Contradictory Instruction in extension/contraction

[KarlR]

Last lesson, we were working on collection and extension in walk and trot.

However, a number of peculiar things were said by the instructor. Here are two of them which I found rather strange...let me know what you think?

1. When extending, get the horse to move it's legs faster. We were trying to get extension without additional speed, but the instructor said that wasn't right and that we should also go "much faster"!

2. To get extension in trot, use rising trot with alternative leg pressure. When I commented that was normally a "go faster/stretch out" walk aid, she said that alternate legs didn't work in walk - we should use both legs together in walk!

Possibilities:

A) I have severe memory problems.

B) This is a level of riding subtlety which is beyond what I have previously encountered

C) My instructor has been taking acid :)

[KarlR]

Thanks Bettina,

I'll give it a go.

Karl R

[bettina]

I'm not sure about your situation, but from what I know, an extended walk/trot is very different from a fast walk/trot, so if your instructor says that it's not right..

When you want to extend keep slightly more contact with the reins so that your horse knows that you want to keep that tempo, but squeeze with both legs to allow your horse to move out more, and extend his legs. You do this in both the walk and the trot, it's the same aids for both gaits.

To speed up your gait, just keep normal contact and squeeze with your legs, don't resist with the reins and the horse should speeden up the tempo.

Hope I helped! Tell me how it goes! =)

[Karin]

Acid!
Extend: to stretch, spread or enlarge to greater length.
Speed: The rate or a measure of the rate of motion.
You are not losing your mind.
;)

[Sarah]

hello!

I agree with Karin.

The way I look at it (from an engineering viewpoint) is as follows.

The time between when a particular hoof (eg the front left) touches the ground will be pretty much the same in working and extended trot. As the horse is lifting is legs more in an extended trot and keeping to the same time period between each step with each foot, the foot must be travelling faster through the air. So the horses legs move faster, and the body will move a bit faster as it is being pulled along more by the longer leg reaches. The increase in leg stretching should be much more than the increase in speed though and the increase in speed is due to the increase in stride length, not because you are asking oyur horse to go faster.

I hope that made sense!

bye!

[Heather]

EEEEEEEK!!!!!! Karl, there is nothing wrong with your memory! you and the others who have posted here are quite right. The stride should lengthen but not quicken. I very much doubt whether any riding school horse will offer you true extension or collection anyway. It takes a skilled rider to train either, and an equally skilled one to keep up that level of training when the horse is being used regularly as a schoolmaster.

I am very opposed to the fact that even lengthened strides are included in lower level tests, never mind medium or extended trot. When you see the difference between a correctly trained horse that is producing extension out of collection, you would never confuse the flat, running trot that is so often seen in the arenas of this country, or warmbloods with extravagant action chucking out their forelegs in front of them with thier hindlegs in the next county, for the real thing. The real thing has a cadence which is little faster in tempo that a collected trot, with tremendous elevation at each step, almost like an extended passage. I can reccommend several videos if you would like to have a reference to work from. In the meantime, shoot your instructor!

All the best,


Heather