Ep 34: There's No Collection Without Connection

From performanceriders.com. this is the Pabry podcast. I'm Nat Foxen, and each episode I challenge World equestrian Games top 10 dressage writer Brett Parbury to explain and discuss what I call a pabryism. That's a pearl of wisdom I've written down over the years of working together in our performance writers programs. Brett doesn't know what today's pabraism is. Let's get into it. Okay, Brett, are you ready for today's pabrism?

Yes. Give it to me.

Okay. Today's pabrism is there's no collection without connection. There's no collection without connection. It's also a good tongue twister. What's the first thing that comes to mind with this? Parbrias and Brett and. Oh, sorry. Just to give you a bit of context for this one, this actually came from, if you're thinking to yourself, like, God, haven't we recently spoken about this? This came from a session we did in our Gold program, which is our amazing membership program for all passionate dressage writers. And a recent session we did was with a Grand Prix judge, Kristin Claussen, and she judged a bunch of tests for us and did a couple of live sessions for our members. And in one of those sessions, you and her were. Were riffing on this idea of there's no collection without connection and what connection means. And I thought, yes, let's delve into this in the podcast. So here we are. What do you want to say to get us started on this topic of there's no collection without connection?

Well, I'll probably put a little more context around that, because what we were talking about was the training scale. So the German training scale that we're all quite familiar with, and contact, the part of the training scale that refers to contact. And Kristen was saying about how she was brought up in a system in America, in the usa, where contact was referred to as connection, and how the word connection refers to way more than just contact. And that's where it went. That's how we started. So when it comes to connection and what, you know, basically what we talk about in our training system is frame. So the fundamentals of our training system are frame, feet and pace and the concept of frame, or let's broaden that out to posture, the complete posture of the horse that also refers to connection. So, you know, the connection we're looking for is that connection from the hind leg up through the hindquarter, through the loin, through the back, through the shoulders and neck, to the hand. So, and as we know, Younger horses, it's going to be a flatter connection. And then as we develop collection, as the horses get older and they can take more weight behind, the horse becomes more uphill in their development. So without connection, so without this connectivity from the horse's hind leg through the hind quarter, through the line to the back, to. To eventually to the bit, you can't make half halts. Right. Because half halts are the. Let's call it the main ingredient or one of the main ingredients in the development of collected paces. So that's how we got onto that subject, was the importance of connection, being the complete frame or posture of the horse and how important that link, that chain of. What's a better word there? Connectivity through the horse's back, how important that is in developing connection. And how the word contact doesn't actually really explain that. I mean, if I said to you contact, most people, or most riders will think immediately about how the horse feels in their hands, how the horse feels on the bit, and it's almost like a different concept to connection or what we call frame.

Yeah. So you feel like that is quite a common thing that riders sort of perhaps don't think through clearly what is contact and what is connection? And they might use those words interchangeably, but actually they're. Yeah, maybe that. That maybe there's a bit more thought behind that that needs to take place.

Yeah, that's right. There's just so much more to it. And you know, where I notice things as I do my rounds of coaching people so much of our rider, and I put myself in this category. Right. But I'm trying, you know, of course, you know, with the benefit of coaching people, you actually learn what you shouldn't do yourself. So with the benefit of having this privileged position of being able to help people develop and ride and learn and develop their horses, I get the opportunity to go, oh, yeah, I shouldn't do that either. And what that is, is judging a horse, the way a horse is going by what the feeling is in the hand. Now, of course, we want them to feel good in the hand, but there's so many moving parts to get a horse to feel good in the hand. And a couple of those things are, again, referring back to complete fundamentals is impulsion. You know, we need. Whatever pace we're in, we need the horse to be putting in some effort and trying hard and trying to push themselves, you know, with energy along. There is that control over the posture, the connection, the posture of the horse that they relax round and use their complete body and of course that involves being on the bit and, and in balance. Then there's straightness and how the horse's shoulders stay in front of their hind legs and how the hind legs, when the horse is in that position are used evenly, so they use their hind legs evenly and not one more than the other. And how those ingredients come together to form collection and how the collection enhances the pace and makes the pace look more elegant and more expressive. And then how that whole horse becomes lighter through the shoulders, through their body, and then that becomes lighter in the hand. So making the judgment or the, let's call it the. I know when I'm coaching, it's like riders will get distracted by it making that judgment without all those other bits. Impulsion and straightness and connection about how the horse feels in the hand is just such a short sighted view. And you know, the sport of dressage isn't the person who wins has the least amount of weight in the reins. You know, that's, that's why you got.

