I am a new dressage rider (adult, previous Western riding background) and I can't tell you how much your videos help me. Thank you for sharing your gifts, talents and professionalism! You are a beautiful rider!
“Throughness” is controlled positive tension. It is the absence of negative tension. It is energy moving through the horse (and rider) freely and not blocked by any unnecessary tightness of the muscles and joints. It is the horse responding to the aids without resistance or force because he understands the aids and has confidence in himself and his partner. It is using and maintaining only the amount of energy necessary. It is “flow state”. It is idealistic Words can only explain the idea. The feeling can’t be put into words. And for most riders it is found and lost and recovered and always depending on adjusting the balance of body, mind and soul. It is where sport ends and art begins ...if you will forgive my romantic digression.
A disorganized trot is rough and jarring and very uncomfortable for the rider and almost impossible to sit. What Joseph tells us in this video may be one of the most important, but widely neglected, features of rider training. The position of the head and neck are directly proportionate to the engagement and balance of the hindquarters which should be lowered by degrees. The position of the head has no value by itself without the carrying power of the hindquarters. As the haunches are lowered and the joints articulate, carry and push off, the forehand is elevated and the shoulders have more freedom of movement. This is constitutes throughness and gives the rider a place to sit. To reach this goal, the horse first has to be round, and lowering the neck and allowing the head to be behind the vertical brings his back up and gives him a round topline. The classical position (ramener) is built, not forced. The ideal of the poll being the highest point and the nose on or slightly in front of the vertical are result of the engagement. But back to Joseph's hugely important point is that there's a "catch 22" and Joseph explains this when he says the quality of the trot and learning to sit the trot can't be separated. But the catch is that to train throughness we have to be good riders and to be good riders we need the horse to be through. Nobody said it would be easy. A little knowledge is dangerous. We read and study to supplement feel and experience, because negative comments that we are eager to share, distract us from learning the point of the lesson.
@@Brooklyn_isurfav “Throughness” constitutes a state of being where the horse does not block his flow of energy, ideally, with any part of his body. He is straight meaning his body is in alignment with his line of travel, straight on a straight line or curved on a bent line (circle). His back is lifted not dropped and without negative tension, he allows positive contact with the bit, he moves in steady rhythm and tempo with forward energy that in time give elevation and expression to his trot and canter and energy to his walk but without tension. He is supple but not sloppy. He carries himself and therefore he carries his rider in a way that should be easy to follow. Negative tension destroys this state of being and makes it hard to follow the movement which makes it all the harder to give clear aids. If the rider struggles to keep her balance she can’t give clear aids and the horse is confused and frustrated and shows this in a variety of ways that new riders tend to take personally as if the horse had human intentions. To TRAIN a horse the rider must be so skilled that she can follow the awkward movement of the untrained horse. Ideally a new rider should ride a trained horse under the supervision of an expert instructor/trainer. This is how we learn to RIDE. Than we still need years of riding experience on many horses with direction from a trainer to TRAIN horses that are “through” because the catch is that horses in general can do a poor immatation of the movements in stiffness and tension driven by force.....but it is never beautiful or rewarding for the rider or the horse. The time this takes depends on the level of commitment, time to ride, and some talent. I have seen that riding, especially dressage, comes easier to some than others. We all have to work at it but some of us have to work harder. Throughness is the essential element. Learn the theory of horse training and then the practice.
Excellent suggestions. I love how you not only cover advanced dressage ect .. but also create videos more directed toward beginners or less experienced riders. I noticed that this gorgeous horse gets behind the bit at times .. my boy often does that as well. I do push him on when he does this and sometimes gets him more on the bit ...but more often he constantly goes behind. Any pointers for that issue ?
hi :) i am a trainer from germany and i make a very similar work like you =) i work with horsemanship too and relaxation and balance and yes also sometimes behind the vertical.... because the horse gets loose often =) My english is not the best, but i see how you work and i like how you explain with a quiet voice =) I think in the same way about the sitting trot.. the horse has to be very loose in the back .... sorry if there are wrong english words =) i work with piaffe too and love it =)
When you let him stretch, do you let the reins lengthen or ? It didn't look like you moved your hands forward. I'm still learning and this always confuses me. Thanks 😊
Why are you making the horse so overbent and behind the vertical? I understand it may be a young horse but I'd much rather have them be stretching for the bit rather than faking headset by fiddling with the inside rein. I love your work, but I'd just like to hear why your working the horse this way.
