Without a standardized glossary, English speaking dressage riders, trainers and judges have been communicating with each other using a language which frequently is not understood the same way by teh listener as by the speaker. We have had to make do with interpretations and concepts of vocabulary and terminology gleaned from the leterature, much which has been translated, and not always accurately, with terms that are used differently by different authors and that have different meanings and nuances in different languages. The main purpose of this glossary is to improve understanding of, and standardize the usage of, terminology used in dressage judging. It is not intended to be a comprehensive lexicon of general dressage terminology. It is hoped that it will improve the communication between judges, competitors and trainers. If it does fulfill tis purpose, it cannot but help to improve the quality of the judging itself, as well as increasing the learning value of the competitive experience.

Abduct	To move or pull a part of the body away from the median axis. The horse's limb(s) step laterally away from the midline.	Above the Bit	A head position in which the horse avoids acceptance of the contact by putting the muzzle forward and upward, also usually retracting the poll.
Acceptance	Lack of evasion, resistance, or protest; acquiescence. Used in reference to the horse's willingness to allow the maintenance of a steady contact, the application of the aids, and/or the placement of the rider's weight.	Activity	Energy, vigor, liveliness-referring especially to that of the hind legs.
Adduct	To move or pull a part of the body toward the median axis. The horse's limb(s) step laterally toward the midline.	Against the Bit	The horse presses its mouth against the bit with rigid or unyielding neck/poll/jaw.
Alignment	The lining up of the horses body parts from tail to poll. One of the three aspects of straightness.	Amble	A four-beat gait, with irregular rhythm, approaching a pace (which is a two-beat gait).
Balance	Relative distribution of the weight of horse and rider upon the fore and hind legs (longitudinal balance) and the left and right legs (lateral balance). The horse is in good balance when the base of support is both narrowed laterally and shortened longitudinally (unstable balance), thus making it susceptible to small external influences (of the rider), and mobile (especially the forehand). Loss of balance means sudden increase of weight onto the forehand and/or to one side (lengthening or widening the base of support).	Basics	The basics form the correct foundation of the progressive traing of the horse, independent of the execution of specific test movements. The basics include: correct rhythm, suitable tempo, relaxation, suppleness and elasticity, correct contact/connection, energy/impulsion, straightness, and lognitudinal balance suitable to the level and task at hand. Coreectness of the basics is indicated by improvements in: 1. the quality of the gaits and paces the gymnastic ability and physique of the horse, and the horse's attitude and rideability.
Beat	1. A footfall within a gait. A hoof, or pair of hooves virtually simultaneously, striking the ground. By this definition, the walk has four beats, the trot two, and the canter three. 2. The emphasized beat (as in music). By this definition, the walk has two beats, the trot has two beats, and the canter has one beat. The emphasized beats are the ones the rider "feels".	Behind the Bit, Behind the Aids, Behind the Leg	An evasion in which the horse retracts or shrinks back from the bit/contact, avoiding stepping forward into the contact. The head may or may not be behind the vertical.
Behind the Vertical	The head position in which the horses nostril falls behind the imaginary vertical line dropped from the horses eye(i.e., toward the chest). The horse may or may not be "behind the bit."	Bend	The laterally arced position in which the horses body appears to form a uniform curve from poll to tail. Examples of faulty bend are: bending only in the neck, only at the base of the neck, or bent toward teh worng direction.
Biomechanics	The application of the principles and techniques of mechanics (the branch of physics that deals with the motion of material bodies and the phenomena of the action of forces on bodies) to the structure, function and capabilities of living organisms.	Blocked	Impaired in the connection dut to sustained muscular contraction, creating rigidity.
Broken Neckline	The position of the neck in which there is excessive longitudinal flxion approximately one third of the way down the neck, so that the poll is no longer the highest point of the skeleton, and the topline of the neck no longer forms an even, smooth arc.	Cadence	The marked accentuation of the rhythm and musical beat that is a result of a steady and suitable tempo harmonizing with a spring impulsion.
