102 The Horse Trainer's Glossary: Ride the Masters' Language

Welcome to Horse Training Definitions & Terms in English—the essential foundation for all serious riders and trainers. This lecture is a prerequisite for effective training, ensuring you understand and apply the terminology used by master horsemen for centuries.

Unlike modernized, vague interpretations, this course spells out the precise language of classical training, directly sourced from the historic bookshelf of the great horsemen and the FEI rulebooks. We train in a complete system—one that starts with a clear end goal and its essential elements.

Why does this matter? Training moves faster than speech. In the arena, there’s no time for lengthy explanations. You must be able to think, speak, and execute commands efficiently. This class prepares you to do exactly that.

Your glossary of essential terms is provided in multiple formats:
✅ Printable PDF for reference and study
✅ PowerPoint presentation for personal use or teaching
✅ Video format for auditory reinforcement

Master the professional terminology used by elite riders and trainers—so you can train with precision and authority.

Being certain of these terms will serve you for a lifetime with horses.

So, let’s get to it.

JF

• The critical role of the hindquarters in generating governable power.

• How carrying power differs from propulsive force (thrust) and their essential co-action.

• The true definition of engagement and how it affects your horse’s entire way of going.

• The basis of contact and how it develops into throughness and on-the-bit.

• Why poll flexion is usually misunderstood -- because it is technically a misnomer! 

  
  

The literal crux biomechanics of horse training is within this essential lecture on the two forces of the hindquarters, contact, and throughness. Without a correct understanding of hindquarters mechanics, engagement, and thrust, neither horses nor riders can achieve the true aim of self-carriage.

This lecture also demystifies contact, explaining how it relates to through-the-back, the displaceable forehand, and the usually misconstrued quality, 'on-the-bit'. If you want to train horses correctly and avoid wasted years on incorrect methods, these definitions are non-negotiable. Learn what centuries of true horsemen have understood and passed down—without the fluff. #irrefutable

"Motion is the element of the horse, and all motion begins in the HINDQUARTERS." 

                                                                                                                 STEINBRECHT, GYMNASIUM

2 of 4: The “Frame” – Topline, Bend, and Lines of Travel

What You’ll Learn:

• The topline as a functional, load-bearing structure—why a through back transmits everything in training.

• What uphill balance really means—and why it has nothing to do with poll height.

• The true definition of bend (spoiler: it means ‘straight’ on a curved line’—most riders get this dead wrong).

• How through-the-back riding creates elasticity, looseness, and lightness.

• The critical German training terms like schwung and durchlässigkeit—and why every serious rider needs to know them, no matter their language.

A correctly developed topline is not cosmetic—it’s the foundation of real training and soundness. If your horse lacks a through back, everything falls apart—from collection to straightness to the ability to carry a rider without long-term damage.

This lecture dives deep into essential biomechanics, revealing:

• Why uphillness (die Aufrichtung) is a functional state—not a head position.

• The inescapable relationship between bend, straightness, and line of travel—and why most riders struggle with this paradox.

• How the through-the-back connection governs the entire way-of-going, influencing balance, power, and longevity.

• The German riding terms that encapsulate classical training wisdom—concepts that, if ignored, leave your riding superficial at best, damaging at worst.

Want to ride correctly and stop wasting years on poor training? This is non-negotiable. #ClassicalTraining #RideCorrectly #BiomechanicsMatter

The Horse Trainer's aim:  “The rider/trainer has achieved his aim and fully trained his horse when both forces of the hindquarters – the propulsive force and the carrying power – bound with elasticity, are fully developed and when the trainer can use and balance the effect of these forces exactly.”  STEINBRECHT, GYMNASIUM

The Pillars of Correct Movement – Forward, Straightness, and the Elastic Horse

What You’ll Learn:

• The real meaning of ‘forward’ and why most riders get it completely wrong.

• Why ‘straight’ isn’t about rigid lines but about the horse’s interchangeable symmetry.

• The true definition of self-carriage—and why your horse either has it or doesn’t.

• The German concept of Losegelassenheit and why it’s the glue of effortless movement.

• How elasticity and suppleness bind the moving forces into lightness, adjustability, and power.

Description

‘Forward’ and ‘straight’ are two of the most misunderstood and mis-used words in riding and horse training—and if you don’t get them right, your training will never produce self-carriage. In this lecture, we dissect the non-negotiable qualities of the correct way-of-going, including the German concept of Losegelassenheit, which is the glue of the horse and rider’s moving parts and the basis of transmissive rideability. Learn how elasticity isn’t just a ‘feel’ but a biomechanical discernment that determines and governs connection and power. If your horse isn’t self-carrying, you’re not riding mastery—you’re managing fragility. Stop guessing—this lecture lays out the clear, irrefutable principles that define correct riding.

