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One of the huge advantage dressage riders have in Germany is that they\u00a0– and their\u00a0\u00a0 trainers – all work\u00a0along the lines of the German Training Scale, a sophisticated guide to the training of a horse that not only sets out the exercis\u00ades to be ridden, but why you use those exer\u00adcises, and when. This series, created with the assistance of Australia’s most successful dressage trainer, Clemens Dierks, will introduce you over the next six segments to the elements of the training scale: Rhythm, Losgelassenheit, \u00a0Contact, Schwung, Straightness, Collection.<\/p>\n
The training scale in a sense is a progres\u00adsion, working from the simplest to the most complicated requirements, but this is not entirely true, since elements from fur\u00adther along the scale are required to achieve the aims of the earlier principles. It should probably be seen more as a matter of emphasis.<\/p>\n
To achieve takt or rhythm, the first step on the scale, we obviously need to have a cer\u00adtain degree of acceptance of the bridle, a degree of straightness, and in its most ele\u00admentary form, even a degree of collection. In these early stages the rider is developing the horse’s power to push, to propel his body, later as the work becomes more sophisticated, we develop the power to carry. This progression occurs not only as the horse’s training progresses over a period of time, but within each working session. Remember when we are talking about rhythm, we are talking about the natural rhythm that is suitable to that particular individual. As the\u00a0\u00a0 handbook of the German FN, The Principles of Riding <\/em>– Book I, <\/em>notes: Coby van Baalen and her medal winning Ferro<\/em><\/p>\n In the wonderful book he co-wrote with Coby van Baalen, the German master trainer, Johann Hinnemann remarks: <\/p>\n Let’s join Clemens Dierks in his little gaze\u00adbo perched above his outdoor arena, as his wife Judy starts work on her latest star, Frontier – a\u00a0\u00a0 four-year-old gelding by Falkrich, and bred by another German who made Australia his home, Gerhard\u00a0Quast.<\/p>\n “The first thing is ‘takt’ not ‘rhythm’, there\u00a0is a difference. The German word is takt\u00a0and the definition is ‘beat’ – beat is the clarity\u00a0of the steps, rhythm is more an identical\u00a0uniformity of the strides. I explain to students\u00a0that a lame horse can have perfect\u00a0rhythm if it repeats its lameness perfectly,\u00a0but the steps are not clear – not a clear four\u00a0beat, or two beat or three beat. Takt is the\u00a0word; beat is what you look for. The horse\u00a0with good takt is very hard to find – they\u00a0really stand out when you see them.”<\/p>\n Can we make takt?<\/em><\/p>\n “We can un-make it. A lot of people ruin\u00a0the takt of the beat by riding too fast, by\u00a0over-riding, by interfering with the natural\u00a0paces. Horses have takt by nature, but riders\u00a0interfere with it by trying to create it. A good horse has it, the rider can\u00a0only lose it. .. ”<\/p>\n only the rider can lose the rhythm…<\/em><\/p>\n So what is Judy doing with this young horse now?<\/em><\/p>\n “She is walking him, forwards, downwards.\u00a0Not as long in the neck as some would like to see, but\u00a0with our horses we try from the beginning\u00a0to get them through the neck, through the\u00a0poll, over the back, so they can stretch forwards\u00a0down and go on the bit and into the\u00a0bridle from behind. When they give the\u00a0feeling that they want to stretch a bit, we\u00a0allow that. Walking gets them going, it\u00a0lubricates the joints, it’s an essential part of\u00a0the warm up.”<\/p>\n At this point Judy comes to a perfect square\u00a0halt – how did she do that, she didn’t seem to\u00a0do anything special?<\/em><\/p>\n “Yes she did, she made a very little adjustment\u00a0before the horse was able to stop not under himself, she asked him to move up his inside hind leg.”<\/p>\n Now Judy has started to bend the gelding,\u00a0asking for a little travers, a little half pass,\u00a0still in walk. As Clemens explains, this is an\u00a0aid to achieving that first aim:<\/p>\n “Travers and half pass in walk, these movements\u00a0free up the walk and help the horse to\u00a0get a very beautiful four beat walk. If you\u00a0have a horse with a tendency to a lateral,\u00a0two beat, walk, this is one way to fix it. If\u00a0you have a horse that is inclined to be lateral\u00a0in the walk, do a lot of half pass walk,\u00a0because they can’t be lateral in half pass, they\u00a0have to go into four beat.”