Stable master Theodor Heinze wrote a comprehensive manual on horsemanship, entitled "Pferd und Reiter oder die Reitkunst in ihrem ganzen Umfange". The 6th improved and enlarged edition appeared in Leipzig in 1889. It consists of 3 volumes bound in one. The first volume deals with 3 major areas, anatomy and conformation of the horse, farriery and teeth, and stable construction as well as care and feeding. The second volume contains descriptions and explanations of the tack, the training of the rider, the natural gaits and the dressage movements up to and including the airs above the ground, advice for cross country riding, side saddle riding, and caroussels. The third volume decribes the training of the horse from the first lessons of the green horse at the longe line through the airs above the ground.
Today's selection is taken from vol. II, the description of the dressage movements. On pp. 325-331, Theodor Heinze describes the redopp.
"The redopp or travers canter consists in a leg yield while the horse is moving laterally, on two tracks, in the canter. In each redopp stride, two distinct tempos can be perceived. The horse begins the first tempo with his front feet, immediately shifting his weight onto his haunches by raising his front legs. The forehand moves a little to the inside at the very beginning of the redopp stride. Then the front legs touch down audibly. In the second tempo the horse raises his hind legs in a short and swift stride, and puts them down audibly as well.
"The forehand has the larger track in the redopp as well as in the travers, the haunches have the smaller track, since the head is placed closer to the wall, whereas the hindquarters are positioned towards the center of the arena. The inside legs are the ground covering ones, as in the canter, while the outside ones mainly support the load. As the haunches have to carry the majority of the load in this movement, and as they have to move with short strides and a high degree of flexion, yet swiftly, the horse's forehand is relieved, while his hindquarters are more burdened, so that the outside shoulder is placed a little more backwards, which gives the inside shoulder more freedom.
"The redopp is ridden either on a straight line or on a circle. It is introduced on a straight line. The redopp on a circle follows, because it is more difficult to execute. The horse's position is the same as in the travers. One defines the angle in the redopp in relation to the radius of the circle, by imagining a straight line from the center of the circle across the horse's back. The deviation from this line can be determined either as a 1/16th turn or a 1/8th turn, as in all lateral movements. Teaching and training begin with the former and end with the latter, since the former, the half redopp, is easier for horse and rider to execute. The 1/8th turn, or the full redopp, shows the completed training of this air and the school horse in all his special grace and mobility.
"In the redopp right, the right rein induces the head position to the right, as always. The left rein and the rider's left leg ask for the redopp strides to the right, either along the wall, or on a circle. The right calf is hanging vertically, ready to step in. "In the redopp left, the left rein maintains the head position to the left. The right rein and the right calf ask for the redopp strides to the left. The left calf is held vertical.
"When first teaching this movement, one asks the student for a depart in the collected, short right lead canter with the horse wearing the double bridle, and lets him begin the redopp after a corner in the following manner. The rein hand gives a half halt towards the inside, with the little finger rising towards the rider's inside shoulder, while the hand moves back towards the lower abdomen. At the same time, the outside calf touches the horse in order to contain the haunches together with the outside rein. "If the horse goes too much forward, the left hand leads it back. It he does not move his haunches in enough, or if he wants to fall out with them, the outside rein has to come back towards the lower abdomen, while the little finger of the left hand is pointing backward. The outside calf has to give stronger aids, if necessary supported by the spurs. If, on the other hand, the horse stays back, the hand is lowered immediately, with the little finger moving towards the horse's nose. Both calves have to drive the horse forward simultaneously. The outside one has to be used more strongly, in order to maintain the horse in the redopp position. If the haunches fall in too much, the little finger of the rein hand must move back towards the rider's inside shoulder, so that in that moment the inside rein is used more. The outside rein must, of course, not be without effect. The inside calf has to give the aid that returns the haunches to the line of the redopp.
"The rider also has to take special care in the redopp to prevent with correct equestrian tact and correct, inconspicuous aids any stalling of the horse, before the observer even notices it, because the redopp must cadenced, i.e. strictly rhythmical, just as any other natural and artistic gait.
"Before the riding master lets the student execute the redopp on a circle, he has to teach him the travers at the walk, then in the collected trot and in the school trot on a circle. When horse and student are thus prepared, the riding master lets the student begin the redopp on a large circle. Later on the circle can be diminished down to one horse's length.
"The redopp on a circle is even more difficult than on a straight line, because the rider must not only maintain the horse in the lateral movement to the left or right, respectively, but he also has to keep him on a circle line and turn him continuously.
