This year has been quite tumultuous and I though it would be good to have a light hearted blog this Christmas. The following is a horse’s Christmas song to its rider, sing to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas, as loudly and as out of tune as you wish!
 
On the first day of Christmas my rider gave to me

a much loosened off curb chain
2 soft reins and
3 canter beats
4 beats in walk
5 tasty treats
6 winter rugs
7 softer neck joints
8 daily hugs
9 turnout friends
10 seconds thinking
11 spooky places
12 hours turnout

Wishing you all a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year.

​This month I am reviewing a half 10 metre circle performed by Kimberly Pap and Sonnenburg’s Jersey competing at the VHO Trophy 2023 starting at 3 minutes 40 seconds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cvqPdPVOsI

The half circle should give the horse and rider an opportunity to prepare for the next movement, a few strides to help the horse rebalance itself, and for the rider to check the engagement of the haunches. However, this chance is missed by the rider. The half pass preceding this turn is made with very extravagant strides and speed. The horse has disengaged his haunches and become unbalanced through the movement. (Picture A).

​To bring the horse back in time to make the half circle, the rider pulls the reins, blocking the horse. The horse has no engagement of the hind leg and is unable to balance itself correctly,  and drops his weight towards his right foreleg to balance. (Picture B).

​As they begin the turn, the disengagement of the haunchesand weight towards the shoulder means that the impulsion, instead of balancing the horse, causes him to lean to the inside. The rider is unbalanced and using the reins for support and overbending the horse's neck. (Picture C and D).

Because he is disengaged, the horse moves his inside hind foot towards the outside, crossing his left hindleg. With his balance totally compromised, the horse uses his inside foreleg to stay upright. (Picture E and F)

​At the end of the half circle, the horse is still completely out of balance as he enters the centre line with his weight towards his forehand, and disengaged haunches. (Picture G)

Below is a photo of a horse and rider correctly balanced on a circle.

​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

​I am continuing the theme of looking at some of the faults that can occur with the difficult high-level movements, and this time I am looking at passage. The photos are taken from a video of Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper at the Tokyo Olympics Dressage in 2021. The full video can be seen here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSYdsItiqU&t=1549s and the passage I am reviewing starts at 29 mins 14 secs.

Passage is a difficult movement to perform correctly. The horse must have exceptional balance, suppleness strength to maintain the very collected high, slow steps required. This movement must be ridden with lightness and tact from the rider. In the FEI rules, there is a good description of a passage.

The FEI rules 2020 give a description of passage and the faults that can occur.

ARTICLE 414 THE PASSAGE

1. Passage is a measured, very collected, elevated and cadenced trot. It is characterised by a pronounced engagement of the hindquarters, a more accentuated flexion of the knees and hocks, and the graceful elasticity of the movement. Each diagonal pair of legs is raised and returned to the ground alternately, with cadence and a prolonged suspension.

2. In principle, the height of the toe of the raised forefoot should be level with the middle of the cannon bone of the other supporting foreleg. The toe of the raised hind foot should be slightly above the fetlock joint of the other supporting hind leg.

3. The neck should be raised and gracefully arched with the poll as the highest point and the nose line close to the vertical. The Horse should remain light, and soft “on the bit” without altering the cadence. The impulsion remains lively and pronounced.

4. Irregular steps with the hind or front legs, swinging the forehand or the hindquarters from one (1) side to the other, as well as jerky movements of the forelegs or the hind legs, dragging the hind legs or double beat in the moment of suspension are serious faults. The aim of passage is to demonstrate the highest degree of collection, cadence and suspension in the trot.
 
Having watched many hours of passage, many of the movements I have seen have little resemblance to the way it should be performed, and the marks given do not reflect the requirements for the movement as stated by the FEI. In passage today, horses are blocked in the head and neck, disengaged in their haunches and unable to flex their hind leg joints, which results in a breakdown of the steps and essentially, no passage.
 
In this test, the horse is asked to perform a series of complex trot movements leading into passage; trot half pass to piaffe, then a piaffe pirouette followed with passage. The preceding piaffe is incorrect showing a swinging forehand (see A View of Piaffe and Some Faults in Piaffe) which sets the horse up for a poor passage. Today we see horses performing difficult movements one after the other without being given a rest with a simple movement such as a circle or moving on a straight line in a less collected or extended stride. This type of riding creates a situation where the quality of each exercise deteriorates, and riders have to compromise lightness and balance for the sake of forcing though into the next movement.
 
This passage shows irregular steps in the hind legs, a double beat in the moment of suspension and a loss of the diagonal trot stride.  Perhaps the focus of these tests should be more on the quality of each movement rather than making ever more complicated routines?
 
In the transition to passage, the rider holds the horse through the rein and this makes the horse contract it’s neck, resulting in a break in the trot diagonals (picture 29.14) where the left hind is off the ground whilst the right fore is on the ground.

