The Biomechanics of Engagement :The Essential Components of Self Carriage

Every rider, trainer and owner that cares about not damaging their horse needs to see the highly anticipated follow up to Equitopia's first "Biomechanics of Engagement" video featuring Veterinarian/Trainer Karin Leibbrandt, DVM, Joanna Robson, DVM, and Jeroen Duenk, Equine Bodyworker. Part one of this video explores the physiological consequences of riding "behind the vertical" (hyperflexion) as well as anatomical damage as a result of riding with a hollow back. Part two demonstrates how to start to bring a horse into a relaxed self carriage by teaching the horse to be in both vertical and horizontal balance.

[@darbysavoca4209]

I love that these videos point out poor training techniques and acknowledge that they are damaging to horses, but instead of discouraging riding and training horses altogether, they give you the alternative, and encourage correct and beneficial training. Well done and keep them coming!

[@alistairdownie5944]

These video should be Compulsory for All riders,before they're ever allowed On a horse!! Thank You for Uploading!!

[@jj_hoolio]

I love this whole organization. Horsemanship needs to be about the HORSE! Love your animals. Educate yourself. Live happily in harmony.

[@kimnenninger7226]

OMG...we as riders have so much to learn. All of my horses are pigeon toed. I never realized that I was causing that. I would wish that every horseman should watch this video and learn. Fantastic video. You may have saved me from ruining another horse. Thank you!

[@animallover4101]

My wish would be for everyone to watch this video.

[@littlerascaleventing]

Not a bad idea. It makes a lot of sense.

[@kimnenninger7226]

This is one of the best training videos I've have ever watched. These ladies did an outstanding job of presenting this complicated information in such a way that I am able to apply it for my self. I hope that every horseman gets the opportunity to watch this video and to use this knowledge to help their horses. I am guilty of riding my horse and not correcting his balance problems. My poor horse ended up with ring bone. He was in a lot of pain that has to be managed. I will feed and care for him for the rest of his life but he can never be ridden again. This was a total waste of a really great horse.

[@equitopiacenter8650]

Thanks Kim for taking the time to give us feedback. We sincerely hope that both this video and the content on our website (www.equitopiacenter.com) will help owners who are looking to learn and look after their horses in a way that keeps them healthy, both physically and mentally, for a long time:)

[@karenmcgady8148]

Please keep in mind retraining to proper balance takes time, muscles take a while to learn new ways of going.

[@BProgess]

This is essential information for anyone training their own horse. It offers detection and solutions.

[@sarad6627]

This is one of the best horse channels on YB. This information is exceptional.

[@amandaburnham.8817]

I've been retraining my rescued twh. This video is amazing! They explained the details that I was kinda looking for but they explained the why in such wonderful detail. 🥰 so glad I found this!

[@carolinehegarty6154]

Hi Amanda, Glad you found this helpful. We have an online course with Dr. Leibbrandt and others on our website if you are looking for more info:) www.equitopiacenter.com

[@amandaburnham.8817]

@@carolinehegarty6154 that's amazing! Thank you!

[@danielepayen-jaekel8104]

Thank you for this video and bringing out to the riders the harm that can be done to a horse with hyperflexion!

[@carolynwillis7360]

Best videos I have ever seen to help horse lovers to properly care for their horses.

[@Kimberlyk12]

That was so helpful! I have been trying to keep these ideas in mind for awhile, but I needed a video like this to really see everything broken down! Such a good explanation and good detail, thank you!

[@Reegzcaine]

Very useful information for the modern sport horse and rider. Thank you!

[@chandellelouieblu186]

Great video! Well explained

[@debbiehattan890]

Stunning video! Thank you so much.

[@ronedelgaleone6706]

I am so thrilled to see this and learn what I can do to help my horse! Thank you SO MUCH!

[@niewohner54]

Fabulous instruction and illustration! Thank you!

[@johanvlieger2875]

This video makes it really very clear. This is the key to happy, healthy horses.

[@herdingdrive]

Fantastic video!! Thank you so much for sharing the causes for common injuries and how to prevent them! This is music for my soul!

[@Nessbreaux]

Incredible video! Thank you so much for sharing. 💯 I can't wait to practice balancing with my horse today. This has broadened my riding spectrum.

