Training Exercises: Collection

Proper head and neck position is essential to have the horse ride in a position called self-carriage and collection. Collection is a particular posture adopted by horses which is not only beautiful to look at but one that helps the horses move while bearing weight on their back. (This definitiion comes from a comment by Tim Norris on the Spade Bit Page)

Collection is generally defined as having a horse’s body rounded, face vertical, neck rounded, back rounded and rear engaged – moving his weight to the rear and lightening his front. He will look more attractive, his physique and muscles in his back will improve, his attitude will be more engaged, and his ride will be smoother. It is beautiful to see if you are sure that the horse is actually comfortable, muscled, and light on his feet through fitness and understanding.


Collection becomes more extreme as Dressage maneuvers become more complex.

Jumping horses must be able to use their rear muscles and raise their fronts precisely, lengthening or shortening their stride as jumps change heights.

Collection also makes it easier for a horse to make sudden changes of direction, such as those required by western performance horses. Cutting horses are excellent examples, as they crouch low and back on their hindquarters so they may quickly move side to side to mirror the movements of the calf. Their face is not vertical (in fact is it usually forward and out), but their uplifted body is collected in every sense of the word.

Many horses exhibit “false” Collection, rounding only their neck to bring their face down in response to a tight or harsh bit. The hind legs will usually be “strung out behind,” rather than coming up under the body with each stride to support it, and the back will be dropped rather than properly raised upward. This type of horse is not dancing freely, but exhibiting a type of bit-aversion masquerading as good form. This type of horse is neither comfortable nor agile.

The use of a Waterford bit (which is a snaffle with a multi-ball chain mouth discourages leaning because of the little balls) might help this type of horse, as he is probably leaning on the bit to carry his front instead of carrying his own front end using skeletal muscles.

A new perspective on Collection:

The fear is that if the bit disappears, the horse will stretch out and get sloppy. However, many expert trainers have found that holding a horse in correct position with a bit is counter productive. Although it is counter-intuitive to remove the bit pressure to encourage Collection, you would notice that your horse’s Collection begins to improve as your leg cues become more precise and his performance gets easier. That is because he must lighten up his body, rounding his back to “dance” quickly to and fro in response to your requests for direction changes and gait transitions. (Test this theory on yourself. Actually dance with a partner yourself. Notice that as your partner begins to change direction quickly, you must lighten up on your feet, use more core muscles, bring your body up to change direction to follow your partner’s lead. The stiffer you are, the less agile your movements, the less core muscles you are using.)

Take the challenge and try getting rid of constant “contact” with his mouth while asking for sideways movement – first left and then right. Then transition up and down from walk to trot and back repeatedly. Mix it up. Cover some ground. He will begin using his back and rear end to make the changes quickly enough. His front will lighten and his neck will start to naturally bend at the poll as he controls his changes using muscles instead of leaning on the mouth.

This takes muscles. He needs time to develop those muscles, so practice in small sessions first, then lengthen the time you work. Over time, you will see his physical body actually changing as he muscles up his back and rump.

There are books and books written on collection in horses. This introduction barely scratches the surface. However, the softer your horse is to lateral flexion (the easier it is for you to change his direction laterally) the easier it is for you to teach him to flex vertically without leaning on the bit. Start at soft lateral flexion. Then train vertical flexion.

Then practice transitions, transitions, transitions. Walk-trot, trot-walk, up-down, down-up. As he anticipates that you will change the gait nearly as quickly as he gets there, he will have to get himself together to respond quickly enough, Now you have Collection.

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2 thoughts on “Training Exercises: Collection

  1. Hi Phil.
    We have recently re-organized the site. I hope you don’t mind that I moved your question (below) to a new blog page in an effort to find other readers who might shed some more light on your question.

    You are probably more of an expert than I.
    Do your horses employ this behavior when riding on a bit or only when bridle-less? Do you do any dressage horses?

    All dressage horses stretch their top-line, particularly in a slow trot or easy canter, between maneuvers and during warm-ups. It helps lift the back and collect the horse all over as opposed to just pulling his head and neck back to “look” collected when they are not.
    Here is a picture of one of our horses doing his top-line stretch while running through a dressage warm-up. Is this the type of stretch you are seeing.

    Collection is good for both cutting horses and jumping horses, and stretching the top-line is usually a good thing. Perhaps your bridle-less horses are really “getting into it” as they stretch their top-line out to perform more easily for lifting off (jumping takes back and rear muscles) and for direction changes (cutting which also requires back and rear muscles). It makes sense that the stretch is more important to the horse after more stressful maneuvers such as the double or combination jumps where he goes from collected to extended in quick succession and may feel the need to round his back for balance, comfort and relaxation.

    I can’t explain why it happens more in a bridle-less horse than with a bit unless the bit or the rider using it are inhibiting that stretch somehow.

    If this doesn’t make sense, perhaps another reader might give us some insight.

  2. I have a question on equine behavior, that I am struggling to understand and I am wondering if you shed some light on it.

    It has to do with a horse’s behavior when ridden bridless. We work on a balanced rider basis inwhich direction, impulsion, are such that the horses are able to be ridden in their respective discipline bridless. The horses perform all gates and movements, softly and with self carriage. The behaviour I am trying to understand is that they sometimes drop their heads very low as if stretching their topline, still staying collected. It is not bit evasion as there is no bit. Remaining as I mentioned, soft, and supple. Discipline seems to have an impact on frequency, with our jumpers doing it more frequently,,,typically after a combination jump. with our cutting horses doing less frequently, typically when warming up…. Any theories??

    I greatly appreciate you assistance. If possible I would love to discuss on the phone.

    Thank you

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