R I D I N G T H E P E R U V I A N P A S O, P A R T 2

R I D I N G T H E P E R U V I A N P A S O, P A R T 2 By Eduard van Brunschot Vega, owner of Perol Chico, www.perolchico.com COLLECTION Collection is a critical element in Peruvian equitation. Through collection we can obtain a better and more fluent execution of the four-beat lateral gait as a result of increased impulsion from the hind legs and balance of the horse. To understand what collection is all about and why we bother to collect a horse, we first need to understand the mechanics of the movement and body structure of the horse. This is quite a complicated and technical subject, but I will try to keep it simple. As stated in Part 1, horse-riding is by definition unnatural to the horse. A horse intended as a mount must first be trained to carry the rider's weight in a proper way. For the green horse to carry the rider's weight, he first needs to grow up and be physically able to carry weight on his back. For the Peruvian Paso horse this is usually when a horse is 3 years or older. The weight of a rider puts quite some pressure on the spine of a young horse. The horse's back is an emotional filter. An upset, tense, angry, frightened horse tends to tense his back muscles and hollow his back. The first time a young horse feels weight on his back he will also be tense. He feels a certain degree of discomfort in his back which he will try to avoid as best he can by hollowing. Another reason (some would say the most important) why a horse becomes tense and hollows is because his balance is upset. So before anything else, the horse must learn not to fear having the saddle and the rider on his back. This way he can relax and not tense his back muscles. The back muscles need to relax in order for the horse to be able to counteract the sagging of the spine that the rider's weight creates. He has to learn to make his back round in order to support the weight. As you can see on the ilustration on the right, it is much easier for the horse to carry weight when the back is round and arched instead of hollow. 1

There are many training techniques to make his back muscles stronger and to make his back round, but in Riding the PPH we will not discuss the training of the horse. Before we can even think about collection we must first relax the horse with exercises. These exercises are usually done at a slow pace and it is therefore important to warm and relax your horse in a walk before starting more advanced movements. Some horses are too exited to start with a walk and will need to expend some of their initial energy first. For excitable horses it can be a good idea to lunge them on a long line first and let them stretch their legs. This will usually calm them down. I would like to start explaining collection with the following image: What you see is the weight distribution of a horse standing relaxed and in a natural way. As you can observe the horse carries more weight on his forehand than on his hind legs. Simple laws of physics will teach us that if the horse in the image were to bring his neck down he would increase the amount of weight on his forehand. If he brings up his neck higher he will distribute more weight to the hind legs. It is very important to understand this. The laws of physics also prove that an object is most stable and balanced if its gravity is in its center and when the balance is equally divided on individual supports. The body of the horse is supported with four legs forming a rectangle. If we look again at the image of above we see that the centre of gravity is not in the centre of this rectangle which the legs are supporting, it is further forward, approximately there where the horse s heart is. The idea of classic equitation and collection is to influence and change the centre of gravity bringing it further towards the rear, more to the centre of the rectangle, from in front of the rider s leg to behind the rider s legs. We want to bring the horse into an artificial balance because that will help him in gaining more stability. He becomes maneuverable, better able to balance the rider on his back and at the same time distribute the weight equally on all four legs, thus preventing the premature overuse (injuries) of the front legs. Another very important advantage that can be achieved by changing and moving the horse s 2

centre of gravity further toward the rear is if we consider that the 'motor' of the horse is at the back. His hind quarters, with a more equal distribution of the weight on all four legs will make the impulsion (the energy that is created in the hindquarters to move the horse forward) provided by the 'motor' much more efficient and effective. So what do we have to do to bring the horse centre of gravity backwards? In classic equitation this is achieved simply by bringing the horse s neck up and not down. Not by force but through intelligent training methods and horsemanship. While this may sound simple in theory, the reality is not so easy. Collection is much more than simply bringing the horse's neck up. The concept of collecting a horse is to bring together both ends of the horse for the purpose of lifting and lightening the forehand and to achieve optimal impulsion from the hind quarters. Collection also means to collect/store the necessary energy for the upcoming task, which will give the horse the needed level of power to generate impulsion. Collection lets the horse perform jobs with greater ease and beauty. Collection loads the hind legs, as if the horse was running uphill; like a speed boat lifts up the bow when the motor at the back provides power. Extreme form of impulsion In order to achieve collection and impulsion, you must first have energy. A horse that does not provide the necessary energy (because he is tired, because he is lazy or because the rider confuses him) cannot be collected. 3

The importance of collection when riding the Peruvian Paso The Peruvian Paso horse is essentially ridden in three different paces: the walk, the Paso Llano and the gallop. The walk The walk is performed like in any other horse breed. The mind set and body language of the horse and the rider is 'relaxed'. The idea of a walk is that no energy is wasted nor is the energy 'collected'. The head and neck position of the horse will look like this: This head and neck position is acceptable during a relaxed walk, but it is not 'collection' as the horse weight is mainly on the front legs and the horse s head and neck are lower than his withers. Exercisng a horse in this position relaxes the horse: warming him up or cooling him down. It also loosens him up and rounds up the back. A relaxed horse will move with more ease than a tense horse and he will bring his hind-legs deeper under his body mass. The horse will show signals of relaxation (chewing the bit, licking, stretching the neck and moving his ears). Exercising in circles will loosen the horse all the more and make him more 'round'. The Paso Llano The Paso Llano is the preferred gait amongst Peruvian horsemen and the trademark of the Peruvian Paso horse. The Paso Llano, the term derived from Paso (step) and Castellano (Castile, historical region in Spain), is a four-beat lateral gait of medium speed that provides a ride of incomparable smoothness and harmony of movement along with the utmost ground-covering ability. A certain degree of collection is necessary to excecute the perfect Paso Llano. The Paso Llano requires a long stride fom the hind legs, engagement of the hind quarters and a controlled output of energy. What do I mean with a controlled output of energy? In order to collect a horse we need energy. Energy provides the power to the horse to produce impulsion from the hindlegs. Without this energy and power it is very difficult to 4

