The posting trot is such an effective tool for riders. It lightens the load on a young horse’s back while they are building strength and coordination, it saves the rider’s seat on long distance rides, is a necessary step in developing your position for jumping, and much more.
The hard-mouthed horse is a topic that is common, and very relevant, in training or retraining horses. It is something that has been claimed to be fixable through countless flexions of the neck and jaw, a change of bits, nosebands, and various techniques.
It isn’t because I love picking on competitive Dressage, it is because it is prevalent in competitive Dressage since it is right in front of us, that I can point to the examples so easily seen. False forms of collection abound in every arena however, and it isn’t because it is more fun to fake it, but often because we don’t know what to look for, how to recognize when that fun movement isn’t really what we thought it was, and not sure how else to train the horse.
I work a lot in metaphors, it helps my mind connect ideas and make sense of theories that may otherwise leave me in the dark. So, this is how I’m going to compare collection in the sense of competitive dressage… a bit like a weight lifter bench pressing weights that are inflated with air. Sure, it might look like he is lifting 300 pounds and his muscles are certainly flexed, he has some sweat upon his brow… but there is something missing and that is the reality of the weight, the action, the exercise. It looks like a bench press and acts like a bench press, but is he really lifting any weight? No.
What we see in the competitive arena are collected movements that look like collection, act like collection, are called collection and scored as though they are collection, but there is that vital thing missing – the reality of collection.
Let’s think a bit about the individual movements that are a result of collection : Piaffe, Passage, Canter Pirouette, Flying Changes, Collected Canter, Collected Walk, Extended Trot. Collection unfortunately is often mistaken as being synonymous with slow or short. We see many variations on these different movements and instead of writing a giant article, I think instead I will pull a collection of pictures together and make comments. I like the way my brain functions with visual interaction…
I’ve posted a new video on YouTube which talks briefly about the seat and one of its exercises. This is my first video, and am looking to critique it and create more!
I’ve rekindled my need for physical activity. Still cold, still snowy after a new accumulation of 19+ inches just this week alone. I’ve got a bit of cabin fever, combined with watching videos of my old teacher talking about seat training… pushes me out the door. Scout, my love, was quite anxious to be brought into the barn today, perhaps because he enjoyed our last ride all that much, or maybe it is the vitamins he gets after workouts. Either way I am happy to oblige him as he waits at the gate eagerly.
Scout’s overall improvement from yesterday to today has been very noticeable. We are looking for forward, forward, forward. A familiar sentiment from my work with Andie… 
We are getting more energy, more involvement, more mental connection. We had less forward in leading today from yesterday, the temperature difference was noticeable and the horses were soaked today, so understandably he was more stiff during the warm-up. Less distraction towards the arena mirrors.
In the scheme of things, to find balance between touch and no touch, to find that weight of a mere 5 grams, seems a simple task. Not seated in the saddle there is no concern over one’s own balance in the saddle. Being connected via a simple rein, touch between the hand and the horse’s mouth, this is little else that is more simplified. But this connection is deceiving, because although it is our own control over that 5 grams, to convince our responses to follow those orders is another story. That is where I found myself in the moments of connection with Scout today.
According to each rider, equitation or horsemanship has a different meaning. Some popular themes run along these lines: Read the rest of this entry »
The bend I refer to is that of specifically the neck and generally the entire body. The bend is one of four factors I consider in the working of the horse, that are rules so to speak and guidelines. When something is not functioning properly, i.e. a movement isn’t as correct as I would like, then I defer to checking on the four guidelines. They are, in no specific order, Bend, Posture, Speed and Balance.
