By Jec A. Ballou

We dressage riders have all been taught to create big forward movement in our horses. Yet, if we observed places like the Spanish Riding School, we may find that our goal could also be served by traveling backwards.

The rein-back was used extensively by the late Master Nuno Oliveira in Portugal and is still employed at the Spanish Riding School as a tool to loosen and strengthen the horse’s pelvis and to prepare for piaffe, pirouettes, and better collection. In essence, walking backwards stretches the horse’s big dense hindquarter musculature and causes a slight rocking in the lumbar sacral area. This suppling effect then in turn creates more range of motion in the horse’s forward-moving gaits.

Opinions vary widely among trainers about what is actually achieved by using the rein-back as more than a brief movement to be performed in dressage tests. Some believe it has no value whatsoever. Others believe it is extremely helpful for suppling and engaging the horse. Perhaps a better biomechanical understanding of the movement is needed.

Dr. Hilary Clayton, a research scientist and biomechanics expert, clarifies that the way in which a horse performs rein-back can make the exercise either valuable or detrimental. The problem here in the United States is that there are differing viewpoints about how to administer aids for the movement and how the horse should respond.

“One thing I have found is that horses do it (rein-back) a lot of different ways and any one horse can execute it differently every time he does it,” said Clayton. Her scientific studies have shown that there are numerous ways to make a horse back up.

The biomechanical benefits only result when the aids are given properly and the horse responds accordingly.

“It ALL depends on the rider and training,” Clayton said. When the training is correct and the aids are correctly given, the rein-back does in fact increase angulation in the pelvis and put the horse into a piaffe position, she confirmed.

Charles DeKunffy reminds riders from a judge’s standpoint that every movement in dressage tests, including rein-back, are valuable for daily schooling if they are broken down and understood for their gymnastic effect.

“The rein-back is only good if it’s done properly. But then it is very good for the horse,” said DeKunffy. “The aids correctly applied and the rein-back correctly performed is enormously valuable.”

He believes that rein-back is one of the few ways that a rider can elasticize and supple the horse’s lumbar sacral joint. This joint is responsible for flexing and lowering a horse’s haunches towards the ground.

Rein-back first appears in dressage tests at Second Level. By this level, a horse has achieved enough strength in his hindquarters that he can bear more of his mass on the hind joint. The rein-back evaluates—and develops—that ability. It is a way for judges to evaluate how successfully a horse can or cannot lower its haunches. Therefore, a Second Level rein-back should look differently than one at FEI, explained DeKunffy. A horse should demonstrate increasing levels of lumbar flexibility and lowering as it moves up the levels.

The movement must be performed absolutely straight. Crooked rein-backs show asymmetry in the horse’s training, uneven use of his hind legs, lack of balance, or unsteady connection to the rider’s hands. A horse’s topline must continue to reach forward and round as he steps backwards. He should walk backward with diagonal pairs and keep his back lifted. The movement should look like he is crouching lightly over the ground instead of pushing himself backwards from the front legs.

DeKunffy acknowledged that the majority of poor rein-backs in competition is likely due to the name of the movement. He’d like to see it re-named to reflect that the movement should come from the rider’s seat and legs. Maybe the word “rein” could be replaced in naming it, he suggested. Most riders just pull the horse backwards with the reins and this is incorrect. It automatically puts the horse on the forehand, creates resistance, and blocks the hindquarters. The horse then hollows his back and braces his front legs against the ground while traveling in reverse.

Proper aids for the movement should originate with a good halt, according to Hilda Gurney. If the halt is not deeply engaged, square, and uphill, the rein-back cannot be correct. In this preparatory halt, the horse must continue to bascule forward with his topline into a rider’s hands even after his feet have stopped moving. This element—reaching forwad to the bit—must exist throughout the movement. It is critical that a rider continues to think “forward, forward” while asking the horse to walk backwards.

From a good halt, the rider draws his legs behind the girth and squeezes gently. At the same time he lightens the weight in his seatbones slightly off the horse’s back muscles. Then, he closes his fists on the reins with a light downward pressure of the ring finger towards the ground. After four steps back, he drops his seatbones down, brings his legs forward to their neutral postion at the girth, and asks the horse to step forward.

Gurney stresses the importance of never squaring up following the rein-back. After the last step backwards, a horse should immediately take a forward stride without coming to a brief pause or abbreviated halt. So, the final backwards step should proceed promptly into the first forward stride as one continuous flow.

She advises riders not to try to achieve super long strides backwards. This can throw the horse off balance. Instead, think of collected walk steps backwards.

“It’s like every other thing in dressage: you’re playing with the balance,” she said.

Gurney said as a judge, she rarely sees high quality rein-backs in competition. Most often, the horses drop their shoulders rather than remain uphill. The reason for this may be a lack of preparation in the halt or the horse is simply not ready to bear so much engagement in its hind limbs.

