Horse hanging its head down.

Horse losing impulsion.

Horse pulling reins out of rider's hands.

Horse getting faster.

Horse hiding BEHIND the vertical.

(all of the above are a rider's error...)

Rider not allowing enough rein.

Rider spreading arms out.

Rider leading with reins.

Rider not encouraging needed impulsion.

Rider picking up reins without leg support.

Rider pulling horse's head up in transition.

Rider not definite with transitions.

Rider throwing reins away. (Klaus Fraesdorff, judge)

But, sometimes having the nose a little in is better than having the nose out. Gerhard Politz says that when the horse is on the stretching circle and "in a deep stretch, his nose may be either in front of or slightly behind the vertical, although he should not "curl" his neck and come excessively behind the bit " (Politz 57). If the horse drops contact with the bit, he is behind the bit. But, in long and low it is possible for the horse to be slightly behind the vertical but not behind the bit, as long as the rider maintains contact with the reins.

To me it is much worse when the horse stretches down but locks in the poll and jaw. At that point, there are none of the benefits of the exercise. "Riders who don’t have enough driving capacity from their aids cannot keep the horse connected from behind. Instead of making the horse stretch the correct way in order to loosen the back muscles, they just let the reins go. In consequence, the horse pulls the reins out of the hand, sticking the nose out. Tense all over the body, the horse rushes away with quick, uneven steps and cannot find the rhythm" (Von Ziegner 44).

And finally, it may be that some of the strengthening benefits are lost when the horse sticks his nose out. If you look at the pictures of the rider, you can see when the rider has stretched the neck. A digital image manipulation shows that same picture when the neck is raised to the poll with the highest point. The horse appears "strung out" and the back is not raised at all. In the second set of pictures, the horse appears "behind the vertical," but when his head is placed back in position with the poll as the highest point, you see horse with his back up, his hocks pushing, a horse who is "through" his back.

Beginning stretch, some bend in poll

Head raised with poll the highest point

Better stretch, keeping bend in poll

Head raised with poll the highest point

In Dressage Today February 1999 Dr. Hilary Clayton says: "Sometimes movement in one part of the spine correlates with movement in another region. An example of this is when the head and neck are lowered, the back is rounded, and conversely when the head and neck are raised the back hollows. To maximize the rounding affect of the horse's back, the outline of the neck should be low and deep (flexion of the cervical region), often seen by Olympic gold medalist Nicole Uphoff when warming up Rembrandt, rather than low and stretched forward (extension of the cervical region). This explains why working the horse in a deep round frame is beneficial for stretching the topline of the back. If the horse’s nose is poking forward it reduces the effect of rounding the back, which is less useful for training but may be okay for relaxation"

Although you certainly don’t need your training or first level horse as deep as Rembrandt, in schooling you might find it more beneficial to ride the stretching circle where the horse finds it naturally comfortable, whether it is a few degrees in front of the vertical or a few degrees behind. In showing, you might ride the movement differently to please the judge.

How to:

Introduce the movement: You can introduce long and low at the walk. A good exercise is called combing the reins. As you are walking on the bit, take the buckle of your reins between your second and third finger of your right hand. Then raise the buckle slowly toward your chest. As you raise your right hand, have the left hand start by the withers and with the same two fingers, comb up toward the right hand. By the time the left hand comes to the buckle, the right hand reaches down and continues to comb, right then left and so on. The horse should quickly start chewing and relaxing his jaw, then reaching for the contact. As he stretches the neck down, let the reins and hands follow. You can easily lengthen the reins as you comb, just by moving the hands back toward the withers. If he lifts his head, comb again. If he stays down, just sit quietly, on contact, on a long rein. The benefit to combing the reins as to just throwing the reins away is that, with combing, one hand always has contact with the bit, a prerequisite to chewing the reins out of the hands.

Another way to introduce long and low is to use it as a reward. After a particularly good movement, do a transition back to medium walk, always riding your transitions up and on the bit. As soon as the horse is established in medium walk, ask him to stretch down, keeping the contact, and chewing the bit out of the hands. Praise him, then let him walk on a loose rein, in free walk.

Cavaletti also encourage the horse to stretch down. Reiner Klimke’s small book, Cavaletti is your best source for distances and exercises, but simply setting down one, then three, but no more than 4 walk poles is a good place to start. The walk poles can be set at 3 or 4 feet and adjusted to your horse’s stride.

Riding the movement:

When the horse begins to show signs that he is not comfortable long and low, ask for a few more steps. Then, when it is your idea, not his, pick him up.

The same works when you are doing collected work. Don't wait for him to yank the reins through your hands to stretch--offer first. If he chews the reins through your hands a little, but doesn't stretch way down, ask for a step or two and assume he's telling you he's just fine "up" and on the bridle. If he's starting to get heavy in your hands and showing signs of wanting to stretch, ask for a few more steps of collection, then let him stretch.

