Ask ten instructors to describe collection, and you will get eleven answers. I aim to simplify and provide a big-picture approach to a complex and beautiful part of horsemanship.

A collected horse is a mind-and-body experience, not just shape or vertical flexion. There is a steadiness of mind in a collected horse. There is an easy articulation of body parts and an accessible power, or volume knob, that you can easily turn up and down.

Now let's break down the process for a new horse under the tutelage of a great horse trainer, assuming safety and the basic gaits under saddle have already been established.

First step: Learning to hold a frame of mind.

A steadiness. A calmness. Zen. This step is often missed by novice trainers. It's too easy to jump into step two or three too early.

My favorite kindergarten step with a new horse is to stand in front of him, eye to eye, holding his nose softly between my hands until his mind settles into this hyper-simplistic task. Then, throughout all his training, hunt for that same Zen mindset at work.

Second step: Flexibility to explore shape and body control.

Bending, lifting, dropping, articulating. Exploring vertical flexion, haunches, shoulder yields, and counterbends, all while standing and in motion. This step can be done in the saddle and on the ground. The important word is explore. Not force. Not hold. Not yet.

Technically, we could carry on chapter after chapter in an entire book related to this simplified subject of body control. For our purposes today, we will remain holistic.

Third step: Learning to hold a frame of body.

Finding straightness in maneuvers and calmness in each of the shapes described above.

This demands a verifiable method of recording effort. You have to notice progress measured in quality and time and be prepared to reward it. Where people fail in this step is that they hold a shape or type of flexion for too long and "burn the toast," so to speak, or they allow wiggly movements without considering straight lines and beautiful arcs.

Horses have a sensitive psyche, and the best horse trainers work to make gains in every respect, not just physically.

Fourth step: Flexibility to explore power control within the frame.

Transitions, speed, and energy output. Separating shape work, or "the frame," from power control helps isolate a horse's understanding and provides safer learning for a sensitive psyche. Eventually, the two must meet and marry.

Again, explore is the optimal term. Power cannot be maintained at first. With practice, the horse may easily engage and participate happily with higher energy output through each gait and transition, providing suspension, speed, and spectacular movement.

Fifth step: Learning to hold that power control through all maneuvers and for longer stretches of time.

Finding steadiness in absolutely everything you do with that special frame and power. At this point, a rider may harmoniously dance through a challenging test of mind and body and never lose the bond and trust of the horse.

Learning Curves...

Vertical flexion is not collection. We all get that wrong in the beginning. It's a part of collection.

Vertical flexion refers to the shape of the horse's neck, with his head and nose facing toward the ground as opposed to pointing toward the horizon. It's part of the shape work necessary to gain collection, but it isn't, by itself, collection.

Headset. Pushing from behind. On the bit. Poll is the highest point. These are all valuable ideas that are often defined and redefined by experts. The whole picture, the bigger picture, is mind and body working together to achieve a pinnacle of function, beauty, and balance.

Collection is an art, if it's anything. And it should be treated as such. Explore it with an open mind and a hunger to learn every aspect and every nuance in its application for each type of horse and every situation.

I write to inspire a new generation of horsewomen and horsemen.

May the horse be with us. Don