DRESSAGE TERMS.
PART 3
BEYOND THE COMMENTS OUR FOCUS TURNS TO THE HORSE’S BACK WHICH LINKS THE FOREHAND AND HINDQUARTERS WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY HIGHLIGHTED. JANE KIDD EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A HORSE WORKING THROUGH THE BACK
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AND CLARIFIES THE MEANING BEHIND SOME COMMON COMMENTS FROM JUDGES.
he back is the bridge between the two areas we’ve looked at in the previous articles in this series – the forehand and the hindquarters. It’s often overlooked as it takes skill, experience and knowledge for judges, riders and trainers to assess how well it’s working. he effects o a bac that is working well are profound. The
increasing importance given to it distinguishes a ‘happy athlete’ (FEI’s objective) from a merely ‘obedient horse’ and from the dressage horses of the past to that of modern times. One of the reasons why the way the back works has become of greater importance is the increasing opportunity to make it supple and swinging. The conformation of most of the horses in the past had backs
ABOVE: THE BEST TEST OF WHETHER A HORSE IS USING ITS BACK IS THAT WHEN THE RIDER EASES THE CONTACT IN THE REINS THE HORSE STRETCHES FORWARD AND DOWN. THIS YOUNG HORSE HAS CLEARLY BEEN USING ITS BACK MUSCLES. RIGHT: ALLOWING THE HORSE TO WORK IN A MORE HORIZONTAL OUTLINE HELPS TO GET THE BACK TO SWING. THIS IS THE WAY MOST HORSES ARE RIDDEN IN THE EARLY STAGES OF THEIR TRAINING AND AS THE WORK ADVANCES, AT THE START OF THE WARM UP, AS WELL AS BETWEEN EXERCISES AS A REWARD, TO CHECK IF THE BACK IS MOBILE OR TO ENABLE THE BACK TO BECOME MORE SUPPLE AGAIN.
that were di cult to mobilise. Selective breeding of today’s dressage horses has corrected this handicap. Another reason is that it has taken time to build up and spread the knowledge and ability needed to train a horse to work through its back.
TRAINING THE BACK Fundamental to recognising and achieving a supple back is that the rider/trainer knows how it works. It’s a shock for a young horse to carry a heavy weight on its back and it tends to respond by hollowing and tightening its muscles. This reaction obstructs su leness and ma es it di cult for the momentum generated in the hindquarters to pass through to the bit. Also, the muscles affected are the ones which are designed to facilitate movement and help the paces
BRITISH DRESSAGE // Issue 6 2020 // 53