Carriage	The posture of the horse, most easily evaluated when viewing the horses profile or outline.	Center of Mass (Center of Gravity)	The point at which the mass of the body can be considered to be concentrated, and around which its weight is evenly distributed or balanced. The horses center of mass is located at 13th or 14th rib and just below the line from the point of the shoulder to the point of the hip. This puts it below the seat of the saddle.
Chewing the Bit	The movements of the horses mouth-gently and softly mouthing the bit-showing mobility and relaxation of the jaw and causing secretion of saliva for a "wet mouth". Not to be confused with snapping or grinding of the teeth.	Clarity	1. Marked distinction between teh footfalls and phases of a gait. 2. Definiteness or demarcation in transitions between gaits or paces.
Closed Halt	A posture at the halt in which the horse is secure in balance and attitude and has the hind legs sufficiently under the body.	Collection/Collected (Walk,Trot, Canter)	Collection is the result of increased engagement and lightening of the forehand. At trot and canter, the steps and strides are shorter (and higher in the front legs) than in the other paces of the gait. The horse's outline appears shorter from bit to hip, with the neck and withers stretched and arched upward. At walk, collection is mainly distinguished by the elevation of the forehand and by the shortening of the stride relative to the medium walk. Note: It is a common misperception that the hind legs step further forward under the body in collection. This is not consonant with the shorter strides required in collection. The hind feet are picked up relatively sooner after passing under the hip, and spend relatively longer on the ground (support phase) than in the other paces of the gait.
Confidence	The boldness and self-assurance with which the horse performs, and the trust in his partnership with the rider	Connection	State in which there is no blockage, break, or slack in the circuit that joins horse and rider into a single harmonious elastic unit. The unrestrcted flow of energy and influence from and through the rider to and throughout the horse and back to the rider. See "Throughness."
Constrained	Forced or compelled against the will. Not necessarily the same as restrained. (The horse may be constrained to bend or flex, or to move forward at speed.)	Contact	The reins are stretched so that they form a straight line, not a loop. Correct contact or acceptance of contact is determined by the elsasticity of the connection between horse and rider.
Correctness	The straightness of the action of the limbs (e.g., faults would be winging, paddling, ringing hocks). Not the same as purity. Dressage judges deal with Correctness only indirectly, that is, to the degree that it affects the purity or quality of the gait. Breeding class judges addrewss correctness directly.	Crookedness	1. Lack of parallelism to line of travel (e.g., haunches left or right of centerline or circle line), or to line of reference (e.g., in leg yielding - haunches leading or trailing). 2. Misalighment of the horses body parts from tail to poll. (e.g., popped shoulder or twisted neck). 3. lack of directness of line of travel (e.g., weaving).
Cross-Canter	The horse canters on one lead in front and the other lead behind. Same as "disunited".	Definition	Distinction, clear demarcation. Usually used in reference to transitions within gaits between paces.
Disobedience	Willful determination to avoid doing what is asked, or determination to do what is not asked.	Dissociation, Diagonal Dissociation (Also diagonal Advanced Placement or DAP)	The hooves of a diagonal pair of limbs ( in trot or canter) do not contact the ground at the same moment. 1. Positive Dissociation - the hind hoof of the diagonal pair touches the ground first (as in canter pirouette and racing gallop - 4 beats.) 2. Negative Dissociation - the front hoof of the diagonal pair touches the ground first (as in lazy, constrained, or disorganized canter - 4 beats).
Disunited (Canter)	"See Cross Canter"	Dragging	Refers to dragging of the hind feet or inactivity of the hind legs (rather than to lack of parallelism in leg-yield and half-pass) or to dragging of the feet in rein-back.
Elasticity	The ability or tendency to stretch and contract the musculature smoothly, giving the impression of stretchiness or springiness.	Elevation	1. The raising of the head and neck (including the base of the neck) freely from lifted withers. 2. Applied in piaffe and passage to address the height to which the legs are raised.