​The horse continues to be held by the rider’s hands on the reins which restricts the ability of the horse to move off its forehand, preventing the haunches and hind legs from correctly engaging. The passage rhythm is compromised, and the faulty trot stride continues with the left foreleg on the ground and the right hind is in the air (picture 29.15) .

​With the haunches disengaged, the left hind foot makes a double beat in the passage, being brought forward (picture 29.16 A) before being drawn back and placed on the ground (picture 29.16 B).

The horse is now out of balance and the forward momentum continues to be blocked by the rider’s hands. The passage has no suspension as the horse moves its inside hind leg towards the outside instead of flexing its leg joints and keeping the hind legs in a straight line with its inside foreleg. (Picture 29.19).

 Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

​Watching the Olympic dressage this weekend, it was noticeable how little has changed over the last decades despite the rise in voices that recognise that this is not classical dressage. However, there were a couple of glimmers of hope. The flying changes were less leaps off the ground and horses showed smoother flatter changes of lead. This is a move in the right direction for change.
 
The second was in the extended paces. The excessive front leg movement that has been presented in competitions has gone and they showed a less exaggerated stride. But the horses were unable to lengthen their frame and the extended trots on display still retained the flicking feet and blocked top line of old. The judges seemed to think that this constituted a correct extension with 5 of them each giving 10 marks to the same competitor. The commentators also spoke about the lovely lengthening of the top line when there was clearly none.
 
All the horses shown were being ridden with a very tight rein contact. Curb bits should give an increased level of subtly and refinement to the rider’s aids and require the most delicate and light action from the rider. None of this was on display at the weekend.
 
The riders were in a position that was braced against the reins, legs tight in the knee rolls and their backs stiff. The excessive foaming in the horse’s mouth did not disguise the overuse of the curb bit and chain. The sides of the curb bit should hang almost straight down. Riders applied continuous bit pressure showing with the sides of the curb at roughly a 45-degree angle.
 
Pulled in by the rider’s hands, the horses had contracted neck and head position. This forces the horse to drop its back and disengage its haunches. Regardless of what the legs are doing, the horse is not correct. In this compressed frame, the horses make flawed movements to accommodate the rider’s demands. Some of the common faults that I could see across horses were,
 
Swinging of haunches in passage.
Swinging haunches in collected trot.
Tight, restrictive shoulder movement.
Tight reins, horse flapping its bottom lip.
Unbalanced corners.
Overuse of the leg to keep the horse moving, in an effort to counter the tight rein contact.
Uneven steps in piaffe, hopping and loss of rhythm.
One horse kicked out in the canter transition.
Breaking of the diagonal leg paring at various times in the trot work.
Tail swishing.
Forelegs behind the shoulder in piaffe.
Flying changes not straight, haunches swinging.
Bouncing of haunches in piaffe, horses show different lowering of the haunches depending on their conformation and level, but bouncing haunches show disengagement.
Uneven steps in the hind legs in passage.



​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

​Along with many other equestrians, I have watched the first day of dressage competition at the Paris Olympics. I have been interested in the opportunity to see the scores as the test progress, and to compare them to the expected movements according to the FEI rules.
 
Here are some of my thoughts on a few of the piaffe movements ridden and the scores allocated. Whilst I have only commented on three horse and rider pairings, these types of piaffe are being shown by many other combinations.
 
The timings given are from the Discovery+ coverage of the full days event.
 
For reference the judging criteria as described in “The FEI DRESSAGE JUDGING MANUAL Effective from 1 January 2024” is below;

Table below sets out the faults in piaffe and the scores that should be allocated.

Taken from “The FEI DRESSAGE JUDGING MANUAL To be considered in connection with the FEI Dressage Rules and the FEI Dressage Handbook Guidelines for Judging. Effective from 1 January 2024”.
  
Nanna Skodborg-Merrald riding Zepter.
 
Piaffe at 16 minutes and 54 seconds.

- The horse’s forehand is swinging from side to side.
- Loss of rhythm.
- Horse’s nose swinging from side to side.
- Horse bracing through the neck and jaw.
Score 7.6
 
Piaffe at 18 minutes 9 seconds.
- Swinging haunches.
- Loss of rhythm.
Score 7.8
 
Emma Kanerva riding Greek Air.
 
Piaffe starts at 3 hours 13 minutes and 50 seconds.
 
