self-carriage

[Chelle Sherman <cms@fluent.com>]

Hi - I'd like to share a technique that my trainer taught me for
developing a horses' self-carriage while working on the trail. He uses
hills to teach self-carriage. It begins at the walk, where when we come
to a downhill grade, we halt, and ask the horse to back up a couple of
steps (the horse has already been talk to back up correctly, with his
head down and his hind legs under him). This prepares the young horse
for how to carry his body downhill. Then we walk forward and ask him to
maintain the slight collection with light rein pressure and leg support,
for a few steps. Most horses will maintain it quite easily, depending on
the steepness of the slope (the steeper the slope, the better they
maintain, in my experience). When they get the idea at the walk, you do
it at a trot by asking for a downward transition to walk as you start
downhill and asking them to hold that 'legs under' position for a few
strides, then release. You do this every chance you get, and pretty
soon, they are automatically collecting as they start downhill. Then,
you can do it while maintaining the trot for a few strides downhill,
then transition to walk. This really helps them to get the idea. Once
they can descend hills in a collected frame with only minimal reminders
from you, try the same aids while trotting along on the flat. Again, ask
for it only a few strides, then let them relax - voila - the basics of
collection. It's hard to explain the aids used, but basically I think of
it as asking for rein-back while moving forward. First, some leg support
and a "scoop" forward with your seat to get the horse under you, then, a
light barrier from the reins to check forward movement. If the horse
responds, release those aids immediately, until he slouches out again,
then apply them again. I think that the biggest mistake we all make in
seeking collection is we forget to release when we get a response,
thinking we have to "hold" the horse there. A horse held in collection
becomes dependent on the holding and progressively heavier on the aids,
and that's a lot of work for you. A horse taught to collect when asked
and hold it himself until he hears otherwise from you will be light and
pleasurable, but this takes lots of time. I have yet to get there, but
my guess is that it takes about 5 years of gentle, progressive work to
get fully engaged, consistent, and light self-carriage upon demand. I
like this technique because I can do it on the trail, rather than
spending hours going around an arena.

Chelle and Mystik Star


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