Christine Sander: S t e i n b r e c h t , . . . .

Preface

I grew up with Steinbrecht. And I didn't... I grew up in 1960s Germany with him because he was forever quoted... I did not grow up with him because I did not read his famous Gymnasium. Several attempts, the latest in the early 1990s, failed until finally, way into my own work with equitation, I gave him another chance. And, low and behold, after reading and considering Nuno Oliveira and Etienne Beudant, and after my own inquiries into the horse's body, mind and soul, his words finally began to make sense.

This study of Steinbrecht's Gymnasium is an abreviated review from back to front. Paragraphs are numbered by chapter and reviewed, summarized and/or translated. Goal is maximum clarity for daily riders and the proper translations of equestrian terms. This version, as such, may differ from existing Steinbrecht versions. 

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraphs 1.+ 2.

...okay, I am not getting on with the problems I see in Steinbrecht's exposition of the side-passes. So instead of going into details of what bends when, were the feet fall, which aids to use to control what, all juxtaposed with an underlying mix of anatomical details, which does not count up, I went ahead and took a good look at the first few parapgraphs of the previous chapter, which is devoted to riding the horse on straight and on curved lines... 

(1) ...every line a horse walks on is determined by the direction of its body... the horse, which is not bend thus will follow a straight uncurved line... the horse, which is bent will trace a curved line. The line's curvature will be equal to the degree to which the horse's body is bent...

...here the questions begin. The very problem of equitation rests in the fact that the green horse's body does not line up with the path it travels on. Asymmetries in its body will cause a decidedly different reaction to initial left and right turns. So why does Steinbrecht come up with this presentation, which describes an automobile rather than a horse... The horse, in liberty and/or under saddle, on the other hand, is very well able to turn in an outside bend and/or while turning rotate around its center of gravity. It is not at all bound to curvatures of its body for fast and successful turns... To the contrary...

(2)...a. ...the forehand designates direction, the source of propulsion, however, originates in the hindquarters... the more minutely one lines up with the other the better the horse's locomotion and posture will be... diversion of the forehand or the hindquarters from their line of travel will compomise both...

...again, many questions. What does he mean by the line up of forehand and hind quarters...? Certainly not that they must travel along the same hoof track...? More than once he declares the positive value of side-passes (i.e. diversion of shoulder's and croup from one line of travel...) and their role in the improvement of the horse's posture and locomotion...

(2)...b. ...a change of direction can originate in the forehand, or it can come from the hindquarters... It also can be the effect of both so that, for instance, in a right turn the forehand steps right, whereas the hindquarters depart to the left from the current line of travel... 

...now here we go, this again is the Steinbrecht I love... Yes, the horse can turn around its center of gravity... and in fact this is the fastes and easiest way to turn...

(2)...c. ...depending on the choice of balance points the horse will support the turn more with the front or with the hind legs... and, as a matter of course, the part that carries more weight is less mobile, and hence will contribute less to the actual process of turning...

...hhm, ...now, ...wait a minute! ...Yes, most certainly there always must be a support ...After all the horse does not fly ...But doesn't this support, which can be provided by the horse's legs alone, fluctuate...?  As for instance in a given gait...? And just as in locomotion the horses' legs support its body for always only split seconds anyway...

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraphs 3. - 5.

(3)...a. ...depending on the point of center in a given turn, we distinguish turns around the forehand, the backhand and turns in balance (...Wendungen im Gleichgewicht...). 

...now the latter is an interesting albeit ambiguous distinction. Fact is, with any change of posture the distribution of the horse's weight changes... Steinbrecht statement implies that no matter what the posture, turns around the center are always in balance...

Ambiguity here enters with the term balance. Balance in a living being can be interpreted in terms of weight distribution or in terms of muscular action and/or fascia health. One may say the horse, as long as it is up on its four legs and able to move, is in balance. However, fact also is only postures with head and neck up are useful for equitation, because neither in the short nor in the long run do they require support from the rider's hand and/or legs. 

Steinbrecht, however, makes no mention of another important detail in this context. The horse's body (...unlike the wheels of a car...) rests on four legs. The connection of legs and body in upper arm and hip is made of ball and socket joints. In these joints the horse can distribute and redistribute its body mass... It will do so in turns around the shoulders, the croup and the center according to how the rider, via direct, indirect and/or an elevating rein will requests these turns...

(3)...b. ...further observations and conclusion about the turns mentioned...

