Jasmin Becker and De Libris 

2011 Recipients of a grant from the Renee Isler Dressage Support Fund

Achieving Throughness through Contact
By Jasmin Becker

Many people ask, "What is throughness?"  A rider cannot achieve throughness without contact.  I thought I knew what both were; however, that was not the case.  It took a break-through lesson with Nick Wagman, FEI Trainer and Grand Prix rider, to open my eyes.  He said, "It all comes down to basics, after that the horse will decide if it is truly a Grand Prix horse."  Nick and I wanted to share this article with the dressage community in hopes that this will help riders achieve a better understanding of throughness, contact, and having a horse move up the levels correctly.

Backing up a bit, I was fortunate to receive two grants - one from The Dressage Foundation, and the other from the American Horse Trials Association.  The funding was used to train with Nick over the months of April, May, and part of June 2011.  I had just lost my International Grand Prix horse, Romie.  I was shattered but I moved forward with the grants to train with Nick.  Nick accepted me and my 9-year-old De Niro x Ex Libris gelding and said, "Let's train."  One of the things that most impressed me about Nick is that he said he gets excited about "making horses and seeing them improve."  I wasn't quite sure what we could do with De Libris, as I had not paid as much attention to him as I had with my Grand Prix horse.  De Libris had done the 70-day stallion testing and achieved 3rd in the dressage index, but then was sent out to pasture as a naturally breeding stallion.  I bought him as a 5-year-old, coming 6, and showed him through the levels through Fourth 1.  Now, as a 9-year-old, the plan was 4th pushing through Prix St. Georges.

The training started on the first Monday in April.  It started with Nick getting on De Libris and feeling him out to "get him on the program."   Without effort, Nick figured out all of De Libris' evasions.  He didn't want to come through the neck and accept contact.  He would dive above or below the bit.  He would also spit out the bit.  In addition, he did not know to carry behind and he was not supple through the rib cage.  We were at a crux in our training.  Without even really knowing it, I needed a lot of help.  Nick dove in and immediately seized the problem.  The first work was getting De Libris to work from his hind end.  We did haunches-in at the walk, trot, and canter.  We tried to get him evenly into both sides of the bit. 

The work and exercises described below are very methodical, and good results are achieved if the training is followed.  Here are some tips to help achieve true contact and throughness with your horse.

Horses that are weak in the hind end, such as De Libris, will brace if you go into a downward or upward transition.  They will also brace if you challenge the hind legs.  Therefore, when your horse braces against you, do not ride backwards, whether you are in the gait or in an upward or downward transition.  According to Nick, you should send the horse's hind legs forward, and then you can re-group.  He says, "The hind legs are first and foremost.  Then you can ask for the depart again.  In a downward transition, if you horse wants to fall apart by coming above or below the bit, send him forward first, regroup, and ask again.  Horses work better when you rock the boat and you challenge them.  You must keep riding.  You must ride a powerful hind end, but it must be through to the contact."

Riding through to the contact means that the horse must be working through the neck at the wither.  This can be evasive if you don't know what it feels like.  If your horse drops you by evading the bit - dropping the bit, coming above the bit, or spitting the bit out - you as the rider must follow his mouth.  You should feel both corners of his mouth at all times.  You cannot let him drop you.  You need to have almost a rubber band feeling with your elbow to the bit.  If your horse lets go, then you need to push forward to find the contact.  You can move up or sideways with the rein, with your driving leg but never backward.  Finding the bit means connecting the hind end over your horse's back to the bit.

Once you find contact, you will start to see a bulge in the muscle right in front of the wither.  It is very exciting, because your horse will be pushing honestly from behind the bit with his neck.  This is coming through the neck.  When you start feeling this contact and throughness, then you can start bringing the horse back or collect.  Nick says, "A rider must ride positively from the hind end with roundness; however, you always want to keep the sensitivity from behind.  If you lost the sensitivity, then you need to shake things up so the horse will be more sensitive off your leg.  Your horse must always be forward thinking."

One exercise that is very good is to think about changing the tempo of his hind legs without changing the base of the neck.  The neck must stay the same.  If it doesn't, then you must bring the horse forward from behind, find that honest contact through a bending line, haunches-in or a halt, and start again.

Another good exercise is to pick the horse's weakest gait.  De Libris has a lot of trouble in the canter.  Therefore, we have been trying to tackle this problem to build his strength.  Nick says, "You can bring the canter back with haunches-in, but if your horse wants to drop the contact you cannot let him.  The horse must believe that he cannot get out of the contact.  If you give him an inch, he will take a mile.  You, as the rider, must stay true to his training.  Challenge the hind legs, feel your horse's mouth, have him come through the neck and then you can go on a straight line.  You cannot let him drop you, you must stay with him as you constantly challenge the hind legs."  Another way to describe a horse dropping the contact is if you say "your horse presses up."  Once again, you must challenge the hind legs.  You can do this with a circle or haunches-in or a halt transition.   But your horse must think forward, never backward.

We have upped the ante on De Libris and he wants to press up in the canter.  However, I must keep challenging his hind legs to get him to become round while pushing through his neck at the wither.  When he is working his whole body correctly, he is sweaty from the tail to the poll.  That is when you know your horse is working correctly.  By the way, we only work a half-hour per day!  Let me tell you, it is not easy work, but you will certainly get results, including cadence in the trot.  Also, this is the only way to achieve true self-carriage.

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