Young horses has trouble doing that. But if Joseph let him strech, he will still have trouble in his older years, Thats why it's important, that the ridder works on it
You have a bunch of people asking about the back/BTV, and strength. Humm, the problem IMHO is the horse right now has no back to speak of, he is soft, growth plate young, try to take it easy on him. Is he six yet? You cannot sit down and ride the sitting trot on young under six horses and maintain a good strong back to the connection of the reins. He is not hard in the bone yet and will protect himself, if he doesn't protect himself he will wear out very soon; they protect by going to the BTV, and hollowing the back. So what do you do? Ride forward, forward, forward, let them push off their hind legs and stretch to your hand, then the back will strengthen enough to have his head raise, the body will hold your seat and let you sit the trot. This horse is struggling to hold you, you are not going forward enough, and he is stuck in front with his own lack of strength to hold the sitting human. He will back off the rein, will go BTV, and look short strided. Take more time, lunge him, post the trot, make him move off the leg, a still leg. Wait for him to offer some roundness, right now you are trying to force him to be round. He can't do it yet. Otherwise, I enjoy your videos, but a young horse here is going to grow two to three more inches higher and is a soft boned baby right now.
Joseph Newcomb I am in Bromont, Québec, Canada where WEG was supposed to be! Your voice and accent is clear. As french Canadien it is easy to understand. Thank You!
How do you justify trotting with the horse so behind the vertical? There is a hollow behind your saddle with this horse. How do you build the back to have the horse come over the topline into your hand? I'm a little confused over this issue of developing the back of the horse for collection and the road to get there. Please comment and instruct with your thoughts.
The horse only looked hollow when he was on a loose rein and the rider wasn't asking for anything and was focussing more on explaining for the audience, the back was quite straight during the trot. I didn't see the horse being held in a fixed frame btv, just a young horse in training who started to lift when he was engaging. If you watch videos of Amber on Legolas and William Faerber on Bailador they often go btv as well, why are you being so critical of other trainers?
I'm sorry that I came off as critical, I didn't mean to be. I just want to further my education as I work toward collection. I was a great fan of Will Faerber and Art2Ride. I felt like he helped me build the back of my horse to do collection and I worked at that for years, but now I'm a bit lost between stretching the horse to build his back, and asking him to engage his hind legs and come under himself and truly be through and pushing into my hands. I'm working at Second Level and my lazy 12-year-old homebred Dutch Warmblood needs to be OFF his forehand and the stretching deal just isn't cutting it any more. I live in Wyoming and there aren't a lot of resources for me so I watch a lot of video online and read a lot of books. Just trying to find my way.
The horse is behind the vertical when Joseph starts to trot, that's true. But you have to consider that it is a very young horse and it's just starting his training. At the beginning the horse is not concentrating on the rider. It is normal for such a young horse that it struggles a bit with his balance and has to learn to softly pull to the bit. Joseph does it absolutely correct here to keep calm and relaxed, bringing him softly to the connection the horse want's to give him in the first step and when the horse found the connection to the reins, he tries to extend the reins, ask the horse to look for the soft connection a little bit more at the front. You can clearly see that the horse develops a better outline when he starts to concentrate on the rider and finds his balance. For a 4 year old the gelding do a good job (Joseph as well :-)). You always have to distinguish between a horse forced to stay behind the vertical with a rider pulling on the reins and a horse that hasn't yet find the correct position and the rider takes the connection the horse give him as starting point, but stay soft in his hands and bring him to search for the contact. That is a process. Some horses are strong pulling to the bit, others are shy and stay away from the bit. If you want to build the back of your horse, streching is only one part. It's the same with you when going to the gym: only streching won't train you rmuscles to gain more power. But you have to strech the muscle first, because strength training shortens the muscle. Thus you have to change between streching, engaging and streching again. If your horse is a bit lazy and slow in the hindlegs, you have to get him quicker in the hindlegs and become more engaged by riding lots of transitions. I hope that helps?
Awesome video! So your keeping feels on the inside rein as your going into sit? Getting them to collect first?... Should I always get them to collect first before I sit the trot? :)
This explains why I could not sit the other day... My horse usually has a very slow rhythmic trot, but she was a bit forward when I tried to sit it last time, she had much more implulsion than usual, it was probably a bad time to work on sitting trot the way I was going about it...
