they are trying to get too and that just doesn’t work on a
horse. So, first lets refresh the mood. Shake off that frustration and
think of “straightness” as a sexy catwalk on a horse, tall, smooth and
swinging in all the right places.
Remember, “straightness” is the fifth element of
the training scale not because of its level of difficulty, but because to
ride straight you only must implement and manage the previous four
elements of the scale. “Straightness” is just the next logical piece
in the progression. So, lets revue: First we created a visual frame in
which to put the “Training Scale,” and part of the frame was looking
straight ahead. Looking ahead, pick a vector line (or the end of your
cat-walk). Next, establish equal balance on both hind legs by adjusting
your thighs (or knee angles) so you and your horse are both balanced
together. Adjust the base of your horse’s neck so that it is centered
between the shoulders. Interacting with a horse begins feeling more
familiar to how we push off the ground to take a forward stride (rather
than our pelvis rotating under our hips and pulling ourselves forward with
our legs). Like being on the ground, relax and don’t hold the position.
Remember, each adjustment of a knee / thigh angle is merely an adjustment
to the motion. Given the advantage of a balanced place with the horse you
begin to think more from the cantle of the saddle forward and better
realize the need of enough impulsion to maintain the lateral balance to
get to the end of your catwalk with the horses hindquarters shoulder and
neck on the same line. And, that is “straightness.”
Collection (Rhythm within the Stride):
The final piece of the “Training Scale” is
ironically a great sample of how each of the six elements plays a
significant role from the beginning training of a young horse through the
levels. “Collection” is first introduced to a young horse as a
half-halt. A half-halt is a brief shortening of the stride without
disrupting the rhythm of the gait, used for collecting the horse within a
gait in order to rebalance, prepare for a transition or punctuate the
beginning or end of a movement.
Example: You wake up around nine on a Saturday
morning at the coast and everybody is still asleep after a night of
barbecued oysters in the shell and a few to many glasses of wine. So, you
decide to go for a jog to burn off some of last night’s festivities. You
quietly close the door. Stretch a little bit while listening to the
breakers hit the beach over the roar of the ocean. Take in a chest full of
glorious sea air and head out toward the smooth wet sand and find your
stride. About a quarter mile down the beach you run into a big tide pool
and have to slow down to figure out how best to get around but don’t
want to break your stride, so you cover less ground by taking shorter
strides but add deeper compression so as not to disrupt your rhythm.
That’s a half-halt. You didn’t squeeze your butt or flex, grip or grab
with your legs. No, you lowered your center of balance a little bit,
stepped a little quicker and compressed a little deeper, until you decided
on the best way around the tide pool and then continued at your working
pace; because there are two ends to a half-halt, the going in and the
going out. And, between the going in and going out was “collection.”
When you covered a lot less ground that was passage;
little or no ground would be piaffe.
It can’t be any different on the horse because any
squeeze, grip or grab with your legs or seat disrupts the rhythmic swing
of the dorsal muscles over the horses top line and not only will loose the
rhythm but lock those muscles which then have to be unlocked before they
can swing again; explaining the old adage, “there’s no getting out of
a half-halt any better then you got yourself in.”
A few tips regarding half-halts: If the horse
doesn’t respond when you shorten the stride, they call that running
through your seat, in which case you back up your seat with a little
longitudinal half-halt from your reigns (meaning both reigns) in the very
next compression phase of your seat. Like wise if you horse hesitates
coming out of the half-halt, tickle with the lower leg, spur or tap from
the whip in the next compression phase. In any case you can never
sacrifice your seat position or tone without risking the rhythm and having
to re-supple the horses back.
And that is the general landscape of my romance.
For more specifics on how the “Training Scale” is
developed through the levels, applied to exercises and the particular
gymnastics of each gait I started thinking might be more interesting to
record by following my own progress with the horses I’m currently
training, which is how the idea for a blog came about. Actually, that may
be leaving out some credit. The idea actually came from students, who have
been trying to educate me on my personal computer. And, who are currently
rolling their eyes while trying to explain to me what a blog is. Maybe
they’ll make a modern man of me. In any case I like the idea of taking a
new step.
However, in the spirit of taking one step at a time, I thought I’d start by posting on our ultimatepiaffe.com website. The next step will be to add some video demonstration and then see where it goes from there. Maybe by then the term blog will sound less like a sci-fi monster.
Darrel Purdy
© 2009 Darrel Purdy