#107 What "contact" means and how to solve common problems with Dr. Britta Schöffmann

[SPEAKER 1]
[00:00:01-00:01:06]
Welcome to the Equestrian Connection podcast from WeHorse. My name is Danielle Kroll, and I'm usually your host. However, this is a special episode with Dr. Britta Schoffman, translated from our German podcast, the WeHorse podcast, and originally aired back in July. So the concept of contact is something that stays with many riders throughout almost their entire riding lives. Unfortunately, beginners are often taught it inadequately. And after all, just because the horse's head is down doesn't mean that there's correct contact. And even once you've mastered it, a different horse might present new challenges by leaning on the bit, curling behind the vertical, or hollowing its back and lifting its head. So in this podcast episode, Dr. British Shostman dispels common myths and clears up any confusion. She explains what the term actually means and what correct contact feels like. So if you feel that the contact between you and your horse could be softer or more steady, you'll get plenty of tips that you can try out right away in your next riding session. So enjoy.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:01:09-00:02:42]
Hi and welcome to our knowledge episode today. It's great that you're listening again and want to refresh or deepen your knowledge or get tips for your training with us in your ears because that's exactly what our knowledge episodes are best suited for. My colleague Christian Krober is on a well-deserved vacation today, so I took the opportunity to squeeze in a knowledge episode for you, specifically on the big topic of contact. Contact is something almost every rider encounters from time to time during their training, and you also diligently send us questions about this topic. That's why we thought we'd record an introductory episode for you. We want to sharpen the understanding of contact, clear up misunderstandings, look at how to develop correct contact, but also what kind of mistakes occur and what I should do if it doesn't work out like in the textbook, which is often the case for many of us. For this topic, I have invited the lovely Dr. Britta Schöfmann as a guest. Why do I think she is so perfectly suited for this topic? Because Britta was not only a successful Grand Prix rider herself in the past and learned from several great old masters, but also because she has been teaching hundreds of students worldwide for many years and because Britta is simply phenomenally good at explaining things. You get to enjoy that now. I hope you have a lot of fun with today's knowledge episode on the topic of contact. A warm welcome to you, dear Britta. It's so wonderful that you are sharing your valuable time with us today and bringing your vast wealth of knowledge and experience on the topic of contact. It's great to have you here.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:02:42-00:02:53]
Yes, thank you for the invitation. It's naturally fun for me to talk a bit about this topic, and I hope one or two people find something here that might help them with their riding.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:02:53-00:03:35]
Yes, I definitely believe so. I'm also really looking forward to this episode with you now. We are talking about the topic of contact today. A huge topic, of course, with many facets and aspects that we naturally cannot cover in their entirety in today's podcast episode. But we hope we can give you a nice introduction to delve into the topic in more detail. And perhaps you have specific contact issues that are currently occupying you. And yes, we hope we can provide you with some helpful insights. So let's use the time Britta and dive straight into the topic. And as a first question, I would like to know, how would you explain to a writing student in simple words what contact is and also what it is not?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:03:36-00:04:25]
Yes, well, I would say the official definition of contact is also important to convey. So that one also stays a bit within the technical terminology. And contact, according to the guidelines, the FEN guidelines, means the soft, steady, elastic connection between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth. And I like to explain it to... Riding students as being a bit like holding hands. When you walk through a dark basement and hold hands very lightly, you immediately feel safer. And you can squeeze a little harder, perhaps if you're startled or because you want to tell the other person, watch out, pay attention, or you can let go a little looser. But overall, the contact between the two hands, in this case the horse's mouth and the hand, is important for being able to communicate with the horse through the reins.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:04:26-00:04:36]
We have now talked about the connection between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth. Why is contact actually much more than just the connection between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:04:37-00:05:46]
Yes, it is, as I said, a bit like the ability to communicate with the horse. We have various rider aids, leg aids, weight aids, rein aids, and the entire interplay of these individual aids, when that works well, it's not just like individual small letters, but also like whole words or with further training, like whole sentences. So if I always ride completely without reins, which is, of course, something people like to do, completely, completely rein-free, then I naturally cannot necessarily achieve what I might want to do with the horse, gymnasticizing it, building up its muscles, as well as I could if I were to add this one, I'll say this one vocabulary option via the hand, via the rein, to the mix. And that is why it is so important. And of course, the dosage is also always very important. You are. asked at the beginning, what is contact not? So contact is not something where a horse leans on you as if it were leaning against a solid wall. It is ultimately the contact between the rider's hand and the horse's mouth. Because some people think contact has to be something firm. No, it is very light. So it is a very light contact.

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:05:47-00:05:57]
And now, if I assume I just take up the rein and I have this connection, I have a connection to the horse's mouth and I have the rein in my hand, that doesn't mean I have a correct contact by a long shot.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:05:58-00:06:05]
Now applying this to riding. What does a correct contact feel like? This whole interaction on the horse.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:06:06-00:07:34]
It feels minimally springy, really just minimally. It always depends on the gate the horse is moving in. And as I said, it's a bit like holding hands very gently and lightly. And anyone who has ever held hands in their life, they might remember it. Or if they do it every now and then, this pleasant feeling of being connected to the other person. And that is what contact is all about. That, of course, doesn't mean right away that a horse is then also on the bit or through the pole. Those would be the next steps. That is also the reason why you should never force contact or try to create it artificially and why there is always that old saying that the horse seeks the contact. So that too can be imagined again, like holding hands. You walk side by side and one person carefully reach. She's out for the hand and says, could you accompany me? And that is what I actually want with a young horse as well, which first has to get used to the bit, first has to get used to the rider and to the change balance conditions when a rider is sitting on it. And then... When everything is working well, the horse isn't afraid of the bit and it feels comfortable with the bit in its mouth, then it also starts to seek this connection. And as a rider, you should wait that long, which some find difficult. They always think they have to fiddle around with it so that the horse finally puts its head down. And that's not what contact is about.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:07:36-00:07:54]
Oh, yes, very good. We'll go into that a bit more in a moment. What I find very important now is that we clarify the terms again. You just said it. Contact doesn't immediately mean going on the bit. It doesn't immediately mean going through the pole. Maybe you can briefly go into what the distinctions are there. I think it's often all lumped together.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:07:55-00:09:57]