[@NataliaandSantana]

omg, it's such a helpful and eyes opening video... like... just WOW *-* you're doing a great job, keep it up

[@laughingDancer]

I love these videos!!! I want to do right by my horse and for her to be balanced and strong.

[@emk7132]

Very powerful!

[@angeledmonds300]

These videos are great. Very informative. Thank you

[@benitascott3533]

Love this!!! thank you so much, exactly what I have been looking for. I have recently started training my horse in dressage - with my insufficient knowledge, it has given rise to so many questions about correct posture & balance & how to enable the horse to work correctly over the back. I've heard so much about "shorten the reigns, & require the horse to bring the head down", & I've known intuitively, that is not the correct approach, & will indeed be detrimental to the welfare of the horse. I have seen my horse struggling with balance, rushing, and stressed. I'm now trying to teach her to relax, to stretch and find the balance. So I'm now finally starting to learn more about the correct rationale and correct training techniques! I'll be following your channel, and breathe a sigh of relief on my horse's behalf, that with the right knowledge i can make a difference in her movement & her life. Thank you!

[@rachelr2776]

I have to really wonder about the people that give this video a thumbs down!?!? Love this video, and this Chanel!

[@GroovySpleen]

Amazing amount of info and easy to understand

[@jackiebraun5479]

Excellent video!!

[@soulstar5161]

Brilliant video. Thank you

[@rosemarywalker4675]

Great video and explanations.

[@Currabell]

Beautiful. Thank you.

[@comesahorseman]

If you look at woodcuts or drawings of the old "masters" of classical dressage, you will notice that the horses front facial profile is always a bit in front of the vertical, with the horse still in "collection". A front facial profile behind the vertical is incorrect but commonly seen in competitive dressage; it's also damaging to the horse over time, as the video explains. Let your horses stretch out periodically while training, and don't over flex them! See "Lessons in Lightness" by Mark Russell.

[@miiakomi5761]

Every equestrian should watch this!

[@americacryo576]

Informative video!!

[@weepylady9044]

Thank you ❤

[@altayaltay2028]

Excellent 👍👏

[@elizabethblackwell6242]

Brilliant. Thank you.

[@mysticmovesacademy]

Great video 👍🏼👍🏼

[@babybabydee123]

Fabulous explanation 👌

[@tilly_horses]

My instructor is teaching me about how bad over-bend is and how it effects the horse in so many ways and my horse is a different horse since I’ve done straightness trying with him:D I love watching these videos bc it goes over things and I understand them better😄😁we’re working on shoulder in in ground work on a circle and straight line at the moment and I love putting his stirrups down and seeing how they are almost even by the end of the session bc I’ve rotated his spine Both ways!!

[@alistairdownie5944]

Just a Thought,I always found,that when being backed,it is so much better,not to go out of a walk,for the 1st month. Giving the horse a chance to balance and build muscle naturally.

[@luzen6380]

Brilliant. I learned so much . My horses thank you too.

[@equitopiacenter8650]

Thank you for the feedback. Dr. Leibbrandt also has a course on our platform which has had great feedback from both owners and equine professionals:) www.equitopiacenter.com/shop/compassionate-training-for-todays-sport-horse-dr-karin-leibbrandt/

[@marlinekoopmans8490]

This is the best video about self carriage I’ve ever seen! I ride so much better now and I feel it whenever my horse hollows his back and I know how to solve it. Please continue making those videos! Btw: are you Dutch? You have an accent

[@carolinehegarty6154]

Dr. Karin Leibbrandt is Dutch and based in the Netherlands. I, the founder of Equitopia, am Irish living in California:)

[@Upunda]

Just found this channel, fantastic

[@equitopiacenter8650]

I am so glad you’re liking it. Have you checked out our website we have a ton of free and paid training. What are some of the issues you’re struggling with?

[@anvuong7007]

Thank you!

[@eileenleblanc7866]

Awesome ...

[@ryankodus2951]

So much good information. But we talk about how to adjust the horse and train the horse and do this to the horse to make them better athletes. But we don’t seem to account or want to address the weight of the rider. We can talk about proper back flexión all day, but if a rider is too heavy for the horse the horse is going to adjust to compensate for the rider. I find it unfair we ask these horses to have the frame and movement of an athlete yet we don’t ask the same of the rider.