My mare used to not canter well, she would gallop. We now have a canter, but now her canter falls apart..and she just wants to canter. How do I get her more listening, and not wanting to canter as soon as I trot her. Myself I am balanced, I have hands that I have soft. They are just there, and I give soft half halts with my finger. Any tips?
Lady Rock Horsemanship I have spent this time doing this, and her transitions are awesome! Issue is, is staying at a trot she gets tense on me and wants to canter. Ever since she learned how to canter properly, she enioys it. And falls apart while doing a lot of trot work. Ive tried transitions, upward and downward. It seems to not have helped... I give her tons of walk breaks, I also ride her out in a pasture with other horses on a weekly basis.
Would you ever stop and think that this horse is not perfect? No horse pops out with a strong back, which is why it is such a coveted goal in dressage. This I quite obviously a young horse, evident from how he came above the bit when Joseph first began trotting. May I ask if you think it is better for a horse to travel above the bit and with a hollow back, which builds up the wrong muscles and can lead to serious physical issues, rather than having the nose a few inches behind the vertical? Also note how Joseph says “not pulling back with the hand” which leads one to assume that the horse is behind the vertical purely because it is green? Pay a bit more attention before you leave hate to make yourself feel better :)
I am a new dressage rider (adult, previous Western riding background) and I can't tell you how much your videos help me. Thank you for sharing your gifts, talents and professionalism! You are a beautiful rider!
“Throughness” is controlled positive tension. It is the absence of negative tension. It is energy moving through the horse (and rider) freely and not blocked by any unnecessary tightness of the muscles and joints. It is the horse responding to the aids without resistance or force because he understands the aids and has confidence in himself and his partner. It is using and maintaining only the amount of energy necessary. It is “flow state”. It is idealistic Words can only explain the idea. The feeling can’t be put into words. And for most riders it is found and lost and recovered and always depending on adjusting the balance of body, mind and soul. It is where sport ends and art begins ...if you will forgive my romantic digression.
You sound so much like Amelia! SORRY, but you guys do speak with a very similar cadence! Great video, you are such an empathetic rider!
Wow thank you for this video, really helpful tips and I adore the way you ride and converse to the audience. Please come to the uk and teach
Saving this to watch again ! I find it very beneficial to listen to you talk through your ride. Excellent. Many thanks.
Thank you for a lucid description of a process that eludes me thus far. Cheers
It eludes me as well...😒
This was very good information, though!
My old dressage trainer used to tell my I need to open up my hips..I never understood how to do that..
Thank you for sharing these tips!
A disorganized trot is rough and jarring and very uncomfortable for the rider and almost impossible to sit. What Joseph tells us in this video may be one of the most important, but widely neglected, features of rider training.
The position of the head and neck are directly proportionate to the engagement and balance of the hindquarters which should be lowered by degrees. The position of the head has no value by itself without the carrying power of the hindquarters. As the haunches are lowered and the joints articulate, carry and push off, the forehand is elevated and the shoulders have more freedom of movement. This is constitutes throughness and gives the rider a place to sit.
To reach this goal, the horse first has to be round, and lowering the neck and allowing the head to be behind the vertical brings his back up and gives him a round topline. The classical position (ramener) is built, not forced. The ideal of the poll being the highest point and the nose on or slightly in front of the vertical are result of the engagement.
But back to Joseph's hugely important point is that there's a "catch 22" and Joseph explains this when he says the quality of the trot and learning to sit the trot can't be separated. But the catch is that to train throughness we have to be good riders and to be good riders we need the horse to be through. Nobody said it would be easy. A little knowledge is dangerous. We read and study to supplement feel and experience, because negative comments that we are eager to share, distract us from learning the point of the lesson.
Shirley Broady thank you Shirley!
What do you mean by, we need the horse to be “through”?
