11/15/2022
Interesting.
Credit to-Oriane Descours
For an educational post.
My 2 cents, that I've tried to put in a very easy way to understand.
In red, lines that are assessed on their own (from left to right):
- the vertical line starting from the point of the butt allow us to compare the hoof placement to the vertical limit of retraction. In other words, the vertical line indicates the spot the hoof should leave the ground of you are looking for an upward thrust (and not a racing trot). A similar vertical line is drawn from the approximate placement of the gravity center of the horse to look at front hoof placement. In this case, the hind hoof is pushing forward while the front hoof is pushing upward. Moreover, the front hoof in the air is going farther than the nose (which is restricted in posture): we usually call that "open behind, closed in front" and it is the opposite of dressage's ideal.
- back line is going down, indicating the absence of back lift and potential back pain if posture is maintained
- rider is tilted backward, indicating a lack of balance on his part. It can be because of the lack of longitudinal balance from the horse (see the back line), lack of saddle balance or poor riding skills. It does not help the balance of the horse anyway.
- the alignment elbow-hand-mouth is not so bad (so we may probably forget the poor riding skills)
- horizontal line (taken from the background) indicates that the highest point is C2-C3 and not the poll. The first circle underlines the "broken cervicals" symptom from regular work behind the vertical. This symptom is associated with excessive stretch of the nuchal ligament and pain.
- The vertical line shows the angle of the head compared to the vertical. In this case, the forehead is almost on the vertical, so from a regulatory standpoint, it is almost ok. However, scientific studies have shown that the head should be on the vertical at most, not just the forehead. An objective angle is shown in yellow, which is the point of shoulder-poll-mouth angle (or poll angle). The normal angle is dependent on the head height compared to wither. In this case, it is too close IMO (I did not take the time to measure it and compare it to normal angle, it is my experience assessing and measuring such an angle talking, but feel free to do it to confirm it yourself 😉 )
- circles around the head show a facial expression of discomfort (again, I have not detailed, it is my experience talking, I invite you to compare the picture with the facial pain scale to make up your own opinion) + excessive salivation + excessive tension on the bit (which could be temporary and should be assessed with caution) + poor bridle fit (hindering ATM and too close to the eyes)
I could also talk about muscle development (the most visible and easy to assess is the dip in front of the wither indicating an atrophy of the trapezius) but it would not be an evaluation of "that moment in time" (and less beginner friendly)
Then you can look at the pairs of lines:
- green lines show the forearms and the hind cannons. They should be parallel, so as to demonstrate the synchronicity of fore and hind legs (which is the basis of pure gait in trot and the diagonal in canter). Here they are not, and the front is more horizontal, indicating a bigger muscular effort to lift the front knee than the hind.
- blue lines are taken from pasterns on the ground. The most horizontal line shows the leg bearing the most weight. Here it is the front leg. Dressage is about balance, so it should at least be equal between front and hind, and at a certain level you look for more weight on the hind leg than the front.
- pink lines are the angles of the legs on the ground, which (again) should be identical and are not. The comparison shows that the horse retracts more the hind leg ("trailing behind") than the front leg.
Overall, this is not what we are looking for in a dressage test, but it may or may not be a moment in time and the rider may or may not do better at home. At least we can learn a lot for this picture about what not to do 😉