(4) + (5) ...more about the point of balance and turning in the free, the untrained and the trained horse... 

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 6.

(6)...a. ...for the trained horse only two types of turns exist, ...no matter what one may call them... One: ...the hindquarters properly follow the forehand, be it on one or on two hoof tracks... Two: ...detained hindquarters provide the axis for front legs, which turn until the desired change of direction is gained...

...again this I find sloppy. Do hindquaters simply follow the forehand...? Do not, under the rider, hindquarters no-matter-what provide a degree of support for the forehand and in the process propel it on...? In other words in the mounted horse the forehand walks before the hindquarters...? 

...and, why rule out turns around the center, particularly when fast changes of direction are called for...? Why disregard the turn around the forehand as an important first lesson for the horse to learn? It supples the hindquarters, directs the inner hind leg toward the center up weight, thus bringing up the back, and creates an awareness for elevations of the forehand ...? Leave alone the turn-around-the-shoulders' didactic values, such as resting in place and proceeding one step at a time as demanded...

(6)...b. ...suppleness and self carriage are the source of agility... Proper turns, which alone have a chance to promote agility, can only be obtained by improving the horse's elasticity, by establishing its balance and by thus permitting for its self carriage...

...yes, of course, obviously...! ...But how in the world does the rider improve the horse's elasticity if not with all the different turns, on the spot and in slow lateral movements along straight and curved lines...? Why does he discount the suppling value of lessons that for century have proven their value in classical schools...?

And, it gets worse yet, ...or shall we say better...? Because, in the following statement, Steinbrecht himself points to a misinterpretation of the horse's set up for movement, which in our days, more than a century later, has led to a number of deviations from classical thinking in equitation... And, from his remarks arises the image of today's faster, longer, more powerful rectangularly shaped horse. The first genetically as yet unconsolidated products of this breed are what gave rise to his school and the teaching of his contemporaries elsewhere...

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 6. cont...

(6)...c. ...not only lateral bending of the spine from poll to tail, however, matters. More important almost is the suppleness of the haunches... Only strong and elastic haunches permit the mounted horse to do fast and agreeable turns... only on the basis of a secure support from the hindquarters is the forehand able to turn with easy and without any threat to the soundness of its limbs...

...at this point I think a bit of text critique is due... Steinbrecht is not the author of this text... It was composed by a student confidant on the basis of the master's notes... This fact may account for the apparent juxtaposition of some sort of public opinion, and the more private view of the master himself. It may be good to further research this public opinion and its origins... Who, in other words, says the horse's vertebra must bend laterally poll to tail...? And why...?

(6)...d. ...the lateral bending of the horse's spine is in some way only the means to an end... If we did not need it to supple backhand and haunches we could considerably shorten the lengthy work of bending, needed to make the hindquarters pliable... 

!...!...!

(6)...e. ...proof of a need for supple hindquarters and their significance in equitation are those few excellent horses, which are naturally born with strong, elastic hind legs... They right from the start ab initio turn with dexterity, because their main support is free of all restrictions. That is, in them no rigidity and no resulting stiffness of the hind legs exists...

...that is a big statement...! And, is it true...? It for sure has opened every door ajar for the concept of superior breeding and has constituted a licence to push those horses, which are considered to be of minor breeding quality... Who says their haunches aren't stiff simply because of untimely and inappropriate demands...?  

Obviously stiffnesses of the hind legs are not natural to the horse. They may, aside from general health problems, result from the following factors...

(1) ...lack of opportunity to move, especially as horses move on in age...

(2) ...sudden and forced demand of exclusively forward movement, especially if asked on the circle...

(3) ...lack of suppling, i.e. slow movements in all directions and in a variety of postures...

(4) ...forced false postures... 

(5) ...continued lack of poise, elevation and engagement...

(6) ...false concepts, and hence images, of equine physiology and bio-mechanics in the rider's mind...

(7) ...false concepts of force and opposition in the rider's mind and body... 

Stiffnesses of the horse's hindquarters, in my view, are not a result of asymmetries in the horse's body. They often result from improper approaches to the rectification of such asymmetries...

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 7.

(7) ...this paragraph is very well suited to document the inevitably poor results of Steinbrecht's suggestions, if carried out too literally and/or implemented by an uninitiated rider... It also offers the chance to comment on Steinbrecht's thinking one idea at a time. To fully understand text and comments it may be useful to look at the original text...

