Contact is a tricky one. It’s unique to every partnership, and is the only scale of training that we can’t find in some form in nature. All the others – rhythm, suppleness, impulsion, straightness and collection – can be seen, however fleetingly, by horses just playing in the field. In contrast, a combination of horse and rider is needed to create a contact.
The majority of issues riders come to me with are to do with the contact – the horse is too strong, too high, too low, hanging on one side, dropping behind the vertical… Because the contact is our most immediate connection with the horse, the one we feel most directly with our hands, it is the first place we notice problems. It is really important to remember that issues with the contact are more often than not a symptom of problems elsewhere.
As its essence, the contact is a development of the other scales of training. If your horse is showing good rhythm, suppleness, impulsion, straightness and collection, you would be very unlucky if you had a difficult contact. Once the horse is established in the two basics of rhythm and suppleness, we can start to think about channeling those two qualities towards a soft and supple hand. The most important thing to remember is that the contact should not be manufactured or produced – trying to force an outline or a particular feel in the rein will only result in blocking the energy and cause issues later on in the training.
A rider should be able to work the body of their horse in order to improve its way of going – it is only with that frame of mind that the contact can be improved. More often than not, issues stem from the hind leg. If the horse is not active enough behind, it is only natural that he will drop behind the bridle; further, if he is not engaged, you are likely to find that he will resist the bit or bear down on it. Of course, as with everything, the age and level of the horse needs to be taken into account. We cannot expect a young horse to show as much engagement as a Grand Prix horse, so the contact is likely to be lighter, more tentative, and more fragile.
Lots of riders have issue with their horse pulling on one rein. The natural thing that most people do is pull against that rein, and forget about what is going on over on the other side. Next time you ride, think about whether the horse is really hanging on that rein or whether he’s avoiding the opposite contact – you might be surprised what happens when you put your inside leg on and push him over to the ‘lighter’ side!