This is a real shame because the manner in which we choose to lead the horse and to the extent it is incorporated in the training process can not only increase the quality of the horse’s training, but also help to speed it along in certain aspects. Today I get to bring you a video update of me working with Aligarh, my project horse demonstrating just a few short moments of the work we did. I highly favor these short sessions (in all we worked 15-20 minutes today excluding grooming) as I find the horse begins to look forward to working more quickly and also stays very mentally involved.

Both videos demonstrate the same work, just on different sides. Aligarh is extraordinarily herd-bound and I was hoping to capture some of the tension he presents when being worked out of sight of his pasture mate. There is a lot of background information to give in regards to these videos, and also in the overall value of leading, so bear with me as I begin to hash them out in a (hopefully!) organized manner.

The clips are short, brief, to the point. I want to point your attention to Aligarh’s hooves and the movement of his hind limbs, his hindquarters, the top of his hips. The purpose of what we are doing in the video is to develop forward, tracking of the hooves, and eventually calm.

Right now his forward is merely quickness, his tracking is short and uneven, and calm is something that cannot even be spotted in the distance yet. All of these things are necessary however in order to bring him to straightness, balance and eventually collection.

I am leading Aligarh, in a longe caveson with a lead rope attached, asking him to move as forward as possible at the walk and to lower his head at the same time.

1. Lowering the Head : He will only hold onto tension for a longer period of time if I ask for forwards with his head held up in the air paying attention to the fact that he cannot see his pasture-mate. If he were less tense working out of sight of other horses or in general this would not be such an issue and I would likely work him at more of a distance using an actual longe rope and not focusing on him lowering his head at the moment.
2. Forward : As he moves it looks as though he is speeding around more than he ought to – and that is correct. However, until he develops stretch in his muscles and the strength to propel himself forwards efficiently he will move in the manner shown in the video. Forwards does not mean fast, but in the beginning this is a common sight. It is no different for any athlete – those out of shape/condition will look awkward while those who are at top condition will use their body more gracefully and their muscles will work less while producing more.
3. Tracking : As he continues to propel himself forwards and begins to develop stretch in the muscles his limbs will be able to travel further underneath his body and that is how the tracking begins to take form. His hind hooves at the walk should ideally land 6-8″ in front of the front hooves’ track on the same side.

Also take note of how his hindquarters move at different moments in the videos. Initially it is stilted, almost bouncing high in the air at the walk and looking very stiff. Then he begins to relax a bit and the hind legs can come under his body more, as a result his hindquarters move more flatly and gracefully.

During one of the clips you can catch him begin to lick and chew some. This is important because tension affects the mouth/jaw and if you pay attention the horse will show you his tension through the mouth/bridle/quality of contact.

So what is my point about the value of leading?

Leading the horse is more than just leading the horse. Sure, there are no big bangs (generally) and it is more boring than even the idea of in-hand work.. Still, there is a quality inherent to investing in the leading of the horse that cannot be replaced in the same capacity with other forms of work.

The horse begins his intro to handling, training, performing by being led. Leading is also the gateway to developing your relationship. Some lessons first tackled in the leading phase include :

• Forward – believe it or not, teaching your horse to move forwards does not begin on the longe or under saddle. It begins when you are leading him to and from the pasture! Many riders do not take advantage of this and instead lead their horse at a lackadaisical pace, later wondering why they are constantly having to prod the horse under saddle at every stride for “more forward!” If the horse is introduced and expected to move forward at this beginning stage of training and it is continued on the longe it will become a natural state of motion and under saddle work will become second nature.
• Half Halt – despite common myth, the half halt does not rely upon the rider’s seat and legs. It can be performed using the halter, the longe caveson and the bridle all from the ground well before it is asked for under saddle. Developing the half halt in this way makes starting the horse under saddle simpler and pre-installs a balanced halt before your butt ever reaches the saddle!
• Bend – when leading the safest position is next to the shoulder of the horse, followed by having the horse bent in your direction. This inhibits the horse from ever moving into your space if he should spook without first giving you notice by changing his bend. Now your horse is already practiced in bending to the direction of travel for when you begin riding.

Leading helps to develop training on the longe, streamlining the transition from leading to longing.

Longing is merely leading of the horse from a distance. That is the view I take of it, which allows me to train the horse in a manner that makes longing a natural progression from leading. The horse does not become confused because the transition is gradual and makes sense. All of the cues are the same with only a slight variation due to the new distance.

If you watch me longe a horse one note you may make is that I do not look at the horse straight on, or point my body towards the hindquarters. With a horse who is completely trained to longe this may change slightly, but particularly with the green horse my body points more at a 45 degree angle to their head. This is intentional and with purpose. When I lead the horse I do not look straight at his body, or at his hindquarters. I am making a transition from leading to longing, and in both I want him moving forwards just as I am moving forwards. I do not want to constantly look at his hindquarters either because then I am constantly putting pressure on that area with my attention – and thus desensitizing it when I actually want to emphasize my attention there, requiring me to use MORE pressure than necessary.

