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.
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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.

In a previous blog I looked at the causes of a horse rearing whilst in the middle of a dressage test, What Went Wrong? In this month’s blog, I wanted to look closely at a piaffe shown in a grand prix freestyle competition and the qualities that the horse shows in the movement in this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch? =QElJ6Og6bp8
 
I am focusing on the piaffe that begins at 1 minute 8 seconds. Before this piaffe, the horse is in passage and to bring the horse into piaffe, the rider makes a backward pull on the rein (1:09) whilst simultaneously using her spurs and bracing her body backwards. This has the effect of compressing the horse through its neck which puts the horse on its fore hand, disengages its haunches and disrupts the diagonal steps (below).

Consequently, the horse can only bounce its haunches up in the piaffe as it’s front legs barely come off the ground (1:13) and there is no elevation of the neck and withers. Unable to correctly engage its haunches the horse is now fully on its fore hand as the front feet land significantly before the hind feet and the rhythm of the diagonal steps is completely lost.

Through the piaffe, the horse swings its left hind out to the side whereas it should move up and down under the body of the horse. The rider makes continual backward movements on the reins, blocking the horse and creating resistance in the horse’s jaw, neck and back.
 
Due to the incorrect movement in the piaffe, in the transition out of the piaffe, the horse makes two canter strides before picking up passage steps(1:22). 

​In a correct piaffe, the horse moves its centre of gravity back, the hind legs flex more and the fore hand becomes lighter and more elevated. The haunches should not bounce higher than the withers.
 
The front feet should be raised higher than the hind feet, or the hind feet and front feet should come to the same height if the horse’s conformation or level of training does not allow for the former. If the hind feet are raised higher than the front feet, it is a clear indication that the piaffe is on the fore hand and incorrect.
 
The pictures below show two horses with different conformation showing correct piaffe steps and the piaffe shown by this horse and rider for comparison.

​Lightness is a characteristic of classical dressage, sought by riders throughout the centuries. For me, lightness is the ultimate goal of dressage training, it brings a unique expression to each horse throughout their work, and it directs all my work and teaching. When a horse is truly light, dressage is elevated to another level, something that, once you have felt it, is never forgotten.
 
Lightness means to be nimble, with a lack of weight, or a lack of weightiness or force and each of these interpretations are relevant to classical dressage.
 
Horses are naturally weighted towards their forehand, and through correct training, the horse gradually learns to use their strength to bring their balance towards quarters. As training progresses and the horse engages their haunches more towards collection, their forehand elevates, and the horse becomes more manoeuvrable. This lightness in the forehand can ultimately create piaffe or even a levade.
 
The aspect of lightness in character should not be dismissed. Both horse and rider should enjoy the work. Where training becomes an effort with riders becoming stronger and the horse becoming resistant, the joy of dressage is lost.
 
Without lightness in movement, dressage horses become physically blocked and laboured, unable to produce the full beauty of which they are capable.
 
The pictures below show two very different piaffes, the bay horse is heavy in the fore hand, it’s head and neck are blocked, which has disengaged the hind legs which are stepping to the side, and the fore leg is drawn too far back under the horse’s body. The horse shows resistance throughout its body
 
The grey horse also shows a piaffe but in a completely different way. There is lightness in the fore hand, the hocks flex as the hind legs are brought under the body of the horse and the head and neck are elevated with the poll raised. There is no tension or resistance in the movement.

Whilst a lot of time is spent thinking about which bit to use, nose bands tend to be used solely to keep a horse’s mouth shut. Mostly riders use a flash or a cavesson, done up tightly to prevent the horse from opening its mouth. Apart from the obvious physical pain and harm that this inflicts on a horse, it masks a very important communication channel between a horse and their rider.
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The art of dressage riding is to finesse the communication between the horse and rider so that, to an observer, the rider appears to be doing nothing. Part of achieving this is having the horse soft and mobile throughout their work, and the horse’s mouth is a very good reflection the level of that relationship between horse and rider.
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For example, if a horse is finding an exercise difficult or feels too much pressure from the rider’s hands, this will show first through the horse’s mouth with blocks such as fixing the jaw, opening the mouth or putting their tongue over the bit.

