Pyramid Power

While likely not the same as when the Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Red Kelly, put pyramids under the players bench during the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1976 to harness pyramid power and lead his Maple Leafs to victory, the dressage pyramid is also a model for success and victory. (Author’s note: the Toronto Maple Leafs have not won a Stanley Cup since 1967 – the longest drought of any team in the NHL. So obviously it didn't work in hockey)

The training pyramid for dressage illustrates the building of dressage skills for the horse and rider team. It is a useful model to show how new skills build upon previous skills. As the team advances and works on more difficult maneuvers, they build on the foundational skills at lower levels of the pyramid. Just like in a pyramid, the advanced skills require a solid foundation on which to sit upon and this can only occur with the mastery of the lower skills.

 

But as a DDD, it’s difficult to see the nuances of each of these building blocks. So a “simplified” description of each working from the bottom up is helpful. The next illustration of the pyramid helps to show the positioning of the horse to help illustrate each level.

 

Rhythm

Rhythm, not to be confused with speed or tempo, is how the feet fall in any gait. They need to fall in a specific pattern that was described in the previous post “Going through the Paces”. The walk needs to be a 4-beat rhythm, the trot a 2-beat rhythm with a suspension between each beat, and the canter a 3-beat rhythm with a suspension after the 3^rd beat that counts as the 4^th (silent) beat. See the video of the song “We Will Rock You” by Queen in the previous post. The USDF defines rhythm as:

“the characteristic sequence of footfalls and phases of a given gait. For purposes of dressage, the only correct rhythms are those of the pure walk, pure trot and pure canter (not those of amble, pace, rack, etc.) Not to be confused with “tempo,” “cadence” or miles per hour."

The key to good rhythm is balance of the horse and the horse-rider team.

Relaxation

When the horse is relaxed, the horse can work better because there is little tension. The horse is able to move better and willingly “listen” to the rider. The two components in relaxation, elasticity and suppleness, helps the horse with its rhythm and its ability to move up the pyramid. Being relaxed allows the horse to better meet the different paces in each gait, both lengthening and shortening its strides as it moves through collected to extended paces while maintaining its rhythm (elasticity). Bending (laterally – lateral suppleness) and extending (stretching – longitudinal suppleness) allows the horse to adjust gaits and paces and perform circles of different diameters while keeping its rhythm.

Connection

Connection is the contact between the rider’s hands and the horse’s mouth, through the reins and bit. It is not the rider pulling on the reins but pushing the horse from behind onto the bit. It is not done through the hands but through the leg and seat. The rider must be sitting correctly with arms moving in time with the horse’s head. Since connecting is a push from behind, not a pull on the reins, the horse will look compact or “rounded”, having a higher frame from pushing from the rear.

Signs to look for to show good relaxed contact include the horse chewing on the bit and the horse’s mouth being moist with saliva (dripping saliva – kind of gross to me but…).

Impulsion

Impulsion is the pushing power, from the hind quarters. Normally a horse distributes their weight about 60% front and 40% back. Good impulsion tries to adjust the weight distribution closer to a 50/50, with more weight than normal on the hind legs. This both develops muscles in the back end and gives the horse the strength to push forward. One of the ways to work on developing good impulsion is through “half halts”. A half halt is the rider signaling the horse to slow or stop but then releasing before the horse does so. This brings in the hind quarter down distributing more weight to it, making the horse look compacted and “round” and coiling the horse like a spring with the energy to explode forward. 

 

Straightness

This means the horse’s ability to carry itself equally on both the right and left side. Like people, horses are naturally stronger on one side or the other. Essentially, it’s like “dog legging”, or where the back end of a dog is slightly to the right or left of the front. If you have ever seen a dog running towards you, it usually runs with the back legs a little off from the front legs. You can see it in some cars and trucks that really need a wheel alignment or have a bent frame. If the horse moves straight, then the hind hooves track straight with the front hooves.

