32 Founding Director and Editor : CRC OFFICE: Sylvia Loch (Mrs R G P Hawkins) C/o Long Meadow Business Consultant : 44 Belchamp Road John C Price, FCA Tilbury Juxta Clare CO9 4JT www.classicalriding.co.uk Email : [email protected] Impulsion – And How To Channel It BY SYLVIA LOCH here are many stories about horses tanking off with their owners, either out hacking or hunting or even at dressage shows. I once witnessed this at a top-end competition and could not help feeling I would never wish to compete on such a horse, however talented, if I did not feel master of its energy. On the other hand, TI would never want to compete with a horse that lacked impulsion. Believe me, the latter is just as important in dres- sage as it is in the other disciplines. Without energy we have nothing to work with and it is the correct channelling of the horse’s energy that can change everything and produce a beautiful performance. We hear a lot about ‘legs, legs, legs!’ from various teachers and trainers and I have been privy to a lesson where that was about the only word used. What a waste of the student’s money! As well as asking the horse to go forward from the leg, the rider must be made aware also that the seat and legs can divert or dampen energy at will. During the lesson in question, it was fairly obvious that the student was actually stopping the horse with the leg, but since no one sought to correct this, little was achieved. I somehow doubt the instructor knew the difference. One of the hardest things to grasp for the newcomer to dressage is that speed and ‘running’ have little to do with impulsion. Even at the highest levels, where collection and self-carriage are required, many horses are trying to run but are held back, imprisoned by the outline their rider has imposed on them. Draw-reins are often to blame in the schooling and preparation of the horse for dressage, but taut reins, flexed biceps and a seat and legs that work against the horse instead of allowing him to flow freely forward, can ruin what otherwise might be a harmonious picture. One of the reasons the teaching of the Classical Seat is so important is to help riders use their seat and legs to channel energy rather than relying on gadgets or the hands alone. To understand these functions better, we may liken them – in a very simplistic way – to the accelerator and gears of a car. Thus the energy produced by the engine can be harnessed to produce low gears or high, overdrive, reverse or stop. It is simply a matter of knowing how! As with a high-powered car, the feel and timing must be synchronised or we’ll simply crash through the gears and be at odds with our horse. While most riders are aware that their legs encourage the horse to move forward (acceleration) and their judicious use is the key to maximising energy, fewer riders realise that the legs can transform this energy to collect, redirect or stop the horse going forward altogether. How many are aware that from the horse’s point of view, the feel of the rider’s seat on their back is hugely affected by the legs? Tight legs will generally work against the horse and hugely disturb the balance of the pelvis and upper body. For the seat and legs to work in harmony, the ideal is to sit centrally and allow our legs gently to drop and drape the horse as a consequence of gravity. Once this is achieved we can apply a forward or a stopping aid more correctly – i.e. ask and then allow. Without the ‘allow’ phase of the action, the ‘ask’ for impulsion or the ‘ask’ for a halt will be nullified. To promote a good adhesive seat, the old masters placed much importance on the opening of the rider’s hip- joints. Only then could the legs ‘fall into place’ with no apparent muscular effort other than a feeling of stretch and tone through the front of the thighs down to the knees. To ease the hip-joints, the thigh must first be rotated slightly outwards and away from the horse, so that on its return to the saddle, the knee turns in and the flat, inner surface of the thigh brought to bear. This renders the rider stable and firm without the need to grip. It is then much easier to ask for more impulsion with a quick ‘on-off’ forward aid which allows the impulsion to travel through without impediment Those few modern trainers who take their time to study the anatomy of the rider as well as the horse recognise that work without stirrups is only successful once the position of the rider’s pelvis is addressed. It is virtually impossible to ‘ask’ or indeed ‘let go’ with the leg if the pelvis is angled backward – as in a chair seat. Once the rider is encouraged to sit in the deepest part of the saddle balanced over his or her ‘three points’ – that is two seatbones Tracking-up May 2016 33 and crotch – for stability, the hip-joints and legs very naturally free up of their own accord. The aids issued from an upright, independent seat can be fine-tuned to an extraordinary degree. Once the rider understands that the act of bringing his shoulders back deepens the back of the seat, he will also discover an important driving aid especially if the legs naturally ‘ask’ at the girth at the same moment. Then, conversely, all they have to think of is drawing up very upright through the core muscles to stop, slow or collect the horse. This is attained more easily by moving the legs very slightly behind the girth to dampen or arrest impulsion. For rein back, the aid is similar to that of a downward transition, but it helps to bring the shoulders slightly forward to lighten the back of the seat. The legs are then applied a few inches behind the girth to take the energy backwards. On a well- schooled horse, even on a sensitive novice mount, this is enough to divert the horse’s impulsion in the opposite direction. We now see how important it is not to kick the horse behind the girth to attain more impulsion. Quite the reverse! As teachers, one of our primary tasks should be to explain to the rider the link between the leg and the pelvis and how the position of one affects the position of the other. In addition, the rider should know why they are applying a particular aid at a particular time and appreciate how each action of the leg will not only have an effect on the horse’s sides but will change what he is feeling under saddle. Thirdly, timing and synchronisation must come into the equation as no single aid is of value unless asked for at the propitious moment, assisted by very subtle rein aids. As the hips and the leg position are clearly independent, it should become clear that too drastic a change in either part may affect the equilibrium of the whole structure. Let us imagine, however, that these matters have been addressed and our horse is working forward in a nice active trot, while we, tall, upright and in the centre of the saddle, sit adhesively to the trot. In a vertical posture, everything feels fairly neutral and balanced over the equine back so the horse can flow happily beneath us. If we have good feel, we will be able to enhance the movement by slight weight changes, clearly felt by the horse through our seat. These are the fine-tuning aids which have been handed down to us over many centuries to become the accepted training aids of today. Unfortunately, too many people learn these aids parrot-fashion, failing to realise that they can only work to the benefit of the horse if certain adjustments are made elsewhere. When we require more impulsion therefore, we must take care as we apply the lower leg at the girth, that our seat does not slide back, which would hollow the horse. Instead, we must send the seat bones forward which can only be done by bringing the shoulders back supported by a firm core muscles and a supple lower back. The sensation is often described as ‘riding waist-towards-hands.’ Similarly, if we wish to collect the horse and bring his weight back, the leg moving behind the girth to gather the hind legs, must not encourage us to sit heavily on the crotch. Due to the mechanical effect of our pelvis when the lower leg moves behind the vertical line of the hip to heel there will be more contact here which can block the flow of impulsion. To counteract this, we simply stretch up Top: the correct leg position. through the abdomen and think tall. It’s a wonderful feeling to sense the impulsion and energy of the horse being diverted upwards and it Above: the three-point seat contact. has very little to do with the hands. Provided the rider appreciates that everything is connected to everything else and that no aid can work in isolation, he/she will soon learn to think before acting. In this way, a naive or crude-seated rider can be transformed by riding a sensitive, highly tuned horse. Long before the instructor has uttered a word, the horse will show how a carelessly applied forward leg aid can cause him to hollow or disengage.