Introduction
I have recently started to rethink the concept of collection for myself. What is collection? How does it work? You are probably all familiar with the classical description or definition that collection is a weight transfer from the front legs to the hind legs, which is associated with the horse taking shorter strides, flexing his hind legs, and elevating his front end, leading not only to a higher head and neck carriage but also to a higher action of the front legs and greater shoulder freedom. But is this really the case? Is that all there is to it, or is there something else that captures the essence of collection better? Is this perhaps a little too static or too rigid a definition?
I find it helpful to re-examine pieces of knowledge from time to time that I had been taking for granted and to look at them from different angles, checking them against my current experience and understanding, which has grown since I first learned about the concept in question. Sometimes this leads to a shift in my thinking and a different analysis. Sometimes it may merely confirm my old beliefs, which is ok, too, if the old understanding holds up to new evidence. But if new evidence, i.e. new observations and experiences contradict the old beliefs, then it’s time to change the theory to match the evidence.
When we first learn about a concept like collection it is usually at an early stage of our training when we haven’t actually experienced it yet, and we are not able to produce it yet, which means that if our practical skill and experience are limited, our understanding will be limited. And as our practical skill and experience grow, so does our understanding. This is why it is necessary to ask ourselves from time to time if things are still the same as they were when we started. If doctrines we memorised as beginners still hold true in light of the evidence we have collected by spending many hours in the saddle.
For some reason, I had to think of a research article that was published in the 1990s that tried to find out whether there really was a weight shift towards the hind legs in collection. This research was based on a relatively small number (30-ish, if I remember correctly) of international competition horses, i.e. all warmbloods, and all trained more or less in the same way. This is a somewhat biased sample that will predictably lead to a relatively homogenous result. If a group of the same type of horses are all trained in the same (or very similar) training system, the training results and the measurements that are taken will be very similar as well. So, the research results are valid for this particular group of horses.
But does that mean that they are true for all horses of all types and training methodologies? Not really. It’s dangerous to draw far-reaching general conclusions from such a small and biased sample. I would have loved to see the same research carried out with horses from the four classical schools (Vienna, Saumur, Jerez, and Lisbon) as well. This would give a broader perspective, including other breeds and different training traditions. It may still yield the same results. But it may not.
So, this got me thinking about what my own understanding of collection is at this point in time. As a beginner, I had learned the definition of collection that I had mentioned above, but I am not particularly attached to it. I’m happy to change it if there is evidence that the old definition is incorrect or incomplete.
WDTOMS (What Did The Old Masters Say)?
Any scientific study (at least in the humanities) begins with a survey of the relevant secondary literature to determine the current state of the scientific debate before launching into one’s own research and thoughts. If I wanted to be completely scientific, I would have to check every single author who has written on the subject. This is why writing a PhD dissertation takes such a long time.
So, because I don’t have this much time at the moment, I will look at the most influential authors from the German/Austrian, French, and Portuguese tradition whose books are accessible to me.
In the German/Austrian tradition, they are Ernst Friedrich Seidler, Louis Seeger, Gustav Steinbrecht, Paul Plinzner, Friedrich von Krane, Peter Spohr, Otto de la Croix, Hans von Heydebreck, Waldemar Seunig, Gustav von Dreyhausen, Alois Podhajsky, and Kurt Albrecht.
In the French tradition, they are François Baucher, Faverot de Kerbrech, Alexis L’Hotte, Albert Decarpentry, and Etienne Beudant.
From the Portuguese tradition, I was able to read translations of Manoel Carlos d’Andrade, Dom Diogo de Bragança, and Miguel Tavora.
Literature survey
I compiled a list of the aspects of collection that these authors considered to be of central importance and grouped them together according to their content.
Hind Legs
Hind legs step under the body and flex to push the weight upwards
Croup lowers
Hind legs act as springs
One common thread among the authors is that they all agree that in order to collect himself the horse has to engage and flex both hind legs under the body mass which leads to a lowering of the croup. The authors of the German/Austrian tradition assume that this leads to a weight shift towards the hind legs so that they ultimately support a larger share of the body mass than the front legs. The authors of the Baucherist tradition differ slightly in this respect as they seem to aim for a more horizontal balance in which the front legs and hind legs support the same share of the weight, which allows the horse to move easily in any direction. However, since the front legs have to carry a larger share of the body mass at rest, the horizontal balance requires a slight weight shift towards the haunches as well.
Some authors compare the hind legs to springs that are flexed by the body mass and then push the body forward and upward when they extend their joints again. The farther the hind legs touch down behind the centre of gravity, the more horizontal the gait will be. If they are too far out behind, they will lift the croup and push the horse onto the forehand. The closer they touch down to the centre of gravity, the more vertical their extension will be and the more they can lift the body up, which results in shorter, but higher steps.