It all flows into one another a bit. I mean, I can't honestly ride a horse through the pole if it doesn't have good contact. So whenever you think of it, contact is like holding hands. That would be this light, softly elastic and steady connection. And that doesn't just suddenly fly off the horse's ears. For example, with a slack rein, a horse cannot find contact, and it also becomes a hard rein because the bit keeps jumping in the mouth, which would be uncomfortable for the horse. An extremely tightened rein is, of course, just as uncomfortable because it would pull the load. or jaw backward in the sensitive mouth and cause the horse to clench its teeth to try and protect itself. So the contact itself is first and foremost this soft connection. A horse is then on the bit, I would say, at an E-level dressage or A-level dressage standard. The classic way is that it lowers its little head. So the line of the forehead approaches the vertical. The horse doesn't go up against the hand, doesn't roll away, but is on the bit like that. And then I usually have, if all that works well, a pretty good connection, a pretty good contact, and the horse then arches its neck a touch. Truly through the pole means that every aid goes through the back, through the pole and into the mouth. I noticed that in the transitions, in the movements, when I want to transition from trot to halt, for example, then I always have a little bit, if everything goes well, the feeling that the horse is nodding yes, just a tiny bit. So, I mean, wanting to move its lower jaw minimally towards the sternum, not pulling it back away. So it shouldn't get tight, but when we nod yes, we would also nod our chin minimally towards our sternum. And this yes, that's what I want to feel when it's going through the pole. And that is something that later on, when a horse goes into collection, into an upright frame, all aids are let through the pole and the horse becomes increasingly supple. So I can ask for increasingly difficult things from the horse with less and less effort.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:10:00-00:10:23]
Yes, you've just mentioned a few connections with collection, with also starting right from elementary dressage. Perhaps you could also briefly embed the concept of contact into the training scale so we can touch on that briefly. That is the third point of the training scale after all. You can already tell that it's connected to many other aspects and doesn't stand alone in training.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:10:23-00:11:54]
That is in any case for everyone who doesn't quite have the training scale in mind right now. So that is the common thread of a horse's training, of the gymnastic development of a horse. That is rhythm, suppleness, contact, I would say, as the basic concept, and then impulsion moving towards collection. And they interlock, they mesh with each other, these individual points. So you can't say, I'll just check off rhythm now, it's working. Now I say, now I'll check that my horse is supple, it works checked off, but rather it builds on each other, it interlocks, but roughly in this order. And these first three points, if you think about building a house, are basically the foundation and maybe a bit of the outer walls. And the other three points are then afterwards the roof and the interior design. And then at the very end, I have a responsive horse that lets every rider aid through without hesitation, without resisting. Then when all that works, then riding looks like it's very easy. That's something I can only ever tell everyone. When you get the compliment, that looks easy. I think I can do that too. Then you know you've done something right. If someone says, hey, that looks complicated and that's really strenuous and so on, then something is usually wrong. I mean, of course, it is strenuous. Riding is strenuous, but you shouldn't be able to see the effort on the rider. It should just look harmonious and beautiful. And when it does, then it's usually right too.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:11:55-00:12:19]
A very, very nice tip. Everyone can pay attention to that the next time they ride or perhaps have themselves filmed again so that they can see themselves once more. Very, very nice. Yes, if you say you want to develop a correct contact, you want to go down the path to a correct contact and perhaps aren't there yet. What would you say are the prerequisites for horse and rider to even be able to work towards a correct contact?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:12:20-00:16:06]
Well, for the horse, definitely rhythm and relaxation. Rhythm can, well, we have the different gates with the corresponding rhythm, rhythms. So walk, four beat, trot, two beat, canter, three beat. And the horse should already be moving with a relatively pure rhythm. For that, it naturally also has to be balanced already. That's why it's often the case that with very young horses who are still so gangly, still busy with themselves, the rider's weight, the unfamiliarity, the turns, the completing of turns and so on, the rhythm sometimes gets a bit, it gets disturbed. They sometimes lose their footing, still look a bit gangly. So finding this equilibrium, the balance and the rhythm in all gates is one thing for the horse. Suppleness too, because suppleness is both inner and outer suppleness. That means if a horse or even a rider is extremely tense in one muscle group, they cannot achieve this soft springy contact. Or also mental suppleness. If a horse is constantly in flight mode because, I don't know, something is happening outside the arena or the indoor riding hall and the horse is afraid and rushes off, then you can't expect it to go trustingly and with a soft springy contact to the bit. Instead, it will try to lift its head and get away. So that is, of course, also a foundation for the horse first. And for the rider, it is very important that they are also balanced. Because I don't know, some of you might have seen my films. In one of them, I demonstrate what happens when you as a rider sit in the saddle like a bowl of jelly. Then, of course, you disturb the horse's movement sequence. A horse would then immediately tense up in its back, no longer be able to maintain the contact, this soft springy quality. And then you can try as hard as you want up there. You won't be able to get the horse to find a good contact. Therefore, a balanced and correct rider seat, which disturbs the horse as little as possible, is of course a basic prerequisite. And I only have a steady hand from a correct rider's seat because you always have to keep in mind when I have a bit in the mouth there, there is iron in the mouth and the horse is... mouth is very sensitive. And if I don't have my hands under control and they are rattling up and down and constantly moving the bit in the horse's mouth, that is, of course, very uncomfortable for the horse. Even then, it is not possible for a horse to achieve contact. Therefore, everything here again interlocks a little bit. In general, you can never view all the individual points, including contact, so separately. I can't say I'm only looking at the contact now. I always have to see the horse as a whole. Just like how is it relaxed, yes or no? Is it distracted? That a horse takes a look when there's a distraction somewhere is completely normal. I mean, God gave horses eyes, so they're allowed to look around sometimes. Then that can disturb the contact sometimes. Very young horses like small children are, of course, not even capable of concentrating for that long. They too are distracted more quickly. You shouldn't immediately say, you're not allowed to do that and try to correct it with your hand. Well, goodness, let them look. Then you just keep riding or tap them, tap them once with the whip a little bit. Don't hit them, not as a punishment for looking, but just as a reminder, hello, I'm still here. Most horses then focus on the touch, essentially asking back, what does my rider want from me? And they come back into contact. So here too, let the whole thing happen very gently. And as I said, as a rider, your seat should naturally be such that you can drive the horse. horse from back to front into contact and not start fiddling at the front while forgetting the hind legs at the back. That is also always very important.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:16:07-00:16:15]