[@livin4Him33]

Hi, I really enjoyed watching this video! I’ve always felt like contact with the horse and getting his back lifted didn’t come from having hard hands but this video spells it out really well. I was wondering though how this transfers to dressage, as the typical dressage headset is a bit higher. Is there way to achieve that without damaging your horse? Is ‘long, out and down’ just for teaching the horse to balance and engage his back or is this how dressage should be ridden as well?

[@lizsteeds6697]

Rolkur training is prevalent in the Netherlands/Germany. Why did obviously experienced and elite riders persist in this incredibly damaging practise and why did the judges of preeminent Grand Prix Dressage tests (for example) mark and reward these riders and horses so obviously trained in Rolkur? All they had to do was observe what was occurring in the warm-up arenas to see the full shocking effects as riders hauled their horses in L.D.R. prior to performing their tests. The terrible vestiges of Rolkur manifests in the corrupted movement of the horses and stands out like dogs balls ... it must have been a deliberate condoning of this awful practise. Totilas was an horrific casualty of this shameful training method. It should be banned. What were the F.E.I. Dressage authorities thinking condoning such a crippling training practise by riders such as Edward Gal (famous Dutch Dressage rider)? It has taken a groundswell of backlash for any change to occur ... and these are minimal. Great to see such recognition and change as this video preaches to combat the insidious physiological damage wrought by Rolkur.

[@justice4144]

Might I just add that almost all these riders warm up/cool down their horses like shown in the video above, cause they could not possibly get the collection (and back engagement) that they show by just riding rollkur. As told above, it's not possible to engage the back if you have not ridden and strengthened the withers like this video told us.

[@beaubikker]

Thank thank thank you

[@lindamolkenthin2860]

Love this but how would you do this with a very sharp spooky horse .every time I’ve tried to do 5his sort of work my horse just uses it to be silly

[@gabidehahn465]

Very good and you know can you make a how to tack up a horse please

[@soulstar5161]

Does this mean that when my horse falls in on the left and out of the right rain he carries more weight on the left front? His head always slightly bend to the right so I still need to take more contact on the right? I always thought it was the other way around..🤯

[@coolerkittycattoy8795]

Thank you for these wonderful videos One question, please, as I see this all the time in high-end auction videos featuring million-dollar horses: Should a very young horse (3-5 yr. old) ever be ridden in a sitting trot even for a short time? Does it do lasting damage? Thanks.

[@equitopiacenter8650]

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to give any definitives as each horse and rider has specific circumstances. Most of our experts lean towards allowing horses enough time to mature both mentally and physically before ridden work, favoring correct groundwork that allow the back to develop before putting a rider on board. That will differ from horse to horse with some of these hyper mobile horses not really maturing until 6, 7 or 8:)

[@coolerkittycattoy8795]

@@equitopiacenter8650 Thanks so much for your quick reply!

[@salomeberger9543]

In my personal opinion I would not start any horse before the age of 4.5 years. The more time they have to mature the longer they will ,,last“ under saddle

[@starry1668]

someone needs to show saddleseat trainers this lol

[@age5520]

Great tutorial!! I’m looking my horse over and making adjustments accordingly. Thank you! By chance are there any videos like this for Gaited horses. I have a foxtrotter quarterhorse cross.

[@lizsteeds6697]

The whole gaited phenomenon is based on artifice, breeding to type and training in a range of movements that are not natural. The most awful, of course, is the hideous practise (and 'gaitedness' in its most extreme manifestation) of 'Big Lick' movements in gait and the barbarous techniques to develop them in showing, in conjunction with such inhumane cruelties as soring (only just banned) and tail setting. Gaited horses are bred to an unnatural selected specificity in a desire for exaggerated artificial movements. I doubt you will find agencies like this supporting this bizarre form of horsemanship, of breeding goals and practises predicated on reinforcing artificially extreme, physiologically harmful movement. Hollow backs are an obvious starting point if you break down the 'desired' gaited movements in Tennessee Walkers when shown, for example, and symptomatic in other breeds when ridden. As the training video here mentions ... a hollow back is a major cause of chronic spinal and muscular disorders and injuries so right out of the gate that style of riding and training has to fundamentally change. Only in America (the land of extremeties and oddities) where Big Lick could even become a 'thing' are gaited horses movements and the "gaitedness" showing circuit phenomenon even a preference and goal. In most other places it is seen as bad horsemanship and damaging and unnatural in the long term to the horses physiology.

