Walk this way Jane Kidd

RIGHT: THESE TWO PICTURES SHOW HOW MUCH THE HANDS MUST MOVE TO KEEP THE SAME CONTACT ON A HORSE THAT STEPS FORWARD THROUGH A SUPPLE BACK AND NECK TO THE HANDS. A HORSE THAT HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO KEEP ITS NATURAL HEAD MOVEMENT AND SO NURTURE REGULARITY AND FREEDOM WILL EARN THE MARKS.

The walk on a free rein gives the judge a clear indication of the quality of the training of the horse so it is important to maximise this opportunity. • Keep the walk active and purposeful without hurrying. • Allow the horse to stretch by pushing the reins forward without letting them become loose. • Make sure to follow the nod of the head by alternate forward movement with the hands. • ncourage t e flo of t e o e ent o er t e bac and nec by good preparation in the corner before free rein walk. Any tightness of the neck and back may be helped by calming the orse and by su ling it t roug little flexions and barely perceptible leg yield steps.

• o any riders focus on s o ing a di erencefro t e free or extended walk by too much containment with a resulting slowing down. All that is necessary is the collection of the reins to nd a lig t for ard feeling contact and t e orse s weight tending more onto the hindquarters to bring the head and neck a little higher. This is enough to show that di erence in t e ste s e ediu al is li e a free rein al on a contact ile encouraging t e inds to ste beyond the hoof prints of the forefeet. • The other important point is without hurrying to keep riding for ard and not allo any reduction in t e te o or any slowing down.

• e s ill of t e rider is to ride for ard su ciently to get the horse to lengthen the steps as much as possible without breaking or creating tightness by speeding up. • n t e re arationaround t e corner a e t e orse as relaxed and supple as possible. • Ride with a forward tension in the reins using alternate easing to follow the head movement and as light a contact is possible without losing it.

• trong or une en contact or any tig tness of t e orse s back develops irregularity in the collected walk. Keep irregularity uppermost in the mind and with any shortening of t e ste s loosen t e nec and bac and or ta e so e lateral steps. The less experienced may have to rely on a person on the ground to tell them if there is irregularity. • Collected walk should be in the same tempo (speed of r yt as t eot er al s so ride for ard into it ee up the activity but without any hurrying or tensing.

The FEI states: “A horse should not be asked to walk on t e bit at t e early stages of training ollection too early ill not only s oil t e collected al but t e ediu and extended walks as well.” ere is a case for not al ing on a contactuntil ell into a orse s training Most de ending on t e orse in uestion ould incline to ards gradually rogressing fro only ta ing a contact if in trouble to a lig tcontact to a ore ositi e contact i e ti e for t e orse to beco e stronger ore su le in t e bac and nec and for t e rider to be able to follo t e o e ent of t e orse s ead

Developing the scales of training particularly suppleness of the back will help to nurture the regularity and freedom of the pace. lt oug sc ools ary as to t e alue of training t e al t e does advocate any training is best reserved for the more advanced le els ro t e earlieststages o e er it is i ortant ene er t e horse walks it is asked to do so in an active but relaxed way and even when it is a rest time it is not allowed to become sloppy or lazy.

Maintaining the nod: The head movement in the walk is vital because it allows the alternate relaxation of the two longissimus muscles that lie either side of the spine and connect the pelvic area with the cervical spine in the neck. Their free movement is key to keeping the regularity and freedom of the walk.

It is vital for riders to move their hands back and forth in the al in order to ee t e sa e tension in t e reins and not bloc t e muscle movement that inhibits the suppleness of the back.

Develop this in training and not only does it help the quality of the al but it is also good for t e rider by unbloc ingsti ness t roug gentle rhythmical movement of the arms.

Even on a long rein the rider can see and feel the nodding of the ead if t at orse s bac as not already been tig tened