Format & Notes for Coach Educators Suppleness: how to coach your riders to help understand what suppleness is and how to achieve it. Registration and coffee (Prior to start) Introductions (15 minutes) Coach Educator Led Discussion (60 minutes) The Coach Educator(s) should divide the attendees into groups. They should then lead a discussion on the bullet points below. Each group should pull together their ideas on the topics with the Coach Educator(s) facilitating and guiding discussions. What is "Suppleness"? Take a new look at the topic and how it affects the horse and rider. Consider mental suppleness as well as physical suppleness; the correct use of terminology (for example, resistance versus stiffness; acceptance versus understanding). Discuss and observe the correct riding position and its influence on the horse / pony. The correct position will enable riders to apply the aids accurately and in the right manner. Produce a short summary of the correct use of whips and spurs and an explanation in order for them to be used correctly. How carrot aids work, rewarding desired behaviour. Discuss the results and benefits of suppleness. Having discussed the above, the groups will look at and work on coaching scenarios (suggested examples below); to save time, each group should look at tackling one problem. One member of the group should then read out and discuss their group s thoughts on the example, and further discussion from the wider group should be invited. Suggested scenarios to discuss: 1. The horse / pony appears to be resistant to bending right; the rider thinks they have to achieve right bend at all costs as in their mind this will help put the horse on the bit. The horse/pony typically either becomes increasingly less willing to go forwards or tries to barge through the contact rushing away from the difficulty. Suggest an appropriate approach that our coaching might take? 2. The horse / pony continually falls in the same way. The rider uses the word 'stiffness' to describe this problem. Explore ways to encourage the rider to treat the problem as 'resistance' and choose exercises that could help. 3. A rider doesn t understand what 'acceptance and understanding of the aids means on their dressage sheet'. Choose exercises using the foundations of lateral work to demonstrate the practice of this statement. 4. A rider struggles to get their horse / pony 'on the bit' (accepting a true shape). Discuss the use of this term and the use of bits that allow horses / ponies to lean on the contact. Discuss resistance vs acceptance and suggest exercises to demonstrate these. 5. Turn on the forehand tends to be a 'pull round! How can this be avoided and practised properly? 6. Rein back becomes ugly! How do you make them less resistant? 7. There appear to be many explanations to what is and how to do a 'half halt'. Explore understanding and how to teach the rider to execute it. 8. Discuss introducing leg and hand separately to encourage the understanding and then the acceptance of both. How could this be carried out with young riders?
To conclude the discussion, the Coach Educator should talk to delegates about important safety and planning aspects of coaching, such as risk assessments, session planning, time management and uses of extra equipment (poles, cones etc.). Ridden Session with demo riders (1 hour and 30 minutes) The Coach Educator(s) can lead the coaching session as a demonstration, allowing input and discussion from delegates. Due to the nature of the session, the coaching will not be intense and continuous, to allow for interaction. Safety checks (tack, risk assessment points) Start with riders dismounted and lead the in hand exercises (suggested below) Riders mount Coach the session Conclusion Suggested exercises to be shown and used These are to be used in the context of an appropriate session plan enabling the horses and riders to warm up, have fun and enjoy exploring new ideas and ways of communicating with each other. Dismounted exercises Groundwork establishes awareness and acceptance of where the leader is and wants to go and begins to instil a willingness to be moved around. This is then transferred to doing the same when ridden. This willingness becomes acceptance and then understanding. Many exercises can be demonstrated on the ground: Leading a horse/pony from both sides Walking around the handler Walking away from the handler Moving the quarters over Walking backwards Stretching left/right with a carrot and rein aid. Areas to consider during ridden demonstration Rider s position Application of the aids Flexion left and right, following the rein aid Moving away from the leg aid and receiving a reward Going backwards and receiving a reward Going left / right with outside and then inside flexion Turn on the forehand Leg yielding Lateral work: use in conjunction with transitions to all paces so that forwardness in mind can be maintained. Discussion / summary / feedback - Arena or room Coach Educator to summarise and conclude the CPD. Attendees can be provided with handouts relevant to suppleness and other Pony Club training.