Thanks,
New rider
@@Brooklyn_isurfav “Throughness” constitutes a state of being where the horse does not block his flow of energy, ideally, with any part of his body. He is straight meaning his body is in alignment with his line of travel, straight on a straight line or curved on a bent line (circle). His back is lifted not dropped and without negative tension, he allows positive contact with the bit, he moves in steady rhythm and tempo with forward energy that in time give elevation and expression to his trot and canter and energy to his walk but without tension. He is supple but not sloppy. He carries himself and therefore he carries his rider in a way that should be easy to follow. Negative tension destroys this state of being and makes it hard to follow the movement which makes it all the harder to give clear aids. If the rider struggles to keep her balance she can’t give clear aids and the horse is confused and frustrated and shows this in a variety of ways that new riders tend to take personally as if the horse had human intentions. To TRAIN a horse the rider must be so skilled that she can follow the awkward movement of the untrained horse. Ideally a new rider should ride a trained horse under the supervision of an expert instructor/trainer. This is how we learn to RIDE. Than we still need years of riding experience on many horses with direction from a trainer to TRAIN horses that are “through” because the catch is that horses in general can do a poor immatation of the movements in stiffness and tension driven by force.....but it is never beautiful or rewarding for the rider or the horse. The time this takes depends on the level of commitment, time to ride, and some talent. I have seen that riding, especially dressage, comes easier to some than others. We all have to work at it but some of us have to work harder. Throughness is the essential element. Learn the theory of horse training and then the practice.
Excellent suggestions. I love how you not only cover advanced dressage ect .. but also create videos more directed toward beginners or less experienced riders. I noticed that this gorgeous horse gets behind the bit at times .. my boy often does that as well. I do push him on when he does this and sometimes gets him more on the bit ...but more often he constantly goes behind. Any pointers for that issue ?
Quappo gorgeous.
hi :)
i am a trainer from germany and i make a very similar work like you =)
i work with horsemanship too and relaxation and balance and yes also sometimes behind the vertical.... because the horse gets loose often =)
My english is not the best, but i see how you work and i like how you explain with a quiet voice =)
I think in the same way about the sitting trot..
the horse has to be very loose in the back ....
sorry if there are wrong english words =)
i work with piaffe too and love it =)
When you let him stretch, do you let the reins lengthen or ? It didn't look like you moved your hands forward. I'm still learning and this always confuses me. Thanks 😊
Thanks I find your videos informative and helpful
On the bit is in front of the vertical.
On the vertical is behind the bit and losing impulsion.
Behind the vertical is a crime against impulsion.
Why are you making the horse so overbent and behind the vertical? I understand it may be a young horse but I'd much rather have them be stretching for the bit rather than faking headset by fiddling with the inside rein. I love your work, but I'd just like to hear why your working the horse this way.
another rider who doesn't understand what on the bit is. Down and on the forehand Ufff??
Young horses has trouble doing that. But if Joseph let him strech, he will still have trouble in his older years, Thats why it's important, that the ridder works on it
You have a bunch of people asking about the back/BTV, and strength. Humm, the problem IMHO is the horse right now has no back to speak of, he is soft, growth plate young, try to take it easy on him. Is he six yet? You cannot sit down and ride the sitting trot on young under six horses and maintain a good strong back to the connection of the reins. He is not hard in the bone yet and will protect himself, if he doesn't protect himself he will wear out very soon; they protect by going to the BTV, and hollowing the back. So what do you do? Ride forward, forward, forward, let them push off their hind legs and stretch to your hand, then the back will strengthen enough to have his head raise, the body will hold your seat and let you sit the trot. This horse is struggling to hold you, you are not going forward enough, and he is stuck in front with his own lack of strength to hold the sitting human. He will back off the rein, will go BTV, and look short strided. Take more time, lunge him, post the trot, make him move off the leg, a still leg. Wait for him to offer some roundness, right now you are trying to force him to be round. He can't do it yet. Otherwise, I enjoy your videos, but a young horse here is going to grow two to three more inches higher and is a soft boned baby right now.
I love your vidéo. Please keep going!
PM D thank you!!! Glad you like them. Where are you located.
Joseph Newcomb I am in Bromont, Québec, Canada where WEG was supposed to be! Your voice and accent is clear. As french Canadien it is easy to understand. Thank You!
How do you justify trotting with the horse so behind the vertical? There is a hollow behind your saddle with this horse. How do you build the back to have the horse come over the topline into your hand? I'm a little confused over this issue of developing the back of the horse for collection and the road to get there. Please comment and instruct with your thoughts.
The horse only looked hollow when he was on a loose rein and the rider wasn't asking for anything and was focussing more on explaining for the audience, the back was quite straight during the trot. I didn't see the horse being held in a fixed frame btv, just a young horse in training who started to lift when he was engaging. If you watch videos of Amber on Legolas and William Faerber on Bailador they often go btv as well, why are you being so critical of other trainers?