#NoMoreVagueTheories #RideWithPrecision #whichwaydoyouwanttoride #irrefutable

The Pinnacle of Training – Collection, Durchlässigkeit, and the Fully Trained Horse

What You’ll Learn:

• The difference between longitudinal and lateral rideability, their superb co-action, and why both are required for true collection.

• How longitudinal adjustability decides power.

• The meaning of “submission” (hint: it’s not about dominance—it’s about trust and Durchlässigkeit).

• Why Überstreichen is a quick test for self-carriage.

• How the basics – the ‘two golden rules’ – dictate the way-of-going.

• What makes a horse truly ‘finished’—and why most riders never get there.

• The four natural aids and their role in high-level equitation.

• The true definition of collection, based on citable biomechanics per the masters—not myths.

Description

Collection is the most abused and misrepresented concept in riding. Without understanding engagement, carrying power, and thrust in their proper roles and ratios, you’re not training collection—you’re just managing resistance. In this final lecture, we break down the last essential elements of correct training, from longitudinal adjustability to lateral engagement, the overall use of self by the horse, and the real function of the four natural aids. We demystify Durchlässigkeit—the classical concept of complete rideability—when ‘the rider has the thought, and the horse executes the thought’*,and why Überstreichen is the first moment of truth for your training. Finally, we conclude with the true aim of the rider/trainer, as stated by Steinbrecht:

“The rider/trainer has achieved his aim and fully trained his horse when both forces of the hindquarters—the propulsive force and the carrying power—bound by elasticity, are fully developed and when the trainer can use and balance the effect of these forces at will and in precise ratios.”

If you don’t understand this, you don’t understand forward riding…and that is collection. This lecture brings everything together so that you do.

*Colonel Alois Pohajsky quoted

#RideWithPrecision #NoMoreGuesswork #WhichWayDoYouWantToRide

Congratulations.  This plain list of terms is a challenge to concentrate through.  YOU are amongst the rare few in riding to pay attention to these ideas.

If you haven't done so already, please print out the list .pdf because we'll examine its' items again in future classes and YOU WILL WANT IT HANDY & PRINTED SOMEDAY.

Then, try reading P. 71 and the Motto again...knowing the terms in them as you do now.

What are 'p. 71' and the motto ?  They are in the downloadable resource here called "printable notebook startup".  They are statements from GYMNASIUM by Gustav Steinbrecht.    P. 71 is a description of the timeless horsemen's adage  "Ride your horse forwards and set him straight."  I've typed the motto and   the text of p. 71 below.

Forward and Straight are the 'Two Golden Rules" of Riding.

When we get these two rules properly, there is practically nothing else to do.  THAT IS A GOOD DEAL.

There will be Classes and lectures on these ideas, doctrines, and topics coming up.  An educated rider must know how they exactly apply to the practical daily riding and training. 

Then, there will be full explanations and demonstrations of horse-training plain and simple following the instructions of 'the bookshelf'.  Riding Lessons Course Classes will bring 'the bookshelf' to life and give you a rock-solid, cornerstone-foundation-standard.   

You'll KNOW.

You'll literally be able to translate the bookshelf to the butt of the horses with your own. 

Jane & Soñador XVIII

MOTTO:

“The rider/trainer has achieved his aim and fully trained his horse when both forces of the hindquarters – the propulsive force and the carrying power – bound with elasticity, are fully developed and when the trainer can use and balance the effect of these forces exactly.”

p.71

“As the first main principle of the art I urge every rider to ‘ride your horse forward and set it straight!’.

When I say riding forward I do not mean driving the horse forward in the fastest and most extended gaits, but rather for the rider to take care to maintain an active thrust of the hindquarters in all exercises such that, not only in the movements in place, but even when moving backwards, the forward motion, namely the desire to advance the load, remains in effect. The horse must therefore be enabled, through practice, to restrain its thrust to the utmost by increasing the load (but thrust should never be completely suppressed by overdoing it!)

Additionally, I consider a horse to be straight not if it carries its body entirely without bending, but if its forehand is adjusted in a forward direction to the lines to be traveled, so that the horse’s forelegs precede the hind legs under all circumstances, even if its body is bent to the greatest extent possible, and in the movements on two tracks. The hind legs in turn(s) follow the forelegs unconditionally in that they always step forwards in the direction of movement and never to the side of that direction.

If these two golden rules are not observed due to ignorance or negligence, all of the faults that make a horse resistant, and often even ruin it, develop during training....The rider must cause the hind legs to follow the forehand correctly. This following alone determines the way of going because the thrust of the hindquarters becomes more effective the straighter it acts against the body mass, according to the principle that a pushing or lifting force must always be directed toward the center of gravity of the load.”

This is a preview regarding the Front of the Horse.