Potentially dumb question...?!?!

Question

I have read that suppleness is like when a horse is moving freely and relaxed but cant that just be considered relaxation instead of making up another name for it or am i missing something?

Answer 1

Supple refers to the bendable nature or flexibility of the soft tissues, such as muscles.  Relaxed refers to less tension or the looseness of muscles.

They go together, but don't mean the exact same thing.  It's hard to have one without the other.

Add....a horse must be supple to be capable of responding to a rider's cues, but the horse may be suppled in ground training, in preparation for giving to the rider's cues. It is more than just that he responds by giving to the aids.

Answer 2

suppleness is like when your riding and going into a corner they bend just the right amount to take the curve graciously. in other words they can bend without any stiffness.

hope this helps.

Answer 3

No suppleness is when the horse gives willingly to all of your aids. Bits, reins and legs. They are very soft in the mouth and doesnt fight when your use your aids.

Answer 4

No a horse can be relaxed but still not be able to move freely---think hung up muscles....suppleness is how the horse moves and how easily he responds to your cues basically....if your horse is relaxed it doesn't mean its supple....Hope I made a little sense!!

Answer 5

Consider the old babysitter who is totally relaxed to the point of appearing to be in a coma, or a dude horse on a trail ride...these would be good examples of relaxed, but supple refers to a horses ability to give to his riders commands, be it bit, hand or leg.  The first two are very relaxed, but would likely be oblivious to any rider cues, as they have been desensitized to such things and therefore not supple.

Answer 6

relaxed sort of implies that the horse is lacking impulsion.  Supple would still be moving with impulsion and cadence, but flexible and giving to pressure.  

Answer 7

it's not relaxation - it's more about how the horse is able to move. Suppleness means that the horse can bend correctly, kinda like a gymnast is supple - they can bend and are flexible. For example a flexible horse can bring his nose all the way round to his side just bending in his neck but an unsupple horse would struggle.