...a. ...diameters of turns must always be guided by the rider's evaluation of the horse's hindquarters and their ability to follow and hence support the body's mass...

...b. ...if the horse's desire for movement is great, i.e. its propelling power is well developed, one must soon begin to mitigate it on large circles, demanding the lateral bending of the horse's body and greater flexion of its inner hind leg...

The question arises, why would the horse's desire for movement be great...? Is this not a self-inflicted problem...? If, from the start, on the lunge and under saddle, the horse is asked to go forward (as still is the case in many stables to this day) the horse's lungs and muscles quickly grow... Correspondantly it will want to move faster and cover more ground... (and this is not as yet addressing the horse's need for continuous slow movement...)

Back to Steinbrecht's presentation: What about communication...? When will the horse have/get a chance to coordinate with the rider? How will it learn to feel, read and obey him...? How will it develop finer tunes...?

If you ask me: Going fast the horse knows naturally. Serving the rider in steady moderate movements it learns. Friendship with the rider is what it seeks and desires...! Absolutely nothing speaks for having it rush down a fixed circular line as if it was a machine...

...c. ...the locomtion of horses without forward urge must be established by riding forward on straight lines in regular contact (...Anlehnung...)...

Question. In other words, hot horses are forced on the circle to turn propulsion into impulsion? Cold horses are forced on straight lines to wake up and develop propulsion? In either case the horse is forced...? Not sure if Steinbrecht meant to say this... However, it looks like riders the world over have interpreted his words this way... :-((((

And then Steinbrecht begins to add the tricks of the trade, which when the rider knows and executes them correctly are very helpful indeed. The problem, ...these also force the horse. And they hold nothing for the novice rider or the well meaning amateur... 

Before we get to them, there is however another, yet more fundamental aspect to be considered: The maturity of the horse's skeleton...

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 7. cont...

(7) ...from propulsion to impulsion...

(7)...c. ...turns tend to disturb the horse's movement as long as propulsion, coming from the hindquarters, because of their slant, does not line up with the forehand...

Yes, the hind legs in most green horses do not alike step towards the center of its weight... Consequently the support of the body is flawed, which makes it difficult for the horse to turn correctly both sides alike... Hence Steinbrecht's advice...

(7)...d. ...for this reason the rider with well developed feeling will make sure he calls the horse's hind legs to support the forehand and to propel it on...

What does this mean in plain text...? The horse is too fast. It does not know how to turn. Most likely it will be difficult to sit... It may or may not have come to the rider's hand... It may or may not be able to support itself... No wonder he is quick to confirm that only riders of talent and experience will be able to master these five aspects simultaneously...

(7)...e. ...such riders with a fine feel will see to it that, according to the turning diameter chosen, they lead the horse with prepatory arrets into the collection requires while introducing an appropriate degree of lateral bending... and thus prevent any confusions of either gait and/or posture...

Oh boy, what a beautiful statement...! And an illustration of the problem that underlies all of Steinbrecht's Gymnasium. The talented and experienced rider will understand his advice in an instant. The novice and the well meaning amateur remains uninstructed...

There is one additional aspect to this, however, which should not remain unmentioned... Steinbrecht here clearly advises the moderation of propulsion by the means of impulsion. I.e. not gaining ground but the transformation of energy from horizontal to vertical makes for a trained and agreeable mount...

The question remains, at which age is the horse able to collect...? Only after the sacrum, which is the pivot of posture and a fulcrum of the horse's movement is fully ossified...? At age seven...?

Well, ...obviously in those year before the horse turns seven the rider must have means to moderate the horse's tempo... What are his options...? And, which posture is the best in this phase of the horse's life...?

We'll see how Steinbrecht addresses and answers these questions... And what modern finding will have to add... 

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 8.

(8) ...here we have a detailed description of how to monitor the horse's speed and safely bring it to a halt. In a sense described here is a German variation of the French effet d'ensemble... It is a gentler action than the forced half halts we were taught in Germany in the mid 1960s.

(8)...a. ...the dexterous rider will not only temper and order the horse's gaits in proper turns... He will via diligent turning promote the rushing horse's suppleness, ...and thus be able to reduce its propulsion, while by the same token increase the loading of the inner hind leg, as determined by the degree of curvature of the line it tavels on.