This is the same reason why I carry the longe whip down and behind me instead of in front of me or in the air. I do not want it “on” until I actually have something to say with it.

If longing is just another form of leading then it also makes sense to begin practicing all of the elements of longing when first leading the horse. I expect my horses to walk forward with full energy, to half halt in order to stop, and to bend in the direction of travel with me. Part of my commitment too is that I practice leading my horses on both sides, not just the left. Afterall, I longe them on both sides too.

What this means for us as riders is that the legs become quiet and are used primarily as a balance point, but please don’t misunderstand and think I mean balance through squeezing or holding on with the legs. There is a large issue of overusing the legs as it compromises your balance, creates tension upwards into your seat, can radiate into your hands and promote pulling on the reins not to mention add confusion and complication to your communication with the horse. The less that we have to use in order to let the horse know what we want, the better.

Contact on the reins can only be appropriate if the horse is pushing/propelling himself forward from the hind legs calmly, while also maintaining the proper bend. Without these our ability to communicate through the reins is compromised at best, though often worse – disconnected.

The magic happens quite brilliantly however when these elements are all in concert with one another, as you can orchestrate collection in the horse, gait transitions and spectacular lateral work that is forward, light and graceful primarily through the reins. The legs working secondary to the hand in providing support. On the other hand, to rely upon the legs primarily the hands are left to working in excess to either contain the anxious energy created by the overuse of the legs and force position to create second rate lateral work and dull transitions.

What can be said about one of the most prized elements of a well trained horse, that of a well-executed, light, balanced and beautifully collected piaffe? The stepping stone from basic gaits to airs above the ground, and while it is so sought after it also continues to be one movement that is considered difficult to train or ride well, and for many people simply a complete befuddlement over where to start.

Breaking It Down

What exactly is the piaffe? It has often been mistaken for or compared to the horse trotting in place. While this can give the lay-person a good visual, to those seeking to ride or train the piaffe it leaves much to be desired. The piaffe combines two elements – forward and half halt, in order to create a new movement borne out of the two. The forward gives the horse the trot steps in just the right dose, which is to be regular and even in timing, and without disruption in the diagonal steps (i.e. two beat changing to a four beat trot). The half halt provides the collection and lack of forward acceleration in the piaffe.

Both forward, and the half halt, are widely misunderstood and this in and of itself sets the stage for a degradation in the quality and ability to ride and train piaffe. Forward does not refer to the speed with which the horse is moving its legs or at which it covers ground. Forward can be used in reference to the horse’s tracking, but more specifically it is applied to the amount of energy that is being channeled into movement by the horse. A horse that is well forward, is not necessarily moving fast, and a fast horse is not necessarily moving forward correctly.

On the flip side of the coin is the half halt. Often given a measure of mysticism in the employ, and exact outcome of this all-important aid, the half halt sets the stage for channeling the energy given by the horse when he is moving forward correctly. The half halt, in summation, tells the horse to change his posture in such a way to give more weight-bearing on the haunches, elevate the base of the neck, bring the base of support (i.e. the legs) closer together, while increasing the height of the legs during motion. The half halt is not done as a means of blocking the energy of the hind legs and trapping it to increase the elevation of the horse, but rather in a motion so as to recycle the energy coming forwards, upwards and to the haunches.

Forced vs Relaxed

We can work and work and work for the piaffe, and get the horse to make movements that resemble the piaffe from the outside. This is often what is done and promoted, not because it is the best, but because it is quick and seen as an efficient method of training the piaffe. It depends upon your goals and motivations. If you have placed a time limit on teaching the horse the piaffe, then this model might work best for you. If on the other hand you are striving for a correctly balanced, even, light and relaxed piaffe, you will want to let go of time constraints.

The piaffe does not take long to train, in fact it can take no time at all. Why I say this, is because the piaffe is a natural progression in the horse’s training. As he is developed physically, emotionally and mentally in a conscious manner that uses correct balancing of half halt and forward, the piaffe will come along on its own course without ‘special’ training sessions. The piaffe requires the use of muscles that take a greater time to develop, such as the loin. It also requires suppleness in the hindquarters to enable the horse to flex the hind legs, reduce the area of support by the legs (bringing them closer together), and carrying a larger weight on the hind legs.

Finding Balance

The half halt does nothing without forward energy. Forward energy can be culminated into nothing but just that without the help of the half halt. One without the other is simply that element on its own. The piaffe is not directly in the center of these two elements however. What lies between them is halt, a beautifully collected and balanced halt. When you have two equally opposing forces against one another they both cancel themselves out and create zero. That is the balance point. Because half halt can create the reinback, it is the opposing ‘force’ in comparison with forward energy.

The piaffe therefore has a greater amount of forward energy in the equation than half halt. We want the horse to move forwards in his progression, while emphasizing the upwards rather than straight ahead.