If he stays down awhile then starts to look around or go flat, he's telling you it's time to come up. Like collection and extension, being on the bit and being long and low go hand in hand.

Like most elements of dressage, the stretching circle has 3 parts: the transition into, the stretching itself, and the transition out.

Beginning the circle: The transition to the stretching circle should be ridden like any other transition—don’t ask unless the horse is up, on the bit, and quietly on the aids. If you have to wait a few steps to get him there, a late correct transition is always better than a hasty, wrong one. So, be sure your horse is together, then half halt. I like a little extra leg in the half halt because I want my horse to push from behind, not fall on his nose. I wait until the horse responds to the half halt by chewing, so that I always start the stretchy chewy circle with a chew! Then just slip the reins, giving as much as he’ll take while still on contact.

Power Stretch: While the horse is forward and down, keep the outside rein in contact but stretching and reward with the inside rein by softening it completely. If you want to add a lot of power from the hind quarters, and bring the back up even more, give the inside rein enough that you don't bop him in the mouth, and try this:

Keep your whip on the inside. As the horse is stretching down and stays connected from the inside leg to outside rein, give with the inside rein, but let your whip reach back and touch him on the hip every stride. This helps keep the engagement and keeps him from getting flat. You may only need a few taps, so stop the second he powers.

You can use the whip behind the leg or on the horse’s hip. This is your choice. I teach my horses to go forward from the whip on the hip and sideways from the whip behind the leg.

Ending the circle: I like this method because it's efficient and the horse comes up connected from back to front and bending around the inside leg.

1. While the horse is still long, REALLY bend him around your inside leg. Eventually this will become his signal to come up.

2. As he starts to come up, take the OUTSIDE rein first. Don't fumble with the reins, use one hand to help the other like you would when picking the horse up after a free walk. (I like this method also when going from free walk to medium walk).

3. Just shorten your inside rein, but keep it soft. Even give with it as soon as it's short.

What this does is it immediately connects the horse from inside leg to outside rein. It keeps the added engagement you've found in the inside hind leg. It also helps the horse come up without a fuss. It should be one smooth movement, although I broke it into steps.

Not bringing back up:

Some horses will telescope the neck, but won’t bring their hocks under or their backs up. A useful method, if the rider is balanced and the horse is not too much on his forehand, is to ride the movement in jumping position, a half seat or a light seat. This lightens the rider’s seat totally and frees the horse’s back completely. I don’t recommend it if the horse is a stumbler or is totally out of balance. Here I am riding Chicho in a light seat at rising trot to improve the stretch over the topline.

Bringing the head back up, gawking around:

Pick the horse up and put him back to work. He isn’t focused enough to stay down. It’s unfortunate if this happens in a test, but you can try combing the reins to see if you can coax him back down. You can comb the inside rein with your inside hand in the same fashion, so that it is not as obvious.

Losing the circle:

Ride more from your leg and seat.

Use your hips in a more definite posting rhythm. If necessary, pick him up and establish rhythm and relaxation, then try again.

You will know if the horse is behind the bit because he will lose all contact with the bit. Your hands will feel empty like the little birds have flown. You can’t see the crown piece of the bridle, only the crest of his neck. Glance down every once in awhile and try to get the feel quickly, so you aren't looking down in this movement.

Personally, I don't worry too much if the horse comes a little behind the vertical when she is long and low as long as she keeps contact and stays soft in the poll and jaw. What is important to me is if I can amplify the gait. Some horses with not so hot conformation tend to do this. I do NOT like the horse locking in the poll, sticking its nose out and running, because you lose the purpose entirely.

However, if this really bothers you or you need to be able to get the nose out to show, there are corrections. If your horse is safe with a whip, and if you are clever enough with your hands not to bop him in the mouth, you might try this. It worked very well on a little Arab I rode who curled up too much.

Let the horse stretch down (practice at the walk). When the horse curls behind the vertical, gently tap FORWARD with the whip, so you tap him on the chin in rhythm with his step. Stop the instant he pushes his nose out. I had to do this at a trot and canter on a long rein and I survived.

Another thing to do is to think about it like your reins are two sticks and as you ask him to stretch, think about about pushing his neck and nose forward and down with the reins/sticks. In the old days, riding masters actually used something called "rigid reins."

And finally, if you have a groundperson, you can ask the horse to stretch at the halt (very hard to do) while keeping the contact. If the horse curls, the groundperson actually picks the head up and puts it in its place.

Like anything in riding, long and low can be overdone. It is a tool for the toolbox, ready when needed. No horse should be ridden always low, just as no horse should be ridden always up. As the horse advances, the less he should need the exercise, although he should be tested often. More and more, he should be ridden up, not down. "Riders who never had the opportunity to feel the effect of a half-halt on a well trained horse ride long and low forever. Admittedly, this won’t hurt a horse, but it certainly won’t allow him to use his full capacity for demonstrating the brilliance nature has given him" (Von Ziegner 32).

Works Cited