Western Pleasure Article - Balanced FrameWhen your Western Pleasure horse carries himself in a balanced frame, he will feel effortless beneath you. You will feel the power of his muscles working to support his body at a soft and steady pace. He will be light and responsive to your slightest cue. You will feel centered and nearly motionless in the saddle. Your horse will have a round back and engaged hindquarters, as well as a level topline and picture perfect silhouette. Your horse's neck will be parallel to the ground with the tips of his ears no lower than his withers and his poll no higher. That may vary depending on his conformation and natural carriage. His head will be carried in a vertical position or with his nose slightly ahead of the vertical. His movement will be relaxed and fluid in every gait, his rhythm slow, steady, and cadenced, his knees and hocks driving forward with minimal lift. This perfect frame isn't just about looks; it comes with benefits. When your horse is traveling properly he will give you:
It's this inverted frame, when the neck elevates and the back drops lower, that will transform the most elegant mover into a real mess. No horse can be a pleasure to ride or to look at once he’s lost his balance. A horse that’s hollow-backed is carrying too much weight on the forehand and loses his ability to reach forward through his shoulders and hips and move fluidly. For a pleasure horse to perform at his best, all forward motion must originate from his hindquarters. That is the horse's engine. The hind end pushes the hocks under the horse's body to provide motion and in turn elevates the front end. As the forehand lightens, the horse become more maneuverable. It also allows the forelegs to sweep forward with full range of motion and reduces unwanted knee action. On the other hand, if a horse’s stride shortens, the hocks will move up and down in a piston-like manner instead of providing forward impulsion. That increases the weight on the forehand and interferes with the motion of the front legs, causing more lift in the knees and increasing the force of impact when the front hooves hit the ground. When you have excessive vertical movement in the knees and hocks, it restricts your horse's ability to perform at his best. It also makes the ride a rougher one for you. The more jarring the gaits, the greater the physical effects on your horse. When a horse moves in an unbalanced frame, the muscles of the back and neck will shorten. This causes tension and strain that can develop into chronic soreness. The pounding on the front legs that is caused when a horse is traveling with too much weight on his front legs puts additional stress on his joints. That's why I look at the training of a western pleasure horse as more than a demonstration of slow speeds and the picture perfect profile on the rail. It should also strengthen his body, develop endurance, and increase his longevity by helping him withstand the stresses and strains that can lead to a breakdown. Unfortunately, proper carriage is often lost when slowness is achieved at the cost of quality gaits and true balance. To avoid having this problem with your horse, or if your horse is already exhibiting the signs of frame failure, reengage his hind end and lengthen his stride. Here's how to get your horse back on track. Take him into the middle of your ring or anywhere you have level footing and enough room to ride circles and turns of various sizes. Begin at the walk. Give your horse a loose rein. Let your legs hang long and loose and bounce them lightly against his sides to encourage him to step and reach forward. Make sure you relax and allow your hips to follow your horse's motion. Tightness in your pelvis will discourage him from stepping out. Next, pick up the jog. Resist the urge to slow him down if he moves more quickly than a jog and picks up a trot. Instead, push him forward at this extended gait until he relaxes, lengthens his stride, and lowers his neck. That is a sign that he’s loosening up in his shoulders and hips, engaging his hind end, and traveling in a more balanced frame. As he becomes more confident about carrying himself at a strong, steady, and smooth pace (when your horse feels smoother, it means he’s moving better), you’ll ask him to continue to do so with support from your reins. Apply contact that is consistent yet very soft and unrestrictive. Your goal is to provide support to your horse and encourage him to redistribute his weight evenly between his front and hind ends. If all goes well, your horse will respond to the contact by rounding his back and driving from his hocks. His legs will swing freely from the shoulders and hips. His gaits will be more forward and fluid. However, if he becomes rough when you introduce the rein contact, it’s a sign that he’s not accepting the rein contact and responding by backing away from the bit (and rider's hands) and becoming stiff and mechanical again. To fix this, you’ll supple his body with a poll-to-tail bend. Shorten your inside rein until you have a steady feel and your horse turns his head slightly to the inside of the path he’s on. Don’t pull back on the rein or move your hand. To avoid pulling on your horse too much, never bring your hands behind the saddle horn. Also, keep your arm muscles soft and your elbows even with or slightly in front of your sides, never pulling them behind your body. You’ll want to bend his entire body, not just pull his head and neck to the inside, to encourage him to drive his inside leg deep under his body. Once he relaxes and lengthens his stride while bending, release the bend and let him travel straight as a reward.
That leisurely pace is the benchmark of the Western Pleasure horse. If you condition and teach your horse to travel in a balanced frame, you will be rewarded with that perfect rhythm and speed. However, if you go for the quick fix, pulling back on the reins whenever your horse gets quick, he will have no choice but to throw his weight onto his forehand and lose the quality of his gaits. Taking the time to build your horse’s strength and develop his suppleness will produce far superior results. It will also be more comfortable for your horse and a more enjoyable experience for you both.
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In general, circles and changes of direction are extremely useful for improving your horse’s flexibility and taking the hollowness out of his topline. Asking him to follow the curve of a turn or circle develops suppleness and builds strength, the key ingredients of a balanced and level frame. Keep working him on arcs until he's able to stay round and balanced on straight lines, such as when he’s traveling down the rail. Take him back into a bend when you feel him stiffening to your hands or speeding up, a sign that he's shifting his weight forward. In time, all he'll need is a brief lift of the reins and/or squeeze of the legs to ask him to rebalance himself. At that point, you'll find it nearly effortless for him to maintain steady and consistently slow pleasure horse speeds. 
