Suppleness, Straightness and Balance

Training Through the Eyes of the Horse
with Carlos Tabernaberri
Developing
Suppleness,
Straightness
and
Balance
by Carlos Tabernaberri, photos by Marty Schiel
A
ll of the training fundamentals we have
discussed so far – trust, obedience and
respect; calmness and rhythm; and contact
and impulsion – are essential to developing
straightness and balance. A horse can’t be wellbalanced if he lacks straightness.
But even before we look at these elements, we
need to consider the horse’s suppleness, both of
mind and body, and of his mental, emotional and
physical states. Without suppleness, there is no
point in working on straightness.
Supple in Mind and Body
To supple your horse’s mental state, you must
have his full confidence. That way, he can focus
on you. Your requests must be clear so that he
understands and can follow through obediently.
Rough or unreasonable treatment will interfere
with his ability to understand, particularly if he
is shy or sensitive.
In my experience, whether or not a horse is
emotionally supple is nearly always based on
whether the horse is afraid of his rider or handler.
A frightened horse cannot understand what you
want and, therefore, cannot do what you ask.
This is an example of straightness, featuring a 4½-year-old mare
with only three weeks of work under saddle. My shoulders are
square to the horse – follow the zip of my vest and see how it hits at
the centre of the poll and follows down to where her nose is centred
on her chest. If she were standing still instead of walking forward,
she would be square.
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SuPPliNg tHRougH gRouNDwoRK
You can see this older Quarter
Horse drag his right hind
leg as I ask him to yield his
hindquarters.
This case of stiffness was so
extreme, the horse actually
created a hexagonal pattern in
the sand by dragging his hind
legs.
Instead, he will do what he thinks is the right thing to
survive – something humans often misinterpret as
disobedience. To develop emotional suppleness, we establish
that calmness we looked at earlier (see the May/June issue).
From a physical standpoint, by ‘supple’ I mean the horse
has a full range of motion in his joints, allowing him to easily
and calmly shift his balance in all directions – forward,
backward and laterally – with softness and balance, like a
ballroom dancer.
Thinking Time Tip
Don’t confuse suppleness with flexibility
flexibility� Flexibility can be
demonstrated when the horse is standing still
still� A flexible horse
may be one who can bring his neck around at the standstill,
but, when moving, lacks the full range of motion in his joints
joints�
A supple horse has full range of motion through the joints,
especially those of the poll, hip, stifle and hock when he is
moving� A lot of flexible horses are still very crooked – more
moving
so carrying a rider – while a supple horse can be asked to go
forward with calmness and will be straighter
straighter�
Suppling Through Groundwork
A lack of physical suppleness can often present as a
lack of forwardness (‘dead to the leg’) or, as in the case
of an older Quarter Horse I was recently working, a
reluctance to lift his legs and to step over things. This
horse had always been ridden with spurs, so he was in
essence ‘dead to the rider’ – in both mind and body. (A
thorough examination had been performed on this
horse to ensure there were no physical problems such
as, for example, a bad back, feet in poor condition, or
an ill-fitting saddle, and he was found to be sound.)
Before getting on any horse, I use groundwork to
check out his frame of mind, to ensure the tack fits
properly and to get him focused on me. Part of that
groundwork includes lateral and vertical flexion – if
he can’t give me lateral flexion, that shows lack of
suppleness at the poll.
When I asked this particular horse for a hindquarter
yield on the ground, he demonstrated his stiffness by
dragging his hind legs to create a hexagonal pattern in
the sand, rather than lifting them and giving me a
nice, soft crossover.
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This horse has never been worked to be ‘supple,’ only asked to jog and lope, and is very stiff as a result.
When I asked him to move out on a
circle, the lack of suppleness of his hind
legs, in particular, became even more
evident. In this case, the horse had never
been worked to create suppleness, only to
jog and lope. This lack of suppleness is
often seen in horses that are trained for
specific disciplines. Regardless of
discipline, suppleness should be an integral
part of any horse’s training program.
