The feel in the rider’s seat and hand has to match each other. If the hind legs are hard and stiff, the rein contact has to be similarly unpleasant, if the spine transmits the motion impulse of the hind leg forward to the hand. Once the hind legs become supple, the horse can relax his neck and poll so that the rein contact becomes pleasant. However, if the hind legs are so stiff that the rider’s butt hurts, while the rein contact is “light” and “soft”, the horse is in reality behind the seat and the leg, and is evading the rider’s aids through excessive mobility in the base of the neck. The rider is now no longer able to reach the hindquarters or the poll with his aids, because the horse fills neither his seat nor his legs, and all aids escape through the false bend at the base of the neck. Conversely, muscle blockages in the neck and poll can prevent the hind legs from stepping forward energetically and becoming supple. That is why we often have to alternate between exercises that dissolve the tension in the neck and poll and those that supple the hindquarters and abdominal muscles. (Thomas Ritter)
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 05:48:18 +0000
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