Collection
Filed in: training
Collection
On my previous post, Karen asked if the photo of the paint horse being ridden by Harry Whitney demonstrated collection. She asked if I would post some examples of collection to help her develop a better awareness. So here are a few photos with accompanying comments. I hope others find them useful. You can click on any photo to see the image enlarged.
In this example, I’m riding my mare Six. At this stage she was very green with only a handful of rides. The horse is crashing on her forehand and is strung out and shows a tense top line. She is dragging himself forward with her forehand.
The next photo was taken several weeks later with Six showing a softness through her body. This
is the start of developing collection because a relaxed mind and body without trouble to reins and legs of the rider are a prerequisite for collection. Six is not yet showing collection. She is still heavy on the forehand (but not as much as the previous photo) and her hindquarters are not yet engaged enough. But Six is showing a level of softness that will allow collection develop soon.
The photo of the bay (pic on the left) is a horse that is somewhere between medium trot and collected trot. He is still dragging himself on his forehand and the base of the neck is pushing downwards between the shoulders. But the engagement of the hindquarters is just beginning.
The following picture (on the right) is an example of a more highly collected trot. The frame of the horse is highly contracted and he has raised the base of the neck and therefore raised his forehand. The hindquarters are well engaged. However, I find the horse to be quite tight in his body and a little heavier on the reins than I’d like to see in a truly soft horse. I have a feeling that collection has been forced on this horse rather than the horse offers collection.
The photo with the grey horse is showing a piaffe, which is a highly collected movement and requires great strength and athletic ability to be spectacular. Notice the elevation of the forehand and flexing of the hocks. Also you’ll see a very rounded back under the saddle.
Now look at the photo of Totilas from his earlier day showing collection (pic on the right). The horse shows hyper flexion, the base of the neck is jammed downward, the back is hollow and the hindquarters are strung out behind the horse. All this energy is in the front end and not the rear end. You just know the horse is not soft and feeling okay - look at the pressure on the reins and the open mouth. Totilas is considered one of the best dressage horses in the last several years. He does not exhibit true collection, yet despite this he has achieved world record scores in dressage competitions.
The next photo was taken at the National Arab Show in Stockdale, Arizona. The class is a western pleasure competition. The horse is considered collected by WP standards, but it is a false collection. The appearance of an over bent neck does not make a collected horse. Again you see the dragging forward from the forehand and the jamming of the neck. and the back legs dragging out behind the horse showing almost not flexion in the hocks.
This photo (right) is a really good example of a horse performing levade. Levade is considered one of the highest forms of collection a horse can perform. It requires a horse to bend his hocks to an almost sitting position while his forehand is elevated above the ground. It is not a rear because a rear is an extended movement. Levade requires an extreme level of contraction of the horse’s frame and engagement of the hindquarters.
Finally, the photo on the left is another levade that shows less collection than the previous picture. In this example the horse shows more extension of the hocks rather than collection and it is closer to being a rear rather than a levade, but not quite.
I hope that helps Karen and perhaps one or two other people.
On my previous post, Karen asked if the photo of the paint horse being ridden by Harry Whitney demonstrated collection. She asked if I would post some examples of collection to help her develop a better awareness. So here are a few photos with accompanying comments. I hope others find them useful. You can click on any photo to see the image enlarged.
In this example, I’m riding my mare Six. At this stage she was very green with only a handful of rides. The horse is crashing on her forehand and is strung out and shows a tense top line. She is dragging himself forward with her forehand.
The next photo was taken several weeks later with Six showing a softness through her body. This
I hope that helps Karen and perhaps one or two other people.
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