Featured Farm at The Judge's Choice (June 2009) Winchester Farm Flemington, New Jersey 917-941-5890 (Cell) 908-237-5107 (Home) 908-284-0356 (Fax) Web Site David Guy, PhD Adjunct Professor Delaware Valley College Equine Studies Department Doylestown, Pennsylvania davidguy1213@gmail.com The Role of Complementary Training Methods in the Athletic Development of the Dressage Horse The modern sport of dressage has evolved, over the past century, as a continuation of classical dressage as practiced in Europe since the 16th century. The sport has its theoretical and practical roots in the German adaptation of the French-Italian school that was formalized by Gustav Steinbrecht in the late 19th century. However, by late 20th century the practice of the sport has been deviating from classical methods in at least one major way.  The use of auxiliary training methods such as: long lining and the use of pillars have taken a back seat. In general, the work in hand became a thing of the past. The only exceptions worth mention are the Spanish Riding School of Vienna (SRS) and the French Military School of Saumur. These institutions kept classical methods alive to this very day, in both training the horse under saddle and in hand. The purpose of this article is to discuss the importance of work in hand in the form of long lining and pillars in the context of the athletic development of the dressage horse. The training of the dressage horse has been compared to a giant puzzle that is put together over a long period of time. The Grand Prix test, when performed correctly, is the resulting effort of a long journey during which the small pieces of the puzzle are studied in detail and are assembled with great patience. The development of the quality of the gaits and the resulting high school movements occupy trainers and riders from the day the horse is backed to the day it retires from competition and riding. This journey is not much different from the one each one of us takes from first grade all the way thru college and graduate school. It is a physical, mental and by large an educational process. To the same extent that none of us is placed in high school at the tender age of six, no horse should be expected to perform the high school movements unless it was given the opportunity to go thru the process of progressive and gradual development in its physical, mental and learning capacities. The old masters of dressage found themselves in a bind when trying to teach horses the ground airs and airs above ground. These movements are intellectually, physically and mentally demanding of both horse and rider. In order to facilitate the learning process the old masters had to proceed in two directions. One, intelligent selection of capable horses and two, developing a system of education that would make it as obvious – to the horse – as possible what is expected of it. During the historical process of developing that system of training they discovered that work in hand, in the form of long lining and pillars, is indispensable in terms of communicating the demands to the horse. While the use of long lining was widely accepted without much of a debate, the use of the pillars was much debated in academic and practical equitation during the 16th thru the 19th centuries. The criticism of its usage was mainly aimed at the stationary position imposed on the horse which contradicted the well understood principle of forwardness with impulsion. However, the use of the pillars became main stream as early as the late 1500’s with its re-introduction by Antoine the Pluvinel. On the most fundamental basis long lining allows the horse to learn and be gymnastesised without the added weight of a rider. That by itself is a first step towards explaining the horse what is required of it while alleviating it from the need to balance its own self while carrying the added weight of a rider. For the young horse this training method provides ample opportunities to develop balance, strength and introduction to lateral work in a gradual and progressive manner – first in hand and then under saddle. For the mature horse it provides the advantage of practicing and learning the difficult collected trot and canter movements such as the piaffe, passage and pirouettes. The transition to the airs above ground would be inconceivable to the old masters without first teaching these movements first in hand and then under saddle. In the following I would like to discuss each method as it pertains to the athletic development of the dressage horse. I propose to do that with a specific movement – the piaffe – since it involves the usage of both methods. Let me begin with long lining techniques as it is a prerequisite to work in the pillars. Since the teaching of a movement and improvement of a gait are inter related it is important to note that long lining addresses both goals simultaneously. The piaffe is one of the most difficult movements for the typical warmblood horse. We do observe the horses performing this movement in liberty; however, the transition to performing it under a rider, on command, is not a trivial one. The contemporary way of teaching it involves a person on the ground with a whip and a mounted rider. The ground person typically helps with the activation and engagement of the trot work and the rider maintains the restraining aids. The resulting movement is rarely in compliance with FEI description and most often – when the ground person leaves the arena the piaffe leaves with him. The alternative approach involving long lining, and later on the work on the pillars, emphasis the teaching of the school trot (half steps) and transitions to collected trot and medium trot (re-establishing impulsion and practicing the half halts) such that the trot work improves to a degree where the horse can carry more weight on its hind legs while maintaining a high degree of activity and desire to move forward. The next level up would be to introduce cavaletties – another neglected method - into the routine in order to improve the action of the legs while traveling in short steps. When this is done, without the added weight of the rider, the horse has a greater chance of understanding and consequently developing the necessary mental and physical skill set that would eventually lead to performing the movement under the rider. Ultimately, the horse should learn to perform the piaffe in the constraint of the pillars. In this stationary position the horse will have to demonstrate the desire to move forward with ample carrying power and correct diagonal movement. It is in the pillars that a horse can truly learn and improve its ability to collect and piaffe on the spot with little or no input from the ground person.  The above discussion highlights the progressive and gradual approach to teaching of a movement like piaffe in hand. During the process it is useful to test the horse understanding and ability to perform the piaffe under saddle. Training in the pillars is not common and therefore the number of professionals that are qualified to train a horse in such method is very limited. Most of the qualified trainers are a product of the education system that prevailed in the early part of the 20th century and by now are either retired or not available to travel to distant clinics. This method is not suitable for all horses and requires the attention of a highly specialized trainer and suitable horse. The situation is much better with long lining. Although most dressage trainers are not familiar with the technique, most drivers – if not all – are proficient long lining trainers. As such, seeking the help of a professional can boil down to visiting your neighbor, the farm down the road, who drives horses. The average driver is typically your best bet to a lesson in long lining compare to your dressage trainer. In summary, the training in long lines and the pillars have been proven over centuries as valuable tools in training dressage horses in the high school movements. These methods assist in the progressive introduction and teaching of all movements and also provide a variety in the daily training routine. Many dressage horses are faced with one method of training which is under saddle technique. However, work in the open field, work over cavaletties  and work in hand are all affective educational methods that stand to benefit the gradual progress of the dressage horse thru the levels. In the words of General DeCarpentry: the transition from the “known to the unknown” is facilitated by the use of in hand, long lining and pillars methods. The Judge's Choice sincerely thanks the David Guy, PhD, of Winchester Farm, for submitting this article for our reading enjoyment. Thank you for visiting The Judge's Choice.