Hi everyone its been some time I know, I am sorry. I've been very busy. So today I would like to just briefly talk about flexions. Have you ever been to a training facility and observed the trainer tie the horse's head to the side of the saddle? Or maybe they just bring the head of the horse around to the knee, if mounted, to its ribs if not. People who don't know better call these tasks flexions. Those who know even less are faithful believers that these "Flexions" will collect the horse.
What do you think?
What do I think?
Well, I have in some cases used lateral flexions to ge the horse to understand what it means to feel the bit, but not to the point where the horse bends his neck all the way around in an unnatural manner. Once the horse understands I use the flexions in motion and then work on real lateral flexions, like shoulder-in, renver, full traver, half pass etc.
Do I ever bend a horse's neck far to one side or the other? Short answer is yes occasionally if the horse attempts to rear, buck, shy, or play up when I am mounted. But not standing still but by making the horse displace his hind quarters to one side or the other until I get his attention again.
Some riders will take this aid and mis interpret it's use, the go round and round in circles, harming the horse's joints at times. Other times they practice these flexions tight flexing of the neck, to "Supple" the horse.
This kind of practice is WRONG! It does not matter if you are a world champion what ever, or a gold medal what ever, or a judge in what ever. If you practice these flexions, in this way you could be harming your horse, and the only good it will do is that the horse will get a very flexible neck and then he will be able to avoid your half halts, and get behind the bit to make work easier for himself.
The only correct flexions are those describe by Fillis which belong to the classical principals now, and the flexions of course as practiced at the Spanish riding school and other such institutes, trough school figures and correct bending of the poll not the neck, with the required amount of flexion from the hind leg.
Heavy bits and long shanks will give an artificial outline as do draw reins and other artificial aids. The pulling ot the head far to one side makes the horse's neck like a noodle, and not like a spring, thus limiting the level of training that the horse can reach in his life time.
This is what I think anyway about Flexions, you may or may not disagree in any case I base these thoughts from those of my teacher who was a great rider up to his death at the age of 88, and who passed on quite a bit of wisdom to me and my fellow students, from the spanish riding school, from Spain, and from the french schools. Wisdom that no one seems to care much about these days, but that I dare to call mine, at least to an extent.
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Hi everyone its been some time I know, I am sorry. I've been very busy. So today I would like to just briefly talk about flexions. Have you ever been to a training facility and observed the trainer tie the horse's head to the side of the saddle? Or maybe they just bring the head of the horse around to the knee, if mounted, to its ribs if not. People who don't know better call these tasks flexions. Those who know even less are faithful believers that these "Flexions" will collect the horse.
What do you think?
What do I think?
Well, I have in some cases used lateral flexions to ge the horse to understand what it means to feel the bit, but not to the point where the horse bends his neck all the way around in an unnatural manner. Once the horse understands I use the flexions in motion and then work on real lateral flexions, like shoulder-in, renver, full traver, half pass etc.
Do I ever bend a horse's neck far to one side or the other? Short answer is yes occasionally if the horse attempts to rear, buck, shy, or play up when I am mounted. But not standing still but by making the horse displace his hind quarters to one side or the other until I get his attention again.
Some riders will take this aid and mis interpret it's use, the go round and round in circles, harming the horse's joints at times. Other times they practice these flexions tight flexing of the neck, to "Supple" the horse.
This kind of practice is WRONG! It does not matter if you are a world champion what ever, or a gold medal what ever, or a judge in what ever. If you practice these flexions, in this way you could be harming your horse, and the only good it will do is that the horse will get a very flexible neck and then he will be able to avoid your half halts, and get behind the bit to make work easier for himself.
The only correct flexions are those describe by Fillis which belong to the classical principals now, and the flexions of course as practiced at the Spanish riding school and other such institutes, trough school figures and correct bending of the poll not the neck, with the required amount of flexion from the hind leg.
Heavy bits and long shanks will give an artificial outline as do draw reins and other artificial aids. The pulling ot the head far to one side makes the horse's neck like a noodle, and not like a spring, thus limiting the level of training that the horse can reach in his life time.
This is what I think anyway about Flexions, you may or may not disagree in any case I base these thoughts from those of my teacher who was a great rider up to his death at the age of 88, and who passed on quite a bit of wisdom to me and my fellow students, from the spanish riding school, from Spain, and from the french schools. Wisdom that no one seems to care much about these days, but that I dare to call mine, at least to an extent. 
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