Olympic dressage rider Richard Davison:
Take a more holistic look at riding your horse in an outline. Olympic dressage rider Richard Davison delves deep into this complex subject to help you become a better trainer
I don’t like the term ‘outline’, because it makes a lot of riders think about topline, rather than looking at the complete profile of your horse. I explain more on
ON THE BIT, in an outline, top line — these are all common phrases you hear being used by trainers and riders. However, the use of these terms can be misleading and puts the focus too much on what your horse’s head and neck are doing, when you should consider the whole of your horse. If you can change your way of thinking, it will enable you to train your horse more effectively and holistically.
Think of the whole horse
When you mention outline many riders think about the horse’s top
line, especially the neck, but what you have to do is to think of the complete profile of the whole of the horse. This means that your focus must take in not only his top line but also the underline of his neck, abdomen and hindquarters.
The aim is for your horse to be working actively into the rein contact with his quarters engaged and hind legs stepping up and under so that he can carry himself and his rider correctly. When he is collected, this gives the impression of the horse’s neck being arched and his faceline being slightly in front of the perpendicular.
Crucially, however, what is important is that your horse’s thorax (ribcage area), hindquarters and core are actively engaged, flexible and mobile in the desired way.
The result is lightness and connectivity from the horse’s back and hindquarters. Changing your thinking to this, rather than becoming fixated on what the head and neck are doing, is crucial to improving your effectiveness as your horse’s trainer.
If you focus more on what the rest of your horse’s body is doing, then the frame that his head and neck form will be a reflection of optimal function of his entire body and limbs.
However, it’s important to remember that the profile of your horse should vary according to the gear in which you are working. What’s described above is the profile of the horse in collection, but when you change to more ground-covering gaits, such as medium or extended, then the frame should lengthen and change accordingly.
Adopt a variety of frames
Riding your horse correctly isn’t just for those who are competing at the higher levels. We should all be training our horses to use their bodies correctly. The ultimate objective is to strengthen your horse by developing his core muscles as well as his top line. A well-developed core means his muscles are better able to support him and you as his rider — taking the strain off his skeletal frame and joints. There are different degrees of abdominal recruitment and we want to be able to increase and decrease this incrementally, as well as lengthen the frame outwards and slightly downwards. The more you can influence and adjust your horse’s different body parts in a kind of ‘pick and mix’ manner, the greater his athleticism and range of movement will become.