ridecamp@endurance.net: Head up/Head down

Head up/Head down

Wendy Milner (wendy@wendy.cnd.hp.com)
Mon, 21 Jul 1997 13:56:21 MDT

Nicco wrote:
> Of course all this is based on the following premise...
>Horses bear weight on their backs better with a rounded (arched back)
>rather than a hollowed back. I wonder if there have been any
>scientifically based studies to prove this?
>
>I've often wondered whether the rounding (arching of the back) is more
>important than engaging the hind quarters (i.e. hind quarters engagement
>and weight bearing is merely consequential), since the anatomy is
>designed more like a wheel barrow than a shopping cart. Our efforts make
>the back legs carry more weight but it is the front legs that are
>designed to do this and the rears appear to be there for propulsion.
>
>In any case it seems much more difficult to get real engagement, bend
>and rounding than move the head around to a particular position.

For a horse that is not used to rounding the back, it is much easier
to teach them to carry themselves, round the back, and engage the back end
by getting them to first lower their heads.

Since folks were out there crawling of the floor a bit ago, try it again.
First lower your head and round your back. Then, while thinking about
keeping your back round, go ahead and raise your head. If you are good
and flexible, you can move many parts of your back independently. If
you are stiff, moving one part will cause the rest of the back to move
as well. Same with the horse.

First we get those hot Arabs (This is a joke considering the comments on
the hot wild arabs at the Tevis) to lower their heads to a "normal"
position. Then as we walk them along, we ask them to engage the back
end. Both of these things will help them to raise the back. The
more the back is raised, the easier it is for them to get the back
legs underneath themselves. You want the back legs to reach forward.
If the back is hollow, then it is much tougher for the horse to reach.

Next, when we get engagement throughout the horse, from the back end
through the bit, then we can move the head and neck around a bit.
Consider the well rounded highly trained Lipps. Their heads are usually
very high, and their backs are still rounded. Much training went into
this.

It is not the position of the head and neck that is important, overall.
Instead, placing the head and neck in a position helps the horse to
achieve an overall rounded frame. Then, going up hill you'll let the
horse do one thing, going downhill you'll get another frame, flat out
and you'll have another one.

--
Wendy


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  Wendy Milner                     HPDesk:   wendy_milner@hp4000
  Hewlett-Packard Company          e-mail:   wendy@fc.hp.com
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