A judge’s view:

“Correct contact is difficult to define because it is an ever-changing feeling. When a horse is well balanced and in self-carriage, contact with the mouth is so light it is nearly nothing. It is almost like having just a thread connecting your hand to the horse’s mouth. On the other hand, if a horse loses balance and falls on the forehand, the contact may become quite heavy until the horse is rebalanced and once again in self-carriage.” – U.S. Equestrian Federation judge Gail Hoff-Carmona – from Dressage Today, May 2010 revised March 31, 2020

Image: Nuno Oliveira

The View from The Netherlands…

When the rider’s hand follows the movement of the horse’s head and the contact stays consistent and soft, soon the horse will trust the hand and likes to stay in touch with the hand. But you have to give your horse the time he needs. And from there, you can start to capture the forwardness and redirect that into a more solid connection.

Rien van der Schaft

The view from the top

“To get a horse to Grand Prix, they have to learn to take the contact — you will not make it successfully to Grand Prix without proper contact. The contact from the hand to the mouth is key from beginning to end. In fact, a horse who is behind the contact is more difficult to fix than a horse who is heavier in the hand. They have to learn to feel the bit and the rider’s hand. A horse balances itself with its neck,” he continued. “When you see a horse ridden with a short neck, that means the balance is on the rider’s hand and the horse is not in self-carriage. Everybody has to work on that in every level.”

Carl Hester

And from France….

“It is indispensible that the impulsion given by the legs, with the goal of engaging the hindquarters, be received by an extremely sensitive horse…”

André Jousseaume, Progressive Dressage

@DigiShots image

From the great German Master

“The rider should not try to put the load on the hindquarters primarily with his hands. Through forward driving aids, he must cause the hind legs to step more underneath the weight and take on the load themselves… The elevation of the forehand then comes automatically, the more the hindquarters are lowered and bent.”

“This rule is often disregarded, particularly by riders who because their body is too stiff, have dead legs and therefore always tend to overcome this drawback by increased activity of their hands. Since under such riders, the insufficiently stimulated hind legs do not step far enough underneath the load to be truly bend, the activity of their hands is unsuccessful; they merely interfere with the horse’s movement and thus deprive themselves of the only means fro attaining the desired goal. Thrust cannot be regulated if none exists, and the horse cannot learn to move correctly if it does not move.”

Gustav Steinbrecht, The Gymnasium of the Horse

One of the Modern Masters, Klaus Balkenhol…

“All riders, regardless of their level of riding, are eventually confronted with ‘contact’ and all the problems connected with it. As a matter of fact, a contact that’s not been correctly established from the hindquarters, is not a real contact at all. To be able to sense this is part of the art that riding can become… The rider who follows this path consistently and patiently will be rewarded in the end. Even if the reward ‘only’ consists of an indescribable, beautiful, and satisfying feeling of lightness – almost weightlessness – in one’s riding, and the resulting harmonious cooperation between horse and rider.”

Klaus Balkenhol, Klaus Balkenhol – The Man and his Training Methods

Another Modern Master…

“Lightness is characterised by the simultaneous achievement of the following conditions: activity of the hind legs and suppleness of the horse’s back, both of which permit him to have, from the start of his training, a certain degree of collection, without making him give in (ramener) by the direct intervention of the rider’s hand. This kind of lightness can only be attained by a perfectly balanced horse. If the rider’s seat is correct, his legs gently stretched down, his arms falling naturally, and his back completely free from any contraction, he will accompany the undulations of the horse’s back giving the hands a degree of stability which will permit an assurance of the softest contact with the horse’s mouth.”

Nuno Oliveira, Reflections on Equestrian Art

The last word…

“Contact does not mean that by pulling the reins we will have it. The horse should step into the contact and establish an outline corresponding to the respective pace; an outline within which it can best develop its power. This is the aim of stepping into the contact. The rider’s legs, weight and hands bring the horse into a form within which it can carry itself so that it can move most comfortably. Then it will be able to move, when it is muscled up, to the best of its ability.”

Reiner Klimke Basic Training of the Young Horse, Ingrid Klimke and her latest star, Franziskus demonstrate…