By ALEXANDRA O’SULLIVAN
The FEI dressage judging manual states that, “the object of dressage is the development of the Horse into a ‘Happy Athlete’ through harmonious education.” More specifically, regarding collection, it goes on to say, “The head should remain in a steady position, as a rule with the nose line slightly in front of the vertical, with a supple poll as the highest point of the neck, and no resistance should be offered to the Athlete.”
I can’t tell whether ‘Athlete’ in the latter example means the rider or the horse, however, I feel that it works both ways, in that neither should offer resistance. When the horse is trained to carry their “nose line slightly in front of the vertical” and the rider is happy to allow them to do so, neither should have any need to resist. The problems of resistance arise when our ideas of correct collection, and how to achieve it, shift from this initial guideline. I believe that’s what has been happening for some time now, as many modern riders seek ‘quick fixes,’ to collection problems, or chase glory in competitions that award the distorted ‘flashiness’ of an overbent neck.
While no doubt there are still many riders and trainers who aim for the biomechanically correct collection outlined in the FEI judges manual, one initiated by the ‘old masters’ who spoke of ‘throughness’ and ‘self-collection’ as examples of empathetic training, there has also been an unfortunate development of misguided training practices such as ‘low deep and round,’ along with the use of ‘auxiliary aids,’ that are physically and psychologically damaging to the horse. These methods often force the horse to drop ‘behind the vertical’ and hold them there, as the below image illustrates, creating an illusion of softness in the rider’s hands which is, in fact, incredibly destructive to the horse. So why is being behind the vertical so bad?
Firstly, an over-curled neck limits the horse’s vision. While horses can see 350 degrees, only the front 65 degrees is focussed (binocular). When the horse is ridden behind the vertical, they are only seeing the ground in front of their feet. They are essentially blind. They must trust the rider to guide them safely, but why should they trust someone who is reefing in their head so much that they can’t see where they’re going?
Secondly, the closed throat of an overbent posture restricts the horse’s ability to breath. When a horse is over-flexed, the opening of the windpipe at the pharynx is narrowed, limiting the passage of air. The horse can still breath, but she must work harder to do so. This struggle can sometimes be witnessed in the harsh rasping often heard from overbent horses, the red eyes though lack of oxygen, or excessive foaming at the mouth from squeezing of the parotid glands (salivary glands located in the throat).
Finally, being ridden behind the vertical affects the horse’s ability to move. When the horse is over-flexed in a ‘low, deep and round’ frame, the loin becomes raised and the chest sunken. The back muscles become straight and stiff, and the horse becomes, as Dr Gerd Heuschmann describes in Collection or Contortion (2016) a ‘tense back mover.’ A tense back mover cannot bend properly and is inclined to swing out their hindquarters or kink their neck to compensate. Their stride is shortened, and they trail their hindquarters. If the horse is ridden behind the vertical with the head raised, Heushmann describes them as a ‘leg mover,’ with a dropped ribcage and hollowed back, the horse swings their legs in a disconnected fashion, achieving the opposite of ‘throughness.’ Both postures cause pain through the neck muscles, spine, jaw, and poll.
I have heard arguments that horses need to be taught to ‘hold themselves in a frame’ though positioning their heads via rein pressure and auxiliary aids, but this is incorrect. Horses cannot reach true collection front to back (through pressure on the reins), but only from correct engagement in the hindquarters built up over time, and never with the nose tipped behind the vertical. As Heushmann explains, “Swing and impulsion of the hind legs, accompanied by an even and consistent contact to the bit, cause the poll to relax with time. As a result, it begins to bend. The rider’s hand should play only a passive, feeling, waiting role. (Heushmann, 2016).
This waiting role takes time. Riders won’t get the instant gratification of the false lightness created when a horse evades rein pressure by dropping behind the vertical. Nor will they be rewarded in the dressage arena for the more extravagant leg movements that often accompany this abusive training, as the horse throws up their knees to counterbalance their restricted posture. This marionette style movement has unfortunately seen scores in FEI judging skyrocket, despite what the judging manual states. So, riders who do seek to learn about empathetic training towards collection may not feel quick results, or win many ribbons, but they will know that they are doing right by their horse by letting them see, breath and move, and by not causing them pain and potentially lifelong physical and psychological distress.
The photograph below shows a young horse ridden in a relaxed manner at walk. The beginning of collection is still apparent as the rider keeps a light hold on the reins and the horse carries himself with his nose well in front of the vertical.
Six years later, in the photograph below, the same pair perform piaffe. The horse has developed strength and muscle, the chest is lifted, the neck arched in self-carriage with the nose still in front of the vertical.
The horse, in both pictures, can see, breath, and move without pain. In the second picture, he has been given time to develop the strength needed to achieve the advanced collection required for high level movements. The rider sits lightly on the movement, and no resistance can be seen between the pair, the horse’s ears are attentively back but not pinned.
We need to start seeing beauty in this kind of slow progression. In fluidity, regularity, and liberty, with movements rewarded for trueness and accuracy, rather than an extravagance that glosses over the brokenness which underlies it. I am still retraining my eye to see this, and I am by no means an expert, nor is this intended to be a comprehensive explanation of equine biomechanics, but rather, a broad and simplified overview of the problems associated with misunderstanding collection. I hope that readers may strive to learn more, so that we can start to shift our training methods towards empathy over ego, and we can train our eyes to see the difference.
About the Author
Alexandra O’Sullivan lives in regional Victoria and writes fiction, creative non-fiction, reviews, and feature articles. Her work has appeared in publications such as Meanjin, The Victorian Writer and The Guardian. She works as a high school English teacher and was recently included in the anthology Teacher, Teacher published by Affirm Press.
References
FEI Dressage Judging Manual (2024) https://inside.fei.org/sites/default/files/FEI%20Dressage%20Judging%20Manual%20-%20Effective%201%20January%202024_0.pdf
Heuschmann. G (2016) Collection or Contortion?
Higgins. G (2006) Horse inside out https://www.horsesinsideout.com/
Horse – Pros.com Horse Anatomy: Eyes, Horse Vision (2016) https://horse-pros.com/5460/horse-anatomy-eyes-horse-vision