I'm sorry that I came off as critical, I didn't mean to be. I just want to further my education as I work toward collection. I was a great fan of Will Faerber and Art2Ride. I felt like he helped me build the back of my horse to do collection and I worked at that for years, but now I'm a bit lost between stretching the horse to build his back, and asking him to engage his hind legs and come under himself and truly be through and pushing into my hands. I'm working at Second Level and my lazy 12-year-old homebred Dutch Warmblood needs to be OFF his forehand and the stretching deal just isn't cutting it any more. I live in Wyoming and there aren't a lot of resources for me so I watch a lot of video online and read a lot of books. Just trying to find my way.
The horse is behind the vertical when Joseph starts to trot, that's true. But you have to consider that it is a very young horse and it's just starting his training. At the beginning the horse is not concentrating on the rider.
It is normal for such a young horse that it struggles a bit with his balance and has to learn to softly pull to the bit. Joseph does it absolutely correct here to keep calm and relaxed, bringing him softly to the connection the horse want's to give him in the first step and when the horse found the connection to the reins, he tries to extend the reins, ask the horse to look for the soft connection a little bit more at the front. You can clearly see that the horse develops a better outline when he starts to concentrate on the rider and finds his balance. For a 4 year old the gelding do a good job (Joseph as well :-)).
You always have to distinguish between a horse forced to stay behind the vertical with a rider pulling on the reins and a horse that hasn't yet find the correct position and the rider takes the connection the horse give him as starting point, but stay soft in his hands and bring him to search for the contact. That is a process. Some horses are strong pulling to the bit, others are shy and stay away from the bit.
If you want to build the back of your horse, streching is only one part. It's the same with you when going to the gym: only streching won't train you rmuscles to gain more power. But you have to strech the muscle first, because strength training shortens the muscle. Thus you have to change between streching, engaging and streching again. If your horse is a bit lazy and slow in the hindlegs, you have to get him quicker in the hindlegs and become more engaged by riding lots of transitions. I hope that helps?
Thank you Eva. An excellent explanation of the video. I totally agree with your third paragraph as well!
Yes I was thinking this! And he seems to be fiddling with the inside rein more than necessary 🤷
Awesome video! So your keeping feels on the inside rein as your going into sit? Getting them to collect first?... Should I always get them to collect first before I sit the trot? :)
I try to have my horses organized so they can carry me when I sit.
This explains why I could not sit the other day... My horse usually has a very slow rhythmic trot, but she was a bit forward when I tried to sit it last time, she had much more implulsion than usual, it was probably a bad time to work on sitting trot the way I was going about it...
I like it
300 like or 30 dislike? Nah.. i wanna be the 300 like (:
Ally xx tha k you!!!
You make so much sense, will work on this, Thanks for Sharing!
Debbie McNally thanks Debbie
My mare used to not canter well, she would gallop. We now have a canter, but now her canter falls apart..and she just wants to canter.
How do I get her more listening, and not wanting to canter as soon as I trot her. Myself I am balanced, I have hands that I have soft. They are just there, and I give soft half halts with my finger. Any tips?
BeautifulDancingFreestyle2016 Do a lot of up and downwards transitions. Try to keep your horse motivated in the work by allowing short breaks.
Lady Rock Horsemanship I have spent this time doing this, and her transitions are awesome!
Issue is, is staying at a trot she gets tense on me and wants to canter. Ever since she learned how to canter properly, she enioys it. And falls apart while doing a lot of trot work.
Ive tried transitions, upward and downward. It seems to not have helped... I give her tons of walk breaks, I also ride her out in a pasture with other horses on a weekly basis.
BeautifulDancingFreestyle2016 it's your seat, have you done any biomechanics?
Behind tue vertical ans weak back.
Don't tell me sh**
Would you ever stop and think that this horse is not perfect? No horse pops out with a strong back, which is why it is such a coveted goal in dressage. This I quite obviously a young horse, evident from how he came above the bit when Joseph first began trotting. May I ask if you think it is better for a horse to travel above the bit and with a hollow back, which builds up the wrong muscles and can lead to serious physical issues, rather than having the nose a few inches behind the vertical? Also note how Joseph says “not pulling back with the hand” which leads one to assume that the horse is behind the vertical purely because it is green? Pay a bit more attention before you leave hate to make yourself feel better :)
@@caoimhecollery2199 Very well said!
😉👏👍