 

Collection
At the top of the pyramid is the collection of the horse. It is, essentially, the culmination of all the levels below. The horse is more equally weighted, shifting more weight to the hind legs; the horse tracks straight; the steps are shorter with more flashiness, height, and energy in the hind legs; the weight shifts to the back making the horse more round, there is more energy propulsion from the hind pushing the horse forward onto the bit; the horse is balanced and relaxed as is the rider; and the rhythm of the gait remains consistent in pace changes within gaits.
 
Summary
It’s an awful lot to keep in mind all at once. And as a DDD, I can't really see all the nuance in the collection and the work that has gone into it other than the ride looks very elegant, controlled, energetic and relaxed. It’s kind of like how the US Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart defined pornography in 1964:

I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["hard-core pornography"]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that. (Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion in Jacobellis v. Ohio 378 U.S. 184 (1964), regarding possible obscenity in The Lovers. ) [Emphasis added.]

So you may not be able to point to the specifics of a good ride or a bad ride, but you know it when you see it.

DDD

Sources:

Dressage Academy (see Useful Links)
United States Dressage Federation (see Useful Links)
Paul Gewirtz, "On 'I Know It When I See It'", Yale Law Journal, Vol. 105, pp. 1023–1047 (1996)

Going through the Paces

Paces and Gaits

Dressage movements are done in three different gaits, the walk, the trot, and the canter. While even a dumb dressage dad can tell the difference between these three gaits, there are simple cadence counts that can assist. Moreover, there are also a number of paces within each gait that will make the horse/rider appear to be moving slower or faster by covering more or less distance. I say “appear” because regardless of the pace within each gait, the rhythm should remain consistent (like a metronome). And rhythm is the foundation for all dressage work as outlined in the dressage training pyramid (to be discussed in a later post). Finally, throughout all gaits and paces, the rider and horse must constantly show good balance.

The Walk

The walk is a 4 beat cadence, counting – 1, 2, 3, 4 – to follow the steps. Starting with beat 1, the horse’s back foot is stepping into or ahead of the hoof print left by the front foot on the same side. Beat 2 is that front foot stepping ahead. Beats 3 and 4 are the same but on the other side.

There are four different paces within the walk: collected walk, medium (or regular) walk, extended walk, and free walk. Remember that the rhythm (tempo) stays the same; it’s just the distance covered, head and neck position, and leg movement that changes.

The collected walk covers the least distance but shows much more action in the joints (or flashiness). The back hoof should step into or just ahead of the front hoof. And since less ground is covered, the movement of the joints is much more pronounced, with more action in the hocks and higher stepping. The neck is high with the head held vertical (an inverted V).

The medium walk covers more distance and shows less action in the joints. The back hoof steps ahead of the front hoof mark. The joint action is not as pronounced because the rider has to keep the same rhythm while covering more distance. The neck is lower and the head is held in a more natural position.

The extended walk covers the most distance and shows the least action in the legs. The back hoof steps well ahead of the front hoof mark because of the greater distance being travelled. And, accordingly, the flashiness is muted because of the stretching required to cover more distance. The neck is held lower, almost horizontal, almost horizontal as they cover greater distance.

Finally, the free walk is a relaxation walk for the horse that allows the horse to stretch out the head and neck. The hind feet again well ahead of the front hoof mark as the horse stretches. It is a good sign if the neck and head are long and low as the horse stretches.

The Trot

The trot is counted on a 2 beat cadence, with opposite front and hind legs. In between each beat is a slight suspension where all four feet are above the ground. Like the walk, the horse and rider should show good balance and a consistent rhythm within and across gaits.

(Source: USEF. (2014). Chapter on dressage division, Subchapter DR-I dressage governing regulations, pg. 8)

There are 4 paces in the trot including a collected trot, a working trot, a medium trot and an extended trot. Like the walk, the rhythm is constant across all with differences between paces being in the amount of joint movement, head and neck position, and distance covered.