[@alistairdownie5944]

@@lizsteeds6697 "Big Lick"where the poor horses are weighted,often as young as 2yrs are undoubtedly Awful!! Balance and natural movements,are so important for a horses welfare,,,I am in Full Agreement.

[@audrafuller5581]

Do you offer a service I can send videos of me riding in, to be assessed ?

[@CAR0TASTISCH]

Very informative video. That's the way how you do things. But I always ask myself how to get a horse from this to engage itself correctly for doing things like piaffe or passage, where it needs to take all the weight on the hindquarters. What would be the correct way of teaching them to move more upwards?

[@carolinehegarty6154]

Teaching horses self carriage and planning for them to be able to carry more weight behind is complex and specific to each horse and rider combo. We would not be able to prescribe a "one size fits all" approach to this process. In person is really the only way to be able to guide the situation appropriately:) Assuming you can find someone qualified and experienced enough - this is probably the hardest part. We are working on it:)

[@CAR0TASTISCH]

@@carolinehegarty6154 It is! I have a 17hh PRE mare that I broke in myself. She's 8 now and still carries a lot of weight at her front/shoulder, which isn't ideal for her tendons either. We've maybe had riding lessons for 2 years but not straight through, and she has completely changed, compared to before. I just wonder how there are so many "top-dressage" 3-4 year olds, I don't know, either the riders are working magic and are truly professionals or I don't know what they feed their horses! Haha. But I am looking forward to getting her a steady rhythm, a swinging back and a horse that seems comfortable working, just like the one at 14:33 !

[@CInzerillo]

I can’t get my horse to do this to save our life. He is chronically tense and hollow. I shall never ride again. 😣

[@Bellbeesevenacresfarm]

I need to tell my barn about this they HAVE to watch this if they don’t our horses their can get hurt or get a disease!😔

[@zoiloantoniovelez6047]

How do you make the horse do walk w short jumping horse

[@zentaurianriding4378]

Should be obligatory watching with an obligatory 100% pass quiz on this video for anyone who owns a horse, trains horses, instructs riders, takes riding lessons, or simply anyone who ever is to interact with a horse. If your instructor/trainer does not understand this, you should simply find someone else. Get off, and walk out.

[@Miss-Laine]

What would you recommend for a horse that overdeveloped on right?

[@equitopiacenter8650]

Dr. Leibbrandt has a course that goes into crookedness, balance and more biomechanics. This would probably be the most helpful. Here is the link if you want to take a look: www.equitopiacenter.com/shop/compassionate-training-for-todays-sport-horse-dr-karin-leibbrandt/

[@lizzie9173]

love theses videos but find the music too loud and distracting ... :)

[@julie99nl]

Where is part 1?

[@charlottemicheaux4321]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5e8dnR-jaydeKc&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR3egbdRFnBC7sgVhJuTTFaEzde9DGphAGX8UjvHwWcAjbmywLMqgKDkEcY

[@dianereiser6417]

I cringe in pain when I watch “so called professionals” ride in competitions, or riders giving advice on how to ride in dressage. 😡

[@shawnaweesner3759]

Completely disagree with the pressure torture head and mouth straps that are being used on these horses.

[@impactodelsurenterprise2440]

Can you please do a video on the topic of barefoot. There's so much divide on this one.

[@carolinehegarty6154]

We have a course talking about it - www.equitopiacenter.com/shop/hoof-care-for-the-barefoot-horse-ann-ramsey/

[@JavierBonillaC]

Same could be said if you transfer weight to the back legs. “Too much weight is on the leg creating soreness and inflammation… etc. Etc.” Don’t get me wrong, I believe in transferring weight more than I believe in God, it’s just that I don’t,agree with your explanation of why.

[@joannep5785]

The difference is that only 40% of the weight is carried in the back, and the horse has bony connections all the way from the hoof to the back. Meanwhile, 60% of the weight is carried up the front, but the bony connections do not go all the way from hoof to spine, it's held on by the thoracic sling, so transferring even a bit of weight to the back end can save the front legs a lot, and the hind end handles it pretty darn well because it's more structurally sound.

[@avarindal7668]

Too many ads.

[@karenmcgady8148]

Rollkur IS THE WORST!!!

[@karenmcgady8148]

Thank you for speaking out about this, and for your other observations. Maybe people will stop the cruel practice of rollkûr, and get those horses in good, anatomical balance.