Is forward always good?

A tendency within the dressage sport lately has been to favour horses with a hotter temperament.
Which is not always so easy to ride unfortunately.
I have seen some riding lately that has made me wonder.
Riding in high tempo, with horses out of balance and on the forhand.

So when one of the dressage Nestors in Sweden, Bo Tibblin, had a post in the major Swedish equestrian magazine a while back where he touched this subject, I read with interest.
He was reflecting on what he sees in dressage shows on regional level.
He is looking for the basics in dressage riding, i.e. balance, rhythm, exactness and supportive riding - but is seeing much of a constructed balance which has its origin in the hands of the rider, and where the horse is working in such a high tempo that balanced turns and movements are made impossible.
And as a result he questions the education of trainers and judges.

I find this very interesting, also his conclusion that you have to look at the source, with those who set the standards - judges and trainers.

I am returning to the dressage basics again - but it is really such a good base to work from, so you have to excuse me for being repetitive.
The German training scale is acknowledged all over the world as the base for dressage education for the horse.
It is like follows:

Rhythm
Suppleness
Contact
Impulsion
Straightness
Collection

The first three makes the foundation, and are so important as they aim for the horse to rediscover his balance under the rider.
So what do they mean?

Rhythm. The horse has to have a clear four-beat walk, a trot that keeps the same rhythm in collection and extension, and a true three-beat canter where you also keep the rhythm in movements, collections and extensions. Rhythm is a function of mental and physical relaxation. A tense horse often loses the rhythm.

Suppleness. The horse has to be loose and supple in the body, without any tensions or stiffnesses. The horse has to swing over the back to achieve a forward motion without locking up in neck, poll or hocks. He has to flex in the body and tackle changes in direction or gaits without tensing up or changing rhythm.

Contact. It is not only contact to the bit, but an acceptance of the rider's seat and aids. We need the horse to accept and respond to the aids while keeping a round outline with a soft,steady and even contact on the bit and with a relaxed jaw and mouth.

These first three building blocks are linked together, intertwined.

Far too often you can see riders that tries to solve a contact problem (getting the horse on the bit) by sending the horse forward in an attempt to get "impulsion", while forgetting about the rhythm and suppleness.

It won't work.

So what happens if you put in more energy than the horse can handle?

He will run, increase speed and get on the forehand. And you will lose balance and rythm. And he might tense up, or you might get problems with the contact as he either gets heavy in the hands through being on the forhand, or braces against you.
Maybe it is the request of suppleness/relaxation that most often is sacrificed or forgotten?
It takes time to build the necessary strength, balance and understanding in the horse. There are no real shortcuts. And your horse has to work in a relaxed frame of mind if he is to learn in an efficient way.

If your ground is weak, you will get problems in the work to come.

We have to get the first three building blocks established first before we can get to the second phase - the development of thrust from the hindquarters, impulsion.
Impulsion is that which creates the beautiful spring in the steps, the ability to carry in the hindlegs and the power and grace of the dressage horse.

Only when the horse through consistent training has aquired strength enough we can put in more energy and get the horse to move with more impulsion - while keeping the balance, the rhythm, and staying supple - and not only speed on forward.

All forward is not good.

Forward does not equal impulsion.

Now reading this it sounds a bit black and white, and riding is not that easy - is it?
What we are speaking about here is really a marsh full of shades of grey, where it is so easy to step wrong.

Problem is that a dressage horse needs a lot of energy, and he needs to be alert and ready to go forward at all times – being in front of the leg. This often creates some tenseness in the horse, which can be everything from clearly visible to very subtle.
It is so very much a balancing act, and where the pitfalls are situated is depending on each individual horse and rider.
Some horses easily tense up, other loses the rhythm.
Some have problems with the contact.

I am so very grateful to my instructors, who help me to perform this balancing act.
It is a continuous struggle, because to get the necessary hind leg activity you have to have energy in the horse, and during this work you will inevitably also run into problems with rhythm, suppleness and/or contact which has to be addressed and solved.

It is imperative that our guides, the trainers and the judges, are clear and consistent about what is correct.

Otherwise we might get lost on the way.