The allure of the frame

I was teaching a lesson the other day to a horse I'd started earlier in the year and his owner. They did well, especially considering the owner's new to dressage and new to riding her four-year-old. She had taken some lessons in the meantime, and while she realized the error of the other instructor's teaching, I am continually amazed at the importance others put on arbitrary elements. Mostly, the head and neck.

Is his nose on the vertical? That is the biggest question in the minds of many dressage riders and instructors. Even if they preach to be classical dressage enthusiasts, there they are, futzing and playing and seesawing because obviously if the head isn't right, nothing is right.

I don't believe in putting a headset on a horse, and I dislike the words "frame" and "on the bit." People tend to be visual creatures, so we believe what we can see -- the head and neck. Too often, the back and hind end and suppleness are ignored, swept under the desire for a horse who looks nice.

That's the thing about dressage. It's not always pretty. But it is systematic, and the result of conscientious, careful work is a pretty picture. That doesn't mean one method works for every horse. It doesn't have anything to do with the tack or equipment or even the goal for which a trainer is working. Dressage is good training, regardless of the rider. In my mind, good training is that which benefits the horse, which the horse is happy to participate in, and which is done for the horse's well-being.

Whatever else dressage is, it is not a headset.