Dressage Principles: GroundWork

The classical training scale is a guide for all horsepersons in developing their horse. Each element builds upon the prior element and as the horse progresses, concepts further up the scale enhance those at the beginning. In this way, the training of the horse is both linear and cyclic. You make progress, and yet you are never finished.

This work can and should begin on the ground. Due to many factors "groundwork" has become popular again. As the number of new middle aged riders increases, the number of qualified professionals to adequately train horses diminishes, and the supply of correctly trained horses in relation to numbers in existence decreases, you end up with a disproportionate number of beginning and lower level riders with "too much horse". Unable and/or unwilling to provide their horse with adequate professional assistance many rely on 'cookbook' programs that put the rider back on the ground to begin with- a) because the rider is truly afraid -and often should be- of riding their horse, or b) its simply not possible to teach the nuances of riding via a mass marketed homestudy course.

Several things then can happen. Riders become content to live on the ground with their horses via enablement being told "you don't have to go beyond level ___", they get 'control' of the horse, but don't develop the skills that make it a riding horse, horses become too lame to ride as a result of repetitive tight circles jumping from standstills and swinging hindquarters to and fro among other things, and/or horses actually re-gress and become worse. I have such a horse in my barn who in a matter of a few months became unrideable, lame to the point of needing countless exams with no diagnosis, and was subsequently GIVEN away. This same horse with proper ground work is now a wonderful riding horse who even gives beginner lessons.

What constitutes correct groundwork then that develops skills for a riding horse and ultimately produces such an animal?

• It must respect the 3 systems of the horse, physical/biomechanical, psychological (mind), and spiritual (emotions) horses do experience some emotion in fear, contentment, exuberance, impatience....
• The ground work should directly relate to skills the horse will need under saddle. A horse should become more rideable as a result of the groundwork and quickly.
• Ground work should be a stage of training rather than a discipline of its own. (in rare cases horses cannot be ridden and this can give them a purpose. Our theme is however developing a riding horse)

Lets take the first two elements of the training scale: Rythm (takt) and suppleness (lossgelassenheit)

Rythm is the purity of the footfalls in relation to the gait ie: 4 beat walk, 2beat trot, and 3beat canter. But, it also emcompasses the quality of tempo or the speed at which those footfalls occur. In this stage the horse learns to find and maintain the tempo of each gait that enhances its purity and ultimately the balance of the horse both in mind and body. Some horses may need to move out more quickly in order to find their balance while others must slow down. For example, I have one young horse whose tendency is to be quick. When t his happens he gets himself worked up and tense. If I slow him down, he settles in his mind. Once he settles I actually can speed him up slightly where he has a better physical balance.

The first lesson for the young horse is leading. In leading the young horse finds that he must stay at the pace of his handler. Handlers should be aware that its not fair to ask a young 17hh horse to immediately walk at a snails pace and should march along with the horse and gradually teach the horse to carry himself in a slower pace for his handler. I'm just 5'1" and some of my young projects are quite large. I just MARCH to get in synch with them, then I can gradually slow, expect them to, reward and open the stride up again. We do this on our way to and from the pasture or the arena.

On the lunge, the horse learns to walk and trot in this way as well. The whip drives the horse on and the lunge line provides half-halts or takes and gives to encourage a horse to slow. When the horse has found the correct tempo and moves in rythm, they naturally have achieved some level of balance.

BALANCE IS CALMING TO A HORSE = LACK OF BALANCE IS UNSETTLING

When a horse is tense and frantic on the line, he is without a doubt out of balance. Priority one is to find rythm and thereby balance to soothe the horse. Once comfortable and calm, confident in his balance, the horse begins to demonstrate relaxation which is a key element of suppleness, the second element of the training scale

The German term in quotations above roughly translates to "looseness". Master cowboy horseman Ray Hunt calls it "turning loose", but it is evident in a horse that begins to let his topline lengthen, his strides subsequently become longer, his joints soften and give more on impact with the ground as he supples himself. The horse becomes supple first longitudinally, or back to front before becoming supple laterally or side to side. A horse that is supple, can keep his rythm and tempo as he makes his strides slightly longer or slightly shorter and stays balanced and rythmic through basic transitions from walk to trot to walk. These are developing both in leading the horse and on the lungeline. At this point, I begin to lunge the horse in properly fitted side-reins so that the loose horse finds that he can let himself go into a steady and light contact. If this stage is not developed in the proper timeframe, a horse can suffer significant consequences for all further training. THe horse must learn to move in rythmic balance TOWARDS the bit with a loose topline. Until this is achieved nothing else can be accomplished. Anything accomplished without it will be an assortment of tricks done in a false "frame" or pose. What is referred to as "poodle dressage."

Its very rare that enough time is spent on obtaining a very solid foundation in these two basic qualities. Bend, contact with the bit, increased impulsion and ultimately collection all develop more easily when the horse has become balanced in the correct rythm/tempo and is supple enough to maintain these qualities through transitions with a long topline that accepts some contact.