Tightening the nose band to prevent this behaviour does not solve the problem. Unable to express himself via his mouth, horses often become harder in the jaw and the tension occurs elsewhere in his body. As the stress ripples throughout the horse’s body, blocks can often be seen in the horses neck, back and hind legs.

The solution is to change what you are doing, rather than increasingly tightening the nose band. It may be as simple as modifying an exercise slightly, or you may need to look a bit deeper at how you are asking. Riding with a softer hand and working more tactfully from your seat and back or with your leg.
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The connection between bit and rider’s hands should always be the weight of the reins. For very skilled riders, the slightest tension in the horse’s mouth is felt in their hands, and they make appropriate adjustments to make the horse comfortable. With a nose band that is done up tightly, the horse is unable to speak to the rider and training becomes an exercise in force.

To start the new year I'm looking at definitions for some of the French terms associated with higher levels of classical dressage; Descente de Mains, Ramner and Rassembler. Please see my previous blogs for discussions on other dressage terms; Cadence and Collection and Rhythm, Impulsion and Engagement.
 
 
Descente de mains
 
This is a French term and the literal translation is “descent of hands”. For classical dressage purposes, descente de mains is a lowering or giving of the rider’s hands to softly release the contact and have the horse remain in the movement without altering the frame, rhythm or cadence, and is most telling in piaffe.
 
It is a simple and very tactful movement for the rider, but comes as the result of precise training; a horse in balance, with the correct level of impulsion and rhythm. Descente de mains is not riding with loose reins or when the horse has his neck stretched down with his nose near the floor!
 
 
Nuno Oiveira and Arthur Kottas Heldenberg both give clear precise descriptions of descente de mains.
 
Arthur Kottas Heldenburg from Kottas on Dressage (glossary) describes descente de mains as
 
A term from French equitation; basically, a yielding of the rein contact, either as a reward or to check the horse’s self-balance. In respect of the hands, ‘descente’ can mean either a physical lowering, or ‘reduction’ (lessening) of the contact – commonly both.
 
Nuno Oliveira, Reflections on Equestrian Art
Descente de main: the rider relaxes his fingers and the horse meanwhile maintains the same pace, the same attitude and the same cadence. 

Ramner
 
A good definition of Ramner can be found in Dom Diogo de Bragança’s book Dressage in the French Tradition (page 18)
 
Ramner, the neck is raised and self-supporting, verticality of the head (or a position of the head close to the vertical, and in front of it), the poll at the highest point of the neck.
 
It is possible to position the horse’s head by raising your hands, but this will not create ramner, which is a position that the horse chooses for himself based on other factors. The horse must be supple, balanced and able to control the impulsion generated from the haunches. As these qualities develop, the horse becomes more engaged, and the forehand will become lighter, the neck will lengthen from the withers and the poll will appear to advance with the nose near vertical. It is important to understand that this starts from the withers, not the head.
 

​Rassembler
 
The translation of rassembler is given as
 
To bring together.
To assemble, to gather together.
To gather together, to collect.
 
In classical dressage terms it defines a horse who is in perfect balance, haunches engaged with the weight displaced back to the haunches as much as the horse’s conformation will allow, creating lightness in the forehand and a very maneuverable horse. Again, it is a position that the horse acquires for himself through careful and precise training and is one of the ultimate goals of classical dressage.
 
 
In Dressage in the French Tradition by Dom Diogo de Bragança, he describes rassembler as
 
..balance or equilibrium on a short (collected) base of support (the horse's feet placed close together).
…which is the harmonization of the means necessary for the execution of natural gaits, or those that are derived from them, on a short base of support.
 