"The horseshoe is a very functional compromise between the straight line and the circle. For this pattern, one begins the redopp in the middle of the long side, rides less deeply through both corners, and finishes in the middle of the other long side, opposite the place where one began. Here, one halts, changes the horse's position and begins the redopp on the other lead along the long side, through the same corners, and finishes on the next long side, in the exact spot where one started the redopp.
"The riding master must pay attention to the student's decent posture, and to remind him not to shift his weight to the inside or the outside, to bend above the inside hip until his inside shoulder is no longer higher than the outside one, to keep his chest directed straight towards the horse's neck, and to keep his head up. He has to remind him further not to rotate his outside leg outward, nor to stretch his inside leg stiffly away from the horse. Mistakes, that every student makes, without exception, and that the teacher has to improve immediately, as soon as they surface. The riding master also has to make sure that the rein hand does not cross the withers, but remains steady and soft in the middle above the withers.
"The halt transition is executed when the forehand is in the air. The rider has to use both calves further back, the outside one more than the inside one, in order to keep the horse in the redopp position. At the same time, the rein hand moves towards the inside and back, with the fingernails pointing upwards, so that both hind legs step underneath the torso and the front legs come straight down. It is easier for horse and student if the latter goes from the redopp on a straight line into the canter before the transition to the halt. "Changing rein in the redopp can be done in different ways:
with a demi canter volte,
with a diagonal, or renversale (half-pass)
on the spot, or
with a small volte."
Theodor Heinze, Die deutsche Reitkunstschule, 1889.
pp. 240f.:
5. The rein effects
As a preliminary remark it has to be stated that the side of the horse or
rider that is closer to the middle of the arena is called the inner side, if
the horse is positioned this way. The other side, which is closer to the
wall, is called the outer side, if the horse is not positioned that way. In
general, during the artistic gaits the horse's head position always
determines the inner side, whereas the opposite side is called the outer
side. Consequently, one distinguishes an "inside rein" and an "outside rein"
The highest principle is the rule that: "The reins act only in the direction
in which they are squeezed". They affect the entire horse machine, the head,
the neck, the shoulders, the front legs, the back, the loins and the
hindquarters in the same direction and to the same degree in which the
actions of the rider's hand are communicated to the bars of the horse's
mouth. If the hand moves forward-upward, the reins affect mainly the front
end. The horse's head and neck are raised that way. If the hand rises
backwards, this rein pressure affects the front and hind end simultaneously
by elevating the front end. The back muscles flex a little and lose some of
their stiffness, the loins lower, and the croup flexes in the stifles,
hocks, and fetlocks. It consequently lowers; in the technical terminology:
"the haunches flex". If the hand is led toward one of the horse's shoulders,
the rein pressure acts mainly on this one. The shoulder is either brought in
or out, depending on the movements of the hand.
The bit pressure is communicated to the entire hind end or to a single hind
leg in the same direction in which the bars receive the bit pressure. If
both reins are squeezed backward uniformly, the horse will bring his head
and neck back, and as long as the bit pressure is identical on both bars,
the horse will step back in a straight line. However, if the bit acts more
upon the right bar than the left, the horse will bend his head and neck to
the right, push his left shoulder out, and step to the left with his
haunches, by crossing with his right hind leg over its left neighbor. If the
right rein acts alone, the horse will bend his head and neck excessively to
the right, fall out with his shoulders, drift to the left with his haunches,
and without the active support of the outside, now left, rein, he will
rotate clumsily around his own axis and finally trip over his own feet. This
test, which illustrates the following rules, can be made with any bridled
horse, mounted as well as dismounted, if you stand in front of the horse and
hold both reins close to the bit and move either both reins back
simultaneously, or just one by itself.
According to this proof, the inside rein acts predominantly on the horse's
inside. It indicates his head and neck position; it guides by introducing
turns. It leads the inside shoulder out. It contributes to the bend of the
rib cage. It prevents the inside hind leg from coming in too much. It lowers
the loin muscles and puts the horse onto the haunches, which is why it has
to execute especially the halt transitions, the reinback and the airs on the
haunches: shoulder-in, renvers canter and redopp.
The outside rein affects predominantly the outer side of the horse and has
to support the inside rein actively with its cooperation, because it
elevates the neck and flexes the poll, or it raises and brings the head in.
It maintains the position, i.e. the correct posture of the horse's head and
neck by determining the degree of the poll and neck bend, as well as the
lines of the turns, whether they are tight or wide, angular or round. It
leads the outside shoulder in, determines the gait and the croup. It
prevents the haunches from falling out, and brings them in. It executes
especially the renvers and travers at the walk and the school trot, and has
to be regarded as the main rein in all jumps and airs above the ground.