<\/p>\n “It is very important to recognise the distinction\u00a0between the rhythm and the beat – look at\u00a0this horse see how he has ro put down each\u00a0foot individually, he can not do it any other\u00a0way.”<\/p>\n Judy has moved on to a relaxed rising trot:<\/p>\n “Just a nice rising trot with a very nice beat,\u00a0with the tendency to stretch forwards\u00a0downwards, the next step on the scale is\u00a0losgelassenheit- you can see this horse is a bit fresh, he is holding\u00a0himself a little, it is\u00a0not yet loose enough –\u00a0that comes in time.\u00a0Watch for the rhythm,\u00a0the swinging over the\u00a0back. If you are a calm\u00a0rider and can sit properly, then the horses\u00a0will relax, by keeping them in this steady\u00a0beat, you can create the next step.”<\/p>\n ‘This horse is still looking around, he is\u00a0looking at Roz taking photos, he has a bit\u00a0of nerve, he is not a dumb horse. Right\u00a0from the start we are working to get the\u00a0hind leg up and under so that the horse\u00a0goes forward, to the bridle from behind,\u00a0trying all the while to get the feeling that he\u00a0likes to stretch forwards and downwards.”<\/p>\n Where is the horse getting the rhythm – from Judy’s seat?<\/em><\/p>\n ‘The horse is maintaining the rhythm\u00a0because Judy can sit within the rhythm.\u00a0You can’t ride rhythm into a horse – they\u00a0have it – you can only\u00a0ruin rhythm by bad\u00a0riding. When you let\u00a0them loose in the paddock,\u00a0you see that they move well. When\u00a0you ride, because there\u00a0is an argument here or\u00a0there to get the frame or whatever, you can\u00a0get bridle resistance and that can create\u00a0unevennesses, and the loss in the rhythm\u00a0and the tempo. Only a totally submissive,\u00a0loose horse can really show perfect\u00a0rhythm.”<\/p>\n next we move on to canter<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n It was time for canter. ..<\/p>\n “We are still just warming up. There must\u00a0be a very clear three beat in the canter, and a nice\u00a0moment of suspension. A\u00a0lovely big canter with the hind leg stepping\u00a0under. They have to find the self-carriage\u00a0and balance, it all takes years. Some horses\u00a0have more pushing power; some have more\u00a0power to take weight. The power to carry,\u00a0to take weight, comes with work – the\u00a0power to push also comes with work, but\u00a0some horses find it easier to carry, than push.\u00a0Like this horse could carry weight, it is a\u00a0big horse, he maybe finds it more difficult to push, so we have to work on the hind\u00a0end.”<\/p>\n Why do we see so many four beat canters?<\/em><\/p>\n “That’s just riders, they don’t keep the\u00a0horse active enough, when they collect they\u00a0don’t use their seat, they bring the horse\u00a0back from the front, instead of closing the\u00a0horse up from behind. Some horses have\u00a0more talent in the canter than others but\u00a0basically they go as well as you ride them.\u00a0Even with a horse that has a natural tendency to four beat canter, with good riding\u00a0you can improve that, bad riding you make\u00a0it worse.”<\/p>\n “This first work is gymnastic\u00a0body building work, then we are ready to\u00a0move to the next stage, losgelassenheit.”<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n‘To achieve this, the rider must ride the horse forward evenly, with an elastic but\u00a0still and deep hand. ‘Forward’ does not mean ‘faster’. In a faster tempo the horse would be running and would break his rhyrhm. ‘Forward’ means engaging the \u00a0quarters and asking the hind legs to actively propel the horse’s body forward. The reg\u00adularity of movement in all three paces is the foremost objective in this phase of train\u00ading.’<\/p>\n
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\n“If a horse ever starts making rhythm mis\u00adtakes and moving unevenly, immediately return to easier work so that the horse can find his rhythm again. Rhythm is the foundation of movement\u00a0and never should be compromised – not\u00a0for one second.”<\/p>\n
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