Most riders tend to fixate on the backwards nature of the movement. Instead, more emphasis needs to be kept on keeping the exercise forward and in front of the leg. For that reason, she doesn’t teach a horse rein-back until it is clearly Second Level. She begins by teaching it to them from the ground, touching their chests or tapping their front legs with a whip.

Gurney reserves the exercise mainly for performing in tests. Whether it should be used more extensively in daily schooling to supple a horse’s pelvis, as it is for example at the Spanish Riding School, depends on if the horse can execute it without dropping onto the forehand and getting wide behind.

Article II - The Healthy Conditioning of the Sporthorse

“Healthy Conditioning of a Performance Horse’s Mind and Body”

Part 1: Identifying Shortcomings in the Horse’s Way of Going

By Jec Aristotle Ballou

Sometimes the most damaging thing we can do in training the horse is to adhere to a pre-determined plan. When we stick too rigidly to a set of goals—regardless of discipline—we can miss what the horse actually needs in moment-to-moment riding.

Achieving the horse’s highest athletic potential means developing his mind and body step by step; this requires that we think outside the box of our normal schooling routines. As I like to remind folks, more “half halts” is often not the answer to your training challenges.

IS HE BREATHING?

Moments of tension are expected when teaching the equine athlete new material or pushing his body to new limits. And much like us, the horse’s mind is tied to what his body is doing. Therefore, a tight or restricted body yields a tense mind which results in the horse holding its breath. If this goes unaddressed, the horse forms a habit of holding his breath, or breathing shallow without expanding his ribcage.

As with human athletes, the horse cannot oxygenate and relax his brain and muscles without breathing deeply. He will never develop his body fully and will hit a training plateau if he works with short breaths. I see numerous horses stuck at a particular level—or their gaits deteriorating—because they do not breathe rhythmically or deep enough while being schooled.

This is a very simple, but critical and often overlooked aspect.

When a horse breathes shallow, he will stride stiffly, his chest pushes out, and the hind legs trail far behind. Schooling him like this will break him down rather than strengthen him. Until the horse breathes properly, his musculature will not fill out adequately and his gaits will appear stilted instead of fluid. He must supply the body with proper oxygen.

Sometimes this means warming him up more appropriately for his temperament, giving him frequent walk breaks, or riding in a different tempo. You may need to avoid the work that causes him tension. You can encourage better breathing and athletic development by being more methodical in your training sessions. It can be beneficial to begin with work in hand to relax the horse and to see visibly when the animal begins to sigh and soften his posture.

Then, when you ride, save the more difficult work (canter, transitions, etc.) until the end when he will be a little tired and not so quick to tense his ribcage and tighten his breath. Above all, learn to take note of his breathing. How far into each session does it take for your horse to blow through his nose? How frequently does he do this when you ride? When you come to a halt and let the reins out, does he sigh? Does he sigh when you’re in motion? At the trot, can you feel his ribcage expanding and deflating under your legs?

THE NECK MUST BE LONG

When a horse is not allowed to develop slowly—such as learning to relax and breathe rhythmically as every athlete must—his body will compromise. Over time, he will become sore and break down. One of the best things we can do in listening to the horse’s needs is to not demand a particular “frame” or outline too soon.

Performance without proper rhythm and balance is a recipe that comes together naturally on its own, unless we riders interfere too much! We can damage the horse’s ability to achieve this by demanding an outline/posture before he is ready. This weakens his spine.

The horse must be allowed to develop contact with the rider’s hands over a long period as his balance and rhythm gets more sophisticated in an “open” frame with a long neck and stretched poll.

Even when he is ready to be ridden with shorter reins, he should only be worked in a collected frame for brief periods of time. The majority of riding should be done on a gentle, light contact encouraging the horse to stretch his neck out long with the poll open and the nose in front of the vertical.

This goes for ground work as well. Therefore, I caution against side reins and auxiliary aids that are thought to lift the horse’s back and keep a good posture. In reality, when a horse is worked with an overly rounded neck like this, his back must arch down in order for him to find balance. The top neck muscles become too tense; the under neck muscles pull upwards as the horse tries to support himself in this uncomfortable posture. This restricts respiration and blood supply.

Initially, the horse’s neck vertebrae will become stiff and tense. Continuing to work him in this manner will weaken his whole spine and result in unhealthy movement (resistance, choppy gaits, hollow back).

A horse must be worked in harmony with his natural balance. Expect too much too soon and you will destroy that balance. You must build strength and willingness over time with patience and generous praise.

Training performance horses is much like the old Zen story about the monk who chops wood day after day. His weeks and months are spent doing this simple, unexciting task. He does nothing but simply chop more wood, without seeing that he’s accomplishing anything. Then, one day he steps back and—aha!—he sees a huge, bountiful wood pile that he has created. It is enough to heat an entire village for the winter.

Likewise, training performance horses requires that we repeat simple gymnastic work day after day without expecting immediate results. The horse must be given a chance to develop and strengthen over time. Then, one day, like the monk, you can stand back and see how much your equine partner has developed.