Engagement	Increased flexion of the lumbosacral joint and the joints of the hind leg during the weight-bearing (support)phase of the stride, thus lowering the croup relative to the forehand ("lightening the forehand") Engagement is "carrying power," rather than "pushing power." A prereq uisite for upward thrust impulsion. Note: Engagement is not flexion of the hocks or "hock action" (as seen most clearly in gaited horses and hackneys) in which the joints of the hind legs are most markedly flexed while the leg is in the air. Nor is engagement the length of the step of the hind leg forward toward the horses girth-that is "reach" of the hind leg.	Evasion	Avoidance of the difficulty, correctness, or purpose of the movement, or the influence of the rider, often without active resistance or disobedience (e.g., tilting the head, open mouth, broken neckline, etc.) Bit evasions are means of avoiding correct contact with the bit.
Expression	Increased impulsion, with harmony, balance, and cadence - imbuing the performance with "feeling" and artistic quality.	Extension/Extended (Walk, Trot, or Canter)	Stretching and lengthening of the outline and stride of the horse, and in trot and canter, an increased phase of suspension. The horse covers as much ground as possible with each stride, maintaining nearly the same tempo and relatively uphill balance. In walk, a pace which shows the maximum length of the stride, and stretch and oscillation of the neck. The hind feet touch the ground clearly in front of the prints of the forefeet.
Falling In, Falling On Inside Shoulder, Falling Out, Falling Over Outside Shoulder	Lateral deviation of the forehand/forelegs(s) caused by, or causing, loss of balance.	Figure	Geometrical component of a dressage test, such as a circle, change of rein, figure of eight. Erroneously used interchangeably with "movement".
Flexibility	The ability to move the joints freely. Suppleness, pliability.	Flexion	1. In the limbs - articulation of a joint(s) so that the angle between the bones becomes smaller. 2. "At" the poll, there are three directions of movement, the first two of which are described as flexions: a. Direct flexion (or "longitudinal flexion") - brings the chin toward teh underside of the neck. b. Lateral flexion - closes the angle between teh cheek and the side of the neck. c. Rotation - causes tilting of the head. See "Poll". 3. In the rest of the spine, movements occur in the same directions as at the poll but to a lesser degree. It is the combination of these movements that create carriage, bend, displacement of the ribcage, etc.
Forward	To or toward the direction that is ahead or in front of the horse, or moving or tending toward that direction. Forward indicates teh direction in which the horse goes (in contast to sideways, backward, or standing still); it does not indicate how he gets there. References to specifics such as impulsion, energy, reach, length of stride, and tempo more accurately express how the horse should proceed in a forward direction.	Frame	The longer or shorter outline of the horse dictated by the relative degree of extension or collection. Incorrectly used to address the horses level o training, as in "Second-Level frame" or "Fourth-Level frame."
Freedom	The reach, scope and lack of constriction in the movement of the fore and hind limbs.	Free Walk	A pace in which the horse is allowed freedom to lower and stretch out its head and neck. Both the horses stride and the frame are lengthened. May be performed on a long rein (maintaining contact) or a looses rein (with a loop in the rein - no contact).
Gait	Any of the various patterns of foot movements (or rythyms) of a horse, such as walk, trot, pace, amble, canter, or gallop. For dressage purposes, there are three gaits-walk, trot and canter.	Goosestepping	Refers to exaggerated or artificial action of the forelegs. Usually applied to the walk.
Half-Halt	A momentar increase of collection, or an effect of the aids, which increases the attention and improves the balance of the horse.	Hollow Back	Sagging or depressed back caused by slackness of the back and belly muscles, or sustained contraction of the back muscles-lacking springy tension and impeding swing and elasticity.
Hovering Trot	See "Passage-like Trot."	Hurried, Hasty, Quick, Rushed, Rapid	All refer to quickness of tempo.
