Practice Staying On

Are Horse and Rider connected by Tack, or Trust?

The biggest concern a rider, who lacks confidence, may have is falling off. So the biggest way to build confidence is by training a student in the fine art of staying on a horse. Oddly enough, students are often expected to get good at this skill simply by osmosis, and without specific drills or exercises. People will practice all manner of techniques and movements for hours, weeks, and months, but will devote very little time to the specific skill of not falling off. By that I mean that the time spent is purely devoted to this skill and nothing else. Hoping that a student will get good while practicing other skills does not count. It does contribute, but for many, it is simply not enough.

When I started with my own students, I decided that I would develop some lessons devoted purely to the art of staying on the horse. I decided that staying on the horse would take specific training, that would require specific drills or exercises. And I decided that the exercises would have to meet the following criteria:

-Challenging. In order for people to practice staying on, they would have to have exercises that were incrementally more challenging as their skills progressed.

-Safe. To be safe, the difficulty of the exercise had to be easily controlled by the instructor or student such that it could be de-escalated as quickly and as easily as it was escalated.

-Effective. Students had to be able to notice the difference immediately. Learning to stay on a horse should not take years. It should take weeks.

-Not need an Instructor. Drills and exercises are just that; drills and exercises. It is of no use to learn a drill but only perform it once a week when the instructor is present. Students need to be able to do it daily in the absence of the instructor.

I came up with a few, but lengthy explanations would be too cumbersome for them all, so I have included two that I find to be most effective. One is very easy, and the other is very difficult.

First: Eyes closed. There is a school of Horsemanship that calls this the Blind Passenger Game. Whether or not you subscribe to that school is immaterial. This exercise is extremely effective. First pick a quiet arena where the horse is comfortable and you do not anticipate any spooking. Then ride your horse with your eyes closed. Ride the horse anywhere HE wants to go. Do not direct him. At some point he will get stuck in a corner. Do not direct him left or right, simply keep your eyes closed and drive him forward. Let him make the decision to turn left or right. When he makes decisions that you're not expecting, you will feel off balance. But you will not fall off. If it feels like you are going to fall, simply open your eyes, and you will be right back to riding like you normally do. Another way to perform this exercise is with an assistant who leads the horse. The assistant does not need to be a trainer or instructor. He just needs to be able to lead the horse around while changing directions in a random manner. To truly feel the effectiveness of this exercise, spend 10 minutes with eyes closed, and then open your eyes and have the assistant lead the horse in the same pattern again. You will feel such a remarkable difference that you will probably want to incorporate this exercise in every session.

Second: Alternating Toe Touching. With your horse standing still, take your left hand and reach over across your horse's withers and touch your right toe. Yes, I said that correctly, LEFT hand to RIGHT toe. Then switch to the other side. Right hand to Left toe. If you can do this at the halt, then do it at the walk and eventually at the trot. If you can do it at the trot, then do it with your feet out of the stirrups. If you can do it with your feet out of the stirrups, then do it bareback. Bear in mind that doing this bareback is extremely difficult. In fact so difficult that you might think that I have either made a mistake in the description or that it is simply impossible. But I assure you that it is possible and that you can do it, eventually. You may not have sufficient flexibility to do it in the beginning and an easier version would be to start by just touching the opposite knee instead of your toe and work your way down over time.

These exercises are surprisingly effective and if you do them consistently for a couple of weeks, you will definitely notice a remarkable improvement in your balance, strength, and flexibility. And of course, your horse will make improvements in these areas as well because you will be leading by example.

Finally, the Impulsion, Collection Connection.

Robin and a Random Chestnut

Now that Impulsion is well understood and the anatomic mechanics of Collection have been explained, all that remains is to make the connection between the two. The relationship between Impulsion and Collection is simple and elegant.

Simply stated, Collection is a measure of Impulsion with respect to the horse’s velocity. Thus:

Collection = Impulsion/Velocity

But if, as explained in previous posts

Impulsion = Horse's Response/Rider's Cues

Then

Collection = Horse's Response/((Velocity)(Rider's Cues))

So once the horse has Impulsion, then all that is needed to make him Collected is to reduce his Velocity, without losing Impulsion. But by looking at the last formula, it becomes clear that Collection can be increased by adjusting one, or all, of three variables in the following manner:

1. Increase the Horse's Responses

2. Decrease Velocity

3. Decrease the Riders Cues

Actually, it would be nice to do all three.

This can be seen when a horse is brought to an extreme state of Collection by a reduction of velocity as he is brought from a working or Extended trot to a Collected trot. From the Collected trot, his responses are kept high but his velocity is reduced as he is brought down to the Passage where a moment of suspension in the trot delays forward movement. Then the horse’s velocity is reduced even further as he trots in place in the Piaffe, while still remaining responsive.

