Forward–Forward, Forward–Down, and Forward–Up

Thoughts from my Work in Progress with Ola

When we talk about posture in training, the distinction between forward–forward, forward–down, and eventually forward–up is often blurred. Yet for me, they serve very different purposes — and understanding their role, and purposefully deviating in between them, makes all the difference in shaping a horse’s healthy body.

Ola is a good example. By nature, she loves to carry herself a little higher — always alert and aware of her surroundings. This posture might look beautiful to the unschooled eye, but as her rider, I can feel when her back drops away under my seat and too much weight shifts onto her shoulders. For her, the education is not about making her look rounder or lower, but about truly learning to lengthen over her topline to unlock her back — which goes hand in hand with her lengthening and slightly lowering her head and neck. Without that readiness to lengthen, we can’t build a supple, through body for the work ahead.

Some horses naturally offer this stretch. Others, like Ola, first need to develop it consciously — and once it’s there, the working posture is not forward–down, but in my opinion more forward–forward:

• Poll at withers height or slightly above.

• A posture that encourages horizontal balance.

• Engagement from the hind legs forward through the body, activating the whole muscle chain including the thoracic sling.

In this posture, the horse begins to lift from back to front, creating a functional frame that supports a strong, swingy topline.

Forward–down

Forward–down is eventually not a working posture to stay in for long. And especially in the education of a young horse, we need to be very cautious about how much forward–down is truly beneficial for this individual horse. In the early stages it often shifts too much weight onto the shoulders, which is why, back in Straightness Training, we sometimes called it a necessary evil. We need the horse’s readiness and suppleness to unlock the back, but must be aware of its limitations.

As the horse becomes more educated, develops better balance, and builds stronger hind legs and core muscles, the quality of forward–down improves. Then it becomes a useful tool for warm-up, cool-down, and momentary release after more collected work. Here we also need to take into account that for a higher educated horse, even forward–forward can already be felt as a release from forward–up.

In all cases, however, forward–down must still show a positive tension bow across the lengthened topline, not collapse. We need to be careful not to invite the horse to drop or fall into forward–down, as this disturbs balance. Instead, we should gently accompany the horse in lengthening. And even in the highest collection, there must always be the readiness for lengthening — to free the back, to encourage one more forward step of the hind legs, or to refresh the swing, before returning to the more collected posture we were in.

This makes forward–down especially important for breeds with a naturally more “collected look” — such as many Iberian or Portuguese horses. These breeds often also show less swingy back movement compared to warmbloods, as they were originally bred as working horses meant to be comfortable to sit. With these horses, it is tempting to ride immediately in more elevation, but without unlocking the back first, what develops is not true collection but a dropped back hidden under apparent beauty. In the long run, this posture ruins the horse’s back and soundness, as well as its willingness, motivation, and spark. Even for naturally uphill horses, the suppleness and honesty of forward–down is an essential precondition for healthy collection.

Forward–up

The more a horse is able to sit and take weight behind, the more it will naturally build up in front of the withers. This is forward–up — the development of relative elevation (Relative Aufrichtung). It’s not something we put on from the front, but something that emerges through strength, balance, and a body that carries from behind.

The common thread

No matter the posture — forward–down, forward–forward, or forward–up — the positive tension bow across the topline should always be there. That’s what keeps the horse’s body connected, supple, and prepared for collection.

For me, the art lies in choosing the right posture at the right moment:

• Forward–forward as the main working posture to build balance and engagement.

• Forward–down as a release, warm-up, or cool-down — and as a necessary readiness and precondition to unlock the back and prepare for more collected work, but never as a long-term working frame.

• Forward–up as the later result of strength and carrying power from behind.

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With Ola, our journey right now is about finding that honest stretch without losing connection — and then returning to a balanced forward–forward where her hind legs step well, her thoracic sling begins to lift, and her whole body carries in harmony. It may not always look perfect from the outside, but feeling her back come up under my seat tells me we are on the right track.

Because in the end, posture is not about what the eye sees first. It’s about what the rider feels: a swinging, connected horse who is building a body that can truly carry. And it’s important to remember: every head carriage — whether lower, level, or higher — is not a goal in itself but a result of how the horse’s whole body is working, and how the rider is consciously or unconsciously influencing it. The terms forward–down, forward–forward, and forward–up are simply names to make these ideas visible for the human brain — but in reality, posture is never about the head and neck in isolation, it is always about the whole body working together.