In a message dated 12/12/2005 8:20:05 A.M. Mountain Standard Time,
guest-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
With the
Little-S hack instead of a bit,my horse does feel slightly "strung out" at the
walk and has slightly less "throttle response". Have only been out with the
hack for a few hour-long rides
I'd like to say that true collection has less to do with what is
attached to the headstall and more to do with properly asking the horse to
work from the back hooves, up through the hocks, engaging the
stifle, coiling and releasing through the hip and sacro-lumbar, over
the back, through the withers, up through the poll and back through the
"balancing" of the front hooves to start all over again....
I'd like to say that about "true collection," however, I don't think I
should.
So many folks get focused on the face of the horse and forget the
sequence of locomotory components in order to get efficient forward
movement that it can get quite frustrating for some folks.
So, what I'll say is, I'd ask the horse to move up into the bridle with my
seat and legs and when I feel him "arriving" at the hand, I would (with
compassionate hands, irrespective of what is attached to the headstall), ask him
to return the energy as he unloads his front hooves, and start the sequence
again and again and once the mechanism is working, I'd try really hard not to
interfere with it through insensitivity of seat, legs or hands.