At this point, the horse’s forward movement is reduced as far as possible (Velocity is near zero), so the only way to increase Collection is by increasing the horse’s response. Thus the next step is the Pesade as all the weight of the horse is loaded on the hindquarters in a rearing motion. In other words, the Horse responds without increasing Velocity. Next in line is the Levade, a lower more difficult form of the Pesade. From the Levade, an even greater responsiveness can be achieved in the Corbette, causing the horse to hop into the air from the Levade. And finally, the greatest response to the cues with no forward movement is the high flying Capriole.

The Western horse will undergo a similar sequence as he is put through his paces in the Reining Arena. The finale of his sequence will be a demonstration of extreme Impulsion as he is asked to gallop at full speed. Then his Collection is put to the test as he is asked to respond on a loose rein and bring his forward velocity to zero in the Slide-stop while still maintaining the high Impulsion established in the gallop.

Now that the relationship between Collection and Impulsion is understood, developing Collection becomes nothing more than a matter of increasing Impulsion while at the same time decreasing Velocity. Beware of exercises that seek only an arched neck or lowered head. These may give the appearance of Collection but without a high Impulsion to Velocity ratio, it will be an illusion.

Impulsion Understood? So what of Collection?

The next thing to fully understand before delving too deeply into the subject of Collection is a bit of anatomy. A full course in anatomy is not necessary but some concept of it is required if one is to understand the physiological effects of Collection.

First it is important to recognize that the average horse carries about sixty percent of his weight on his forehand. An untrained horse will generally travel with his withers relatively low and his shoulders rolling over his grounded fore limbs. Collection will require a horse to lower his croup by compressing his hind quarters and elevating the forehand by pushing upward through his shoulders. Essentially, Collection lightens the forehand by shifting the bulk of the weight onto the hindquarters. Understanding how a horse can do this is where a small knowledge of anatomy will be helpful.

I shall start with the vertebra. The vertebra in the neck are called the Cervical Vertebra. The first Cervical Vertebra which is connected to the skull is called the Atlas. This allows the horse to nod his head in a motion referred to as breaking at the pole.

The next Vertebra is the Axis and it, along with the rest of the Cervical Vertebra, allows the horse to swing his head from side to side and bend his neck.

After the neck, the next set of vertebra is called the Thoracic Vertebra. These are weight bearing and carry the rider. It should be noted that there is generally very little movement in this area compared to others. These Vertebra are extremely stiff in their articulations and offer almost no flexion at all.

The next set is called the Lumbar Vertebra. The first joint in their union to the Thoracic Vertebra is called the Thoracolumbar Joint. The next set of Vertebra is behind the Sacrum. The joint between the last Lumbar and the Sacrum is called the Lumbosacral Joint. The reason it is important to know about these vertebra and their joints is because the way the individual portions of the spine flexes and articulates is an essential part of Collection and constitute the process of what is known as Rounding the Back.

The Cervical Vertebra have a great deal of flexion thus allowing the neck to bend. The Lumbar and the Thoracic have very little. The exception is the Lumbosacral joint. The ability of the Lumbosacral Joint to articulate as much as thirty degrees is what allows the horse to tuck his croup and load the hindquarters. It is what makes Collection possible and in particular, the extreme examples of it, as in the Piaffe for Dressage or the Slide-Stop for Reining. It should be interesting to note that cattle do not have a Lumbosacral joint and therefore are not capable of Slide-Stops.

The next area to examine is the shoulders. The horse does not have collar bones. The thorax is carried in a cradle of muscles called the Serratus Ventralis. Contracting these muscles can cause the Thorax to rise between the shoulders thus causing the withers to rise.

So ultimately, Collection is effected by the horse when he performs the following:

• Articulates the Lumbosacral joint in order to tuck his croup and round his back
• Flexes the Serratus Ventralis to raise the withers
• Flexes the Cervical Vertebra to arch his neck
• Flexes the Atlas in order to break at the pole

All these movements require a great deal of coordination and an entire set of muscles that are generally not used for anything else. Consequently, collection is not only something that needs to be learned from an aspect of coordination and dexterity, but also something that requires conditioning over time. The Enlightened Rider will not ask for all of it at once; especially from a young horse. Nor will he ask for movements and performance that cannot be expected from a horse who is not collected before the horse has the coordination and the conditioning needed to deliver these movements without injuring himself.

Some might argue that horses perform many movements that require collection when they are playing in the pastures. While this may be true, a horse under saddle with the weight of a rider is a far cry from a horse playing in the pasture. The horse under saddle must make adjustments for the weight of the saddle and the rider. Furthermore, he is asked to engage in collection and then maintain the collected state indefinitely until the rider decides to release him. This could be a considerable amount of time and is never something that a horse in the pasture would elect to do. To fully understand what this means I suggest donning a backpack consisting of twenty percent of your body weight. For the average person, that would be about forty pounds. Then Squat down over a chair until your seat is almost touching the chair. Hover over the chair (without touching it) for about half an hour and you will understand what is being asked of horses in a typical arena training session.