To say that again.

Yeah, that's. Well, it is, I'll say it again, but the person who wins is not the person who has the least amount of weight in the reins. Like, why do we chase this concept so determined? We're so determined, yes, to chase this concept in our training when it's not actually judged that way. Now, of course, I'm not trying to be, you know, the promoter of horses strong in the reins, but what I'm saying is you can do a lot of damage to your, to your system and your training when you only focus on what is in the reins. So it's becoming more and more aware of all of the moving parts, like footfalls, like where the footfalls are, like where the horse's natural balance is the horse's natural body type. All of these things actually come into that concept of connection. And the result of good connection and impulsion and straightness is to collect, to have the horses developed in collected paces.

How common, how commonly do you come across writers who are reluctant to take contact because they feel like it's the right thing to do, to be, to have that very light feel or, or, you know, it can be an empty feeling in the hand. Is that a common problem? And, and therefore a writer's kind of, you know, cheating themselves of this opportunity to create connection with the horse?

So I think one of the biggest mysteries in riding dressage is how, like firstly, how to ride the whole horse, you know, neck into back, into hind legs, like how to ride the whole horse but secondly, what to accept in the connection, like what should we accept? As you know, okay, it's not exactly how I'd like it to feel, but I'm going to all accept this because I know it's making the judgment of what you're prepared to accept and then having the skill to not ask too much for too long or not let go of the pressure at the right time or let go of the pressure too much at the wrong time. Like the timing around all of these little things about connection is, is really incredible. So, so just to answer your question, it comes down to the nature of the person. If the person is a quite a determined, strong minded, you know, sporty, I'm going to, you know, I really want to do well and I want to win and blah, blah, blah. They're more likely to want to take too much connection. And then the people who are a lot more soft natured and a lot more passive, they'll take too little connection. Now the idea is to try and be both people because sometimes you do have to have a bit of connection and sometimes you do have to put the horse in a shape where, and keep the connection for them to let go other muscles within that chain. You know how I spoke about that chain of connection from the hind leg through the back, through the neck. Sometimes you have to put the horse in a flexion or a bend or maybe a shoulder for position to get them to relax some muscles that you might be targeting in that top line to get them to let go there to actually become better in the rein. So letting go of the rein at that point would not be the right thing. So sometimes you need to keep the connection for a while, a little longer than you think and it might feel great and you might have to vibrate the rein or move the connection a little bit, not see soaring. I mean seesawing is no good for anyone out there listening. If you are seesawing your horse off the bit, you are chasing the wrong feeling in the hand that is disconnecting your horse. You've got to chase this relaxing round onto the bit feeling with the horse and then through balance and the half halt, you can put the horse in self carriage. But if you're see sawing the horse off the bit, it's just that is, that is bad because you don't get the horse through the body when you do that, you chase this sugar hit of light in the hand. But that is it. And that takes me back to my statement earlier. So, so you may have to keep like stronger Contact if you're on the way towards something. Now, when you're doing that, there's. We've got to remember a couple of things. One, horses don't like the bit always being pulled backwards in their mouth. It's fine to res, it's fine to keep it still and resist, but to pull the bit backwards, backwards, backwards, backwards, backwards in their mouth, it really gives them nowhere to go. Right. So there's a difference between resistance in a connection and pulling backwards against a connection. And that's important. And then the other thing is to try and keep the bit as still as possible with little micro movements. But try and keep the bit still and try to use clever positioning of shoulders and clever positioning of flexion because you're looking for that relaxing, you're looking for that horse to yield to the connection. And then when they yield, and then if they're letting go over their back and neck, they will draw to the reins. So yielding and drawing is the better thing to look for. Rather than light or too light or see soaring off the contact, yielding and. And drawing. And the drawing is when the horse just uses their posture in a way where they lift up through their core. They draw their neck forward. Like we're talking, like, could be just a gesture. Doesn't even have to be like 3cm. It can be just a gesture. They draw their neck forward and when they do that, they work over their back. And that's that connection that we talk about from the back to the front. If the horse works through their back, lifting their back up, that's the connection you're looking for to make the half halt. So that was a very long winded answer. Did I answer your question?

