Training Tips

October 2000 - The Process of "Collection"

From my web site at www.raylacroix.com, I frequently receive questions from the readers. One of the best questions that I received from the last Trainers Tip was, "If I want to collect my horse, what is the best way to start?" This question was right in line with what I wanted to talk about in this Tip.

True collection starts from the hindquarters of a horse through engagement, or the motion of a horse "sticking his tail in the dirt". There are numerous ways to get horses to engage. All methods utilize some sort of pressure, be it the subtlety of implied pressure, such as gesturing to your horse, but not touching him, to using your leg with a gentle nudge, to tapping him on the hindquarters with a crop. Using pressure in this manner will naturally generate impulsion. I like to think of impulsion as a flow of energy that emanates from the hindquarters and flows to the horse's head using the spine as the conduit. Thinking in this manner creates a dilemma because that flow of energy, or forward impulsion, must be contained at some time, or the horse will run off. It's the containment of this energy and the compromise by the horse of reacting to both of the requests of going forward, and of respecting the bridle, that fosters the act of collection. If the rider is to contain the energy, it will be necessary for him/her to take an active hold of the horse's mouth. The reaction of the horse at this time will either be "soft" or somewhat non-responsive. So, what comes first? This is like the chicken or the egg dilemma. Do you drive a horse forward before it has learned to handle the bridle, or do you teach a horse to handle the bridle (and how do you do that without driving it forward) before you send it up to it's head?

The answer to this question is that, in order for collection to occur, the horse must be knowledgeable enough to make himself comfortable when he encounters the bridle. In order for this to happen the rider will have to do both, drive the horse forward enough so that he finds the bridle, and subsequently "direct him around the bridle" in such a way that he learns how to make himself comfortable without getting "stuck". In young horses, the amount of impulsion created will probably not be enough to create true "engagement". Instead, the impulsion level should just be enough to slightly change his frame and encourage him to address the bridle. As the young horse addresses the bridle and softens laterally, he should receive a reward of the release of any pressure from either the rider's legs or hands. With older horses that are more "stuck" or frozen in the bridle, more impulsion may be necessary, added in a way that encourages them to move through the bridle so that they may receive a reward. The reward of absence of pressure (slack in the reins) will turn their "non-learning" or non-responsive pattern into one of learning to seek comfort.

In the above paragraphs, I have talked about "driving horses around the bridle", or, "adding impulsion in a way that encourages them to move through the bridle". What I am referring to is a lateral move of the head and neck of the horse. There are a variety of lateral moves incorporating different parts of a horse's body. What is important about any lateral move is the fact that a horse can (and frequently does) bend his neck one way or the other without rotating his Poll. So, what the heck is "rotating his Poll", and why is it important?

A horse's head is joined to his neck in such a manner that he can swivel his head in any direction, much like it was attached to the neck with a simple ball joint. The first two vertebrae, the Atlas and the Axis, are responsible for this freedom of movement. There are also some muscles, called the short extrinsic muscles of the poll on the upper part of his neck, which enable a horse to utilize this full range of motion. They do this by both, contracting and releasing. The key word here is releasing. When a horse is nervous, or has anxiety about something, the first place that the nervousness shows up is in these muscles, causing them to contract, or freeze. When this happens, the horse's poll also becomes frozen and the rider feels "stiffness" in his/her hands. If this occurs in a lateral move, a horse will actually bend his neck in the direction that the rider is requesting, but fail to rotate his poll. A common consequence of this is a horse that fails to follow his head, and instead, "rubber necks" by dropping and running through a shoulder (a horse that looks one way, but runs the other way). A horse that exhibits this behavior in a lateral move will also be crooked to the bridle when the rider straightens him out. All of this information serves as a backdrop for the answer to the original question of "What is the best way to start collecting my horse?"

The way that works well for me is to first establish whether my horse will rotate his poll when asked to address the bridle in a small circle. If this response is not present, I will slow my training process down and simply stop the horse and flex him off to the side to ultimately put his nose by my leg. In order to do this he will have to release and rotate his poll somewhat. At the first indication of acceptance, I will release the pressure on the rein and let him have a reward. I will then repeatedly ask for the same move, with a reward each time, until I have gone past just "acceptance" from the horse, and moved into "compliance". You have reached compliance when your horse willingly will repeat the same move with little or no resistance.

Once I have compliance on one side, I will repeat the same exercise on the opposite side. When this step is finished, I will start walking in the same circle as before and add enough forward impulsion through the use of my inside leg, or a tap on his inside hindquarter with a crop, to stimulate the horse to address the bridle in this offset position. As he moves to the bridle, he will deepen his lateral position, and, as he does so, he will again rotate his poll. As he is in the act of rotation and starts to release the bridle, I will again reward him with slack in the reins as well as a cessation of pressure from my forward aid. This first response may require several bumps from your leg, or several taps from the crop to achieve. The first mental state that you want your horse to be in is acceptance. Once this state is achieved, you can patiently work towards compliance on both sides.

The outcome of this exercise will be the development within your horse of a willingness on his part to move to your fingers when asked, because he knows that all he has to do to receive a reward is to rotate his poll. This willingness to move to the rider's fingers is the most critical part of his training. The willingness of your horse to work for you is something that you must earn. You cannot force your horse into willingness; willing ness must be given to you.

When your horse starts off at a walk, and at his first step willingly moves his entire body into your fingers, releases his poll, and "tucks his nose", you will have achieved the first step towards ultimate collection. From this point on, the question isn't if your horse will accept and engage himself into the bridle, it will be, "How far can you take this response?"

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