What is engagement?
Everybody talks about hind end engagement, but what is it, how do we get it and why do we need it? Essentially, engagement is the connection between the horse's hindlegs and the rein. A horse cannot be engaged without impulsion.
The French explain engagement as the advancement of the body into the rein. The German prefer to define engagement as " riding the horse up from behind, so that by the use of half-halts, the body becomes aut like a spring while maintaining suppleness and without shortening the neck.
What is self carriage?
The goal of every rider is that his/her horse moves in a correct and balanced frame whithout the horse relying on the rider to 'hold' this balance. The horse really 'carries' himself. You can test this by giving with the reins as some horse just hold themselves by leaning on their riders hand.
Engagement and self carriage go together!
When we look at the definitions of "engagement" and "self carriage" they seem to be two different things. In engagement the focus is on the hind legs of the horse while self carriage is more about the "weight" in the riders hand.
In fact engagement of the horse and self carriage of the horse are closely connected to each other. If a horse is engaged and thus really using his hindquarters, self carriage and lightness in the hand are logical results.
When a horse is engaged the energy from the hind legs will flow through the back of the horse and into the hand of the rider thus enabling the horse to follow the rein. This will allow the horse to lengthening his frame for medium and extended work, or to raise his forehand for collected and lateral movements.
The importance of engagement and self carriage is very obvious for dressage but also in show jumping and cross country the engaged and self carrying horses, or must we say combinations, play the dominant role in competitions.
How to achieve engagement and self carriage?
The basic horse training must concentrate on allowing the horse to move freely forward into the rein. The horse must not be forced into a visual outline. The rider must be aware that it is not a sin if the horse carries its head a little in front of the vertical, particularly in early training stages. Regular, energetic steps into a consistent rein contact are more important in these stages.
Transitions between different gaits or paces are very good to develop a horse's balance and self carriage. Engagement will only take place if your horse is supple and flexible through his back. You can help your horse in this area by working on lateral exercises.
To encourage your horse to transfer its weight to its hindquarters you can teach your horse the half-halt.
Following exercises will also help you to achieve more engagement en self carriage of your horse:
Important note: try to keep your training as relaxed as possible. Tension is the enemy of engagement and self carriage.
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