A Starting Point

In the basic schooling of the horse, we begin with teaching forward which can be done with focus on the correct tracking on the lunge, as well as the horse moving energetically forward under saddle. The half halt is used to re-balance the horse momentarily – which will frequently inspire the loss of forward, so we ask for half halt and then reignite the forward energy. This can be done as needed, when the horse falls out of balance, and it can also be graduated to a set pattern. For example, half halts on the short side of the arena or for so many strides to encourage a shortening of the stride and lifting at the base of the neck while maintaining the same rhythm of the gait; followed by an increase in forward energy on the long side of the arena or for a certain number of strides. We want to skirt the extreme opposites of the gait – from the slowest we can get while maintaining rhythm and gait, to the fastest we can get while maintaining rhythm and gait. If the horse breaks gait we want to either add forward energy or use the half halt.

So we practice this at the walk, trot and canter. It builds a sliding scale between the two opposites of half halt and forward energy. Where we run into problems with the piaffe is when we lack a sliding scale, or a sufficient sliding scale. If we have too little room to play with forward or half halt we will likewise find it hard to refine the balance or energy of the horse in the piaffe.

Overview

Start your horse on the lunge with work to develop the half halt and forward. Monitor his tracking to observe whether he has balance both laterally and longitudinally. From there, begin playing with increasing and adjusting the forward energy through the half halt. Shortening the gait with the half halt while maintaining its integrity, then lengthening or increasing the forward energy. Use the walls of the arena or pen you are working in to help with either the half halt or when increasing the forward energy.

Next, under saddle, carry over the work you’ve done on the lunge line. Short wall is for shortening, long wall is for lengthening. Remember that shortening does not mean that the horse’s steps are slower, just shorter. They should maintain the same rhythm as the lengthened gait, and of the working or ‘medium’ gait.

As the horse builds strength, balance, coordination, and work with lateral movements are developed, the piaffe will begin to make itself into a reality. The shortening will become more heightened with less forward advancement. The lengthening will have more power behind it and begin to develop into the medium and extended gaits. And, between the piaffe and the lengthened trot you will find the passage. Voila!

I wanted mostly a light workout for Scout today, considering the predicted drop in temps for the evening combined with a strong wind chill factor, I wanted to avoid any sweating if possible. Keeping this in mind, I had no problem devoting much of the energy to my own development. A light warm-up with walking laps around the arena in hand. Forward, forward, forward.

Once in the saddle we proceeded to resume the laps about the arena, encouraging forward. Combing the reins to encourage him to stretch down into them, take some contact. I played around with the various seat exercises, pretending in my mind that someone else was calling them out in quick succession, trying to separate my mind from the actions. Take the thinking out of it and let it become a simple reaction.

We played at the walk and trot with the seat exercises, then moved back to the walk with more combing the reins. I then moved back and forth between elevating his posture with light half halts and stretching his posture down and forwards with combing the reins. Following that we did circles about the arena of varying sizes, forward, forward, forward, letting the quality of the circle be the tell-tale of the correctness of his tracking.

A very enjoyable ride, very cold by the end, but so rewarding. I will be certainly happy when the spring breaks through and I can justify spending 9+ hours in the barn alone.

The essential ingredient in a horse who develops into a well balanced, collected, light horse with a beautiful and correct head position.. is forward. We all hear it told from instructors and riders alike, “MORE FORWARD!” What does that mean? What is forward? Is it like love, much desired and talked about, but lacking tangibility, lacking that solid object sort of certainty in identification? No, forward is something tangible, it can be seen, felt, heard. When it is lacking we lose our boat to float the river to our destination of a balanced, collected, light horse.

Forward is the catalyst to all of our further ventures. It fuels the muscular and postural development of the horse, building strength and suppleness. It is what straightens the natural crookedness of the horse, and aligns his lateral balance. Without it, the presence of a half halt is compromised at best, non-existent at worst. It provides the lubrication for the lovely lines present in a correct bend from poll to tail, enables the horse to lift from the base of his neck and transfer his weight to the haunches. It is where correct lightness comes from, of which the difference is noticed only when you know what correct feels like.

Forward could be considered the father of equitation-al endeavors. Like a horse without hooves, a rider without a horse moving forwards has no leg to stand on. His foundation is not developed, and all further supplies he pours atop that ground will be less stable and show a greater risk of failure or injury.

Forward is the development of tracking. Tracking involves tempo and rhythm. Tracking strengthens weak muscles and those without stability. Tracking supples taught and inflexible muscles. Tracking centers the horse’s energy into one purpose, bringing his focus to a calming point – shutting out distractions, increasing consistency and predictability. Tracking gives connection and meaning to the half halt. Tracking straightens the horse.

When we ride, it is easy to get caught in with focusing on that which is in front of us – the head and neck. The horse’s mouth, his lightness or lack thereof. The excesses and the diminished supply. The short and the long, tall and small. Truly when they say that our focus must be on the hind legs and they will train the horse’s head and neck, it is true. Correct tracking, or forward, trains the horse without interference on our part. All we need do is watch it go to work and reap the benefits. But be careful, because it is a lifelong endeavor of promoting forward. Like brushing our teeth every morning, riding our horses forward is a daily task if we want health and beauty…