Oh, yes, that is. Well, we've had some important aspects now, but perhaps we'll come back to that later when discussing contact faults and solutions.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:16:16-00:16:17]
Oh, yes, there are a lot of mistakes there.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:16:19-00:16:44]
Exactly. Perhaps before we go there, I would also like to know for our listeners, if you are, let's say, according to the textbook, it would be nice if it always worked like that in practice, but developing contact with a young horse during training, what does this process look like for everyone who has never trained a young horse before? How would one go about developing a correct, proper contact?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:16:46-00:21:03]
That always depends on the horse and it always depends on the rider. So here too, I can only always refer to this old maxim, old rider on a young horse, young rider on an old horse, which doesn't necessarily mean the age of birth, but the age of experience. The more experienced I am as a rider, the more balanced I sit on the horse, the more different horses I have ridden in my life, the more I can naturally adjust individually to a horse. If I am still a beginner, regardless of age, then I will almost certainly make a great many mistakes on the horse, mistakes in my seat, mistakes in my aids, and it will be harder to get the horse into a good trusting contact. And it doesn't help at all if I say, but I love my horse so much because there's more to it than that. It also requires a certain amount of riding experience to then, as I said, adjust individually to a horse. Because it is very different here too. There are horses that very quickly seek a certain contact with the hand. Then there are horses that are more difficult in that regard, that are extremely sensitive in the mouth, that perhaps have poor anatomy, that have a low set neck, that have a board-like back, where the whole exterior is just not right. They have much more difficulty finding that contact. As I said, it's very difficult to give a recipe. You have to do this and that to achieve contact, but rather you really have to look at the horse individually, look at the rider. Then, of course, there are certain exercises and transitions are always part of that to make it easier for the horse to find the contact. But also riding forward, although riding forward has nothing to do with stepping on the gas. That riding forward actually refers more to the hind legs, that I as a rider managed to get the horse's hind legs to step through more further without the tempo getting faster. Because the bigger the strides and jumps and steps are in the hind legs, the more the horse will want to balance itself out in front towards the hand over its neck and want to stretch towards it, want to reach for it. A very important point, willingness to stride. Stretch. I often hear from riders who then say, yes, I have now taught my horse the stretching posture. That is actually a completely wrong way of thinking. I want to encourage a horse's willingness to stretch, not destroy that willingness to stretch. Because normally a horse would quite like to stretch forward and downward with a slightly arched back. And we're talking about slightly like when grazing perhaps, because that's a posture that feels like us rolling down vertebra by vertebra. We notice that in our own backs too. Oh, that actually feels good. That's pleasant. And when you reach the lower back, you think, oh yes, that feels nice. That is something a horse would normally like to do. But that doesn't mean I always ride it that way because then it would eventually fall apart on me completely. But I want, regardless of whether I am riding forward or collecting the horse, I always want to feel that if I were to let it, it would easily let its neck drop forward and downward and in doing so, gently stretch its top line. And I can achieve that again by writing various exercises and movements. Large curved lines often invite horses to let themselves drop or to stretch a bit more towards the bit. Lots of transitions. These are all such important things. And then I have to feel, and this is again a matter of experience, how much does my hand need to follow? People also talk about the breathing hand. So I don't like hold my breath with my hand and hold on tight, but I also go with it a little bit, but just enough so that I'm still holding hands a little bit so that I can feel it. Not that I suddenly throw everything away and say, you do it. Then a horse can't find any contact either. So that is definitely a matter of a certain amount of experience. And anyone who doesn't have that experience should definitely always bring in a good instructor because they can, of course, see from the ground the moment when the rider needs to do something specific and then tell the rider, now do this and do that. Fiddling around on your own, if you can't really do it yet, I would always say that backfires.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:21:05-00:21:21]
Yes, that's definitely a very important tip as well. And also nicely with a steady hand. I think that is also often misinterpreted that people think you have to keep your hand as still as possible, but actually it means you have to move it along as well as possible, right?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:21:21-00:22:07]
It should be steady, but steady in the sense that it breathes along without becoming shaky. Because shaky, as I said, that creates too much movement in the reins, in the bit, and it is... Very uncomfortable for the horse, but of course it shouldn't be set in concrete either. I mean, there are riders who have the typical concrete hand. There's not even a tiny centimeter of movement left in there. There's really, there's no breathing left in there either. And then these riders wonder when the horse eventually gets a concrete mouth too, because it's actually no longer at all this, this, this. Yes, what is in? The definition, the softly springy connection, this very slightly springy one. Although springy doesn't mean back and forth, back and forth, of course, but just a little bit like breathing.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:22:09-00:22:54]
Yes, very nicely explained. Yes, then maybe let's move on to typical contact errors because it is, as you already said, there are on one hand so many different horses and of course also types of people and also levels, right? How do you sit on the horse? What is the experience? And yes, also in real life, let's say, unfortunately, often not this constellation of experienced horse, beginner rider and vice versa. If I'm having problems with the contact with my horse and maybe don't really know yet what the cause is, we could dive into what the common mistakes are. When you are teaching, which contact mistakes do you encounter most often, would you say, in your lessons? I'm curious to know.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:22:55-00:24:15]
Yes, that also varies a bit, but I'd say a typical scenario at a somewhat lower training level is leaning on the hand. That the horses are looking for support in the bit. So the typical thing, the horse is looking for its fifth leg, so four legs standing on the ground, and the other leg would basically be the bit, the rider's hand. The horse leans on it, eventually saying, oh yes, wonderful, the rider is carrying my head. And those are often the horses that are on the forehand and looking for support downwards. Then, of course, on the other side, there is also this... going against the hand. That happens when the rider holds too firmly at the wrong moment or possibly pulls backward and the horse only finds a way to defend itself by going upwards and somehow to get out of the situation. And then, of course, there is the always much too much discussed issue of being too tight in the neck, i.e. Behind the bit. Which is, of course, yes, extremely debated these days. Although if you were to carefully categorize it, you would find that it is initially just one of, let's say, the three possible types of contact. Specifically, we are looking at what are often considered the biggest and most significant contact errors. Because it can also happen that horses tend to do that. But I would say I'll start with leaning on the hand first.

