Fran Griffen from Hunter Natural Horsemanship Centre, NCAS EA level one coach and natural horsemanship instructor provides information and strategies to help you communicate with your horse, naturally.
Help! My horse won't bend!
This is one of the most common problems that riders face, especially when they start to become interested in riding circles and patterns.
I often hear statements like ‘he is stiff’, ‘he leans into the circle’ or ‘he falls out of the circle’ all these feelings are the result of a horse who is not bending and balanced in the direction of his travel.
The first instinct of the rider is to try to ‘make him bend’ but to be successful and harmonious we have to set things up for the horse to create a bend.
The Chicken and the Egg
Bend and balance are closely related, but which comes first?
If we work on bend will it improve his balance? And if we work on balance will it improve his bend? The answer is actually yes, and yes. If we are having a problem you can bet it’s part of a bigger picture and this is why we have to look at all the elements of bend, and balance, work on each part and then combine them together.
What is bend?
Bend is the shape the horse’s body takes when it is not on an exact straight line. So if he is not straight he is bent in some way. You can bend through the whole body, or parts of the body, but for this discussion we will talk about a head to tail bend that follows the direction of travel, either on a circle or through a corner.
If we drew a path on the arena either a perfectly round circle or an arc through a corner, we would aim to have the horse travelling on that path from head to tail. To do that, the horse will bend through the ribcage and the degree of bend will be determined by the size of the circle.
We want this bend because in this position the horse is aligned to his direction of travel and he is balanced and capable of changes of pace.
In all fields of horsemanship the bend is the crux of all the movements and patterns.
Why is bend difficult?
It all starts with the natural anatomy of a horse. The head and neck are quite flexible and can swing around easily, the ribcage is quite rigid and the hindquarters are also quite mobile and capable of swinging around.
To keep all these parts in alignment takes some thought and some gymnastic training. In his life in the paddock the horse doesn’t care too much about perfect alignment. He rarely moves in continuous circles, he doesn’t have a weight on his back to negotiate, he doesn’t have something on him that can block and restrict his movement. He just moves around in the most economical way he can. You will see the horse employ his bendy powers when he wants to play or display through his body.
This gives me a major clue of how we help them to bend with us, we help them to be engaged mentally and to develop it rather than ‘make it happen’.
What hinders development of bend?
If we want to improve bend it would be useful to eliminate the things that might hinder its development.
Physical problems
Some horses have distinct physical problems in the skeletal and muscular systems that cause stiffness. It is worth noticing and treating any physical irregularities. However in saying that, we can always improve whatever we have and slow progressive exercises on the ground and riding can help too.
The rider
We can be a major hindrance to the horse. Through our hands and body position we can distort the horse’s body and make it almost impossible for him to align correctly. It is in the rider’s interest to take some posture and balance lessons to develop an independent seat. One of the best ways to do this is on the lunge.
Emotions
The horse’s body will follow its primary thought. Therefore if the horse is tense, or is pulling toward his paddock buddies, or is racing along, or hardly moving; conversations about bend are almost impossible. We have to address the foundational problems before adding the layers.
Inconsistency
In any pursuit of balance, grace or body suppleness, consistency is the key. Body awareness and suppleness in horses and riders is built over time. Be prepared to work some patterns. Be prepared to start slowly and to proceed with a consistent plan.
Where do I start?
These would be my pre requisites:
Check you can ride the horse at walk and trot (and later canter) on a loose rein without them racing or stopping. This regulation of gait is essential - you don’t want to be trying to strangle a horse with holding reins or kicking it along with active legs and try to communicate bend at the same time.
Check your seat is independent enough by making transitions on a loose rein without falling forward or backward in your body.
Now you are ready to take a soft contact with your horse and talk about alignment on the circle.
Start with simple patterns of circles and corners - big circles. Make it very clear to your horse by using markers, using arenas, round yards, anything that helps create the patterns.
Understand the body position in yourself for the bend.
For bend right. Adjust your shoulders to align with the horse’s shoulders, your eyes through the horses ears and focused ahead on the circle. Your inside leg (right) sits quietly at girth level and the outside leg (left) SLIGHTLY back, causing your hips to be in alignment with the horses hips.
You will feel a little more weight in the inside seat bone but not by pushing it or leaning, just by opening the inside knee and hip and allowing your inside leg to open enough to let the seat bone drop. This isn’t as hard as it sounds. Focusing on an open inside knee and hip will help. Breathe into these positions and make them subtle; trying too hard creates tension.
I like to imagine that I’m riding in a whirlybird fair ride and as we go around the energy swirls from the inside out and sucks us to the wall. By sticking your horse to the outside wall of your circle and softening the inside leg he can allow the ribs to roll out and bend in the middle.
If we concentrate on pulling them around in the circle they tend to roll the energy from the outside to the inside and it feels like you are swirling down the plug hole, everything is pulled in and that’s when it feels like the horse is leaning (probably because we are leaning).
I find I don’t need to concentrate much on the head or hindquarter, but be aware of these areas and communicate to them as needed. The head and neck bend can be helped through the rein and the hindquarter either moved or blocked slightly with a momentary use of the outside leg (lower leg).
The bottom line is that the bend is not held or forced, it is found and then it is maintained through harmony and balance.
Developing the bend is achieved by the horse softly allowing you to roll their ribs through balance and the seat.
Talk to your instructor about patterns and exercises. Combinations of circles, serpentines, loops and corners are all great for developing bend. Have fun and be prepared to create a lighter more supply riding buddy.
Check out the video classroom for videos on independent seat, loose rein riding, bending and patterns.
