I remember the first time I heard this strange word, "entwickeln."  I wasn't sure what to make of it.  Was it a real word?

And if it was a real word, what the heck did it mean?

I don't know how many riders tried to explain this to me, leaving me feeling more than slightly dense.

In all the reading I had done, I had never come across such a term before, making my frustration just that much more intense.

I heard about how wonderful entwickeln was, how great is was for helping with suppleness, with straightness, with building the strength of the inside hind leg.  And arghhhh, I had no clue what they were talking about.

It seems the master, Herr Walter Zettl, was the one to blame for everyone talking about this exercise.  We heard whispers that if you were going to take a clinic with Zettl, well, you'd better be dang sure you went into that arena prepared and knowing what the entwickeln was!

To add to my confusion, it appeared that the entwickeln had endless variations:  walk, trot, canter, shoulder-in and haunches-in.  I felt like I was going mad.

Then, one day, a friend sent me a video with the very kind permission of Herr Zettl.  The video showed a lesson at one of Herr Zettl's clinics, and lo and behold, the veils of mystery were finally lifted.  I finally got to see the "ENTWICKELN"!!!

And so much more than that, I got to see it in all of its endless permutations, so exquisitely done that it was a wonder to behold.  And of course, once seen, it was incredibly easy to understand.  Perhaps not so easy  to execute.  But finally I understood!!

I think I was luckier than most.  I don't know if the entwickeln can be truly appreciated if you have not seen it done by someone who has the finesse, the talent and the horse to make you appreciate the subtleties of this exquisite movement.  This exercise envelopes your horse, front and back and from one side to the other, creating permutations and throughness that are visible to the naked eye.  I was fortunate in that I got to see the entwickeln done by a rider whom Herr Zettl has said reminds him of himself in his younger days.

You, too, will understand.  We would like to extend our thanks to both Herr Zettl and Eddo Hoekstra for their graciousness in allowing us to share a video of a lesson that I think is more for our benefit than it was for theirs.

Come take a look at this special video and finally gain understanding of the entwickeln.