The TACT in CONTACT By Michel Kaplan

Unedited articles from BEAU GESTE SOAR   January 23, 1998

Copy or use by permission only

The TACT in CONTACT

An Equestrian  Essay  by Michel Kaplan

The more I try to make sense about the conflict between the traditional schools of riding the better I see that each school presents a good point of view but neither is paramount. Guided by the teachings of Stephen Hawking, I will suggest that " the Theory of EVERYTHING" may apply universally to equitation. However, when distraught riders look at me and then tum to their horse saying "I tried EVERYTHING but NOTHING works," I could reply  "Have you! Really!"

One easy way out would be to tell the riders what to do. Another way out would be to get on the horse and show them what to do. And, this would be the end of it. Any of these approaches would have very little positive imprinting effect on the rider's mind . While one may learn by LISTENING or OBSERVING and THINKING one learns best by EXPERIENCING and THINKING.

Obviously , EVERYTHING the rider tried did NOTHING. Why? First, the rider does not know EVERYTHING. Nobody does. Second, the rider did not do the RIGHT THING at the RIGHT TIME. Otherwise, there would not be a problem .

Let's apply the benefit of the doubt, and assume that the rider knew enough to resolve the problem. What happened then? Maybe, the rider did not THINK. That happens, more often than you THINK. Let's apply the benefit of the doubt, one more time. The rider knew enough, thought of the right thiQ.g to do, and tried it. But, it didn't work. Guess what? The horse didn ' t get it. Dumb horse! Does that sound familiar? I see a little smile on the comer of your mouth . I see . Sometimes it happens to you. Well!  Join the club.

Unless you are a master at anticipating horses ' reactions, it will happen frequently. This is because at the TIME you experience a difficulty you can' t THINK fast enough of EVERYTHING you can do. Even if you could, you may not be doing it with the appropriate TACT for the horse to get it. The horse felt connected, you say. Sure, but did you have the correct TACT in your CONTACT?

The blank look in your eyes tells me that I better clarify my point of view. The debate between the schools tends to summarize into "CONTACT or NO CONTACT? That is the question." From my experience, the answer is: "Either with TACT." I invite you to discover the evasive nature of TACT by reading about it in this essay.

I suggest that, at a given TIME, to be a good rider, you may want to seek a light CONTACT

and at another TIME you may want to avoid any CONTACT. Legitimately, the riders' prevailing  r -.

obsession to maintain their horse straight will require that horses feel even on both sides. To do this the riders invite their horses to seek a light CONTACT  on their     tr-aerecls1oe a         lig  ten the CONTACT  on the other side.  In any event,  this can only  be acheived  with  TACT.

TACT is not static, it is the most dynamic aspect of your connection with your horse. TACT requires finesse from your driving aids and your guiding aids as well.  Finesse is the key quality for

equestrian arts and for a successful athletic performance.   Finesse is the 

essence of TACT.  While TACT is the key skill to Nuno Oliveira' s 

presciption: " Obtain without force."

Every advanced dressage rider recognizes that the ultimate quality in equestrian performance is " Self-Carriage." " Self-Carriage" implies that the horse performs in sustained lightness  under the rider without CONTACT from the hands and without pressure from the legs.  This  is the  "Descente de main et descentede jambes" recommended first by Franr;:oi s Baucher in his second method. It complements the "descente de main," i.e. dropping the CONTACT with the hands, providing the horse stays engaged and does not shift his weight on his shoulders, introduced by Fran9ois Robichon de la  Gueriniere  at the  Ecole de Versailles.

The road to reach this level of perfection could be long and hard. It meets a great variety of resistances from the horse and often from the riders as well. It implies a continuous exchange of giving and taking between the rider' s hands and the horse' s mouth . A search for the lightest form of CONTACT that may sustain lightness through the horse's performance . To some riders, this CONTACT has to remain real all the TIME, like a security blanket. To the best riders, it vanishes intermittently until NO CONT ACT is needed .

To truly appreciate the TACT that lightens CONTACT to NOTHING the horse must be ready to accept the rider's demands. There are several criteria to sanction the horse's acceptance. First, the horse must 'remain calm' under all circumstances. Second, the horse must 'move willingly forward' when invited to do so. Third, the horse must be willing to ' be straightened' with practically no resistance. Fou rth, the horse must 'stay light' on the bit. Finally, the horse must be able to maintain this attitude in " Self-Carriage " , i.e. without any effort from the rider.

