Contact is the only one of the six steps – rhythm, relaxation, contact, straightness, impulsion and collection – that describes a relationship between the horse and rider, rather than merely a quality in the horse’s way of going. “Contact is the soft, steady connection between the rider’s hand and the horse’s mouth,” says Wendy Christoff. “The horse should go rhythmically forward from the rider’s driving aids and “seek” a contact with the rider’s hand, thus “going onto” the contact. A correct, steady contact allows the horse to find its balance under the rider and find a rhythm in each of its gaits.”

Where riders misunderstand the concept of contact, Christoff believes, is that they think only about the physical contact from the hand to the rein and the horse’s mouth. “A common image used in describing contact is the one used by coaches to their students when they tell them to imagine holding a bird in their hand. Don’t hold on so tightly that you kill it, but hold on enough that you don’t let it fly away.” But contact is far more than just that feeling in the hands. “Contact is connection. It’s the feeling from the back of the horse to the front. It’s acceptance of the bridle, and it’s also the feeling of the horse underneath you, as opposed to out behind or out in front of you.”

Always From Back to Front – leg yield

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