[SPEAKER 5]
[00:24:15-00:24:17]
Yes, exactly. I think that's good.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:24:19-00:27:26]
It is often the case that horses, when they move a bit on the forehand, meaning they aren't yet taking on weight, we aren't even talking about collection yet. Collection would mean the horse is already capable and ridden to the point where it bends its hocks behind, so basically doing squats, and in doing so takes some of its weight off the forehand. So in nature, I believe a horse, when it's just standing around stupidly or walking around the pasture, has about... two-thirds of its weight on its neck, shoulders, and torso more forehand oriented. Now you add the rider on top, and naturally the whole thing sags down a bit more. And the rider's job is to get the horse back. into balance so that it is at least horizontal and later through training to have it do a few squats in the back so that more weight is taken off the hand or the forehand in the front. And when a horse is leaning on the bit, I as a rider also have to make sure that I get it off the hand, off the rider's hand. And the tricky part is that sometimes riders think, oh, I have to hold on tight, otherwise its head will drop even lower. And that is exactly the wrong way around. Actually, I need to let go even faster. I sometimes explain this to writing students. It's a bit like tug of war. So when two parties are playing tug of war, one party is clearly the stronger one and the other is the weaker one. Then it's no use if both parties pull, pull, pull, because then the weaker one, in quotation marks, would lose. The horse is always stronger than the rider. So if the horse starts leaning on the bit and the rider pulls, the horse will pull back and lean on it even more. Then you've got plus or minus 600 kilos on top of that as well. I have all of that in my hands as a rider. I can't hold that at all and I don't want to either. That's just bodybuilding. But if I suddenly let go during a tug of war, the others, the strong pullers, naturally lose their balance and tip over. Now, the horse shouldn't tip over, of course. But the best solution is many half holds, many transitions are also half holds, and then release very quickly. Then it might happen that the horse lifts its head or, you know, runs off a little bit. Then I just have to reapply the half halt. And a half halt or a half halt always involves letting go as well. When I combine it like that, the horse starts to balance itself a bit better. It knows that the support will be gone in a moment. I can't rely on leaning on it. And then it will start to balance itself better in those moments when I let go. And that is the first step to getting out of this tendency to be on the forehand and also to stop leaning on the reins. Because I can only lean on something where I find a firm support. And if that firm support is the fist holding the reins, a horse will lean on it. If that support is suddenly gone, well, I haven't seen a horse yet that just falls over like in a tug of war. It will try to balance itself. It will try to carry itself for a mo, for a split second in that moment. And that's where I want to get to, that the horse balances itself in such a way that it can carry itself and doesn't need the rider's hand for that.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:27:28-00:27:54]
That's already a great tip. Thank you very much. Now I have a few follow-up questions. For one thing, I was just thinking, I think it would be great if we could also briefly explain the half halt again, because I happen to know that you can explain that really well. And it is because it's said so often, and I know that some of our users are also here who might still be at the beginning, or those for whom it's always said in lessons, and then it's not entirely clear what is actually meant by it, what it entails.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:27:55-00:30:25]
It's not just not entirely clear. You wouldn't believe how many riders I've had in clinics over and over again. When I then asked, what is a half halt? I really got the most adventurous descriptions. Some said, yes, I jingle a bit with my fists. Others said, I do something on the outside. When I then asked, where is outside and inside when you are trotting on the track? Then came, yes, the big question. Well, outside is by the rail. No, outside is always the opposite of inside. And inside is where the horse is bent. And when I'm riding straight, I don't have an outside, at least not at the walk and at the trot. Though at the canter I do, because that's where I have the horse slightly bent. Then some said, yes, I have to squeeze a sponge. So it's amazing how, how, how, how difficult it is for some people to imagine a half halt. Actually, a half halt is I drive a little more. In the fraction of the next second, but really a fraction, I catch what I'm driving again a little bit with my hands. So drive, catch, and I have to let go. Drive, catch, let go. It's actually easiest if you imagine you're riding a transition between gates. So transitioning from trot to walk, most people can manage that somehow. That is already a half halt. Also from canter to trot, that is already a half halt. And when you are riding within a gate and want to get a horse more engaged from behind using a half halt, I do the same thing. And then I explain to the riders, imagine you are pretending you want to transition down to a lower gate. So you'd Drive, catch, but at the last moment you say, oh no, I'll keep riding after all. Then you have given a half-hold within the gate. And when the writers have done that two or three times, then usually an aha moment happens. Then there is this driving, catching, releasing, and if necessary, doing it all over again from the beginning. It always depends on what I intend to ride. At some point, it's ingrained. And then there's no more fiddling, no more fussing, and no more squeezing the sponge, but rather a sequence of aids that the horse can actually execute afterwards because the driving activates the hind leg a bit. The checking tells the horse whether it should go more forward or more upward. Because if there is less space in front, if I check more strongly, the horse has to move uphill. And the releasing lets the movement through again so that I don't block it in front. Yes, and if necessary, a half-hold follows immediately. So drive, check, release.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:30:26-00:30:39]
Great. Thank you very much. Yes, I think that's a very important point, especially with the driving. Also, when you said downward transition, I was thinking it's always important to say into the lower gate, yes, basically drive into it.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:30:40-00:31:21]
Drive into it, ride into it. When you want to start the lower gate, because many people first, they use the reins to brake. So that would be rein aid as a brake. Then maybe they release or maybe not. And if there's a hesitation, then the driving comes. A horse can't process that at all anymore. That is too late then. You should always have the feeling, not that I am ending one gate, but rather starting the next one. And even if I am riding a half halt within a gate, don't say I am braking now and then driving, but rather I am driving into a transition. Oh no, I'm not going to ride that one after all. Then I get better and better with the timing, with the timing.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:31:23-00:31:37]
Yes, exactly. And that is just so important when the horse is leaning on the bit with the tug of war example, right? If I just try to let go of the steering in front, but I don't actually drive the car, then it gets pretty difficult to manage, right? It's just not quite the same.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:31:37-00:33:22]
If I just let go without a half halt, then the horse just gets longer and longer, and then I can't manage it either. So here too, it's always about driving into the hand, staying here and quickly letting go. What's also always quite good, and riders sometimes struggle with this, is just to release the contact. If I notice that my hand is a bit too slow, I think perhaps unconsciously that if I let go now, something might go wrong. Yes, that can happen, but it's not a big deal. If I don't let go, everything will definitely go wrong because then the horse will lean on it. And then I'm carrying 600 kilos in my hand. That's not pleasant for either the rider or the horse. But if I let go, the horse has to balance itself. And then I reach forward once. Reaching forward invites the horse to carry itself. It could also be that I reach forward and the horse then falls apart or breaks. breaks free. But that doesn't matter. Then I do many transitions, many half holds, and then I reach forward again. Because for me, it's not just an invitation for the horse to carry itself. It's also a check for me as a rider. Is it actually carrying itself now? That is very important. So at that moment, I consciously give up the contact with the hand and try to maintain the contact, so to speak, with the seat, with the rider's seat. When a horse is well trained, when a horse is already very nicely trained in collection, the connection to the hand becomes lighter and lighter. And then I can give the reins at any time, anywhere, in any movement, and my horse is then in contact with the rider's seat. So the contact with the seat, that is then very, very important. But that is something I really have to work for over the years. That's not something you can just quickly do. Aha, we'll do a bit of contact now and then it'll work. That won't work.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:33:24-00:33:49]
