FLEXION
The horse must be limber throughout his body in order for energy to travel forward freely. Bending the length of the horse to the arc of a circle promotes side-to side flexibility, and raising his back in conjunction with the lowering of the hip creates longitudinal bend.
With the use of the circle and maintenance of proper alignment of the horse’s spine, flexing and suppling exercises continue through a variety of lateral movements. Similar to relaxation
exercises, each suppling exercise must be mastered by the horse before moving on to higher level movements, or tension will develop and finding lightness will be difficult.
The rider must be careful to not overbend the horse or to overflex his neck as this will interrupt the relationship between the bridle and his feet. Overflexing will disrupt his ability to balance, will effectively put him on the forehand, and will make it difficult for him to follow the rider’s aids.
Rollkur position demonstrates what happens to the horse’s body with longitudinal overflexion: The consequences of this forced position are evident not only in the horse’s expression, but in the disconnection at the base of his neck, the dropping of his back behind the withers, and his difficulty in stepping underneath with his hind legs without strain.
The initial steps toward strength and engagement first began when we asked the horse to lengthen down and relax in his early education. Length bend is maintained while changing gait, direction, and with up and down transitions. He will develop the ability to progressively step deeper under his centerline with his back rounded.
If the horse’s education has progressed successfully, energy from the haunch will begin to flow forward freely, and the rider has only to direct it. If there is tension or stiffness in the horse’s back, for example, and the rider asks the horse to move forward; his back will absorb or block some of the forward motion. Feeling a lack of impulsion, the rider may apply more leg to drive the horse forward. Driving the horse harder, however, does nothing to correct the resistance within his body. Using more leg to drive the horse harder can work, but achieving an understanding of why the horse stiffened is the better way.