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Apart from conditioning the bending of the horse is a basic condition for a successful training. Only the correct bending makes a horse so supple that it can implement also complex maneuvers.
First the horse must learn to follow the slightly pulled rein with his head into the desired direction without resistance. To do so, one rides a closer circle to the left and take the slack out slightly out of your left rein. The right rein must absolutely hang slack in order to cause no contradictory signal (pic). The natural reaction of a horse to the slight pressure of the left rein is,to fight against this pressure by turning the head against the rein. This reaction is normally seen at horses while breaking or at horses who never learned to follow the rein for any reasons. With these last mentioned unwillling horses a lot of training lessons will pass until they bend smooth. Now it is important that the rider imagines one point, up to which the horse laterally should bend. At the beginning only a small bending should be required. If the horse resists and pulls the head into the center or to the right side, the pressure of the left rein remains. If one gave slack to the rein here, one would teach the horse that it can relieve itself with counter-pressure. Rather the rider must keep the pressure upright , until the horse gives the head to the left up to the imaginary point. If it does this, the pressure stops immediately. This principle of increasing and decreasing pressure in the correct time should be practiced through entire horse training and applies to all kinds of help giving. If one wants to ride result-oriented and effectively, his training should work internalized for horse and rider. It works, because the horse will be always endeavored to move it's head where it is left in peace. If it found out that the pressure stops if it's head is laterally up to a desired point, it becomes willing and even starts to search the point, in which the pressure stops.
The evenly described principle applies also here. For example one rides in "walk" and takes the slack out of the reins slightly. This may not happen jerkily, give the horse the possibility to react promptly. If the horse takes the head upward, then the pressure remains. Even if it gives his head down a little, the pressure stops. If it understood that bending at the poll means"peace" , then it becomes willingly reacting (pic).
Important to mention here is the fact, that the horse should be near-driven to the reins. If one does not do this, the danger exists, that it takes the head down but does hold it's balance on the front legs.
The rider should never carry the horses head, because then it concerns a constant pressure, which lets the horse blunt. To ride should never degenerate into force training. If one has muscular strain in the arms after riding, it should be an alert sign.
The represented corresponds naturally to the "half parades", like we know it from "Classic – Riding ". Increasing and decreasing pressure at the wrong time can make a horse more recalcitrant, as if this would be omitted completely. It is not crucial that one increases and decreases pressure, but that one co-ordinates these signals with the reaction of the horse. Howeverthis aspect is neglected often and leads to frustration of horse and rider.
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