By understanding these processes, you can make a much more enlightened, and reasonable request for Collection. Furthermore, you will be able to recognize your horse’s honest attempts to deliver this often elusive posture and thus be able to respond with more timely releases.

Impulsion, What is it?

Few subjects about horses are as misunderstood as Collection. If you asked a group of riders to explain Collection you will often get a multitude of responses. But persistence will yield at least two answers more common than the rest. One is that Collection is when the horse reaches deeply under his body with his hind legs, thereby assuming a greater portion of the horse’s weight. The other is that Collection describes a horse that tucks and lowers his croup. Both answers are correct but carry with them only part of the story.

These describe the horse's appearance when collected but do not describe what the horse is actually doing. They appear incomplete because they fail to include the concept of Impulsion, and a sufficient detail of anatomy, as integral parts of the explanation. Without these aspects, no treatment of Collection can be fully illuminating. So before even talking about Collection, let us first discuss Impulsion.

Impulsion is usually described as a horse’s forward movement. This answer suggests that to increase Impulsion, a horse need only increase his speed. And yet, a faster horse is not necessarily a horse with greater Impulsion. Some might say that a better definition is that Impulsion is a horse’s TENDENCY for forward motion. Although this is an improved definition, it implies that a horse performing a Rein-back not only has no Impulsion, but that his Impulsion would, in fact, be negative. But this is not true because horses are expected to have Impulsion even during a Rein-back. Therefore the definition does not sufficiently describe the action.

My aspersions on these definitions are not meant to criticize. They are in fact correct descriptions. My only concern is that they are arguable and cryptic for some people.

There are many masters who can give good definitions but they are often hard to find among the morass of well intended suggestions. And of course, instead of keeping my nose out of it, I decided to throw my opinions on to the pile and I hope they are helpful. If not, discard them for some that are.

After researching the matter carefully, I believe the following definition serves the concept best:

Impulsion is a

Measure of the Horse’s

Responses with Respect to the

Riders Cues

Another way of saying it is in the mathematical formula

shown in the picture at the top of this post

By applying this definition, one can readily understand that the more a horse responds to a cue, the greater his Impulsion. Conversely, the more a rider must cue his horse in order to the get the same response, the lower his Impulsion.

The next question is, of course, how to develop Impulsion. The answer is a proper application of the cues. To do this, make sure that all your cues meet the following criteria:

• Clear

• Understandable

• Fair

• Unrepeated

• Consistent

• Immediately Released

Clear

To be effective, a cue must be distinct from other movements made by the rider. I have often found that asking a student to simply sit on a horse and do nothing can be a challenge. However difficult it may be, it is a worthwhile exercise to develop a sufficient quietness of body to detach your lower body from your upper body enough to keep from unintentionally giving cues to the horse.

Understandable

A horse must know what a cue means before he can respond with Impulsion. Although a horse can offer correct responses to a cue by accident, or as a means to discover the meaning of a cue, he will not develop Impulsion until the discovery phase is over and he is sure about the meaning of the cue. Until then, he is reacting, not responding.

Too often, cues are repeatedly given to horses who have either never been taught its' meaning or have not been given enough time to learn. The frustration and futility that are the obvious results of such an approach should be avoided as they are not only unpleasant, they are also dangerous.

Fair

The third criterion requires a cue to be fair. By fair I mean that the horse must be physically capable of performing the movements demanded by the cues. A horse who is asked to do something that it is prohibited from doing due to environmental restraints or physical limitations, at best, will cultivate disobedience and distrust, and at worst, may become injured. In either case, he will not develop Impulsion.

Not Repeated

A cue should not be repeated without compliance on the part of the horse, or correction on the part of the rider. Continuously repeated commands and cues without compliance or corrections serve only to dull a horse and teach him that ignoring a cue until it is repeated five or six times is a viable option. This attitude is the complete opposite of the desired result. If a horse ignores a cue, it is usually because the horse either does not appreciate the immediate urgency of the cue, or does not understand its meaning. Therefore, the rider must provide corrective or suggestive hints before applying the cue again.

Consistent

The next criterion requires a cue to be given in a consistent manner. Continuously changing the nature of a cue is a very quick way to sap a horse of his Impulsion. Without Consistency, all other aspects of your efforts will be quickly undermined by growing confusion and misunderstanding.

Release

The most critical of all criterion states that an immediate release must be given whenever the horse offers the slightest hint of compliance. The Release will inform the horse that his movement is correct at the critical moment of performance. It requires the rider to acknowledge, by a release of the cue, any attempt made by the horse to correctly interpret the cue. The vital importance of a timely release outweighs all other considerations and is often considered the cornerstone of Traditional Equestrian arts.

Hopefully this post will cast some light on Impulsion and how to achieve it. On my next post, I will discuss the anatomy of Collection before moving on to Collection itself.