Rassembler is indispensable for classical high school training. It is different to collection because it is a quality that is more tied to lightness and ramner than collection alone implies. Whilst ramner refers to the position of the horse’s head, rassembler refers to the whole horse.

©Training Riders, Transforming Horses

​The Olympic Games presents a great opportunity for us to indulge in watching wonderful horses perform in the dressage arena, but how can we best appreciate the performances when the same movement on horses with very different training, conformation and expression in their paces can appear quite differently?

By looking for the qualities of a movement it becomes easy to compare different types of horse. An example of this is extended trot. In extended trot, warmbloods with big movement tend produce a big, expressive step, whereas an Iberian horse will show a less visually spectacular pace, however this does not mean that the Iberian extension is incorrect, or that the Warmblood extension is perfect. So how can you identify a correct movement?
An extended trot is described by the FEI as follows;

​The aim is to show the utmost impulsion in trot strides with as much lengthening and ground cover as possible without a loss of balance.

The regularity of the two-beat rhythm with still longer moments of suspension than at medium trot.

• The light and steady contact with the line of the nose clearly in from of the vertical, the poll remaining the highest point, but in a longer frame than at medium trot.
• The suppleness throughout the body, a swinging back and elasticity of steps.
• The straightness.
• The impulsion, lengthening of steps, ground cover and over track. The hind feet step as far as possible over the prints of the front feet while maintaining the energy and same tempo.
• The energy and engagement of the hind quarters, the self-carriage and balance.
• The clear differentiation from medium trot.
• The transitions into and out of the extended trot.

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​One of the key phrases in the description above is “with as much lengthening and ground cover as possible without a loss of balance.” This accepts that each horse will have a different expression depending on their conformation. In extended trot I look at the movement of the horse’s shoulder, which should be free moving and the foot should be placed at the furthest point of the extension and not drawn back. Looking at the hind leg you should see an equal suspension and length in each of the diagonal steps.

The neck position is also important. Extended trot requires the horse’s neck to be lengthened and the head may come slightly in front of the vertical. If the neck is shortened, the withers will drop and the shoulders and back are blocked.
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The pictures below show two breeds of horse both doing an extended trot. They are moving with a free shoulder, the fore leg carrying the reach through the forearm and the foot lowering at the farthest point of the reach. The neck is long and rises up from the withers. The horses back is not blocked and the hind leg is correctly reaching under the body.

​The grey horse has a shorter more upright conformation than the other horse, but both extensions are correct, showing a lengthened frame and free shoulder and back.
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At the other end of the scale is piaffe which is another movement in which it is easy to compare different horses. The FEI description of piaffe describes the qualities that should be present;

The aim of piaffe is to demonstrate the highest degree of collection which giving the impression of remaining in place. To perform the movement with forward intent while maintaining clear diagonal steps.

• Cadence and regularity
• Elasticity and spring
• The lowering of the haunches
• Collection (maximum carrying power of the hind quarter)
• Balance
• Giving the impression of remaining in place
• Consistent elastic contact and performed in true self carriage

To compare piaffe in different horses, focus on the hind legs. The height and suspension should be the same in both legs, and the feet should be placed on the ground in line with each other; sometimes one hind foot is placed further back than the other.

In the forehand, the legs should lift to the same height on each side, and should be under the shoulder when on the ground, not back under the body of the horse.
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The neck should be raised from the withers in a graceful arc. Some horses have a more closed head and neck position than others, which is appropriate, providing the rider is not restricting the forward movement with their hands.

​In the pictures above the horse on the right is showing a greater degree of flexion in the hocks and lowering of the quarters than the horse on the left, but looking at the qualities of the piaffe, they are both correct.

Correct dressage training should result in a strong, supple, well balanced horse who takes weight towards the hind quarters and remains light in the hand. There should be an overall quality of lightness in all work which is the result of self-carriage. There should be no tension in the reins, with the ultimate expression of this lightness in “descente de mains”, where the rider is able to lower the hands, releasing the rein contact and the horse remains in the same frame and movement.