Collection is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Western and English riding. Everyone wants it, but few people know how to get it. World-class rider, trainer, and clinician Lynn Palm now offers the one and only book that explains away the mysteries of collection while telling you exactly how to attain it. With 30 years experience riding and training champion all-around performance horses, and a background in dressage, Lynn has perfected an easy-to-use system of exercises that gradually collect any type of horse, regardless of his build, and that are of particular value to stock horse breeds such as Quarter Horses, Paints, and Appaloosas.
Lynn assures us that every horse can achieve and move in a collected frame with time and patience, and learning how to bring him into true collection helps you improve his performance; create a more willing equine partner; extend his physical and mental longevity; and enjoy riding him even more than you already do. Real collection proves elusive becauseOCountil nowOCothe instructions for achieving it have been complex, incomplete, or even incorrect. The result (false collection) is often based on a forced headset and little else. This is uncomfortable and unhealthy for the horse, and can lead to behavioral problems and physical breakdown.
Real collection is actually a complete tail-to-nose package of supple muscle and hind-end-generated impulsion: the hind legs step further under the body, the horseOCOs back rounds, he flexes at the poll, and the riderOCOs seat, legs, and hands connect it all. It is with this OC frame, OCO as it has come to be called, that the horse becomes more athleticOCohis forehand lightens, enabling him to maneuver his front end more quickly, his steps become cadenced, and his movement free-flowing.
To achieve this desirable OC fluidity, OCO Lynn begins on the ground with in-hand exercisesOCofree lungeing, ground-driving, and lungeing-and-bittingOCoto gain the horseOCOs trust and improve his responses to cues and commands. She then explains how you start in the saddle with simple transitionsOCosuch as haltOCowalkOCohaltOCoand gradually progress through stages that include more difficult transitions between gaits and markers; lengthening and shortening of stride; yielding on diagonal, straight, and curving lines; turns on the forehand and haunches; shoulder-in and shoulder-fore; haunches-in and haunches-out; half-pass; and simple and flying lead changes.
As the horse gains conditioning and increases his strength over time, long-and-low work and stretching down encourage him to OC giveOCO to the bit and flex at the poll. This, in coordination with LynnOCOs progressive exercises and training figures such as loops, figure eights, and serpentines, eventually leads to the beautiful, balanced frame of the responsive, collected horse that every rider dreams of: happy, healthy, willing, and ready to be competitive in the show pen or just simply a great pleasure to ride."
About the Author: Lynn Palm is one of the foremost and respected horsewomen in the world and was named 2007 AQHA Horsewoman of the Year. She is a regular contributor to "Dressage Today," "Horse & Rider," and "Horse Illustrated," and is the author of "Longevity Training "and "Lynn Palm's Head-to-Toe Horsemanship." She lives in Ocala, Florida. Stacy Pigott is the editorial director of "TRACK "magazine, and her articles have appeared in the "Appaloosa Journal," the "Los Angeles Times," and the "Quarter Racing Journal." She lives in Springtown, Texas.