Impulsion is a basic requirement in any riding discipline. Impulsion is the momentum created when the horse engages his hindquarters to propel himself forward and elevates the forehand. Without impulsion, the horse travels on his forehand making any type of athletic work more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. The amount of impulsion required by a western pleasure horse is less than that required by a Grand Prix dressage horse. But, the both horse still need to be working from the hind end forwards rather than pulling himself forward with his front end.
A “forward” or “go-ey” horse does not necessarily have impulsion. However, forward movement is required to create impulsion. Many riders struggle to get their horse’s going forward and get busy in their bodies = squeezing, kicking, and bumping with the legs or pumping with the upper body.
These efforts waste a lot of energy on the rider’s part and are not part of good horsemanship or equitation. Ideally, the rider needs to “aid” the horse to give the movement she wants and the aids should be almost invisible.
Horses, by nature, want to move. So what causes a flight animal to not move? It can be caused by the rider getting in the way, physical discomfort or pain. If it is not comfortable for the horse to go forward, he won’t. So first, let’s review your position to make sure you are not inadvertently creating resistance or inadvertently blocking forward.
You should be sitting so that there is a straight line through your ear, shoulder, hip, and heel. Tuck your tail bone slightly underneath you so that your back is not arched and your butt sticking out behind you. You should be able to feel both seat bones pointing down towards the ground through your saddle. Open your knees so that the knee is not in contact with your saddle. Your thighs fall slightly open and your calf is in contact with your horse’s barrel.
If your position is out of alignment, you will either be “behind the vertical” or “in front of the vertical” and will be out of balance with an insecure seat that will affect your horse’s ability to go forward. If you fall behind this vertical alignment, your lower leg will push out in front of you (sometimes described as having your feet on the dashboard), your balance will be backwards, your upper body will be stiff as you try to balance yourself through your arms and the reins, and you will not have a true, following contact. Your horse will feel pulling or, at the very least, no release from the rein and you have effectively put the brakes on through your upper body. If you fall in front of the vertical line, you will pinch your knees in and your lower leg will be behind you rather than under you. Picture a dam closing off the flow of a river and this is essentially what your pinching knees & thighs are doing to your horse’s forward momentum by applying pressure to the shoulders. Again, your balance is compromised and you will not be able to maintain a supple, following seat or contact.
So, now that you are sitting correctly on your horse with the vertical alignment of your body going through ear, shoulder, hip and heel, let’s look at your horse. When you look at the neck, there will be a slight bend in one direction. Let’s say your horse’s neck is slightly bent to the right. Your right leg is on the inside of the bend and your left leg is on the outside of the bend. Keeping your inside (right) hip slightly forward, aim your belly button along the line of the horse’s neck and between his ears. Make sure your outside (left) shoulder does not come forward or you will lose contact with your left rein and your horse may over flex through his neck. With your inside (right) leg just behind the girth, apply gentle pressure to your horse’s barrel, scoop your seat bones down and forward and soften your inside (right) arm. If your horse does not move forward, check your body to ensure you have not lost your position and there is no tension or bracing anywhere in your body. Scan from your neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists and fingers, and your upper and lower back, hips, and thighs. If you notice tension anywhere, just breathe and release it. Then, ask your horse again to move forward – pressure from the inside leg just behind the girth as the seat bones scoop down and forwards and the inside arm softens. If your horse does not go forward and you are sure you are not restricting him through your position or tension, then you can add the assistance of an artificial aid – a dressage whip. The dressage whip is recommended because it will reach the horse’s flanks (the “go” button) without pulling on the reins or taking a hand off the reins.
Place the dressage whip in your inside hand with the lash end of the whip pointing back towards the horse’s flank. Still maintaining the bend, ask again for forward from inside leg and seat and then give a light tap on the flanks with the whip. Depending on how “shut down” your horse is, you may need to repeat this step 3 or 4 times before your horse goes forward. As soon as he takes a step allow your seat to follow, soften your shoulders and elbows and breathe. If you want to create more forward movement, you give the same aids – pressure from the inside leg (but only as the barrel swings out, in this case, to the left), pushing from your seat bones (in time with the swing of your horse’s hips – left seat bone, then right seat bone), and a light tap from the whip (if needed) as the barrel swings out.
By working with the horse’s natural movement, and ensuring your body is supple, balanced and correctly aligned, you will be allowing your horse to move forward. This is the first step towards creating impulsion.
Anne Gage is a Gold Level trainer certified in the Chris Irwin method of horsemanship. She teaches adult riders to confidently work with their horses, improve their riding skills and bring the joy back into their riding experience. Her training and coaching methods are based on building mutual trust & respect between horse and human. Anne coaches and trains clients out of High Point Farm near Orangeville, Ontario, Canada and also travels to other locations giving one & two day clinics, workshops and private sessions. For more information, visit her website http://www.annegage.com