Impulsion	Thrust. Releasing of the energy stored by engagement. In dressage, impulsion is associated with a phase of suspension such as exists in trot and canter, but which does not exist in walk or piaffe. Therefore, impulsion is not applicable to the walk or the piaffe. Note: It may be enlightening to compare the original French with the later English translation of the FEI scoresheets under "Impulsion". The English translation of the French reads "the desire to move forward," whereas what the French actually say is "The desire to carry itself forward" (Le desire de se porter en avant").	Inside	1. The direction toward which the horse should positioned (laterally) or bent. 2. The side of the horse that is toward the center of the ring (often called "inwards"). The former takes precedence if the two are not the same (as in counter-canter).
Irregular	Impure, unlevel or uneven. Can be momentary or pervasive, and may or may not be due to unsoundness. Does not mean unsteady in tempo.	Late	Execution after the aids. Usually applied to flying changes and transitions.
Late Behind	In flying changes the hind legs change after the forelegs	Lateral	1. To the side, as in flexion, bend, suppleness, or direction of movement. 2. Impurity in walk (ambling or pacing) or canter, rarely trot.
Lengthening of Stride	At trot or canter, a pace in which the stride and outline are elongated, maintaining the same tempo and balance as in the working pace.	Lift	Applied in piaffe and passage to address the height to which the legs are raised.
Lightness	Refers to: 1. The horse's lightness on its feet 2. The lightness in the reins.	Long and Low	Carriage in which the horse lowers and stretches out its head and neck, reaching forward and downward into a longer rein. This is the carriage to be achieved when "letting the horse gradually take the reins out of the hands" is called for in the tests.
Longitudinal	In the lengthwise dimension (as opposed to lateral), from front-to-back or back-to-front.	Marching	Purposefulness in the steps of the walk.

 

 

Medium (Walk, Trot, or Canter)	At trot and canter, a pace with a length of stride between that of collected and extended, and a more uphill balance, more forward and upward thrust, and more reach than in the working pace. The movement produced is rounder than that of extension. At walk, a pace with a carriage and legth of stride between that of the collected and extended walks (the toes of the hind feet touch the ground in front of the toes of the fore prints).	Mobility	Easy maneuverability/nimbleness of the shoulders/forehand/forelegs, made possible by a narrowing and shortening of the horses base of support.
Movement	1. The manner in which the horse moves over the ground. 2. Test Movement: A section of a dressage test to be evaluated with one score on a score sheet. 2. Dressage Movement: An exercise, as opposed to a figure, pattern, transition, or combination of those. Dressage pattern, transition, or combination of those. Dressage movements are: leg-yielding, rein-back, shoulder-in, travers, renvers, half-pass at trot and canter, flying changes, pirouettes, turn-on-the-haunches, piaffe, passage.	Nodding/Bobbing	A rhythmic up-and-down or backward and forward action of the horse's head and neck which is not part of the normal mechanic of the gait. It may be caused by the past use of gadgets, by constraint, or by lameness.
Obedience	Willingness to perform the movement, transition, or figure asked by the rider. May demonstrate resistance or evasion, yet still be "obedient" (e.g., the horse may perform a series of flying changes without mistakes and in the right place but is behind the bit, tilted in the head with mouth open and tail swishing, reluctant to cover enough ground, etc., thus he obediently performs the task, but not necessarily submissively, supplely, etc.).	On the Aids	Well-connected, on the bit, and calmly and immediately responsive and obedient.
On the Bit	Acceptance of contact (without resistance or evasion) with a stretched topline and with lateral and longitudinal flexion as required. The horse's face line is at or slightly in front of the vertical.	On the Forehand	The horse leaves the forefoot on the ground too long (picks up the front feet too late in the stride), so he rolls too far forward over the grounded forelimb and uses it to provide forward, rather than upward propulsion instead of pushing against the ground sufficiently with the forelegs to push the trunk upwards/backwards. Not necessarily an issue of neck carriage or height.
Open	A fault of the walk in which the lateral pairs of legs do not appear to close in a "V" configuration. A lack of clarity in the purity of the walk.	Out Behind	The hind legs are placed, or act, behind the horse's body
Outline	The profile or silhouette of the horse, showing the horses carriage or posture	Outside	1. The direction away from which the horse should be positioned or bent. 2. The side that is away from the center of the arena (often called outwards). The former takes precendence if the two are not the same (as in counter-canter).
