What is collection?
Collection is when the horse gathers himself for
action by engaging his hindquarters*, shifting his
balance backward and lightening his forehand. His back
rounds in a bascule and his neck arches and rises,
especially at the base. His head is carried high and
he flexes at the poll, which is the highest point of
the horse. His movement becomes light and mobile, with
shorter, higher strides and active hindquarters, and
he is able to shift his balance instantly in any
direction. If the hindquarters are trailing out
behind, they are not engaged. A hind leg reaching
under the horse is "reach" not impulsion or
engagement.
*For more info on engaging the hindquarters:
http://iceryder.net/engagement.html
Collection has three independent motor
functions that are linked together. It starts when a
horse coils its lumbosacral joint. This coiling is
engagement of the hindquarters. Collection continues
with relaxation of the muscles of the horse's topline.
This relaxation combined with loin coiling, raises the
horse's back. Collection is completed when the horse
makes a neck-telescoping gesture (picture below).
Collection gives the horse impulsion.
Impulsion is controlled propulsive energy generated
from the hind quarters. The horse's back is soft and
swinging and there is a gentle contact with the
rider's hand. Speed is not the same as impulsion.
If speed and suspension indicated collection,
then Standardbreds in harness races would be
collected, and they are not.
A characteristic of impulsion is increased
articulation of the hock joints, not just upward, but
also forward within the phase of the stride. The
cannons should be parallel, showing equal forward
'impulse'. Collection, by definition, does not
disconnect the pieces, but connects them in fluid
forward & upward moving energy originating from the
quarters and flowing forward.
Suspension is the 'hang time' when all 4 legs
are off the ground. Suspension also does not determine
collection. Many horses show tremendous suspension
without collection.
The aim of collection is:
1. To develop balance and equilibrium of the horse.
2. Increase the horse's ability to lower and engage
his quarters in order to increase the lightness and
mobility of his forehand.
3. To develop 'self carriage'.
The frame of a horse does not define
collection. The purpose of the 'frame' is to better
enable the horse to use his back. But to make the face
vertical is NOT an indication that the horse is using
his back.
OK, back to gaited horses: Due to the
biomechanics of how gaited horses gait, it is
difficult for them to perform true collection. Several
people are in the process of attempting to obtain
collection in gait, and hopefully we'll be the first
to know to be able to present it to the gaited horse
community.
With that in mind, gaited horses can be
collected in walk, trot, canter, but not in gait.
When a gaited horse performs any of the easy
gaits, from neutral, neutral to hollow, and hollow, it
is doubtful that he has the ability to reach true
collection.
That does not mean that we shouldn't strive to
ride our horses as well as we can, but we should know
the biomechanical limitations. Knowledge is power!
First, the horse, in order to perform the
above gaits, has tightened his back. That tightening
prevents coiling of the loins. This also prevents
engagement of the hindquarters and bascule of the
back.
In some cases, the frame and gait of the
horse, actually make it look like anti-collection! The
gait of tolt as performed by the Icelandic Horse is
not in collection. A "collected tolt" is an oxymoron.
The back is hollow, the head is more horizontal than
vertical, the neck is braced, hindquarters are
disengaged, hind limbs trailing.
As you can see, the term "collection" can not
be used to describe these components, since they are,
in fact, opposite to the components of collection.
Some trainers, however, are mistakenly using the term
to describe this type of "frame". In gait, the frame
that the horse takes, can be referred to as a
shortened frame, contained, or gathered up, rather
than collection.
________________
Judy
