Playing in pasture - such a light front end

Horses are magnificent and majestic animals. Who isn’t awed when they see a horse running freely in pasture, neck arched, tail held high and an elevated step that makes her look as if she is floating effortlessly across the ground? When we ride our horses our goal is to capture that beauty, that effortless floating motion and that spectacular presence of arched neck and high tail.

However wonderfully our horses move without a rider, it’s a whole different story when they carry us on their backs. Horses have to be taught how to carry a rider and the muscles of their backs have to be conditioned properly so they can attain that freedom of movement we see when they’re on their own, running around in a pasture.

Agile movement and athleticism - easy for a horse without a rider

How many times have we heard someone say “You don’t ride the head!!”? This is usually in response to a rider trying to force a horse into ‘collection’, thinking that collection only means an arched neck and a face that’s perpendicular to the ground. I’ve seen untold riders jiggling or see-sawing bits back and forth, yanking on reins, using tie-downs or draw-reins and employing all kinds of interesting and unusual techniques to ‘set’ a horses head and thinking that by doing this they are attaining “collection”. What they fail to understand is that collection starts with the back and ends with the head!

It is not natural for a horse to carry us on their backs. They just happen to be able to do it well because they are big, strong animals and are very accepting of us being up there – even though it goes against their natural instinct (visualize a cougar leaping on a horse’s back…).

Many people think that collection means having a stunning headset on your horse. A stunning headset on your horse is a by-product of good collection. Good collection means a horse who is supple, ‘light’ in the front end and whose back is strong and conditioned properly so he can bring his back legs under his center of gravity in order to lift himself. When the horse can lift his body and keep his front end light, he is able to do all kinds of amazing movements with a rider on his back.

When a rider tries to get a look of collection by focusing only on setting the head, the horse’s back is forgotten and what often happens is the horse becomes hollow in the back, stiff in the shoulders and heavy on the front end. He is unable to accomplish more advanced movements because the legs can’t come up under the body for proper support and balance.

At a trail clinic - backing Hershey through poles to help focus on his hind end

We achieve collection with our horses over a period of time – there are no short cuts to getting proper collection. There are a lot of things we can do to help our horses acquire correct collection. When starting out our ride, allow the horse to have a long rein. Trot him initially on a long rein and encourage him to reach down to the ground with his nose. What this does is stretch and warm-up the back muscles, much like a human jogger will stretch out her legs before setting out. As we ride our horses, try to feel where the back legs are being placed. Practice using your seat and leg aids to move your horse’s hip so you get a sense of where his back feet are. Use your leg aids to encourage him to reach his hind end under him. Lateral exercises such as two-tracking and shoulder-in help to supple a horse’s back. Doing circle and figure-eight work teaches the horse to place her hind end under her for better balance. Lifting of the back muscles requires strong stomach muscles so conditioning exercises such as vigorous trotting and loping, and watching our horse’s weight will help. Again, using our leg aids properly on his side, keeping our seats light and maintaining good balance ourselves will encourage him to lift his stomach and round his back. There are a lot of ways we can help our horses carry us – be sure to work with a good instructor who can teach you how to ride your horse well. Once your horse has a strong back and can place his hind legs under himself for optimal support and balance, you’ll notice the neck becomes stronger with a well-developed top line. This is because he is ‘light’ in the front end and can actually use his neck and shoulders to assist with balance and rounding his back. He will have learned to carry himself from the hind end, and learned to carry you, rather than falling forward into the bit and hollowing out his back.

Trail clinic - moving Hershey's hind end around a cone, working on back feet placement

When the horse becomes light in the bit, achieved because he has a strong back, has learned to place his hind legs under himself and has been taught how to carry his rider, he will have that beautiful arched neck and light, floating gait. We are on our way to true collection! Starting with the back, we have ended up at the front and we are truly riding our horses, the whole horse and not just the head.