While having similar paces to the walk, the only one that is different is the working trot. This specific pace is more of a training pace for those horses and riders who are not yet accomplished enough to do a collected trot. It is the start of showing more flashiness in the hocks and joints. It also is the beginning of showing more spring where the horse is pushing from its hind quarters (impulsion – to be discussed in a later blog post).

The picture below provides a good illustration as to the distances and joint movements of various paces in the trot. Notice how as the paces move from collected to extended, the height of the step decreases as the length increases. So with longer paces, the flashiness of the step with springy exaggerated joint and hock movement gets less and less because they are covering more distance. (Note that the diagram also shows the piaffe and passage – two movements that are much more advanced and done by expert riders. These won’t be discussed here other than the fact that these paces show the most flashiness and joint action and cover the least ground. In fact, the piaffe should be done in a stationary position with no to very little forward movement)

The Canter

The Canter is counted on a 3 beat cadence. But unlike a traditional waltz that is actually 3 beats (3/4 time - think of a song like “Moon River”), the canter has an extra 4^th beat when the horse is in full suspension (all feet off the ground) – a silent beat. So in fact it’s a deceiving 4 beats (4/4 time –if you hum the opening of the song “We Will Rock You” by Queen where there are 3 strong beats and a pause or silent beat making it a 4 beat cadence).

 

The paces in the canter mirror the paces in the trot moving from collected to working to medium and extended in both the flashiness of the joint movement and distance covered. Like both the walk and trot, the horse and rider should show good balance and a consistent rhythm within and across paces.

The principle difference of the canter from both the walk and trot is that both walk and trot are unidirectional. The canter can be either a right canter or left canter depending on the direction. The picture below shows a right canter. Notice that in frame 2, the front right leg and left back leg meet the ground at the same time. Moving from frame 3 to 4, the right front is extended as the last step in the canter. The final frame is the suspension where all four legs are in the air – this would be beat four in the cadence. So to count the cadence of the canter, beat one would fall in frame 1 of the picture, beat two would be frame 2, beat 3 would be frame 4, and beat four would be frame six (the silent beat).

(Source: USEF. (2014). Chapter on dressage division, Subchapter DR-I dressage governing regulations, pg. 10)

 The canter can be changed from a right canter to a left canter and back again. These would be a canter, a counter-canter, and lead changes. So how do you know if the horse is cantering or counter-cantering? The last, extended step (frame 5 in the picture) would be the inside leg. If the horse is traveling clockwise, it would be the right leg. If the horse is traveling counter-clockwise, it would be the left leg. And a lead change would be to switch from right to left canter or left to right canter done usually when the direction changes.

Sometimes a counter-canter is required in a test. This can be done by not switching leads when the direction changes. It can also be done when doing “flying tempies”. That is, when the horse switches leads during the canter in either 4 strides, 3 strides, 2 strides or 1 stride. The fewer strides between the change, the more difficult and advanced the movement. Flying tempies are usually done along the diagonal path from corner to corner of the arena going through X (see previous post on Where the Hell is X???).

So we’ve covered a lot of ground in this post, no pun intended. Seeing a walk, trot and canter may make it easier to understand the movements and count the beats There are many videos available that can illustrate them. Here is a link for one that I found that shows a trot and then walk and canter. It's helpful because it actually uses a metronome to show the constant rhythm in each gait.

 

 

 

I could have gone into significantly more detail on all gaits and paces with respect to head and neck position, the bit and rider, etc. But it's long enough already. For those interested, go to the USEF or EC websites (links in Useful Links section) and read the dressage rules. It is certainly reading for insomniacs. Also, the Dressage Academy has videos of all gaits for those interested.

Cheers,

DDD

Dressage or Cocaine?

There are many sayings regarding daughters and horses. And they all have a certain ring of truth to them.

My daughters have uttered these to me in the past:

“Better the stalls than the malls.”

I would argue better than golf courses too.

“It keeps your daughters busy, tired and smelling like horse shit.”

Ode de cheval – a fragrance that will keep most boys away.

