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DECEMBER 2006 • VOLUME 16 • © HORSES For LIFE™ Magazine
To understand and evaluate any training method, we must begin with understanding why. Why is it that one of our prime evaluations of good movement is the horse reaching forward underneath himself with his hind leg? Why would this be considered necessary or good? The horse striding underneath himself is something that we are told that we are supposed to strive for. Reaching forward for what? If we know for what, then the how becomes an answer as well. Too often we see riders and trainers following training traditions or even fads without truly understanding the complete picture. If one does not understand the full picture, if one does not understand why, there is no way to judge the various training practices or judge when enough is enough or when it is too much. Reaching for the hind leg is one of those concepts. Again and again we are told we want the horse to reach forward with his hind legs, so much so, we find those new to riding asking first one watcher and then another to watch their horse, to see how far their horse is overtracking. They cajole, encourage, push, their horse on and on, one inch, two. Three is better. Four is getting closer. Did you see that, we got five today? Six, whee! But I know we can do more! They have only one method of measurement of the progress of the horse. How far that hind leg will reach. How is never thought about, is never addressed. No importance is attached how and why. So what is the reason? Why do we want the horse to reach forward? How is this supposed to make the horse better? How can it help? We want the horse to reach forward for only one reason. Not to go further, not to go faster, but
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