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.