Dressage vs. hunter movement

Any of you had to explain the difference between hunter and dressage movement to friends, spouses, or relatives? It's not easy, in part because non-horse people have short attention spans when it comes to such subtlety. Well, I pulled these videos for my husband and thought I'd share them.

HUNTER VS. DRESSAGE MOVEMENT VIDEOS

Dressage Movement (Hotline, dressage stallion)



Hunter Movement (Successful hunter, Crown Point)




DESCRIPTIONS OF HUNTER MOVEMENT
Here is the rationale behind hunter movement preferences from Wikipedia's article on show hunters:

"The show hunter has long and low movement, meaning the horse should have a long, sweeping stride that covers maximum ground per minimum effort. There is not much flexion of the horse's joints as it moves; ideally the majority of the movement occurs from the horse's shoulder and hip. The action of the field hunter is efficient: the horse does not waste energy bending its legs any more than it has to. This relates back to the hunt field, where the horse had to work for several hours on end, often galloping, and inefficient movement would tire the horse more quickly.

The show hunter moves smoothly and freely, pointing its toes as it floats over the ground. It should not have excessive knee action, nor should its strides be short and choppy, both of which would make its movement less efficient. The horse should be forward, so it could jump if needed, but no faster than necessary.

The horse must always be in a balanced frame. This, too, relates back to the hunt field, where a horse had to be balanced in order to cope with the changing terrain, sometimes sudden change of direction, and surprising fences. The frame of the show hunter differs from that of dressage horses, eventers, and show jumpers, as it travels in a long and low frame, with its head moderately extended. Its frame is more "stretched out" than horses competing in dressage, eventing, or show jumping, but the horse should not be on its forehand. The riders of show hunters often ride on a slightly looser rein than seen elsewhere to facilitate this type of movement, and the horse carries its head just in front of the vertical.

Although the horse is in a long and low frame, it should still be able to collect its stride when asked. The horse must also be proficient at lengthening its canter stride while still maintaining its tempo and rhythm.

The walk of the show hunter is free and ground-covering; the trot should be balanced and flowing. The canter should be moderately collected. The horse should have a long galloping stride (12 feet is the expected length), but it should still be balanced and rhythmic."

Ask Laura Phelps from Today's Horse:

"In terms of movement, we want to see a horse that does not have a lot of knee and hock action or a lot of suspension as you would see with a good dressage horse. They should move in a way that I call "sweep-and-reach", also known as being "a daisy cutter". Basically, the horse just picks up their feet enough to clear the ground and sweeps their legs smoothly forward with nice length of stride at the trot and then sets the feet down again. Canter is the same thing; pick up the feet enough to clear the ground and stride forward without a lot of knee and hock action or big, round scope canter strides. The gaits are flatter, smooth and very efficient, with nice reach at the trot. A horse being shown in hunter-under-saddle is more a "type" of horse then a pleasure class horse is."

"That Hunter Movement" thread in the COTH forums

Conformation: Hunter or Jumper? from Canada Horse Magazine

---

DESCRIPTIONS OF DRESSAGE MOVEMENT

Well, I can find few articles specifically on dressage movement, but there are many articles on what makes a dressage prospect. These articles cover more than just the movement of the animal. I suspect a wide range of "styles" of movers are acceptable within dressage. Some dressage enthusiasts like knee action,some don't, and some maintain that the flamboyant movers sacrifice purity of gaits. However, these arguments are more matters of personal opinion than universal truths. From my own research on what makes a dressage prospect, here are some desirables for the dressage mover...

• An active hind leg. Hocks should articulate/bend to create energy from behind.
• Ability to lower the hindquarters and "sit down." Carrying power behind will enable collection.
• Uphill balance. Similar, or even the same, as above. The more naturally a horse is built uphill, the better he or she will be able to perform.
  
• Freedom of the shoulder. The ability to lift the front end and extend the front legs via the shoulder will influence the quality of movement. A neck that ties in high on the shoulder would facilitate this.
• Expressiveness. Not sure I can offer a good definition of this, except to say that some horses seem to dance while others don't. When I posted to COTH asking what the term expressiveness refers to, the answer I got from most responders was Blue Hors Matine! We've all seen that video, right? I'm guessing epressiveness is a combination of knee/hock action, and other qualities. All other things being equal, a horse that shows expressive movement would probably place over a horse with more pedestrian movement, esp. at the upper levels.
• Using the whole body. Dressage seems to want horses that move use their whole body as opposed to moving the legs only in a scissor-like fashion.


• Strength. Rhythm. Cadence. Elasticity. Suppleness. I'm hoping most readers know what these things are. If not, there are other articles that go into it extensively. Here's a nice visual of a young horse that I feel brings it all to the table.

One question in my mind is, how mutually exclusive are these different types? Can one horse succeed in both dressage and hunters? I suspect the answer is yes, although certain attributes might be dealbreakers, especially for the competitive hunter world. In hunters, knee action would compromise the success of an otherwise talented individual. Dressage is probably a bit more forgiving--so long as the horse shows talent for collection and extended gaits, a variety of movement types would be acceptable. Those are my thoughts. What do others think?

What to look for in the dressage prospect from Equisearch