(8)...b. ...given the circumstances, and if the rider senses no other option to master the horse's brut force, he will restrict its propulsion in a slanted position and by doing so interrupt the flow of impulsion from the hindquarters to the forehand. He thus will be able to quickly bring the overspeeding horse to a halt before it begins to run through the bridle...

(8)...c. ...even the correct rider may at times be forced to employ actions, which are contrary to the rule... Extraordinary situation require extreme reactions... 

In upcoming chapters we will see how Steinbrecht's interpretation of the natural laws which govern equitation is limited by the advent of the machine. We will see the antagonism of the demand for a fast and steady forward going horses and its essentially peaceful nature. For starts, one may ask why lateral movements of all four legs, which in case of the rushing horse also temper forward propulsion, should not be considered correct (...schulgerecht...)...?

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraphs 22.+ 23.

(22) ...guide for the rider's intent, measures and means...

a. ...intensity and timing of the aids, as well as the way in which they are applied, are determined by the rider's intent. That is, does he want to bend, elevate or invigorate the horse...?

b. ...the experienced rider will soon find the right measure for how to apply his aids by observing/experiencing their effect on the horse...

c. ...that is, as long and if he administer them well in time and in full harmony with the horse's movements...

(23) ...how to bend the horse...

a. ...before the horse learns to give to the inside aids, which will bend it, it will react to these same aids with turning ...that is, the natural reaction to the effects of inside hand and leg is turning...

b. ...not until the rider hinders the horse's turn with corresponding outside aids will it understand...

c. ...that only by bending its body (...where...?) it can undo the uncomfortable effect of these aids..

d. ...and it thus by and by gains pliability...

e. ...in practical terms, the rider uses the suppleness he thus bestows on the horse's body to train it on curved lines. Beginning with large drawn out quarter circle turns in the corners of the school, continued with full circles and finally with voltes, which perfect the horse's bending...

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 24.

(24) ...the effects of bending on the horse's body...  

a. ...due to the spine's lateral bending the forehand comes in...

b. ...and the inner hind leg comes fore...

c. ...so that, as a result, the distance between the horse's inner legs shortens...

d. ...musculatures of the horse's inner side are released in the same measure to which musculatures of its outer side are stressed...

e. ...and, due to a shift of the center of balance in the horse's body toward the inside of the bend, the inner leg pair is loaded to the same degree to which the outer leg pair is unloaded...

f. ...only with these adjustments in its body is the horse able to follow with the inner legs a smaller circle line and by the same token maintain the rhythm of its gait...

g. ...that is, the horse reduces the activity of its inner leg pair by increasing its loading...

h. ... while decreasing the tonicity of the inner, i.e. the shortened side of its body...

Question: ...does this mean the outside leg pair is unburdened, yes... while the outside musculatur engages?

Would not the opposite be the case...? With the burdening of the inside leg pair the tonicity of the inside fascia train increases, whereas the outside fascia train, due to bending is stretched and releases...? Or are there other rules all together, which command the horse's body...

i. ...in exact correspondence with the diameters of the two circles on which the horse's inner and the out leg pair travels... 

(5) The Outdoors School. Going Straight and Bending. Paragraph 25.

(25) ...the interaction of bending and the circle line...

a. ...the horse, which was made straight is bound to the straight line just as the properly bent horse follows the circle line...

b. ...the diameter of a circle is determined by the degree to which this line is curved. Equally the circular movement of a vehicle is determined by the angularity of its front steering bar...

Ouestions.

It looks like there is a serious flaw in Steinbrecht's perception and thinking here, which comes from envisioning the horse's curvature in terms of how an automobile functions. To stay with this image one could say the horse has a front and a back steering bar... I.e. it is capable of angularity in the shoulders and in the croup. 

That is, in simple turns and shoulder-in type movements a line that connects both shoulders is angular to the direction of movement and hence front legs cross. In croup-in type movements a line that connects both hip bones is angular to the direction of movement and the hind legs cross.

On a circle, however, the line that connects shoulders and the line that connects hips both are angular. As Steinbrecht puts it,  the inner legs draw near (see 24.c.)... The horse in horizontal balance thus centers on the rider, ...which is in keeping with the rest of what Steinbrecht says...

The above statement hence is misleading and factual only if the rider at all times keeps the horse on the inner hind leg and makes this leg the pivot and constant turning point... For good reasons, however, this is not what Steinbrecht suggests... even if the repeated mentioning of the inner hind leg's role in turning seems to imply so...