- Horse is on its forehand.
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted. The muscle on the underside of the horse’s neck is braced.
- Haunches swinging.
- Tail swishing.
 Score 7.7
 
Piaffe starting at 3 hours 15 minutes and 5 seconds
 
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted. The muscle on the underside of the horse’s neck is braced.
- Haunches swinging.
- Uneven steps in hind legs.
- Tail swishing
 Score 7.4
 
Marcus Orlob riding Jane
 
Piaffe starting at 3 hours 5 minutes and 49 seconds.
- Horse’s neck blocked and contracted.
- From the front view the left hind leg is seen swinging out.
- Uneven steps behind with the left hind leg making a backward movement and the right hind leg stepping up and down.
- Loss of diagonal steps.
- Horse bracing through the neck and jaw.
 Score 7.4

​​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell
 

​It is sad to see that competition dressage is in the spotlight yet again for all the wrong reasons. The footage of Charlotte Dujardin shows her whipping a horse with a lunge whip multiple times to improve its canter. This is totally unacceptable and unnecessary. Horses will willingly do what they are physically able to do and what they understand through training.

This latest scandal is not the first video showing a professional, world renowned trainer or rider maltreating their horses, and yet nothing has changed. Over decades, the FEI and British Dressage have consistently failed to respond to the mounting evidence of abusive training. They continue to reward riders showing horses that are blocked through their necks and back, disengaged in their haunches, producing paces that are uneven and incorrect. Spurs are used to force the horse forward, bits are used to pull horses in from the riders hands and nosebands are tightened to prevent the horse from showing any sign of pain.

Rather than tackling the issue head on and changing the judging and scoring, the FEI brought in rules to show that they are serious about tackling animal cruelty. The recent blood rule, where a horse is eliminated for having blood in its mouth or on its sides, fails to acknowledge the simple fact that no horse should ever have blood anywhere on its body as a result of being ridden. 

Current competition training methods circumvent correct dressage principles. The rapid training used by many competitive riders today takes little account of the original dressage training goals on which the competition was based. The horses are pushed to perform and become mere vehicles for the rider's ambition.

Charlotte Dujardin now joins an ever increasing list of international riders who have been seen to be abusing horses and she will not be the last. Some of these riders are still competing despite being investigated on more than one occasion. When will the judges start to penalise riders showing horses in distress through incorrect movement and training?  When will the FEI and British Dressage  step up and make the huge changes necessary for competitive dressage to be once again focused on the horse and correct training principles? 

©Diane Followell, Classical Dressage Trainer.
Training Riders Transforming Horses

In my last blog I looked at the qualities of a good piaffe shown by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl in the warmup area. (Click here to read it)

This month I am looking at some of the problems that can occur in piaffe. This one is shown by Charlotte Fry whilst competing at the ECCO FEI World Championships 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohr_Vex4m4c&t=26s and the piaffe starts at 1 minute 7 seconds.

In a correct piaffe the horse needs to engage its haunches, lighten it’s forehand and elevate the head and neck position. If the horse is prevented from doing this either by a lack of strength and balance or by the rider blocking the movement, the trot diagonal steps elevation and and straightness are lost.
​
In this clip, as the rider approaches the piaffe from a passage, she makes a backward movement of her hands to bring the horse to piaffe. This action causes the horse to brace its neck and jaw and lose its forward momentum. To correct this the rider uses her spurs. The horse is now blocked between the rider’s hands and her legs and is unable to engage its haunches for the piaffe and the diagonal rhythm of the trot steps is lost (1 minute 7 seconds). (Picture 1.07 A)

​Due to the disengagement of the haunches, the momentum of the piaffe has gone and the rider is now using a lot of leg and spur to create some steps. Her hand position does not change and forces the horse to drop its head behind the vertical and place its weight into its forehand. (1 minute 7 seconds). (Picture.1.07 B) 

​As the piaffe continues, the horse remains blocked by the rider’s hands and, unable to correctly engage his haunches, there is a continued deterioration of the diagonal trot steps. This results in the horse’s forehand swinging from side to side (1 minute 8 seconds). Picture 1.08 A This picture also shows the left diagonal breakdown with the hind foot moving off the ground before the forefoot and the fore legs stepping out to the sides rather than
stepping cleanly up and down.

​The next sequence of pictures (1.09, 1.10 A and 1.10 B) shows the continued breakdown of the steps as the horse makes sidesteps in the forelimbs and rocks its shoulders from side to side

​In picture 1.12, the horse is blocked and diagonal rhythm of the trot steps is completely lost as the horse has all four feet on the ground at the same time.

With the Olympic games in Paris this summer, I am taking a look at some of the advanced movements that will be shown in the dressage competitions, how they should look and the problems that can occur.

In my last blog I reviewed tempi flying changes, “A View of Tempi Flying Changes" (click here to read) and this month I am taking a look at piaffe. The piaffe is on Jessica von Bredow-Werndl’s Facebook page, showing a few steps of piaffe in a warmup arena, and can be found here; https://www.facebook.com/reel/389800653416534

Although this is only a few steps of piaffe, it is a good example of the movement. The horse is light and well engaged in his haunches. The joints of the hind legs are flexing and the feet are raised to the same height and move up and down without deviation.