Yes, 100%. That fits quite well. I was just about to ask you, you give a lot of lessons and you also have very successful students all over the world. Do you have, does this story come to mind? Have you ever had a case where the horse was perhaps very heavy on the forehand, where you maybe corrected it over years? How you went about that? You just mentioned a few exercises. Maybe, I don't know if you have an example for that.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:33:50-00:33:56]
Well, if we have to correct leaning on the bit over years, then something would be going wrong.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:33:57-00:34:00]
Because you just said, right, it's just not done in one session.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:34:01-00:34:13]
No, that's clear. It really is quite a journey. For the rider, it sometimes takes many years to truly learn how to solve these complex issues. It is about understanding the very specific individual problems that arise along the way.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:34:13-00:34:14]
Exactly.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:34:14-00:37:51]
Of the individual horses. As an instructor, I naturally have to be able to see relatively quickly where the biggest problem is with this, that, and the other horse. So I have a horse. That's a horse. He's a bit hypermobile. He's very soft in his movements. I like to compare him to a good camembert. If a good camembert gets too warm, it flows in all directions. He does that too. Because of that, he moves quite well and you can easily move him into lateral movements that suits him, but he also flows apart forwards and backwards. That and because of that, he leaned extremely heavily on the rider's hand at the beginning and it wasn't exactly easy for the rider to sit in a way that he didn't pull her out of the saddle. And the more he pulled her forward, the more she lost the effectiveness of her seat. And therefore, the more difficult it became. And this is, for example, a typical horse that you shouldn't really try to push towards a stretching frame. But because he is so hypermobile, because he wants to fall apart, we tried to close him up relatively quickly during work using half halts so that the frame became short relatively quickly. So not holding him back in front, that wouldn't have worked. But transitions, transitions, transitions ad nauseum. Keep trying to make the hind leg a bit quicker and in the meantime he is really going very nicely. In the meantime he is doing flying changes, starting with tempi changes. On good days he even does three or four tempi changes and can already be brought back in the canter almost to the point of a canter pirouette. That would not have been possible a year and a half ago. Um, But there, it is, I'll put it this way. If the horse isn't built completely wrong, there are horses that have a very long neck, very short front legs, and are extremely built high in the croup. Then, to at least minimize this problem, you would basically always have to ride against the horse's anatomy. But fortunately, most horses aren't built like that. So such, people used to say that flawed horses are actually becoming rarer and rarer these days. But still, horses are very different in terms of their problems. And if I have one that tends more to lean on the forehand, I just have to think, how can I get this individual horse, again, very individually, to engage more from behind, take on more weight and get off the forehand? There are also horses that are just a bit stiffer in their top line. They have a bit of a straight neck, a straight top line of the neck. Arching the neck is a bit harder for them. And because it's harder for them, they also try to find support on the bit. There too, ultimately, it's always about transitions and gymnastic exercises. is what makes good dressage work, is the gymnastics that I do with the horse. And that is exactly the same as with humans. Depending on the person, depending on one person is stiff in the back, another has stiff thighs, the next one is stiff all over, I naturally have to adapt these gymnastic exercises accordingly. And also with some horses, I have to do more, let's say, trot hold, trot hold, work backwards. With others, I write more trot canter transitions. With some, I do more lateral work, sideways movements. So that is also, again, completely in the individual. The goal is always the same. I want the horse to come off the hand and take more weight on the hindquarters and overall move uphill. That is not necessarily collection yet, but uphill. If I'm sitting on the horse and I have the feeling that I'm riding downhill at an angle the whole time, then something is wrong.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:37:52-00:37:58]
Okay, then let's perhaps move on to the next contact error. You mentioned against the bit.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:37:58-00:38:52]
Yes, that often happens with horses that have been ridden down with a heavy hand. There, there are riders who always have the feeling that the head has to be down. And they get on the horse and start right away. They haven't even ridden a lap with a loose rein, nothing at all, nothing relaxed. They take up the reins and start sawing at the horse's mouth. Sometimes these are also horses that perhaps in the past or actually still are ridden with draw reins, are pulled down, whose entire musculature is cramped. and who then simply try to free themselves by going upwards. Then sometimes it's horses where the rider is too clumsy with their hands, who then also try to free themselves to escape the rider's iron fist. Sometimes it's just small moments where this happens, where the rider perhaps waited too long to give and the horse is a bit sensitive in the mouth.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:38:53-00:38:56]
That would be, for example, a typical hollowing out during a transition, right?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:38:57-00:43:02]
Yes, during the transition. There are also horses that when you ask them to canter from a walk, first try to throw their head up as if they want to use their neck to gain momentum. That can suddenly become a certain habit for horses that feel like I can't canter any other way. It's just like riders who sometimes believe that if they use their upper body to gain momentum, they are helping the horse. Yet, when I use my upper body to gain momentum, I actually fall forward for a moment while doing so. And that is just like with backing up, actually a breaking aid. So if I want to canter and I fall forward with my upper body, my head says, I want to canter. My body tells the horse on stay here. And I wonder why it doesn't work. And it's the same with some horses. At some point, they got into the habit of using their head or neck to gain momentum upwards so that this first canter stride or the first two are also uncomfortable for them in the back. Because if we constantly throw our head back into our neck, we will... eventually feel it in our neck and back. In that case, you would try without fiddling, but still manage to get the rider to pay attention to these little things, perhaps setting the horse a touch rounder for such a lesson. Now, of course, people will scream again, for heaven's sake, you're not allowed to do that. Yes, you are allowed to in that moment. So that in case the neck comes up a tad, just a tiny bit too high, the horse is actually in the right position the moment it strikes off into canter to be able to make that first canter stride over its back. And usually once the horses have done that a few times, they realize, that's right, the rider is actually correct. And then it goes away again. I had a halflinger that had that too. He has a somewhat short, chubby neck. Um, And the shorter a neck is, the more difficult it is for a horse to arch its neck as well. If I have a very short wire, it's harder for me to bend it into a slight curve than if I have a very long wire. Although the long wire, of course, has the problem that it can also be curved too much in all directions. But, as I said, he also had a bit of a short, thick neck and had gotten into the habit over the years of always tossing his head up when starting to canter. Otherwise, he was nice on the bit and also quite good through the pole. And for a while, in that first moment of the canter, I told the rider, even if it goes against your instincts, try to set him a bit deeper. Feel free to ride out of a circle where your horse might also be. almost be making himself a bit too tight. And in that moment, you ask for the canter and then you drive him forward nicely into the hand again as usual. And that took about half a year because all habits, whether for the rider or the horse, take time to disappear. And at some point, we both realized she doesn't even have to pay attention to it anymore. He, in the meantime, she can ask him for the canter from the trot, from the walk. He is always nicely through the pole. You can really tell that this first canter stride is no longer uncomfortable for him. He goes into the canto with joy. And those are also little against the hand issues. Although, as I said, sometimes it's also anatomy dependent. But often it's that the horse is against a rider's hand that is too heavy. Or when riders who have no experience think they need to put a curb bit on a horse. I am, well, I come from classical riding where the curb bit is part of it because it is actually a control and verification of how finely a horse is trained and how fine a rider's hand is and how well a rider is trained. And if that's not the case, then of course, if the rider pulls on the curb bit at the wrong moment, it's more than uncomfortable for the horse. Uncomfortable. And it will resist it. Then it is purely a writer error. Although I would say that leaning on the hand and becoming too tight are... Compared to going against the hand, almost the most... common mistakes, at least among people who are training themselves a bit in dressage,

[SPEAKER 2]
[00:43:03-00:43:03]
Yeah.