Mobility
Shortening and narrowing of the support base
Agility, i.e. the ability to move in any direction
Concentration of forces in the centre of the body
Most of the authors mention that the horse’s support base has to become shorter and narrower in order for the horse to become collected. In other words, the hind legs have to move closer to the front legs, and the lateral pairs of legs have to move closer together. Both can be achieved through bending and turning (curved lines) and sidestepping and bending (lateral movements).
A smaller support base makes the horse more agile so that he can easily move in any direction. A collected horse is like a ball that has a very small support base and a spherical surface. That’s why it requires very little physical strength to move even a very large ball. By contrast, an unbalanced horse is very rectangular, with a large support base, similar to a shipping container which requires a great deal of strength to move in any direction as a result of the huge resistance between the ground and the large support base.
François Baucher talks about the concentration of forces in the centre of the horse’s body. This captures the ball-like mobility of the collected horse very well.
Spine
Suppleness of the spine
Back movement
Roundness of the back and the neck
Pliable and bendable
Comfortable to sit
Absence of tension or resistance
Lifting of the back and widening of the rib cage
Elevation of the neck
Another aspect of collection that many classical authors mention is suppleness and flexibility, the absence of resistance, as well as the roundness of the spine.
When we move all four legs of the horse closer together, the support base becomes smaller. If the hind legs flex their joints in this position, the withers lift, the top line stretches and rounds, and the rib cage expands.
This reminds me of an archery bow: when you pull the bowstring, both ends of the bow come closer together and the bow flexes more into an arc. The horse’s spine is like the bow in this comparison, and his legs form the ends of the bow.
Lifting the withers results in the elevation of the neck. This is what is often referred to as “relative elevation” because it is relative to the flexion of the haunches: the deeper the flexion of the joints of the hind legs, the higher the elevation of the neck. When the hind legs squat and hug the ground they can lift the front end.
By contrast, the so-called “absolute elevation” is the result of the rider lifting the horse’s head and neck with her hands. Due to the reciprocal relationship between the hind legs and the head and neck, lifting the neck from the withers with a combination of seat and rein, can increase the flexion of the haunches - but only to a certain degree. If this active, or absolute elevation exceeds the ability of the hind legs to flex and support the body mass, the horse’s back and the withers will drop, and the posture becomes unhealthy for the back as well as for the joints and tendons. It takes a very sensitive rider to feel when the limit has been reached in order not to exceed it.
As a prerequisite for collection the spine has to be supple laterally as well as longitudinally, i.e. it needs to be able to bend as well as flex. The lateral bend typically precedes the longitudinal flexion. The horse’s muscles along the sides of the spine and rib cage have to be stretched and suppled before the spine can flex longitudinally without resistance, especially if the horse’s conformation is less than ideal.
Bending the horse laterally enables the inside hind leg to engage more, and vice versa, engaging the inside hind leg helps to stretch the muscles on the outside of the rib cage and neck so that the horse is able to bend laterally.
Since the correct lateral bend involves lifting the back and withers, it creates a stretch of the top line which leads to longitudinal flexion and a relaxed the poll that enables the horse to let his skull hang “like a chandelier” as Charles de Kunffy describes it.
The gaits of a collected horse are comfortable to sit because the hind legs and the raised back act as shock absorbers and soften the impact of the legs touching down. This kind of horse is called a back mover because the energy of the hind legs flows through the entire spine to the reins without getting blocked and without leaking out anywhere and can be recycled back to the hind legs.
By contrast, the so-called leg mover is rigid in his back and hind legs. The energy flow is stopped in various places by muscle blockages that prevent the joints from moving with their full range of motion. The gaits of a leg mover are jarring and uncomfortable to sit because his hind legs skip the flexion phase and extend as soon as they hit the ground. Unflexed hind legs can’t support or protect the back. A rigid back can’t soften the impact of the legs on the ground, and when legs hit the ground hard the lower joints and tendons of the front legs and the hind legs suffer unnecessary wear and tear in the trot and canter.
A supple back protects the joints and tendons in all four legs. Supple hind legs protect the back.
Horses with rigid backs often have soundness issues in their legs. Horses with rigid hind legs often have back problems.
Fluidity, Elasticity, Impulsion
Adjustability of the gait and the posture to match the exercise
Fluidity
Elasticity
Increased attentiveness and readiness
Impulsion
Many of the classical authors emphasise that the horse’s energy output must not diminish as the degree of collection increases. Otherwise, the horse is merely moving slowly, with dragging hind legs. There must be enough energy and enough impulsion in collected gaits to enable the horse to lengthen the stride and go forward.
Collection is not a rigid pose, like a statue. It requires (and creates) a great deal of suppleness and adjustability. This includes the ability to adjust the front legs and hind legs a little more to the right or a little more to the left in order to align his body on a line of travel or in a lateral movement. It also includes the ability to lengthen and shorten the stride, to bend laterally in both directions, and to flex the spine longitudinally into a larger or smaller arc.