 [Dressage is] “As addictive as cocaine…and twice as expensive”

Nuff said!

 

 (Source: I have no idea. It was send to me by my DDDDD)

And the longer you’ve been in it, the more you will come up with yourself. For example, a few that I have come up with all on my own:

“Horses teach girls how to handle large, dumb animals.”

A life skill that is certain to help them in the future (i.e. think marriage).

“Instead of a 500-horsepower, 2-seater, red convertible, I spent all my money on a 1-horsepower, 1-seater, red convertible”

So much for satisfying one’s midlife crisis!

Please share any you have in the comments below.
Cheers,

DDD

Matching Horse and Rider through Blood Types and Temperament

Due to my last post of the oblivious draft and the anxious child, I thought I would take a little time to discuss horse temperament and blood type. No I don’t mean blood type as in A, B, AB or O. I mean blood type as a subjective way to identify the temperament of the horse breed. Others also use a scale from 1 (calm) to 10 (fiery) to categorize the temperament of a specific horse or breed.

I think these temperament scales can also provide a useful way to identify the temperament of the rider (the teenage daughter) and to help match the rider and horse.

Horse blood types and temperament

Blood type is usually described as being cold, warm or hot. There are also horse breeds that horsey people generally place into these categories. Interestingly, these categories are also geographic. That is, cold blood breeds are descendants from colder northern European and Great Briton climates. From my previous post, you know that draft horses such as Clydesdales (the Budweiser horses) and other working horses are considered cold bloods. Cold blooded horses have a calm, unexcitable, and docile temperament.

Hot bloods descended from Middle Eastern desert climates. They tend to be thin-skinned and fast such as Arabians. It’s no coincidence that today’s thoroughbred race horses are descended from Arabians. Hot blooded horses have, what some call, a fiery temperament.

Warm blooded horses are descendants of the mixing of cold and hot blooded horse breeds. They were bred to try to capture the qualities of both cold and hot blooded breeds. Many of these breeds have made excellent dressage horses such as Trakehners, Dutch Warmbloods, and Hanoverians.

Please keep in mind though that these are average ratings for breeds. The individual temperament of specific horses can vary greatly from the breed norm.

Daughter Blood Types and Matching Rider to Horse

Anyone who has lived in a house with teenage daughters knows that they are, more often than not, of the warm to hot blooded variety. As such, it was to our best interest to try to find a horse with a calm temperament for balance.

 So when we were in the market for a trained dressage horse (school-master) for our daughter, we narrowed it down to two horses, both from breeds noted for being cold-blooded. The first was a Clyde cross gelding; the second was a beautiful Friesian mare. But we quickly found out that the temperament of individual horses can vary drastically from the average of the breed. On the Clyde cross, when the rider made a mistake, the horse just remained calm, patient and forgiving showing a very pleasing temperament. On the Friesian, when the rider made a mistake, you could see the horse becoming visually agitated and unforgiving. The tenseness of the ride continued to escalate frustrating both horse and rider.

Don’t get me wrong. For the right person with the right temperament (and training) that Friesian mare would have been a fabulous dressage horse. She looked stunning in the ring. But it was more important for us to match the temperament of the rider with the temperament of the horse to set them up to succeed as a team.

So obviously we went with the Clyde cross. I’ll keep you posted as to how it all turns out…fingers crossed!

DDD

Sources:

Draper, J. (2002). The book of horses and horse care: An encyclopedia of horses, and a comprehensive guide to horse and pony care. New York, Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Pickeral, T. (1999). The encyclopedia of horses & ponies. Bath, UK, Parragon Publishing.

The Oblivious Draft Horse - Cartoon

One of my horsey daughters sent this to me and I enjoyed it so much I had to share. If you've been around those large draft horses (e.g., Clydesdales), you'll understand how big they really are and how oblivious they can be to small things.

For those of you unfamiliar with Fergus the Horse, I have attached a link to the website in my DDD links.

DDD