Equine Biomechanics, an explanation of connection

[@orsolyafrank573]

This was very important information very clearly explained and demonstrated. I would love to hear more about this, in some detail.

[@clarkosteo]

Beautifully explained. Thank you!

[@KasiaExc]

Świetny materiał 👌 Dziękuję 🌼

[@sharonvanderwesthuizen430]

Really really enjoyed your explanation. Was great to see how the horse was working and that I’m on the right track.

[@horseguide2017]

Top information ! Congrats for your video!

[@dellfarrell1288]

What happened to not having horse BTV & poll the highest point?

[@dellfarrell1288]

Every time he gets into a nice position she pulls him down and off balance

Congrats Ângela!

[@angelamcleod1508]

Thanks Maria!

[@jameystone2650]

I wish riders would watch their own videos of themselves riding and notice their horse's mouths. Bits are not necessary and it's sad people still use them. A horse really focuses on cues when they don't have a bit.

[@abdelrahmankhalil8878]

Thank uuuuu

[@sewasingh4383]

Nice

[@morganellius6191]

Using draw reins invalidates everything said; as does the fact that the horse is btv

[@vibeskouenborg6842]

You forgot to explain have bad it is when the horse goes behind vertical....

[@chrisduc1]

That’s not true !!! Did you never see pro s riding and training ??? And even the horse in the video is behind vertical

[@vibeskouenborg6842]

@@chrisduc1 Yes it is a huge problem all over. It is a pity, that this Angela Mcleod shows this BAD way- even though she has so much good knomlegde! It is so obvious that the horse so much ask for more rein- but she asks it to stay behind vertical..... :( . The drawing she shows is ALSO in front of vertical....

[@angelamcleod1508]

There is a difference between being behind the vertical (BTV) and ‘on the bit’ and BTV and behind the bit. In the latter instance the horse is avoiding contact and not pushing enough with the hindquarters to establish a connection. In the former, the connection is present, but not perfect as the horse is likely not strong enough yet to extend the neck fully. A clinician I once heard talk likened it to carrying a jug of beer in an outstretched arm, as opposed to close to your chest. It takes more strength to hold it in an outstretched arm. With training (if you decided this was worth training for), it will become easier. My video is intended to explain the requirements for a connection over the back, and to emphasise that this takes time and the building up of both postural muscles, and hindquarter and topline muscles over time. The process of training is gradual and there are no shortcuts that will lead to the desired result. In this video, I had two sessions with the cameraman to achieve footage to explain the concepts adequately. I am confident all my horses have improved quite markedly since this video was made. This is due to patient, consistent training with the laws of biomechanics in mind. It is easy to notice the position of a horse’s head and as @chrisduc1 says it is common to see horse’s heads BTV in international competition. I believe you need to take the whole horse into account before judging them too harshly. Is the back swinging? Is the tail swinging softly from side to side, or is it swishing? Are the hindquarters active? Are the horse’s eyes soft and the mouth quiet? I see a lot of people who are opposed to competitive riding and refer to their style as ‘classical’ because the head of the horse is IFV, however, the mouth is opening and closing, the back is hollow, the tail is swishing and the movements jerky.

[@vibeskouenborg6842]

@@angelamcleod1508 thank you for long answer. I like your way very much. But how do you engage the base of the neck when BHV? And how do you engage the horse to get the front ''UP'' when the base of the neck is left down? I have never seen a horse has his poll highest when trained BHV. And when 2.-3. vertebrae is highest you will never engage the hind legs. The ''lightness'' in reins you show, is because the horse bend its neck more than the lengt of the reins allows- and not because it lift himself off the ground in front- which proper lightnes should be? Why is the drawing you show with nose infront of vertical? Why do ''everybody'' say ''never behind vertical''?

[@angelamcleod1508]

@@vibeskouenborg6842 To quote Udo Buerger ‘A pleasing carriage of the head implies proper functioning of all parts of the body and must result from overall muscular development and progressive training over a period of years.’ ‘We must think of forming the horse in the same way as we command his movements: from back to front. Head and neck position will then develop in an established form, as if they had been cast in a mould. We do not try to set their form; we must wait until the horse has developed enough strength to balance himself properly in all his gaits, and then produces it of his own accord. Carriage is a consequence of balance. A body cannot hold itself up properly if it has not got firm muscles… Position of head and neck must be related to the horse’s state of muscular development and degree of training. When he can balance himself without any intervention from the reins, just by reacting to the influence of the rider’s seat, he has perfected a state of equilibrium which we call self carriage. This is the dream of all riders.’ As stated, the process of training is gradual, and of course the end result we are aiming for is a horse with muscular hindquarters and upper neck muscles that have become strong enough through training to be able to support the back in its raised position when the forehand is lifted high (due to a lowering of the engaged, and flexed haunches. In this position the nose will be in front of the vertical. Before the horse has reached this level of strength he will carry his head and neck in a lower position, relative to the engagement and flexion of the haunches, and in this position his nose may be slightly behind the vertical. The important thing to ensure is the steady, even connection to the bit which connects the hindquarters to the rider’s hands and makes it possible to gradually load and flex the hindquarters more over time.

[@PolyComments]

Bloody awful, what did I just watch? That poor horse.