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:43:03-00:49:04]
I mean, with a pure beginner, the horses will also go against the hand, but they go against the seat, against everything. That's why I'm not at all an enemy of auxiliary reins here, although for pure beginners, I always find side reins quite pleasant. Now many can cry out again, oh no, not that. But I believe a steady connection that is then between the mouth and the side rein, where the side rein is hooked in, so in the girth, The horse then at least has a steady connection, and as long as a rider's hand is flying all over the place, it would be unfair to the horse to tell the rider, Your hand can until you are balanced. The horse has to endure that. That's just not fair. That is also the reason why at the Spanish riding school, the students used to learn to sit for, I don't know, endless years on the lunge line with side reins without holding the reins in their hands so that they learned to sit in such a way that they could make any movement independently of their hands so that they no longer disturb the horses in their mouths. And you don't get that, of course, in a normal riding stable where you learn to ride. There, nobody has the time and no riding student would want to spend years riding on the lunge line without holding the reins. At some point, you want to make a little bit of progress. And that's where I think, for example, a correctly adjusted side rein, not one that pulls the horse's head. head onto its chest, but one that allows the horse to find a contact is certainly much more horse-friendly than a jerking rider's hand of an unbalanced rider. But as I said, this going against the hand is generally less common. The third point, this becoming too tight, that is, of course, a huge topic. And I have to say, a topic that has taken on a life of its own and leads to such discussions nowadays that it sometimes just makes you shake your head. In equestrian theory, coming behind the bit has always been a known flaw, a lack of contact. It can arise from a training error. It can, of course, also arise from the horse itself. There are horses, even young horses, that find it difficult to step up to the rider's hand to establish this connection with the rider's hand. And there are certainly more young horses today than in the past, because in the past, horses didn't have, they weren't as high-blooded, they didn't have such a light pole. They were often working horses that had been pulling a plough during the week, and on the weekend the farmer would take them to a competition and ride them in dressage and show jumping. I'd say getting those little necks down a bit was certainly not entirely easy. And today, of course, with the, let's say, dressage bred warm bloods, you have horses that have very long legs, relatively short backs. Somewhat long necks, very elegant. Everything is wonderful. But at the end of such a neck, there is also a head hanging, which weighs, I don't know, 30, 40 kilos. A horse also has to manage that over the course of its training if it potentially has muscular deficits to use the neck on a relatively long lever in such a way that it can carry its head. And it can happen that a horse becomes too tight. And of course, everyone screams today, oh God, oh God, it's behind the vertical. That's animal cruelty. And I have to say, you always have to look at the overall picture of the horse and always the situation. So if I start to intentionally cause necks that are too tight as a doctrine, as a training basis, so that I can produce spectacular movements, then that is, of course, completely wrong. Then I get the creeps. Sometimes you see it, unfortunately, even in high-level sports. There are often horses there that if you look closely are almost the entire test on or slightly behind the vertical. If you look closely, even in the highest collection with a slightly sagging back, I always call them the bathtub horses because in front that gives them incredible shoulder freedom because the horses just start to paddle upwards. They don't go forward to the hand after all. And because of that, a bad posture gets... into the whole horse's body, which is not good, which is to be rejected, and which, if I do it systematically, is also contrary to the horse's well-being. But if I ride a horse that tends to get a bit too tight, then I'm not doing that on purpose. Then I just have to be clear that this is the point I need to work on to get the horse to be muscularly capable of handling this longer lever, which I like to compare it to a construction crane. When it extends its arm all the way out, it naturally has to be so stable on the ground that it doesn't tip over forward. And then there also needs to be a weight hanging at the back end of that construction crane. A horse first has to be able to manage that, to adopt this optimal neck position, posture and top line. And as I said, on the way there, it's always possible that the horse might get a touch too tight. That can happen. That's not immediately animal cruelty. It becomes animal cruelty when it becomes a principle, when it becomes a method. Then in my opinion it is to be rejected. But if a horse gets too tight sometimes, well, it happens. As I said, as a rider, I must always know I am trying to correct that. And I have to say, it is sometimes harder to get horses that tend to work in a way that they have a stable, good contact with the nose, tending to be in front of the vertical, than it is to get one that is a bit more difficult to get its neck, to put it bluntly, to bend through a lot of gymnastics to manage that. So an overly loose contact is sometimes harder to correct than one that is a bit too firm.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:49:06-00:49:32]
Yes, we also get a lot of questions about that. Maybe you could still give a few tips on how you approach this or how one can proceed if I notice my horse often comes too tight or is somehow too light. I don't really have that con connection that I actually want. This question also comes up often. How do I manage to get my horse to pull towards the hand to develop more pull towards the hand, right? How do I get out of this too tight situation? It's a master question, but...

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:49:32-00:55:41]
Yes, that is, as I said, that is really a difficult problem. So first of all, I naturally always have to look. I have to check that with everything, but especially there. Does the saddle fit? If a horse doesn't dare to because the saddle doesn't fit in the back, is pressing in somewhere to slightly arch its neck, slightly arch its back to reach for the hand. If the movement from the hindquarters cannot travel forward over the swinging back, it will become somewhat hesitant, and horses that are hesitant also tend to become too tight. So all the equipment must be right. The saddle must fit. The horse, the bit must fit. Nothing should pinch, nothing should squeeze. The noseband shouldn't be too loose, not too tight, just lightly touching. So again, in the range of like holding hands a little bit. All of that has to work. Then I have to look, is this an anatomical question? Do I have a horse that is very light in? the pole, then there are exercises. Very often you can use or should use trot canter transitions because trot to canter transitions in particular bring a horse more towards the bit. When cantering, the horse always engages its abdominal muscles and in doing so, quite automatically just through the movement, if I am cantering at a nice working tempo, it also repeatedly lifts its back minimally, which leads to a somewhat more stable top line. And the back doesn't end behind the rider or under the rider. The trapezius muscle, that's the one that lies over the withers. It extends a bit into the lower saddle area, and it also goes forward into the neck area. I'm training that there as well, and it is also responsible, among other things, for the horse becoming stronger at the base of the neck in order to be able to carry the neck or the head at all. And when I ride many transitions again and again, trot counter transitions, then I am training this jumping into the hand. The whole principle thrust before carrying power. Sometimes horses that are so light and if they move in a modern way and who knows how they throw their legs, people think they can already collect them, but the horse is actually not physically capable of it yet. The problem of them becoming too tight is getting worse and worse. Riders are taking the reins shorter and shorter to have a connection. If you look at the profile, the horses are short in front, long behind or sagging. Of course, I don't want any of that. So I really have to make sure that I work the horse in such a way that it improves at the base of the neck and that I don't let myself be tempted to take the reins shorter and shorter. I always have to imagine that I want to get a relatively flat neck. So not round and deep, but flat and deep. Also not necessarily stretching downwards to the ground. I don't want to go there either. Because I want the horse to learn or gain the strength to carry its head, which really weighs 30-40 kilos. And that works best from a relatively flat neck position to begin with. But as I said, this is a problem that should not be underestimated, that requires a lot of experience from the rider, that requires a lot of patience. It takes time and it's something I'll probably always have to work on, which also depends a bit on the individual horse. There are some horses that just