Then, the horse is ready to respond to the ever changing demands of the rider and to progress. The horse could become more engaged or more collected or more bent and could perform more difficult transitions in response to imperceptible changes of the rider's aids. If the horse resists, the rider's aids were too severe. The horse's resistance must be understood by the rider and negotiated with TACT.  This is where the.finesse of the rider's TACT is measured.

The rider must detect the slightest change in the horse's acceptance. Frequently, for the properly collected horse, the change is a loss of lightness . This loss is the first sign that a resistance  is about to occur. It precedes any disorder that is about to develop in the horse' s balance or coordination. Why? The properly collected horse is "well engaged giving freedom, lightness and mobility  to the forehand  and shoulders ."

The core of lightness is in the suspension of the forehand onto the shoulders. When the collected light horse starts to offer a resistance the muscles involved in the suspension of the forehand are the first to tighten. This is the first sympathetically triggered reaction to the severity of the demand. It can be felt through the aids of the rider either as a slight pull on the bit followed by a shift of the horse's weight to the shoulders or as a sudden small drop of the front of the saddle

. followed by the horse going behind the bit.

If the rider holds too much CONTACT the horse is never light nor properly collected . Then, the slightest change in the horse' s acceptance is detected as the evasion to straighteness and forwardness and calm. Occasionely, when the rider asks a specific  action  that challenges  directly  one of these acceptance criteria, the loss of lightness is not perceived  first.  The rider focusing on more bend may not feel the unilateral loss of lightness that preceeds the resistance  to bending. Finesse is the ability to detect the slightest change in the horse' s lightness.  Therefore, it is important to understand  what  causes  the rider' s demands  to be too severe.

To do so methodica lly, I suggest we analyze how the rider's demands may affect the acceptance criteria individually . Then, we will consider how they interact jointly.

TACT & CONTACT

An essay by Michel Kaplan

"The heaviest weight on the horse's back is the hand of the rider"(Victor Laurent)

The great debate  about  the schools  of  dressage  can  be resolved  by the  understanding  of the equestrian tact. Tact  is diplomacy  between  the  horse and the rider.  It is the way the rider obtains  the horse's  cooperation.  Equestrian  tact  is best  when the coordination  of the rider ' s aids is flawless. The response of  the horse  is commensurate  to the consideration  of the rider for  the horse 's limitations  and tolerance .  Tact requires  horse sense and sensitivity

Equestrian tact depends on the aids the rider uses to drive and guide the horse.  The direct driving aids are the seat, the thighs, the calves and the heels of the rider . The direct guiding aids are the hands, the seat, the thighs, the calves and the heels of the rider. Guiding is the contol of motion , unless there is motion there is no guiding possible. Therefore, the driving aids must be applied first to create some motion , and the guiding aids are only used to direct the motion created . Thus, any opposition by the guiding aids to the driving aids will stifle the motion . The horse will react to such opposition first by slowing down and pulling against the hand of the rider or becoming crooked, next by acting up. The tattle tell signs given by the horse before acting up are in their usual order of appearance:

                                     •                      The pinning of the ears

                                     •                      The stiffening of the top of the neck

                                     •                      The shaking up of the head or  over bending

•                      The hollowing of the base of the neck

•                      The hollowing of the back

•                      The lateral bending of the neck

•                      The popping out of one shoulder

•                      The lateral evasion of the haunches

For you the rider, tact is: being alert and sensitive to any of the tattle tell signs the horse gives; staying calm so that the horse you ride stays calm; being and seating straight so that you can straighten the horse you ride; being supple and maintaining a good balance to allow your horse to stay supple and maintain a good balance under you; never opposing the guiding aids to the driving aids to avoid confusing the horse; always having hands that seek the lightest active connection with the horse' s bars ; most often inviting the horse to give on the stiff side and take on the soft side until the connection remains actively light and even on both sides. This connection cannot be a passive contact and must not maintain the horse behind the bit.

The contact when it tends to become passive indicates a rider who lacks sensitivity . In the other hand, when there is no contact and the horse stays behind the bit, you can be assured that the guiding aids continuously oppose too much the driving aids.

Michel and his brother. Early contact with Equids