The rider sits softly with relaxed legs and the weight of the reins in her hands. The horse is able to place its head and neck where it feels most comfortable without the rider dictating the position.

As the rider makes a turn in the piaffe, the steps remain the same. At the end of the movement, the horse moves calmly forward.

​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

 For my blogs this year I am looking at some of the movements that we see at higher levels of competition and reviewing what is desired from the movement, and some of the problems that can occur.

This month I am looking at the sequence of flying changes at every stride performed by Edward Gal at the Dutch Dressage Championships in 2021. The full video of the test can be seen here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzwxmnhGWvA&t=274s. The particular section I am discussing in this blog is a sequence of flying changes made at every stride which start at 4 minutes 15 seconds. For reference, below is the definition of a flying change from the FEI rules.

4.8 Flying Change of leg. The flying change is performed in one (1) stride with the front and hind legs changing at the same moment. The change of the leading front and hind leg takes place during the moment of suspension. The aids should be precise and unobtrusive.
Flying Changes of leg can also be executed at every 4th, 3rd 2nd or at every stride. The Horse, even in the series, remains light, calm and straight with lively impulsion, maintaining the same rhythm and balance throughout the series concerned. In order not to restrict or restrain the lightness, fluency and ground cover of the flying changes in series, enough impulsion must be maintained.
 
The main issue that can be seen with these flying changes is the impulsion being blocked by the rider’s hands. Impulsion has become the main force that dressage focuses on to the detriment of other qualities. Many horses now perform a flying change with weight in their forehand, disengaged haunches and a lack of lightness. This forces the horse to make the flying change by pushing up from their fore hand and swinging their haunches from side to side, not straight and effortlessly flowing as they should be. In a flying change the rhythm and tempo of the canter should not change and the horse’s legs should appear to switch effortlessly under their body with no upward bounce. 
 
The issues with this sequence of flying changes begins with the turn on to the diagonal. At this point there is a backwards action on the inside rein, and the horse swings it’s head to the right (4 minutes 18 seconds). This is immediately followed by a heavy action on the left rein causing the horse to twist its nose to the left. These aids take the horse off balance immediately prior to the flying change sequence.

​Throughout the sequence of changes, the rider maintains a backward pressure on the reins. This blocks the horse from coming through correctly with its hind legs, placing weight into the forehand and causing the horse to make the transition from one lead to the other by swing its haunches from side to side. (A) (B) (C) (D)

​The rider continues to contract the horse through its head, neck and shoulders with a restrictive hand through the sequence of steps. This prevents the horse from flowing through with its hind legs and after a few strides, the 3-beat canter breaks down into a 4-beat canter. The horse makes more exaggerated movement in each stride, bouncing up from its front legs rather than swinging smoothly through. (E) (4 minutes 25 seconds).

​Correct flying changes should be straight and flow through the horse’s body from the hind legs. This gives a smooth transition between the strides where the leg sequence changes effortlessly under the horse without the forehand leaping off the ground and preserves the 3-beat rhythm. 

​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell

 
This month I’m taking a look at some footage of dressage shown at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The video is of Canadian rider Brittany Fraser-Beaulieu riding the transition between passage and piaffe. You can watch the full test here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGSYdsItiqU.
 
I am focusing on the quality of the passage, the transition into piaffe and the piaffe itself. This is a complicated sequence of movements that require the rider to have great tact and timing of the aids.
 
The passage starts at 5 minutes 37 seconds as the pair come out of the extended trot. The rider makes a backward movement on the reins which contracts the horse’s head and neck position creating a passage that lacks suspension. The steps are uneven, showing a breakdown in the diagonal movement of the horse’s legs because the horse is unable to correctly bring its haunches under due to the contraction in its neck and braced back.

​As they turn out of the corner, the horse’s inside leg hind is disengaged and it has braced its ribcage placing weight in its forehand. The horse loses balance and rhythm through the turn from the long side (5:44)

​As the horse approaches the piaffe transition, the rider makes several heavy backward movements on the reins, causing the horse to open its mouth and cross its jaw, and for the trot rhythm to falter (5:51). 

​In the piaffe steps, the horse is contracted in its neck and disengaged in its hind legs placing weight in its shoulders with no engagement of the haunches.

The next sequence of pictures shows the horse with its right hind leg moving straight up and down, whilst the left hind leg swings outwards. At the top of the step there is a circular movement of the foot, and the left foot moves inwards as it is replaced on the ground. The horse starts to swing its haunches from side to side with greater disruption to the diagonal pairing in the stride. The piaffe is incorrect and beyond improvement (sequence of stills from 5.52 to 5:55). 

​​Training Riders, Transforming Horses
© Diane Followell