When a horse is adjustable in all directions, he is able
to turn left or right at any time,
to change the bend at any time,
to perform a transition into a different gait or to stop at any time,
to lengthen and shorten the stride,
to stretch forward-downward and to return to a more elevated posture.
All dressage movements become possible as a result of this flexibility.
This flexibility and pliability creates fluid, elastic gaits and movements. It allows the rider to match the horse’s balance and posture to every turn and to every movement she wants to ride so that the execution of the movement becomes as effortless as possible for the horse. In order to ride quick sequences of turns, transitions, and movements, the horse needs to be able to adjust his balance and posture quickly, within a stride or two.
Collection also has a psychological aspect. In order to be physically collected, the horse needs to be mentally collected. In order to be physically calm and relaxed, he has to be mentally calm and relaxed as well. A calm and collected horse is focused, listening to the rider, and thinking about the rider’s requests. A nervous, distrustful horse will not be in a position to do that.
Conclusion
Reading the descriptions of the old masters suggests that the features that most people associate with collection, i.e. shorter strides, higher elevation, or a slower tempo, are by-products rather than the essence of collection. They are visible surface-level phenomena, whereas the true nature of collection is functional and can perhaps be felt rather than seen.
Shorter strides are the result of diminishing the support base, not because hind legs are dragging and touching down far behind the centre of gravity.
If the tempo slows down in collection it is because it takes time to go through the entire movement cycle of the hind leg swinging forward, touching down, flexing under the weight while supporting the body mass, extending the joints in order to push the body forward, and lifting off.
Rushy horses that move with hurried steps skip the flexion phase. Their hind legs touch down and start pushing immediately. When they start flexing their joints they slow down because flexing and extending takes more time.
The increased elevation is the result of engaged and flexed hind legs that lift the withers and back, not the rider’s hands lifting the horse’s head up. Too much elevation, and the back and withers drop, the croup is pushed up, and the hind legs are pushed out behind.
When the rider tries to force the horse into collection by elevating the head actively more than the back and hindquarters can handle, or if she tries to shorten the strides and slow down the tempo predominantly with the reins or with a heavy seat, or if she tries to achieve collection by driving behind and holding or pulling in front, the horse will stiffen and brace his back, rib cage, neck, poll, and hind legs. Relaxation and suppleness are lost, impulsion is lost, the elasticity and expressiveness of the gait are lost, and the permeability for the aids is lost. This is not collection at all, even if the strides are short and slow, and the neck is elevated.
Real collection is always accompanied by impulsion, suppleness, straightness, and balance. In fact, it is their product.
Speaking from my own experience, I would add the connection of all 4 legs to the ground and the weight as a prerequisite for collection: “Only a horse that is connected can be collected”, as one of our teachers used to say. When the rider's weight is able to flow through each one of the horse’s legs into the ground, the horse will open his back and invite the rider’s seat in. He expands his rib cage into the rider’s legs, and he allows the aids to go through.
Collected gaits are not slow, sleepy gaits. Real collection requires a certain amount of energy, a certain “inner fire”, as one of our teachers used to call it. Too much energy and the horse gets tense.
Not enough energy and the horse becomes sleepy and listless. Finding the right amount can sometimes be challenging. Some horses have very low energy and low muscle tone by nature. Others are high strung by nature and quickly become tense.
A collected horse feels like he is physically and mentally ready to move in any direction at any gait at any moment in time. I think this is the definition of collection that I gravitate towards most these days.
As for the question of whether there is a weight shift towards the hind legs, as the old masters said, or whether there is no weight shift, as the scientific study said, I’m not sure. When I ride, I can bring the hind legs under the body so that it feels like I’m sitting directly on top of them. When this happens, the hind legs have to “deal with” my weight. They have to support it by flexing. If the horse finds this difficult because his hind legs are not strong or supple enough, he may try to get out of it by getting crooked, or by ducking behind the seat and leg. I can compromise by allowing him to lower his neck in exchange for him staying on the aids and continuing to go forward. Lowering the neck with a stretched topline takes some of the weight off the hind legs again.
You can even play teeter-totter with the horse: You can allow him to lower the neck a little, and engage the inside hind leg through enlarging the circle or through a few strides of shoulder-fore or shoulder-in. When the hind leg has arrived underneath you, you can sit on it to flex it, you can half halt into it and try to increase the elevation for a step or two, and then allow him to lower his neck and lift his back and withers again. Alternating between the two improves the longitudinal suppleness and elasticity of the spine and the hindquarters.
In other words, I can feel the weight flowing forward and back in this type of exercise, but I don’t know how quantifiable this feeling is.
This reminds me of a quote that is attributed to Albert Einstein: “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” This is especially true of riding and training horses.