achieve good impulsion from the hindlegs. In order to achive a good Paso Llano we have to ask the horse for this extra energy. There is a big difference between the energy provided by the horse during the walk and the energy that is needed for the Paso Llano. A tired or lazy horse will be much harder to collect because he lacks the necessary energy. A fresh, spirited horse will sometimes have too much energy and this must be controlled. Compare it with a battery in an appliance. The battery stores energy and provides sufficient energy output for whatever it is needed. Too much energy output will blow the device up. When riders are new to the Paso Llano gait they have to learn how to find and control the energy output of their horse in order to achieve collection and a good Paso Llano gait. The 3 most common mistakes are: 1 - The horse does not have enough energy. He is either in the mindset of a walk (low energy output) or he is just plain lazy, stubborn or tired. In most cases however it is the inability of the rider to let the horse know what he or she wants. The rider needs to be absolutely clear to the horse and let him know what is wanted. You can either tell him 'hey, relax, lets walk', or 'hey, let's have a party, let's dance!'. Many riders are too passive and unable to comunicate with their horse. They are unaware that the noble horse wants to serve and please the rider and would do anything for him, but we first have to let him know what we want. 2 - The horse has too much energy and the rider is unable to control it. The horse must learn to control his abudant energy and the rider must be able to control the horse with intelligence, horsemanship and without the use of force. Try not to pull too much on his mouth, try not to tense your body and grip with your legs/knees. Calm down the horse with your voice or body language. Be quietly dominant. Walk him first or let him get rid of his initial energy by galloping in the round pen. The image of above shows an incorrect head and neck position of a horse. The neck is absolutely overstretched which lifts the back over the withers in an extreme way. The horse loses its dynamic movement. With the head and neck in this position the horse also loses his 5

hindquarters and is unable to bring his hindlegs underneath him and achieve impulsion. Riding a horse with a hollowed or braced back also increases the wear and tear on its connective and supportive tissue. This head and neck position is often seen when the rider is unable to control a spirited horse and so pulls too hard on the horse s mouth. We also see this when riders are riding in the highly undesirable chair seat (see part 1). 3 Too much speed. The rider is unable or unwilling to control the energy output and so letting the horse race. The essence of the Paso Llano gait is smoothness, not speed!!! Riders from western countries introduced to a new breed will often ask two questions: how big is he and how fast can he go? Peruvians are not interested in speed. Time for them is relative and nobody is really in a hurry. Peruvians look for quality, for harmony, elegance and the perfect execution of the natural four beat lateral gait. To achieve smoothness we don't need a big horse as this will make his centre of gravity higher on the ground and therefore less smooth. The secret of the Paso Llano is in the impulsion and the powerful, long strides of the hindlegs. The horse needs time to bring the hindlegs deep under his body mass and when there is too much speed he will not have the time to reach with his hindlegs. So what is the ideal body position of the horse when riding in the Paso Llano? This image above shows the correct head and neck position during a normal degree of collection. There is no tension in the back. The relatively high neck set brings the centre of gravity backwards and distributes the weight over all 4 legs (i.e balanced), provides energy flow throughout the body and effective impulsion from the hind legs. A light contact with the reins is sometimes necessary to control the energy output or to maintain the correct head and neck position. As a rider you need really 'soft' hands to feel how much pressure is necessary. The ideal is when there is no pressure necessary on the reins at all (true collection). Of course there are varying degrees of 'collection' but the general idea is to collect or store sufficient energy of the horse and use this 'controlled energy' to achieve impulsion from the hind quarters. It takes time and experience to get this right. 6

This photo shows the horse with a right degree of collection to perform a perfect Paso Llano. There is no pulling in the mouth but the reins are kept short to keep a very light contact in the mouth. Watch the sensitive fingers of the rider controlling the amount of contact. The horse shows a relatively high neck set. The horse shows an energetic mindset, but with controlled energy. The horse engages his hindquarters and brings his centre of gravity backwards to release weight at the front. The controlled speed allows the horse to bring his hindlegs deep under his body to make long and poweful strides. The Paso Llano at its best. The gallop The Peruvian paso horse can gallop like any other breed of horse. It is a complete myth that Peruvian Pasos should not be galloped because this might ruin their Paso Llano gait. To gallop once in a while is good for any horse. It releases stress and improves suppleness. Without doubt there are other breeds that are faster at a gallop than the Peruvian horse, but speed has never been the essence of our breed. We are proud to have the Rolls Royce of horses; smooth, luxurious and comfortable. We care not a jot for the fact that a Porsche or Ferrari might go a bit faster! 7