JANUARY 2014 THE RIDER /35


The #1 Rider Problem of the Year: Pulling to “Frame” A Horse


By Kathy Farrokhzad. Each year, I try to


pinpoint one essential rider problem that is prevalent with all riders. Two years ago, we discussed the out- side rein, last year it was the leg aid and so this year, let’s discuss something we all do or have probably done at one point in our riding career. Admit it! You’ve


probably tried it yourself. Pull. Any direction


will do, really. Up, down, open rein, closed rein, back to your thigh... we can get creative about it. The main goal is to get that horse to finally give, usually through the jaw, poll and maybe neck area, so that there can be less tension, or pull, or tightness through the head, neck and back. The horse also might level out into a frame that is desirable in your riding dis- cipline. Most horses do “let


go” at some point and emu- late softness. The only problem is that while the front end can contort enough to find the release from you, the middle and hind end cannot lie. The back drops or sags, the hind legs shorten stride, the hind end maybe even “camps out” - essentially, the horse travels with a longer back than he might


otherwise, precisely because through the act of pulling, we have blocked the energy that is travelling to the front of the horse. But we do it any-


way. (Trust me - I have the T-shirt.) ****


“Framing” a


horse is one of those essential things we tend to obsess over once we can keep our balance well enough to be able to work on other things. By then, we can “feel” well enough to know that the horse is moving stiffly and with uneven steps. We can feel the tension radiate through the horse from the jaw to the back and into our very core. Once in a while, the


horse loosens up and we discover this tension-free, bouncy-floaty feeling that we know is right, but then, as soon as we turn to look the other way, the horse falls out of that riding heaven. We are left forever after wanting to emulate that feeling in every ride. So we pull. But there is another


way. I have never heard it said better than at an Anky van Grunsven clinic I had the pleasure of auditing this year. She simplified it to a level that every rider could


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actually throw the horse’s energy for- ward enough to help him lose balance and fall to the forehand. Create the space but


don’t completely drop the horse.


2. Then Go This is the critical


part. Instead of pulling


back and reducing energy, you need to build up controlled energy. You need to bolster, encourage, engage. Then, you need to ask


be successful at. She called it “give and go.” Here is my interpreta-


tion of it.


1. Give In order to truly


“round” a horse - versus “frame” a horse - you want the energy to come over the topline. You want to feel the forward thrust of the energy that seems to energize rather than stifle. You want to let that energy come “through” rather than stop it. But you can’t exactly


let it all go either. Aye, there’s the eter-


nal rub. Regardless of your


rein length, and your riding discipline, you can’t “drop the connection” if you want to contain energy. Well, unless both you and your horse are at a level of self- carriage that allows you to control your balance with nothing but seat, leg and weight aids. Let’s assume most of


us are not at that level. So... when you give,


give just a little. Think of it as if you would like to keep that bit from moving in the horse’s mouth. If you com- pletely let go, you might


your horse to do the same. You might use just a seat aid. Or you might


combine both the seat and the leg. Whatever you decide to do, the result should be that your horse steps deeper with the hind legs and responds with a surge of energy that might even give you a small whip-lash effect. Be ready for it and go with the horse.


3. How to Round This is the tricky part.


Because if you just let everything go, and the horse did in fact energize, then he will either just run faster-faster in the gait, or fall to the forehand or both. Think of a tube of tooth-


paste as the toothpaste squirts out of the front end. So to control that


energy, and to transfer it over the topline of the horse and encourage the horse to round, you have to do something that will “catch” that energy and recycle it to stay within the horse. This is where an effective half-halt becomes critical. At the right moment,


you have to say “no” to the go. But it must occur after the initial give and go part. If your timing is


right, you might feel your horse grow underneath you. You might feel him lift up like you imagine an airplane lifts - front end high, hind end low. You will certainly


feel the energy surge and a power you might not be used to. If you’re lucky, you


might get a snort from your horse. Then you know you are on the right track for sure!


Finally, you might be


surprised to discover that your horse naturally rounds when all the requirements are brought together. Sud- denly, and apparently from nowhere, he might soften the jaw, thicken through the neck, round his back (and you will feel like you’re floating along on a


trampoline-like movement) and step deeper underneath with his hind legs. And this will happen


all at once!


4. Maintain This last part is some-


thing we don’t often think about. Once we get “it”, we assume that the horse will just stay that way because he loves us so much! ;-) But alas, we discover


quickly that if we can’t maintain the status quo, it will quickly diminish to the base level of our riding skills.


To keep the round-


ness, you have to keep rid- ing forward - with the give, the go and then the no - in a cycle, round and round, over and over. Then, and only then,


will you have true “round- ness” and a horse that moves happily, with strength, in a way that will help to keep him sound for years and years.


Bio: Kathy Farrokhzad is an EC riding coach and writer of the blog, Horse Listening. If you liked what you read here, check out


her blog at


www.horselistening.com for more articles about horses, riding and life in general. © 2013 Horse Listening


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