When a horse is physically supple, as we
work on straightness, he will be better
balanced on both sides of his body equally,
and impulsion will come as a result of
developing these prerequisites.
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38
Using Poles for Suppleness and
Straightness
The horse must be supple, calm and
forward. This will improve his balance and
will increase the propulsive power of his
hindquarters and, as a result, he can be
straightened. As an exercise to improve
suppleness, get the horse trotting calmly
and in rhythm. Then, set up three trot
poles on the ground.
For an average size horse (about 15
hands), I space the poles at about 1.2
metres, but you will need to space them
according to your horse’s stride length.
On a lead of at least 12 feet, circle the
horse around and over the poles, in a
straight line, in each direction to
familiarize him with the exercise, starting
at the walk and moving onto a trot/jog
when the horse is comfortable. Look for
good action of the joints and don’t worry if
he trips or does not focus.
Repeat the exercise under saddle. You
can start with the poles near an arena wall
or a safe fence. When the horse is going
nice and straight, move the poles away
from the fence and repeat the exercise
– trot over the poles, do a large circle, then
straighten the horse and ride him back on
a straight line over the poles in the other
direction and repeat. As you continue the
work on the circle over the poles, the horse
will start to lift his legs, suppling his joints.
The straightness he has developed will be
evident when he does not have a fence to
rely on and you have him nicely straight
between your hands and reins.
To make sure the horse stays between
the reins (or hands) and the leg, if he veers
off to the left, for instance, use a leading
right rein to the horse’s right, so his right
front foot goes back to the track. I will also
use my left leg behind the girth to ask for
his left hind leg to step under his belly
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more. As a result, instead of leaning to one
side (in this case to the left) this action will
get the horse more upright and straight. If
we were to use a leg yield instead, we
would create bend, not straightness.
I do NOT force the horse over the poles
by driving him. I want him to work over
them willingly, so I first ask him to walk
over the poles, then to trot, once he is sure
about them. If you cause him stress, he may
stumble simply because you are not helping
him relax.
If the horse frequently trips over or clips
the poles, make sure they are not spaced
wider than he can cope with for his stride
length at the trot. Generally, 1.2 metres
apart is good for most horses, but make sure
you follow the horse and what is right for
him, not a generalized rule for using the
poles.
When starting out with this exercise, in
order to help the horse move forward freely,
I like to get my weight off his back by
standing in the stirrups as he goes over each
pole. He is already burdened with the
weight of the rider, so he does not need me
sitting on him at this stage. In time, when
he becomes more supple, simply rising the
trot over the poles is adequate.
As I get more lateral flexion at the poll, the hind leg lifts and crosses over.
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Using Poles for Suppleness and Straightness
Going over the trot poles, the horse knocks the pole instead of lifting his leg – see the sand kick up from the
front of his toe? It reflects the lack of flexion in his hindquarters.
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Achieving Balance
Balance is when your horse is working straight and
forward, distributing his weight equally on all four feet, and
you are aware of how your body affects his movement.
Ideally, your horse should move to both sides on all yields
evenly. With practice, you can alleviate any favouritism of
one side over the other. Some horses are gifted with natural
balance, and good conformation can also be a plus when it
comes to balance.
The rider’s balance is always crucial to enhance the
horse’s balance as well. An unbalanced rider will affect the
horse’s balance even more, so good riding is necessary to
help a horse regardless of the training we are planning to
do and the goals we want to achieve.
The best way to improve your balance is to work on a
quiet horse that is not bothered by being lunged by
someone on the ground. This allows you, the rider, to
concentrate on being just a ‘passenger,’ while the horse is
lunged on a wide circle on a long line. You should work on
the rising trot without holding onto the reins for security. I
like to teach riders bareback also, but starting at a walk.