Yeah, it was good. Just a quick message from us. If you like the ideas in this episode, you're going to love the Performance Riders app. You can download it free, free from the App Store or Google Play and access a training tool with Brett Parbury. That's really fun and super helpful. Completely free on the Performance Riders app. Now back to the episode. You spoke about recognizing or acknowledging the type of person we are as riders? Like when we show up in the saddle, like, what are our tendencies? And that got me thinking. Do you find it's a helpful thing for writers to think about showing up almost a little bit opposite to what our natural tendency is? Because you're right, all of us kind of go one way or the other. And we see it in our program. We do have these sort of types of writers, either very soft and, you know, in such a Lovely kind way. People were really trying to do the right thing by their horse, but that can work against them. And then we have the opposite. Really want this, working hard to get this, and that can work against them as well. Do you ever think about that, like, showing up a little bit opposite to what your natural tendency is?

Yeah, yeah, definitely. So that light person, the person who's too light, you know, they never quite get the horses through what they call through meaning, yielding and drawing. So that's the thing there. Now, if someone listening to this is like, oh, that's me, actually, I'm probably a bit too passive. And I would say at that point, because the ultimate. What we're all trying to achieve in doing this is this utopian feel of where the horse is super energetic, bright, loving its work, pressure's off, the rider's sitting there really harmonious and light and rewarding, you know, so the horse likes doing it. And this feeling of the horse is up and bright, and it's really. The attention is on the rider. So if you make a little half halt, the horse responds. If you ask for a little bit more activity, the horse responds with these light aids. And that's what we're all trying to get to. So if you're only applying. If you're only light, you won't get it because you. You will. You'll. You can only get to. You can only get to the point of thoroughness by asking the questions. You know, asking, can you flex? Can you bend? Can you yield? Can you draw? And. And so being too light is. The horse will always have some stiffness, some sort of stiffness. You can't get them to use their body, but at the same time, you. Then you've got to be. Then you've got to be having a feel. And this is where these riders are great. Because once they learn that concept and accept it, they have then this lovely light feel that they can reward the horse. So the horse will then want to do it again. Yeah, but if, If, If. If someone has the awareness to notice what sort of person they are, then I would say just look at. Because when you're that sort of person, light or strong or tough or whatever, you'll naturally gravitate to people who give you that information. Yes. Yeah, that's just how you'll naturally gravitate. Yeah, and. But where you should gravitate is to. And I've made this mistake, right? This is. This is, like I said, this podcast should be called Brett's 10,000 mistakes. So you sh. We should And I did. And I have gravitate to the opposite of what you kind of the philosophy you have.

Yeah.

So I was brought up in stockhorse Western culture, where they chase a lot of this lightness and it's all done off the big bits and the rest. And I often have this discussion with my, my, you know, friends and my father. I'm like, yeah, I don't know if you guys are. But look, they're doing a good job too. But I think sometimes they're working from the front to the back. But, but. So I had to learn the dressage sides. I had to go to somewhere to learn about the thoroughness and taking the rein, keeping it for a little longer and where this release should happen, where should I feel the release in the horse's posture to get to where I want to get to. And then all the time keep recognizing in yourself, where am I at with my system and whose can offer me something just a little contradictory that I can draw from to just improve myself to become an all round writer, which the all round writer should understand all the systems, not necessarily apply them, but understand them all.

Yeah, I think that's such a great point. Point. It's almost a whole other podcast episode on its own, that choice of coach. And I think that's just so true what you're saying, that we all gravitate to people who are basically going to tell us what we want to hear. Right. And. And that back up these ideas about how we want to ride and how we want to feel as a writer. And it's. There's so much opportunity there in seeking out someone to work with who can challenge you a little bit and push you over a tiny bit to that other hide. I think that's. Yeah, there's some, there's probably some magic there.

Yeah, yeah, I see it quite a bit. I see it a lot.

Yeah, I can absolutely imagine that. Brett, what practical exercises can writers use and maybe what have you used in your mission to sort of change the way you like to feel on the horse? What can we do to learn how to have better connection and what that feel might be like?

