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Hi ridecampers,
reading the discussion about different types of stretching in horses my
dressage background kicked in and I decided to jump in...
When I first came to California the only Arabs I had seen so far were the
"original style" Arabs with necks high up from the shoulder, backs short
and straight croups <sp?> "downhill", which makes the conformation sort of
"useless" for dressage. The "old style" Arab with a short back and a high
neck will hardly start out with head down, stretching movement, because
short backs intend to be stiffer, muscles tighter, more difficult for the
horse to losen up and "swing" as dressage folks call it.
Nevertheless, after a longer warm-up a good rider can also get a short
backed horse to losen the back muscles and drop the head into this
down-forward position, just remember, it is a little more difficult than
for horses with a longer back, perfect confirmation would be "uphill",
withers higher than croup and a round "butt". Those "old time" Arabs were
pretty far away from the perfect confirmation dressage-wise that is!
Anyway, the start of a young horse should always be with the head and neck
in a forward-downward position, kind of searching for the contact with the
bit. Therefore it is pretty important that the rider is veeery soft in
his/her hands, not to create any bad experience for the horse, searching
for contact "down there". Most young horses start out in the
downward/forward position, it is a consequence from carrying weight they
are not used to <rider and saddle that is>, the weight normally stimulates
the back muscles to hold up to and the consequence is that the head goes
down. Imagine that like a bow....the back muscles are bend upwards, the
head naturally drops.
In the next step with the young horse, the rider still allows the
downward/forward position of head and neck, but by encouraging the hind
quarters to keep working and pushing off, the rider slowly shortens the
reins <this training is based on months, not hours>. The biggest mistake
one can make at that point is not putting enough emphasis on the hind
quarters, the motor that is, the effect will be that the horse puts weight
on the bit and literally has the rider carry the horse's head and neck by
holding on to the reins. To get the horse away from the bit you have to
apply pressure on the horse's side, as much as you are able to press, do it!!
The optimal rider will be riding in perfect collection without any reins,
the rider uses his/ her weight and all the pressure in the world <from
her/his legs> to collect the horse. It works, but just a few people are
strong enough for this..... <I never was, hmm> Anyway, this is the idea and
nearly all of us have to compromise, but never forget: to correct the
horse's head and neck position, use your legs first ALWAYS and the reins
second!
So, this is getting longer and longer and I haven't addressed Glenda's
point yet....
What can be seen in horses that do not start out in a head-down position
<there are various reasons for it> is that most likely there comes a point
they warmed up their back muscles, uphill training helps a lot, and then
they stretch by themselves, no real pressure of the rider's leg needed. It
is not the easiest for the horse to run around with a "hollow" back, head
up, so as soon as they feel they can trust the rider and come to a relaxed
walk/trot/canter they try to stretch down, of course those muscles in the
back most likely hurt from being tight with a head way up in the clouds....
What I would suggest <and there are different other factors that might need
to be analyzed when actually watching the horse> is to try some contact on
the bit <I have no idea how loose you like your reins, Glenda, you might
keep contact to your horse all the time>, apply pressure on the horse's
sides, softly use "half-holds" in the reins to keep your horse from
speeding up and use the stretch-down Lakota is doing for trying to get into
contact with him down there and keeping him there for a longer time. It is
definately good for the horse's back and should be done as often as
possible, especially when no dressage training is possible <lack of
facility, instruction etc.>
There is only one thing you should try to avoid: if your horse's head goes
too far down, apply more pressure on the sides to get it in an appropriate
position again, do not pull it up with the reins. Try to shorten the reins
slowly and not forget your legs <it is easier said than done...>. Your
horse might figure out another trick down there, which is drop the head so
you have to give more rein, then throw the head up again and run, because
you lost some control with your now longer reins.....<nasty horse, grin>
If that happens, try to avoid letting the horse pulling the reins out of
your hands by applying enough pressure on the sides, sitting straight with
all your weight <when posting use every other step when you sit down to
your advantage> and softly but firmly holding on to the reins, do not
forget your legs, they are soooo important in the interaction with the
horse!
Basically a horse stretching down-/foreward is considered to be a happy
horse, lucky you have the chance to use this to your advantage. A lot of
horses have made bad experience with riders not sensitive enough with their
hands, so by the time these horses went "exploring" the bit it hurt somehow
and the normal horse-reaction is "flight" from anything that hurts and not
trying again until there is a rider they feel comfortable with.
Dressage is such a wide field and I consider it a science for itself, so
please anyone, who made any better observations, I'm happy to heard about
it! <Plus, my explainations are probably far away from accurate..sorry>
Anyway, I hope, the above has helped a little bit and even though it is not
100% endurance, it is also a necessary exercise for endurance-rider and
endurance-horse!
Happy Holidays everybody,
Katja
<Point Reyes, not a 100% converted dressage freak>
Nanak: "If you leave me in the pasture, I'll certainly have my head DOWN in
the grass!"
--MimeMultipartBoundary--
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