It is only the cooperation of the other rein that enables the proper effect
of each rein, because the correct rein conduct and thus the true contact - a
term which will be explained shortly - can be produced only through the
closest cooperation between both reins. Whether the reins are held in both
hands or just in one hand does not matter: both reins must always harmonize
and support each other closely.
pp. 243ff:
9. About the aids
The term "aids" refers to the impressions that the rider makes on the horse'
s body and mind, which serve to communicate the rider's will to the horse,
addressing the horse's sense of touch, hearing, and vision. The aids are
subdivided into noticeable and unnoticeable ones, or strong ones and light
(gentle, soft, hidden) ones.
Among the noticeable ones are:
a) The click of the tongue, which is produced by arching the tongue
upward to the palate, followed by a sudden withdrawal with a slightly open
mouth. The click of the tongue is used to wake up the horse in the gaits, to
collect, and to draw his attention to the stronger aid or punishment that
would follow if he ignored it. However, the tongue clicking may not be used
too often, because the horse becomes gradually indifferent to the constant
sound of the tongue, and because it is annoying and indecent, especially in
the presence of other riders, whose spirited horses become even more
agitated by it. It is also considered an indecency when a person on foot
wants to help and support a rider with uninvited tongue clicking.
b) The voice. It is used with a calming tone, with or without stroking
or gently patting the neck, the shoulder, or the loin with one hand. With a
strict or admonishing tone the voice is raised with naughty, unwilling
horses, in order to prevent further antics and to let them know with
determination that otherwise a serious reprimand is not far away.
c) Swishing with the birch switch is also an activating aid which is
applied by keeping the right hand next to the left one, moving the switch
lightly and swiftly from side to side above the horse's neck. The rule is to
start with a soft noise that gradually swells in order not to startle the
horse.
d) Dropping the whip gently onto one shoulder or the other is an
encouragement for the horse not to lag behind with the one shoulder or the
other, which is why this aid is also applied in the side saddle for the
canter depart.
e) The touch of the lower leg, the most prominent aid, is used to drive
the horse forward, to speed up his gait, and to balance him.
f) The feel of one lower leg is applied to prevent the wobbling horse
from leaving the track, or to ask him to move in the opposite direction, if
the pressure is sustained. The lower legs have to be applied so that the
shinbones are closer to the horse's belly than the calves, because if the
latter is the case, the legs have to be rotated outward too much, twisted,
and the spurs come too much underneath the horse's belly. Following the
principle of the balance of the horse's body, according to which the center
of gravity is supposed to fall underneath the rider, and the rider forms the
lever to maintain the horse machine in balance and to set it in motion, the
lower leg aids are best applied at the saddle girth, always gradually
increasing and in a screwing motion. Only in exceptional cases are the lower
legs applied in front of or behind the girth, which will be explained in due
course.
g) Touching the horse's forearms beneath the elbow with the toes is
also a driving aid. One uses it to activate the front end, to make the horse
who is behind the bit accept the bit, etc. Touching the forearm with the toe
is used especially with young, untrained or spoilt horses, in order to ask
one shoulder or the other to reach forward more regularly. However, the aid
of the toes against the forearms is to be applied and to be allowed only in
exceptional cases.
h) The touch of one or both spurs is used to make the horse more aware
of the calf pressure. This aid is applied with lowered toes, but not with
the toes turned out, because otherwise the spurs touch the too ticklish
areas underneath the belly and the horse would be provoked to kick and to
engage in other antics. This aid should only be used rarely as well, as it
is very effective when it is applied sparingly. However, used too often, it
can easily produce the ugly habit of tail swishing.
The unnoticeable aids are the following:
a) The subtle movements of the hand that have already been described
and which a skilled rider has to apply on a well trained horse.
b) The pressure with both thighs and knees, which encourages the
sensitive horse to go forward.
c) The pressure of one thigh and knee is applied to keep the horse on
the straight line, when he comes in too much with one hind leg, or to ask
him to move sideways, if the pressure is sustained.
d) Pushing the hips forward, together with a slight backward
inclination of the torso and the pressure of both knees (depending on the
horse's lesser degree of sensitivity both calves squeeze with a screwing
motion and gradually increasing intensity during this excellent aid)
collects the horse, if the hand resists at the same time. An excellent,
extremely effective aid for the skilled rider!
e) The pressure by the ball of the foot onto both stirrup irons. This
is applied in order to keep the horse on a straight line or to activate the
gait.
f) An increased pressure into one stirrup, on the other hand, brings
the horse who had started to wobble on a straight line back onto the track,
and the sustained pressure on one stirrup makes him step sideways. However,
the aids of the knee pressure and stirrup stepping require the most
sensitive horses, whereas on insensitive horses they remain without the
desired success.
