>>> And I could feel Rosa's back lift slightly under me as she rotated *her* >>> pelvis and brought her back legs underneath to do a perfect paso llano >>> (rack).
There's a lot more to "collection" than lifting the back slightly, and I think that's what Judy is saying. There's no reason for one definition of the term within gaited horses, and another within the general horse world. Collection has been defined for centuries in dressage, so I think that definition wins on sheer longevity. If the universes never collided, maybe it wouldn't be a big issue if there were two distinct definitions, but we hear of more and more gaited horse people talking about taking "dressage lessons" so it DOES get too confusing. I took basic dressage lessons on my big old QH for several years - no interest in showing him, but just some "dressage-lite" for my own interests. During that time, he became less and less strung-out, learned to lift his back - even more than slightly I'd say. His legs began to come up under him more, trailing less, and I began to feel "impulsion" in him - such a joy! All three of his gaits improved, but especially his canter. But in all the years I rode him, even in casual lessons, we didn't even come close to anything a serious dressage person would call "collection" - not close. You might say we made some progress "toward collection", but that term simply isn't used until the "degree of collection" has advanced well beyond anything we're talking about here - even with my 3-gaited horse. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
