Figure L3
The Working Equitation Horse
Self-Carriage Against a High Head on the Forehand
Two skeletons, the same scale, the same ground line, both with the head and neck up. What separates them is not the height in front. It is where the weight sits and what the back and the hind limbs do underneath it.
If a horse’s head is up, is it carrying itself?
The neck is raised in both
Height in front is not the difference. Read the back, the croup and the hind limbs instead.
One
weight on the forehand
The mass has fallen forward, on to the front feet. The neck drops at its base, the back drops with it and the croup rotates back, so the hind limbs trail behind the mass instead of carrying it.
Two
weight carried behind
The mass sits back, towards the hind feet. The neck rises out of a lifted base, the back lifts under it and the croup rotates forward, so the hind limbs come under the mass and carry it.
The same mass marker is drawn on both, at the same size. Only its position along the horse differs, and the tick shows where its weight lands on the ground line.
The arrows belong to the drawings themselves. Each one marks the direction a part is travelling: down and back on the first, up and forward on the second.
A raised front combined with trailing hind legs or a dropped back is elevation of outline, not elevation of balance.
Fig. L3 · Self-Carriage Against a High Head on the Forehand