seem to click away from you, making them very difficult to loosen up. On the other hand, there are others that only have a slight tendency towards that behavior. So that is really a huge problem. So I can only ever tell everyone I'd rather have a horse that when I start working it, Maybe it's a bit tighter in the hand because through gymnastic training, I can get the whole musculature to give way and become softer compared to a horse that is actually weak in its top line. Be it in the loin, be it in the entire top line, be it in the pole area. because that is easily there. That is actually quite difficult to build up over time. It should always be the primary goal of the rider to get the horse's nose forward and to constantly encourage that forward thrust, which is so essential for proper movement. It really takes a lot of patience and consistent practice to get it right. So the more a horse oversteps behind in the trot, for example, and develops thrust, the more it will eventually say, to manage this behind, I need space in front. And then it starts to move forward towards the hand. That is why you should always prioritize thrust before developing carrying capacity. In the canter as well as in the trot, and also pay attention to it in the walk, but in the trot and canter, keep working on it. And as long as the horses in the trot, when you ride a few lengthened strides, still rush off like a pony, you know that the thrust is not yet sufficient to achieve a correct contact. And then you should beware of immediately saying, well, goodness, but I can collect him well. That is then not true collection. Yes, that's also a very important point to be honest with yourself and rather go back to the basics again, right? Yes, so the foundation is really that, well, rhythm, relaxation, contact is so important and to serve. This time also includes the development or improvement of impulsion because it's like building a house and at some point saying, why do I need a foundation? It holds up for a while, but eventually the whole thing tips over. And the foundation. Foundation is really what's important. And it's better to keep going back to the foundation when there are problems and think, hmm, it's getting stuck here right now. What could be the reason? What can I improve? What can I change? And if it takes a bit of time, well, I mean, honestly, getting a horse that is really leaning heavily on the forehand to finally come off the bit properly is not an overnight fix. It is truly a matter of several weeks or even several months of consistent patient work. Getting a horse that is extremely light in the mouth and tends to curl away from the contact to accept the bit can sometimes take two or three full years of training. This is simply because that is exactly how long it takes for a young horse to mature enough, both physically and mentally, to even be able to do that correctly.

[SPEAKER 4]
[00:55:42-00:56:13]
Mm-hmm. Yes. Can you say something very briefly about the rain aids or the hands? Because I get asked that often too, right? We said you have to develop the impulsion. You want to get the neck flat and long again. If my horse curls up now, what do I do with my hands, right? Many people also ask themselves, do I let the reins go loose then? Because it's supposed to stretch towards the reins, but I still want to get the connection somehow. I have to develop that somehow too, so that he really pulls himself towards the hand. So what do the hands do?

[SPEAKER 3]
[00:56:14-01:02:27]
Well, the hands would follow if I get the horse to take such big steps or jumps behind that it then I'll say the horse should tell you I need more space for that now. And then one hand follows, which means it allows the neck to stretch forward a little bit. If I suddenly throw it away thinking, yay, he's taking the contact and I'll throw the rein away so that the rein goes slack, then the horse can't find the hand. It's supposed to seek the contact. And as a horse, I can only find something that is actually there. So if I then think I have to be especially light and throw everything away, the horse cannot find any contact. Of course, I also shouldn't, if the horse at some point says, I need more room in the neck for this now. And asks that question, I shouldn't just leave my hand nailed in place and say, you're not getting it. Because then the horse will start to move behind the hand, behind the bit again. That too is a matter of experience, of feeling, again, having the feeling of holding hands. The moment I feel that the little hand I have here wants to push against my hand just a tiny bit, then I go with it just a tiny bit, like exhaling. Say, yes, that's exactly what I wanted from you. Here too, it's sometimes quite good to ride with the reins stretching out of the hand every now and then. I always incorporate that into training sessions because it naturally gives the rider feedback again. Is my horse capable? Is it ready to let its neck drop flat from the withers? And some riders get a fright when the horse might not be ready and lifts its head or becomes too tight. They then think they have to regulate a lot with their hands immediately. I always say, don't let them help you. The horse is sure. That's why it's called stretching the reins out of the hand after all. Because for me as a rider, it's feedback. How is it going with the horse's balance? How is it going with the willingness to stretch? We are back at this point. Would it like to let itself drop slightly forward with a flat neck? If it doesn't do that, I just have to keep working a bit more, keep doing more gymnastic exercises. Does it do that? And then I take up the reins again. I drive it back in so that it wants to go forward to the hand again. You incorporate that every now and then in between in trot and canter. And horses that are not quite in balance, they tend to either fall out, they like to do that in the canter because they suddenly think, whoa, where am I? And boom, they fall out. So know that this can happen, drive them forward until the horse has found its balance, and in doing so, invite the horse to use its neck as a balancing pole. That is also so important. A horse that makes itself too tight no longer balances itself with its neck. And it is actually, so to speak, constantly in a state of balance deficit. It never quite has clear balance when it rolls itself away. And I can't give the horse balance after all. I can only help it to find it again. And that's why you should let it chew the reins out of your hands every now and then, regardless of whether the head goes up or down. Someone like us, if they were balancing on a tightrope with a balancing pole, wouldn't just walk across with perfectly steady... arms, but would first wildly wobble the pole back and forth until we were eventually balanced enough to get across with a calm, steady posture of the balancing pole. And eventually we are so well balanced that we can let go of the balancing pole. And it's the same with a horse. A young horse or a horse with contact issues, one that is too loose in the contact, will start wobbling its neck when I ride it in a stretching on a long rein frame. But that doesn't matter. Then it is encouraged. Use your body. And many horses really learn at some point to realize this connection. Oh, if I make my neck a bit longer, everything feels much better. It's also about body awareness for a horse. And body awareness can be developed by the rider for themselves, just as it can be developed by the horse for itself. That's why it's really important. And as I said, if I'm riding a horse and it gets a bit too tight for a moment, don't panic right away. Always look at the horse as a whole. Always ask myself the question, maybe I should be asking for a bigger stride or a bigger step from the hind leg now. If I have a horse that makes itself totally stiff and rigid in the neck, and I perhaps have the impression that I'll intentionally make it a bit tighter for a moment now. We are talking about something that lasts for a few seconds, not minutes, and not 20 minutes of being rolled up and low and deep or whatever that's all called in modern terms today. But it's a bit more like stretching your own own. muscle for a moment, then that is not the end of the world. But it doesn't free you from always orienting yourself towards the training scale and classical training, which has the goal of having a balanced horse with its nose at the highest point of collection, slightly in front of the vertical. Only then is it balanced. And people always say, we used to hear this all the time too, that a horse can only step where its nose is pointing. And if the nose is pointing backwards, the horses also step backwards. If you look at some trot extensions today, where the horses throw their shoulders way up, their legs way up, and if they are tight in the neck, if you look closely, then the front feet go backwards and land behind them. So they don't land where the tip of the toe is pointing. That is always a good, good measure to see. Is this horse honestly ridden onto the bit or is it just spectacularly yanked upwards? And yes, also explained really well. Thank you. Yes. Also with the balancing pole, a very nice image. Yes, Britta, we have already talked for quite a long time about contact. We are slowly coming to an end. Perhaps in conclusion, just briefly, back to the basics. As we just said, somehow correct contact always starts at the base, is part of the foundation. What would you say if someone is perhaps not quite that far along in their training yet or notice?