Until the rider achieves an ‘independent seat’ (a seat that is
not dependant on gripping with the legs around the horse’s
barrel or relying on the reins for balance), however, using a
saddle may be the better approach.
Rhythmic, normal breathing as you ride is also crucial for
good balance. Your breathing should not be forced or held
for too long in the inhalation. Be sure to breathe in through
your nose and exhale through your mouth.
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He’s lifting his legs, but only just to clear the poles.
He’s working it out, but I am helping by also standing on stirrup and truly getting off his back to
encourage a bit more flexion than if I was sitting on saddle.
Thinking Time Tip
Some bolting horses are simply ‘unbalanced runaways’
that must speed up to keep from falling� If a horse is
speeding up, his centre of balance moves forward and
he carries more weight on the forehand, his hind legs
don’t engage well, he loses balance and traction� If
the rider also tips forward, the horse hurries his tempo
until he catches his balance (if he does)� Bolting horses
speed up to keep from a feeling of falling as they get
too much on the forehand�
The Start of Self-Carriage
A horse’s ability to carry himself in balance, with
forward and rhythmic movement while maintaining
smooth gaits is true collection or ‘self-carriage,’
something we’ll look at more in the next issue.
A young Warmblood I recently worked with was
already showing suppleness at the poll at just 4½
years of age. She carried herself nicely under saddle,
even though I was not looking for collection. In this
case, I won’t have to wait until later in her training to
encourage her to be independent of the reins.
During one session, we worked on balance. She
would only take three or four steps and then lose this
self-carriage, but as she learns to balance, carry weight
using her hindquarters and strengthen her back, this
will come. If I were to push her too hard or fast,
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He is showing
some good flexion,
especially in front,
after working on the
trot poles.
ENCouRAgiNg SElF-CARRiAgE
The reinback is an excellent way to
engage the hindquarters. This young
mare is showing good lowering of
the croup and good diagonals on the
reinback, despite being ‘bum high’
because she is still growing.
without developing solid foundations, she could easily
develop both physical and emotional issues.
To get the horse using her hindquarters, I started by
going backward (using a reinback), leaning forward
slightly to get off her loins. At first, she was flexed at
the poll, and her diagonals could have been better, but,
during the session, she was lowering the croup and
starting to get the idea of using her hindquarters. I rode
her on a soft rein, and even though she was not being
forced, she did express her opinion by swishing her tail.
This was only because she was being asked to do
something that was harder for her – carrying weight on
her haunches.
Another thing to be aware of is that all horses are
naturally crooked to one side or the other. This mare
was naturally slightly crooked to the left. I look for
straightness from nose to neck to back to tail. Riding a
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This mare is naturally slightly
crooked to the left.
Here, we are doing a turn to the right to encourage her to engage the
inside hind leg, while still tracking straight.
horse on a lose rein allows me to check to see if it can
maintain straightness. In this case, when the mare
began to get crooked, I was able to correct her with
the right rein again and with my right leg to get her
attention to the right. It’s a bit like a car that needs a
wheel alignment – if it pulls to the left you steer to the
right.
I used turns, 20-metre circles and wide serpentines,
to supple this young mare. She was not ready for
shoulder-in, but her hind legs were tracking the front
legs, as they should, even on the turn.
Remember, while it may be tempting to push ahead
and ask for self-carriage, without establishing the
strong foundations of suppleness, straightness and
balance, you risk creating long-term problems. We’ll
look at how this all comes together in true self
carriage in the next issue.
Take Home Message
What is often termed laziness, deadness, or
stubbornness may simply be a misinterpretation on
the part of the human, and not what is really going on
with the horse in his mind and body. It goes back to
what I say – always look at things ‘through the eyes of
the horse’ if you truly want to understand how your
horse is reacting or responding to your requests.
She is showing nice flexion in the joints of her hip
and legs. There is good knee and hock action, unlike
the older Quarter Horse in this article. This is true
suppleness.
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