Mental Collection
The Art of (Not) Chasing Squirrels in the Rain
Be here now, it keeps us in a place of love, not fear. ~ Alysia Reiner
Collection is a word you will hear tossed around ad nauseam in equestrian circles, and to really explore it philosophically is a blog for another day, (so now you know what’s coming sometime soon). But to stick to it in physical terms for the purposes of introducing this blog, collection is a highly developed and desired organization of the horse’s body that takes years to develop well. It requires extreme suppleness, strength and balance as well as a mental relaxation and confidence within the horse to allow his body to be readily organized in this way. True, sustained collection can never be forced, though it is often attempted. It is, however, like drinking grape juice and calling it wine.
The easiest way to comprehend physical collection is to think about the demands on a human gymnast or ballet dancer, or to watch a horse approach a jump. Over the jump we are looking for the horse to exhibit a good bascule, a rounding of the back and reaching through his body all the way to his nose, that allows him the freedom of shoulders to pick his front feet up for safety. Picture a dolphin arching his back as he leaps through the waves.
In order to jump with good bascule, a horse must reach deep under his body with his hind legs right before the jump, as he gathers his body and lifts his torso for the explosive thrust that will carry him over it. That final moment before take-off, when done well, is an extreme moment of physical collection.
Photo credit: unknown but would like to know! Apparently from a video from 2012 London Olympics.
Another example of physical collection in the extreme is the levade, a precursor to what is called the airs above the ground as performed by the Lipizzan horses at The Spanish Riding School in Vienna.
Rudolph Rostek of The Spanish Riding School in Vienna - if you happen to know horse or photographer, please message me.
However, in order to have true physical collection, we have to have a horse that is not only physically fit for the task, but mentally and emotionally fit, too. Many years ago I had the interesting experience of taking a few lessons from Craig Johnson*, a reining trainer of tremendous experience and success. He had already won about a dozen World Champion titles by then, but I think he’s up to something like 17 now, plus countless other titles. He’s also an excellent teacher and communicator, and though I probably only had a handful of lessons all told, there were several things he said that have stuck with me ever since.
One of those things, was the importance of the horse (and rider) learning to exercise mental collection. It’s too long ago for me to remember exactly how Craig himself explained it, but knowing Craig and his sense of humor I think it went something like: “It’s not about how long you keep their attention but about how quickly you get it back on you and the task at…oh look, a squirrel! The task at hand. Is that rain? What was I….you know, I chased a squirrel in the rain once, anyhow, the task at….where was I? Oh, look, a squirrel!”
It struck me then and has stayed with me ever since, that training a horse for mental collection is no different than teaching ourselves the art of meditation. Even people considered masters of meditation will tell you that (much like some horses) they have different levels of success from day to day keeping their mind from ‘chasing squirrels in the rain’.
Photo credit: Geert Weggen
In practical terms then, developing mental collection in our horses is all about repetitive focus, and asking them to return to the present moment with us whenever their mind wanders; distracted by another horse, a whinnying pasture mate, a loud truck, or a traveling circus full of flying monkeys. We and our intention for the interaction have to become more interesting to the horse than anything around us, and that, like physical collection, ultimately takes a relaxed and trusting mind.
As Nuno Oliveira once said when a student admired how he simply whispered and his horses obeyed; “First, they must listen.”
Once this state of mind has been achieved, the door to the body opens, and our mutual ability to realign with the intent of strengthening the body becomes far more effective. To watch a highly accomplished rider and horse perform the movements in meditation for which they have so carefully trained is a magical sight to behold, and not one we are often afforded.
As for us, meditation is perhaps not as much about the impossible task of directly emptying our minds ourselves, but rather of focusing on one thing so intently, herding our mind back to it again and again, that all those other thoughts just give up and go take a nap in a tree somewhere. Nature abhors a vacuum and so does the mind, so fill it with one thing in order to empty it of a million others.
Then the door to the mind-body connection swings wide open and our breath begins to flow, our posture grows in confidence as our joints are able to align with the bio-mechanical truth of their purpose, and our spines whisper, yes, please and thank you as our hearts slow and our muscles relax with a heightened awareness that is devoid of anxiety.
When people ask me if I meditate, I say yes, pretty much every day. I don’t always explain that it more often than not involves a horse rather than a yoga mat, though I do practice that kind of meditation, too, and I’ll readily admit I ride better when I have meditated before leaving the house.
But fortunately for me, teaching my horse to mentally collect, or meditate, is just as much an exercise in meditation for me as it is for the horse, and it benefits us both to a noticeable degree. It is a meditation in movement, a moving meditation, that keeps me in the moment with no other thought than how to keep the horse engaged in the conversation in a beneficial manner, physically as well as mentally, and ultimately, emotionally.
It is no different than the Buddhist practice of Mindfulness, of staying in the now, staying engaged in the present. I just find it a lot easier when I have a large sentient being with a mind of it’s own to focus on, rather than just me and my monkeys, chasing squirrels in the rain.
For more on Craig Johnson, please visit https://www.craigjohnsonreining.com/
Take away question: How do you practice keeping your mind on the present, and how do you keep from ‘chasing squirrels in the rain?’ Comment down below!
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Do you have a favorite equestrian principle you’d like me to talk about? Do you have a favorite non-equestrian saying you’d like me to look at through the eyes of an equestrian life coach? Or do you just have a great question or idea for a subject matter you’d like to see me write about? Then drop me a comment below and let me give it a go! Credit will be given for source of inspiration.