Recently I’ve been feeling that I haven’t been getting the same amount of swing and uphill lift in Batialo’s movement. In all three paces I felt him a little flat and without his usual energy. I missed that feeling of a bowling canter, where have the horse jumping up from underneath you and covering ground, reaching forward and lifting as he goes. I started to ask why that was happening. What was I doing differently? I watch many horses going around ok, but still they look like they aren’t really going anywhere.
So what is it that determines the difference between a forward uphill moving expressive horse and a horse that is sort of stuck and piddling about?
The key for me is freedom in front. I realised that I was holding slightly in front and Batialo didn’t have room to really flow forward and lift in the shoulder. If you continually hold the energy, and keep the reins always pulling and never releasing, you block all that wonderful forward energy, and it has no room to come out.
A horse can still do all the movements and we often see riders pulling and then pushing at the same time, producing a sort of manufactured movement that can seem active, but in actual fact is just a build up of tension. The minute I even slightly block Batialo in front, he tells me that I'm doing something wrong by quite literally not doing much at all, and gets very frustrated at my incompetence.
Today I went out and I thought about letting his neck out, then balancing him with my seat. Sometimes I would need to give a short take on the rein, to remind him to listen to my seat, but I would then immediately allow him again in front. Very quickly I noticed once again, that all the trouble I had been having in training, was because I was holding. I hadn’t felt as confident letting him out after a rather tidy spin and it had resulted in me unknowingly and gradually, shortening him in front.
As soon as I allowed him the room in front, freeing up his shoulder and allowing him to balance himself with just my seat, he began to move with his expression and forward excitement that I know him for. The half passes became much more flowing, the travers, and shoulder-in felt easy, off a light aid.
I had for days been asking myself what was going on. I would put my inside leg on and he would almost ignore it and all that was happening was him telling me, "well you are asking me to move off your leg, but I have no room to go anywhere."
In competition we see riders holding and not allowing the horse the freedom in front and they are the ones that perform rather lifeless tests with a sort of forced activity. The pairs that really move us, the ones that keep our attention are the riders who allow their horses the freedom in front so that they can move with their own natural ability and swing.
You might not even be able to see it. In a dressage test the movements come very quickly and riders of course need to always be balancing the horse. However, the top pairs, the great riders, will be constantly telling the horse, will a very subtle allowing hand, “here, you have the room, show me what you are made of!"
by Sarah Warne - Photo © Rui Pedro Godinho