ANSWER:
In a sense, the basic progression tends to be the same, whether the horse is
young or old. The main difference is that the road is longer and more
difficult with older horses who have already learned a number of bad habits.
The very first step towards straightening the horse is to ride accurate
arena patterns. This means that you have to plan ahead a little, visualize
the precise shape of the pattern you want to ride, and then monitor the
execution, making small adjustments whenever necessary. Karl Mikolka said
something to the effect that the pattern in its perfect form already has to
exist in the rider's mind *before* the rider begins it. Then it can flow
naturally out of horse and rider into the arena. This is an area in which
most riders are sadly neglectful - and they miss one of the most important
opportunities of gymnasticizing their horse.
The reason why correct arena patterns are so important is that by insisting
on precise, straight lines, round circles, voltes, corners, etc., you have
to adjust the horse's hips and shoulders accurately along the chosen track.
And that is merely a synonym for straightening the horse. It's as simple as
that - in theory. The practical execution can be difficult with some horses,
especially if you are really picky about what you accept as a straight line
or a round circle/volte/corner, etc.
Unless you are riding a very green horse or a horse that is severely sucked
back, precise arena patterns are the very first thing you have to address.
Everything else follows, because without the correct adjustment of the
horse's hips and shoulders, he will continuously drift over the shoulder on
the stiffer side, and his haunches will swing towards the hollow side. As a
result, One hind leg will always avoid stepping underneath the center of
gravity. It will neither thrust nor carry properly. Since it does not stay
on the ground long enough to support, the other hind leg does not have
enough time to swing forward. It will set down prematurely, which cuts down
its carrying phase and over-emphasizes its thrusting phase. This has
repercussions throughout the entire training pyramid, sometimes all the way
down to rhythm/tempo, because if you ask the horse to go forward honestly,
the difference in thrust will surface and the horse will tend to offer the
canter on the lead of the hollow side. Of course, this lateral imbalance
always leads to a longitudinal imbalance as well. Imbalance leads to
stiffness, i.e. the horse's relaxation/suppleness is compromised. Imbalance
and stiffness also lead to a faulty rein contact. It will either be heavy,
inverted, or non-existent (coiled-up horse). The crookedness introduces
unevenness to the rein contact. The contact will be more or less
significantly heavier on one side than on the other. The lack of
straightness, balance and relaxation severely compromise impulsion, and with
the serious flaws in all the previous elements of the training pyramid, true
collection can never materialize.
This is why precise arena patterns are so elementary, so important, and why
the old schools used to spend countless hours on learning to ride correct
arena patterns (in groups of 6-10 riders with precisely defined distances)
in all three gaits. Without being able to ride correct arena patterns it
makes no sense to even attempt to ride movements, because every movement is
ridden within a certain arena pattern. If the arena pattern is executed
poorly, the movement is doomed to fail right from the start, as the arena
pattern is more basic. The movement is merely added to the pattern.
Transitions e.g. on the quarter line are an excellent way of checking and
improving the straightness as well, because you will notice that the horse
will cheat in each transition by leaving the prescribed track with his
stiffer shoulder and/or his weaker hind leg (that on the hollow side). This
is something I do with every horse from time to time. It is always revealing
and always improves the horse's longitudinal suppleness quite a bit.
In addition to practicing correct patterns, lateral bending on circles,
voltes, serpentines, figures of eight, spirals, etc. increases the horse's
flexibility so that the lateral adjustment of hips and shoulders becomes
easier. Turns on the forehand and full passes can be helpful as well, as
they improve the horse's lightfootedness and attention to the rider's leg
aids. The lateral movements then continue to improve the straightness until
the horse becomes equally soft and flexible in both directions.
- Thomas Ritter
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Last Update: January 13, 2007