28/06/2025
// Training Tip Tuesday - Training and testing self-carriage //
The importance of training self-carriage cannot be overstated. The benefits to the horse are huge because when the horse is trained to maintain his own speed line and outline, he is free from pressure and pain. If you train by the methodology of holding the rhythm and line with the hands and legs, the horse is a prisoner and is constantly bombarded with aids.
Furthermore, this leads inevitably to the need for stronger aids. So throughout training, it is important to develop habits where you regularly release your rein and leg(s) contact for just 2 strides. For the reins it means running your hands for ward and mildly looping the reins. Releasing for any more than 2 strides should mean that your horse will lengthen his neck until he reaches contact.
Self-carriage should be tested regularly in horses at every level. It is not for the rider to say the horse is light, it is up to the horse to tell you. When you release the reins forward, if the horse is in an uncomfortable outline or one that he is not ready for, he will, within the 2 strides, immediately lengthen his neck. If he has not had correct training in rhythm, he will accelerate, and if he has not had correct training in straightness, he will drift and become crooked.
This is an excerpt from the 'Academic Horse Training' ebook.