Well, one of, one of the skill. Well, okay, let's go back to this. So. So one of the tools to achieve connection is the control of the horse's posture. So how we can place the horse into different shapes where it's still comfortable for the horse, how you can place them in different shapes to. To. To get the posture that you want, to get the connection you want so you can start to Develop collection. So. So what tools do we need? Well, there's got to be then some form of yielding and drawing. And then the tool from there is obviously going to be the bit. The bit in the horse's mouth and the reins. That is one of the. A few different tools, but it definitely is one. So I think a rider needs to learn to have an elastic contact. So what that means is if they need to that they can certainly feel down to the horse's mouth and jaw. They can then learn to put a horse in flexion without restricting them too much on the outside rein and teach the horse to yield, become rounder, relaxing rounder, where they relax muscles through their top line, then drawing where they'll follow the contact if need be. So the riders elastic enough in their connection to do that. So if a rider at home now or listening to this feels, oh, that might be a skill that I need to work on more, I would say just do something simple like taking a lead rope from the stables up into the house. When you sit on the couch over nighttime, put that lead rope around your feet and try to simulate reins and then move your feet, you know, make one leg straighter and feel the reins and feel how you can put pressure through and just develop muscle memory that works right through from your shoulder through your elbow, goes longer, shorter, put your hands closer together, wider apart. Like, really explore different ways to feel what would be the horse's mouth. And that's one thing. And then the next thing is like understanding the line of our leg so that inside leg, setting the line of a straight line or a circle and how that horse has. You can then just gently place the horse's shoulders to the inside of the line of your leg to start developing things like shoulder four and potentially shoulder in and how you can use those reins in coordination with our body. So using our rein between our reins and our body to be able to place the shoulders into that position so that we can then start suppling the horse through their middle. So when you put a horse in shoulder four, your area you're targeting is their ribs and their inside hind leg to try and say, hey, yield underneath your body a little more and take a little more weight. So with different positionings and little different nuances, pretty much what I just said there was coming out of the bit for frame control and getting them to yield and draw between the reins for shoulder control and corner shoebox, you're targeting two areas there that assist you in suppling your horse. And then of course, you've Got other lateral exercises. But that's two things that I think a rider who wants to do dressage, even at the very lowest level, should be looking to achieve those two things to get better control over the posture and that of the horse or the connection. And then they can start to play with paces and start playing with. Developing collection.

Well, this is great because we've got some clear homework. One is that in our. You actually call them scrap minutes. In our scrap minutes. So when we might be, you know, waiting for the coffee machine to finish or we're watching Netflix or something, we can have the lead rope or even one of those, like, tough, stretchy exercise band things, whatever they're called, around our feet and simulating the reins and playing with the feel there. And also, I really love this when we're on the horse, thinking about yielding through the body, thinking about adjustment of the shoulders of the horse, rather than obsessing with our hands and getting that feel through our hands, like you said earlier, like, think about keeping the bits still, and let's focus on other areas of the body. Two fantastic bits of homework for us.

Yeah, except I'll just correct you there. The coffee machine is for getting better leg aids. So. So, yeah, scrap winners. Scrap minutes. So I stand by the coffee machine, just using my left foot against my other foot to see if I can get better at feeling my foot. Yes, yes. Now using. Using the scrap minutes to develop your skills. That's something, I think, you know, that's a good practice to get into. It's something that we've got plenty of. No one's too busy to be able to just do 30 seconds a minute here and there and. And developing skills like try to identify the skills that. That you may. That we may be lacking. You know, I know the ones I'm lacking, and I'm working on them. And, um, so. And work on them off the horse. Just do not rely only on being on the horse. Like, think about it. Off the horse, it doesn't take much. Like, it really doesn't take much just to keep improving muscle memory and feel.

Yeah. Actually, there's a podcast episode from a while back that you might be interested in listening to, and that was go crazy off the horse, not on the horse. So on a related topic, and you can get some different ideas of Rhett's philosophy about the work we should be doing as riders in skill development off the horse. So we can save the best stuff for when we're on our horses, which is a great episode. Awesome stuff. Thank you so much. Brett.

Pleasure. Thank you, Nat. Thanks.