There is this lovely place that you will reach with your horse in your training where you are working together. Both of you are invested in creating a desired outcome. This point is usually when you can begin to create and maintain consistent contact. It’s like an unwritten agreement between the two of you.
And once consistent contact is created and can be maintained for longer periods, you can then begin to think about how that energy will work for both of you from this point…
Impulsion is a word that is bandied about a lot when it comes to horses and riding. Many riders, incorrectly, associate it with speed. The faster you’re going the more impulsion you’re creating. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth… And how you influence the channel for this energy is where it all begins…
This episode of the Daily Strides Podcast is the first in a week of 5 lessons about Engaging the Energy in a Correct Channel. If you would like the rest of the lessons for this training, you can get them inside of Daily Strides Premium.
The Training Scale
Before we go any further, I do think that it’s important for you to see where impulsion lies or comes in relation to the other training principles. Now, there are lots of different layouts for the traditional training scale, however, let’s take the most basic one (pictured below) and use that to see what’s what.
A great way to think of impulsion is as being the channel to help you and your horse achieve more with the energy that you’re creating. It will channel the energy more specifically to where you want it to go and you influence this channel. It will also allow less wastage so energy can work for both of you rather than against you.
Visiting Each of the Principles
I am a big believer in visiting places. This is both in my day-to-day life (have passport, will travel!) and when it comes to training riders and horses. So often, riders hold themselves back from working on something because they have not yet 100% mastered something else. I think this hinders and slows down the progress and the understanding of horse and rider.
I love using the straightness principle to explain this. I think all horses can work towards straightness from day 1 of their training. Does it mean that they will master it? No, that takes years. But by regularly visiting it, it helps both horse and rider to understand the principle more. This is the same as impulsion. And when getting started with impulsion, I strongly suggest thinking about how you influence this channel of energy.
If you were to only think about impulsion when you felt ‘ready’ to ride and maintain consistent impulsion, you would never actually get to impulsion…
Through experimenting and visiting different principles you begin exploring how they work for you and your horse. And how you can work on improving them in your riding and training. This is true for all horses, whether or not they are OTTBs.
Feeling Nervous About the Possibilities
One of the reasons riders shy away from visiting impulsion with their horse is because they worry about the consequences. Especially if their horse is known for having quite a bit of potential energy to work and play with. Ex-racehorses or OTTBs often fall into this category. Even before we explore impulsion, so many riders are afraid to ask for ‘forward’ in their riding.
When riders either fail to ask for energy or block the energy that is being created by the horse, true forwardness and therefore, impulsion can not happen. Energy is absolutely essential. As too is allowing that energy to flow.
This is the same for all of the principles of the training scale. Energy is required. So my suggestion is to work on this first. Notice if you’re feeling any resistance or excessive tension to asking for more energy. And once you are certain that you are happy and able to allow it to flow, continue on with your work.
Working in the Trot
I suggest starting in the rising or posting trot. Begin riding an exercise where you travel down the long side of the arena on the outside track. However, rather than simply going large, you will travel back up the arena on the quarter line. Pass the middle of the short side first (so this could be the 3/4 line). You are cutting 5m off the width of your arena.
You can use the long side to correct and set things up for you and your horse. You can then use the quarter line to ‘test’ or experiment with how well you and your horse can maintain things.
You will then use the following principle of the training scale to begin testing if you can really maintain the impulsion while on the quarter line. This is straightness. The only way you can achieve true straightness is if you and your horse can truly channel that energy using impulsion.
Any horse and rider can maintain everything when they are stopped and stationary. It is in the movement; the relaxation, rhythm, suppleness, contact, impulsion, and straightness that you really get to see what areas need work.
What To Look For…
I’m going to suggest first looking at your hands. How are you carrying them and holding them as you travel down the quarterline with your horse? All of your aids influence the channel. Many riders do so well until it comes to their hands. They then find that they are blocking the channel there. So open your hands a little wider than usual, maintain that lovely softness through the contact and that steadiness with your horse’s mouth.
When you ‘straighten out’ your hands (meaning that they are equal and soft) you can engage the contact more.
From here, open your chest and shoulders. Give your upper body the room it needs to move with the horse and use this energy. And then think about your core. Are you again opening it and allowing the energy to flow? Again, you can only work with the energy once it is flowing. You may notice that your hips and seat can swing more and become more of an active part of the conversation with your horse.
Symmetry to Influence the Channel
One of the final places where you can really be guilty of blocking this flow is through your posting. Often riders will twist their upper bodies or shove one hip slightly more forward than the other in the trot. Try and assess yourself to make sure that you are rising and falling equally on both sides of your body. That your shoulders and seat remain aligned with the straightness at all times.
By taking the time to really ‘straighten yourself out’ while allowing the flow of the energy, you will then be ready to truly begin to influence the channel. To better direct that energy to work for you and your horse.
We go into detail using more exercises on how to begin working on this with your horse in the following lessons to this episode. You can find all of them (and so much more) inside of Daily Strides Premium.
Happy Riding
Lorna
Other OTTB & Impulsion Episodes to Help You
Online Training to Help Your Riding
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