Overbent/Overbending	Excessive lateral dispacement of the neck relative to the horse's body, occurring in the neck itself or at the base of the neck, causing lack of apparent uniformity of the lateral curve of the "bent" horse.	Overflexed	Behind the vertical, due to excessive longitudinal flexion in the poll and/or upper joints of the neck.
Overstep, Overstride, Overtrack	The placement of the hind foot in front of the print of the forefoot.	Over-Turned	Turned more than 180 degrees in a half-pirouette or more than 360 degrees in a full pirouette.
Pace	1. A variation within the gait, e.g., collected, working, medium, lengthened, extended, free. 2. A gait in which the lateral pairs of legs move in unison - not dressage gait.	Passage-Like or Passagey Trot	A trot in which the phase of support of one diagonal pair of legs is prolonged, while there is a hesitation in the forward travel of the other diagonal pair of legs, giving a floating, hovering impression. Also called "hovering trot".
Phase	Part of a stride. 1. Stance phase - hoof is on the ground. 2. Swing phase - hoof is swinging through the air. 3. Aerial phase (suspension phase) - all hooves are in the swing phase; the horse has no contact with the ground.	Pivoting	Avoidance of picking up a foot in the proper rhythm, turning around a grounded (or "stuck") foot. Used in reference to pirouettes or turns on the haunches or forehand.
Poll	The highest pint of the horses skull (the occipital crest). In common dressage usage, "flexion at the poll" referss to the longitudinal flexion (the joint between the skull and the spine, the atlanto-occipital joint), or lateral flexion (the joints behind the skull). See "Flexion".	Position	1. The lateral flexion behind the poll so that the horse "looks" to the side, e.g., "position right" or "position left". 2. The posture of the rider.
Purity	The correctness of the order and timing of the footfalls and phases of a gait.	Pushing Out	Hind legs operating too far behind the horse, pushing backwards more than carrying. See "Out Behind."
Quality	The quality of a gait refers to its freedom/amplitude, elasticity, fluency, etc. Not the same as "purity" or "correctness."	Reach	Refers to the forward extension of the fore limbs, hind limbs, and neck of the horse (or may be used to refer to any one of these individually).
Regularity	Purity of the gait. At walk and trot, also evenness of the length of the steps and levelness of the height of the steps taken by the front or hind pairs of legs, i.e., the left and right legs of the pair of symmetrical in height and lenghth of step. Note: In the first collective mark on a dressage test, called Freedom and Regularity, Regularity is used to address purity and soundness. It does not address the tempo of the horse.	Relax/Relaxation	1.Referring to the horse's mental state: calmness, without anxiety or nervousness. 2.Referring to the horse's physical state: commonly used to indicate the absence of muscular tension (contraction) other than that needed for optinmal carriage, strength, and range and fluency of movement. Often the physical and mental states go hand in hand.
Resistance	Physical opposition by the horse against the rider. Not synonymous with disobedience nor with evasion. Can be momentary or pervasive, willful or unintentional.	Rhythm	The characteristic sequence of footfalls and phases of a given gait. For purposes of dressage, the only correct rhythms are those of the pure walk, pure trot, and pure canter (not those of amble, pace, rack, etc.).
Rocking/Rocking Horse Canter	A canter in which the neck/forehand goes too much up and down, due to lack of sufficient ground coverage, lack of sufficient engagement, or to interference by the rider.	Roundness	1. The convexity of the profile of the horse's topline 2. The circular, as opposed to linear or flat quality, characterizing the movements or action of the horse's limbs.
Schwung (Borrowed from the German)		Scope
Self-Carriage		Slack
Snatching		Speed
Step		Sticky
Stiff/Stiffness		Straightness
Stride		Strung Out
Stuck		Submission
Suppleness		Suspension
Swinging		Swinging Back