somebody asked me in a text: "hello Tony, I was wondering if you could tell me what you think about riding the horse, long and low, and if you at all practice it, if it should be practiced, and why or why not? thanks"
I responded I would post my answer here and try to keep it as short and simple as I could. so here it goes:
a horse must be ridden in the long and low form to relax him, to give ...him rest, to help him search for the contact with the riders hands and to help him lift his back. if the horse however naturally raises his head in such a way that he is comfortable and not hollowing his back, it is better to let him travel this way. when the rider misunderstands the use of long and low, the risk is that the rider can over bend the horse producing a false flexion, from the neck or withers, which causes at the same time the hind leg to be left behind the movement, pushing the mass and not carrying it. it is better to have the horse hollow his back and get a little above the bit, because we can push him into the bit by an energetic rising trot and thus fix the hollowing with patience. a horse that leaves his hind legs behind the movement is more difficult to correct, because he tends to get too far behind the bit, producing stiffness in the hind legs and too much softness of the mouth. this is especially so on horses whose morphology demands them to naturally flex in an exaggerated way, such as horses with a too long neck. also a horse which learns to get behind the bit, will also learn to lean on the bit, turning at times into a horse which runs away or rears dangerously. many riders, especially competition riders focus too much on the long and low technique as well as on the exaggerated stretching of the front limbs when at the trot, ignoring what is truly important. the development of the hindquarters and the muscle development of the entire horse. I advice my riders to warm up the horse in a walk, allowing the horse to look around and stretching down as he pleases for a short period of time, keeping in mind the age and training level of each horse of course. with younger horses we want to be more careful with older horses we expect them to be more calm, more mature. once the work, or the lesson for the day commences the horse is allowed to stretch long and low, only in motion and only as a reward for a short exercise well done, especially with Doma Vaquera, or Working Equitation horses whose job is to maintain collection for most of the time that they are at work. (collection that comes with time only and by correct use of seat, legs, and hands, and not by a fixed frame of the horse, which again is nothing more than a false flexion.) allowing the horse to cool off as well in a long loose rein at the walk before he/she is taken back to the stable. the young horse of course is treated differently, and is allowed more freedom and more rest in between shorter periods of work, than the more mature horse with say three years or more of training. for horses that are a little more lethargic it is good to rider the technique of long and low while warming up to get the blood pumping and the natural forward urge going, this should be done in my opinion at an ordinary rising trot, and for only a few minutes in large circles, serpentines and going large along the entire arena. again for a short period of time, we don't want to warm up the hors in this way for an hour and then start work, because the horse would be too tired to do any serious work. if you wish to set up a lesson schedule or sponsor a clinic in your area for a more in depth and detailed study of the latter feel free to contact me..
I responded I would post my answer here and try to keep it as short and simple as I could. so here it goes:
a horse must be ridden in the long and low form to relax him, to give ...him rest, to help him search for the contact with the riders hands and to help him lift his back. if the horse however naturally raises his head in such a way that he is comfortable and not hollowing his back, it is better to let him travel this way. when the rider misunderstands the use of long and low, the risk is that the rider can over bend the horse producing a false flexion, from the neck or withers, which causes at the same time the hind leg to be left behind the movement, pushing the mass and not carrying it. it is better to have the horse hollow his back and get a little above the bit, because we can push him into the bit by an energetic rising trot and thus fix the hollowing with patience. a horse that leaves his hind legs behind the movement is more difficult to correct, because he tends to get too far behind the bit, producing stiffness in the hind legs and too much softness of the mouth. this is especially so on horses whose morphology demands them to naturally flex in an exaggerated way, such as horses with a too long neck. also a horse which learns to get behind the bit, will also learn to lean on the bit, turning at times into a horse which runs away or rears dangerously. many riders, especially competition riders focus too much on the long and low technique as well as on the exaggerated stretching of the front limbs when at the trot, ignoring what is truly important. the development of the hindquarters and the muscle development of the entire horse. I advice my riders to warm up the horse in a walk, allowing the horse to look around and stretching down as he pleases for a short period of time, keeping in mind the age and training level of each horse of course. with younger horses we want to be more careful with older horses we expect them to be more calm, more mature. once the work, or the lesson for the day commences the horse is allowed to stretch long and low, only in motion and only as a reward for a short exercise well done, especially with Doma Vaquera, or Working Equitation horses whose job is to maintain collection for most of the time that they are at work. (collection that comes with time only and by correct use of seat, legs, and hands, and not by a fixed frame of the horse, which again is nothing more than a false flexion.) allowing the horse to cool off as well in a long loose rein at the walk before he/she is taken back to the stable. the young horse of course is treated differently, and is allowed more freedom and more rest in between shorter periods of work, than the more mature horse with say three years or more of training. for horses that are a little more lethargic it is good to rider the technique of long and low while warming up to get the blood pumping and the natural forward urge going, this should be done in my opinion at an ordinary rising trot, and for only a few minutes in large circles, serpentines and going large along the entire arena. again for a short period of time, we don't want to warm up the hors in this way for an hour and then start work, because the horse would be too tired to do any serious work. if you wish to set up a lesson schedule or sponsor a clinic in your area for a more in depth and detailed study of the latter feel free to contact me..
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