[SPEAKER 4]
[01:02:28-01:02:50]
They still have contact issues. The horse sometimes comes above the bit or, as I said, leans on the hand, gets too tight, and they want to work on that. What are the three most important tips you would give him or her if they are now starting to want to tackle these problems? Do you have three things that come to mind spontaneously that might be good for everyone on that path?

[SPEAKER 3]
[01:02:51-01:07:06]
Well, I would say always, with every horse, always and regularly, check the equipment. A, a horse cannot move in a relaxed way. So a horse cannot move in rhythm. A horse cannot find a clean contact if the equipment doesn't fit. I mean, I see riders incredibly often who are sitting on saddles. Sometimes the saddles were even there before that are behind the center of gravity, where the rider is really sitting behind the horse's center of gravity on its back. And then they wonder why the horses hollow their backs and lift their heads. it's quite clear when they arch their backs and then the struggle already begins. So equipment is absolutely important. We're not even talking about health. We take that as a given. But the equipment, it's astonishing how often it doesn't fit, whether it's the saddle or the bridle. I must also say this whole discussion, noseband, yes or no, and flash strap, yes or no, and bit, yes or no. Here too, for me, it always depends on what is the best solution for the respective horse. With what does the horse feel most comfortable? And that can be very different from horse to horse. So equipment must be right, must fit the horse. Then there is, of course, the second point. Always critically question your own seat and your own influence. Feel free to film yourself sometimes because sometimes you don't even notice that you aren't sitting in balance. Some riders, I have riders, I say, hey, you're falling forward. They don't notice it. And when I then say, sit down, try to lean back a little bit and get the feeling that you are sitting far behind the vertical, and then they find it incredibly difficult. And when they really think, now I'm lying on the horse, then they have just barely reached the vertical. And you don't notice that as a writer anymore. But when you see it, I mean, you can film yourself. That's no problem at all nowadays with all these mobile phones. And then take a look. That's always helpful. And then, of course, yes, engaging with writing theory, be it through literature, be it through all the films you have here, in order to know which lessons are suitable for what. So these are the transitions, the half halts, riding in position and bend, because that naturally means riding onto the outside aids again. Because you can't do anything in riding. You can't say, I'm just going to do this one point and work on that. You always have to see the big picture and also see the horse as a whole. And every horse is just different. And I can only ever say the theory of writing, the old theory of writing, was written down at some point. Back then, horses weren't as elegant. They were a bit heavier. But it was primarily written for Baroque to semi-warm-blood horses. They didn't include fjord horses in that. They didn't include halflingers in that. They didn't include, I don't know what else, in that. But that doesn't mean it doesn't apply to these breeds too. But of course, the emphasis is different for some things. I mean, I certainly can't get, let's say, a normal fjord horse, the average fjord horse, to swing the way I can get an average warm blood to. And a connection with, I don't know, a Friesian, for example, is also harder to establish so that the Friesian is stable in the top line. Because, of course, the breeding goal of the Friesian was different at some point with these high set necks. Nevertheless, that doesn't mean that the principles of writing themselves shouldn't actually be the basis for everyone. So also use all gymnastic exercises, transitions, half halts, voltage, circles, lateral movements, tempo variations, everything to continuously promote and achieve these individual points of the training scale. It's just a matter of how long I need for something when I say, I have that stable now. I have a stable connection now. That is then, of course, dependent on the horse's conformation, its temperament. So I can't say I'll ride a horse into a great connection and that will take six weeks. That won't work. Then, as I mentioned, if I have a Friesian with an incredibly high set neck and I want to try to encourage it to adopt a somewhat flatter neck carriage, so that the hindquarters can truly engage underneath and the knees remain stable, well, that is a process that might take two years of consistent work.

[SPEAKER 4]
[01:07:06-01:07:07]
Yes.

[SPEAKER 3]
[01:07:07-01:07:29]
And it's something that always accompanies me because I can't change a horse's anatomy. I naturally have to apply this very individually to every horse, but the common thread is the training scale. That is classical dressage theory, and I can only keep recommending that to all riders. And there is no shortcut. There just isn't. No one has invented riding lights yet.

[SPEAKER 4]
[01:07:29-01:09:48]
A good closing statement, I think. Thank you very much, Britta, also for these last tips once again. Yes, I think everyone can take something away from that. And I actually think, yes, writing is very complex. As you say, no one has invented writing light yet. I think it will always stay that way. But perhaps it's also motivating to say, yes, it can sometimes take two years until something like that gets better, but maybe then also to see the small steps, right? And that it is always worth looking at the basics again. Maybe I managed to get the timing a bit better on that one half halt or for that one hour, the nose was a bit further forward and I already had a slight contact with the bit or something like that. So, yes, I wish for you that you can enjoy the small successes, that you try out the exercises that Britta has given you here and that you can, of course, celebrate successes as well. Yes, dear Britta. And one must, of course, also say, check out Britta's courses on Wehorse.com as well. I can really only recommend it. For example, how horses learn rider aids, which you mentioned earlier, Britta, where you also show what happens when you apply aids unfavorably, but of course also how to do it correctly. And many other courses, the riding terms, flexion, bend, all the courses we have with you also somehow influence the contact. So I can really only recommend it. Yes, Britta, thank you very much for all your knowledge and your experience. You're welcome. I hope I was able to give one or two people an idea and also make it clear that it really is difficult. But that's the beauty of riding, because if there is that silly saying, if riding were easy, then no one would play soccer anymore. It is certainly quite difficult, but that is exactly what the great challenge is all about. To truly grow together with your horse or horses over time, so that at some point everything you do together just looks so incredibly easy and effortless. And I can always tell you all, no matter at what level you ride, that is actually always the greatest compliment you can get, that people say, that looked so harmonious, and that is actually what it should be. Wonderful. We wish that for all of you. Until next time, take care. And dear Britta, you too. See you soon. And until next time.

[SPEAKER 1]
[01:09:50-01:10:23]
Thank you for listening to this episode of the Equestrian Connection podcast by WeHorse. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean... the world to us if you could leave us a rating and review as well as share us on social media. You can find us on Instagram at wehorse underscore USA and check out our free seven day trial on wehorse.com where you can access over 175 courses with top trainers from around the world in a variety of topics and disciplines. Until next time, be kind to yourself, your horses, and others.