These notes should be read by Coach Educators beforehand to provide inspiration and should be in consideration throughout the delivery of this CPD. They could also be distributed to attendees at the end of the day to provide them with notes to reflect on and refer to. Suppleness is the degree of symmetrical freedom of movement the horse exhibits when moving. This apparent looseness of action is a result of the combined physical and mental agility of the horse. It is the demonstration of 'an acceptance and understanding of the aids' as well as a reflection of the gymnastic development. If a horse accepts the presence of an aid and also knows what it is expected to do when the aid is applied we can then attempt to build the correct musculature for performance. Many horses / ponies accept the presence of the leg by their side, but do not know what response to produce when it is applied. Young horses are encouraged to accept the presence of the bit in their mouths but do not always know what to do when the rider applies rein pressure (the contact). The education of these responses is critical for both horse and rider if the horse is to offer the appearance of suppleness. To this end 'suppleness' is a mental understanding and not a physical issue. Hence the use of the word 'stiffness' tends to take us down the wrong road at times. Is it a physical stiffness we are observing or a mental resistance due to confusion? Looseness / suppleness is a prerequisite for all further training and, along with rhythm, is an essential aim of the preliminary training phase. Even if the rhythm is maintained, the movement cannot be considered correct unless the horse is working through its back, and the muscles are free from tension. The horse can only work with looseness and use itself to the fullest when it is physically and mentally free from tension or constraint The horse s joints should bend and straighten equally on each side of its body and with each step or stride, and the horse should convey the impression that it is putting its whole mind and body into its work. Indications of looseness (and mental relaxation) are: A contented, happy expression (eyes, ear movements) A rhythmically swinging back A closed but not immobile mouth (the horse should mouth the bit gently) Tail lifted slightly carried and swinging in time with the movement A prompt and smooth response from the rider s aids. Looseness has been achieved when the horse will stretch its head and neck forwards and downwards in all three gaits. A horse working with looseness should swing through its back and move with regular unspoilt natural paces; it should not rush forward, quickening its steps, i.e. running. It should accept the forward-driving aids, and the rider should be able to sit to the movement and not be thrown out of the saddle. It starts with the rider knowing: what the aids are where and how to apply them what response to expect The aids All aids have to be taught to the horse. Their meaningfulness must not be taken for granted.
The rider s legs These are the 'primary' aids, i.e. the first and in many ways the most important aid. They have many functions, encouraging and supporting forwardness (the horse taking the rider) and are used to maintain forwardness and if need be to remind the horse to stay forward. The inside leg stops the horse falling in; if it isn't falling in don't push it out! The outside leg stops the horse falling out. They define the line the rider wants the horse/pony to go on. They ask for and limit sideways movement. When using them for sideways work they are applied just behind the girth, at all other times they are applied on the girth. The 'language' they use to get a response is varied. As in any 'conversation' the words can be simple, soft, loud, complex and often a mixture of many. So too with the legs; they can kick, squeeze, massage, pulse, be soft, be strong or a variety of these. It depends on the taught response and what one wants the horse to do. The Seat Much is talked about the seat and its influence. At the early stages of riding (C through to B Test) the seat should be fairly passive. It should learn to be central, it should bear weight evenly and it should allow for the movement of the horse s back. In order to do all this it needs not to be rigid. The Weight This can and should be used at all levels to help the horse s balance by being in balance itself. It can also aid direction and speed. The Rein Aids The primary importance of these aids is to give and retain a contact, through which the rider can communicate with the horse. Like the leg aids they too have a language which is used to indicate direction, speed and outline. The contact should be firm but sensitive, like a good hand shake. By guiding and feel, not pulling, the mutual trust that develops is to be cherished. An acceptance at the poll and lower jaw will allow the rider to feel the horse taking a hold of the bit, this hold should be positive but not a pull. With a guiding inside rein and an allowing outside rein the horse should follow the directional guide. A carrot can be used to illustrate this. The allowing outside rein indicates how much bend through the neck is expected to ensure the horse goes straight. At the early stages of riding both rein aids are used to manage pace / speed. Later on in both horses and riders education this may change to a more subtle use of the outside rein to manage pace. When talking about and demonstrating the aids and their use / responses coaches should avoid the use of the word stiffness, and instead try to focus on acceptance and understanding. Carrot Aids In hand and ridden work can be combined for a systematic approach, such as when a horse / pony is asked to respond to a carrot at the same time the aid is being applied. This association of thoughts encourages acceptance. Examples where this can be used is: Flexing left and right, following the rein aid. Moving away from the leg aid and receiving a reward. Going backwards and receiving a reward. Going left / right with outside and then inside flexion - this indicates acceptance. Moving the horse / pony where ever! Lateral Work Being able to influence each part of the horse separately means each part can be corrected when and if it needs to be. The horse can be divided into three: the head and neck, the forehand, and the
hind quarters. Being able to put each part where the rider wants allows us to create a straighter horse. This in turn allows us to improve thoroughness and balance. Turn on the forehand is step one, leg yielding is next. Straightness is important to be correct and for it to be of benefit. Too often the horse has too much bend through the body and subsequently falls out through the shoulder. This can be done anywhere to start with just to get the hang of the concept. Once the horse begins to accept and understand what is being asked then more 'order' can be asked (spiralling out, from one line to another). Acceptance of the bit as compared to on the bit. Acceptance and understanding of "leg to hand", this is much misunderstood. What should happen at the poll and lower jaw when the leg and the contact are applied at the same time? Throughness Throughness is having no resistance in the chain of energy from: legs, quarters, back, poll, jaw, bit, hand. Having no resistance in this chain will indicate acceptance. This in turn will show in the horse s way of going which will then demonstrate suppleness. Any resistance along this chain of energy will limit throughness and hence show signs of a less supple horse. It is important to relate the first stage of this process, suppleness, to the end result. The first stage is in some ways the most important stage of this process, and the one this CPD session focuses on. To take the stages in isolation would devalue and separate processes which are intrinsically linked.