COLLECTION EDUCATION

WITH reference to “The pinnacle of training” feature in H&H’s dressage special (1 April), scienti c research can inform how we think about collection. Dr Hilary

Clayton has shown that the horse’s withers are drawn up between his shoulder blades, using the muscles of the “sling mechanism”. While the lumbosacral joint “coils the loins”, the rider’s perception of the hindquarters lowering is largely brought about by the withers lifting. In my experience, riders can learn how to elevate the withers well before they learn how to induce loin coil.

Research shows that the connective tissue of the body is the organ of force transmission. Muscles, tendons, ligaments and joint capsules are continuous, forming chains which act like guy ropes for the skeleton. A slack guy rope cannot transmit force – positive tension is a prerequisite.

Good training improves force transmission for both partners and, in collection, the rider causes the horse to transmit force more forward and up. As with straightness, the rider changes this not only through aids, but via adjustments to their guy ropes.

Elite riders who do this unconsciously cannot put their skills into words, and our traditional language is often “woolly”. But collection becomes remarkably more accessible when images enhance clear how-to explanations. Individual riders, and the dressage culture, would “move with the times” by embracing and overtly training the skills of force transmission. This is surely the most ethical form of “onward and upward”.

Mary Wanless, BHSI Chipping Norton, Oxon