From: Dawn Lawson
Hi Jessica,
A quick question regarding terminology...
What is the equipment known as a dressage tiedown? I have seen a local trainer using drawreins attached from girth between front legs, through bit to saddle, and also as above, but going back to girth through front legs after passing through the bit. These were used while longing, although I seem to remember them being used while riding too.
I am interested in your opinon on their use, as well as if this is indeed what is called a "dressage tiedown". Personally, I wouldn't use them, as I don't see how they improve a horse's carriage beyond the external "picture" the horse presents, inthat it brings their head into "position" without increasing impulsion or collection. Am I on track?
Thanks Dawn
The short answer is that there is NO such thing as a "dressage tie-down." From your description, I would say that you were seeing (a) draw reins and (b) Vienna side reins. These are occasionally used by good trainers, but the key word is OCCASIONALLY. Adusted loosely, such items MAY be used, on rare occasions, by a top trainer, to help a horse find and understand a different balance that will then be confirmed WITHOUT the equipment. But most of the time, you are more likely to see these and other pieces of equipment being used to FORCE the horse into a specific, static position to create a particular head-and-neck silhouette. This is not training! My personal reaction to the regular use of draw reins, and to 90% of the use of Vienna side reins, as well as to the many other available gadgets ("neckstretchers" etc.) is to leave and go somewhere else. ;-)
The longer answer is that dressage is not about gadgets, it's about training -- it MEANS "training". There is no place for gadgets and forceful methods when someone embarks upon the systematic, progressive training of a horse.
Anything that exists to create a "head-set" is contrary to the purpose and aim of dressage. And this isn't just bad for the horses -- it is bad for the riders as well.
Sad to say, the less people know, the more equipment their horses wear, and I've seen several "dressage training barns" in which students who knew no better are taught "dressage" on horses wearing "dressage tiedowns". These items varied barn by barn -- they were usually either Western-style cable tie-downs, English-style standing martingales adjusted VERY tightly, or Vienna side reins. The barn owners/instuctors weren't professional sadists, as you might think, but they WERE utterly, dismally ignorant about dressage.
In every case, the stated aims were "to keep the horses in a good position" and "to teach the rider what dressage position feels like." And in every case, the horses and riders showed precisely why this cannot work: the horses were unhappy, cramped and overbent, moving stiffly with short, choppy strides, and the riders had learned to maintain a posed position as long as the horses didn't move their backs. This meant that the riders could stay on and steer, but only as long as they used those horses and that equipment. Many of them who tried to take a lesson, or even go on a trail ride, elsewhere found that although they might have spent several years taking these "dressage lessons", they had no idea how to ride a horse.
The instructors' STATED goals could, and should, have been achieved -- but in other ways. Horses that are fit, sound, and correctly trained will move correctly and BE in a "good position". Riders who are started individually, on the longeline, and are not given reins until they have achieved balance and can follow the horse's movement, will learn a good seat and understand exactly what it feels like.
Here are the first few lines of the FEI definition of dressage:
***** The object of Dressage is the harmonious development of the physique and ability of the horse. As a result it makes the horse calm, supple, loose and flexible but also confident, attentive and keen, thus achieving perfect understanding with his rider.
These qualities are achieved by: a) The freedom and regularity of the paces b) The harmony, lightness and ease of the movements c) The lightness of the forehand and the engagement of the hindquarters, originating in a lively impulsion; d) The acceptance of the bridle with submissiveness throughout and without any tenseness or resistance. *****
and later, the definition specifies
**** "...the horse obeys willingly and without hesitation and responds to the various aids calmly and with precision, displaying a natural and harmonious balance both physically and mentally." ****
There is no place anywhere in that definition for fear or force -- or for gadgetry. A "dressage tie-down" is a contradiction in terms.
Don't lose your good eye -- you're seeing very clearly, and you're absolutely right about the "picture" vs the reality. Only the ignorant can accept this sort of "picture" -- for those who know horses (not necessarily dressage experts, mind you, but anyone who understands horses and how they move), the reality creates a more attractive picture than any gadget could ever attempt to approximate.
Let me leave you with one more quote, which truly says it all:
"If training has not made a horse more beautiful, nobler in carriage, more attentive in his behavior, revealing pleasure in his own accomplishment...then he has not truly been schooled in dressage." -Col. Handler
Jessica
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