We have frequently heard: this horse is very ‘comfortable’, or this one is more ‘comfortable’ than that one, evidently there is some underlying reason for these affirmations.

Any good Polo Pony must have certain natural characteristics such as good legs, docility, agility, speed, resistance, sensitivity and balance, it must be noted that these last two are indispensable as far as how ‘comfortable’ a horse is.

How to explain this:

We know that Polo is a very demanding sport, that, amongst other things, it requires precision both on the part of the horse and the player, and that there must be good communication between them. Therefore, the rider must know the mechanics of a horse’s movements, which are precisely what show balance or its lack, the rider must feel the horse…

A horse is well balanced when it distributes its weight and that of its rider between its four feet, approximately 60% on the forefeet and 40% on the hindfeet, in this manner all gaits will be easy and efficient as far as weightbearing. The difference in weight distribution between forequarters and hindquarters is due to the weight of the head and neck.

In the case of a standard Polo Pony with good well set legs, a good head and neck to act as a weight balance, weightbearing refers to the horse’s centre of gravity and its changes of position during movement (gaits).
The centre of gravity is the point where forces converge (movement + weight). In a standing horse, where movement is not a factor, this centre is where two imaginary planes intersect, a vertical one that passes through the eighth dorsal vertebra and a horizontal plane at the level of the shoulder articulation.

When a horse moves and increases speed, it stretches its head and neck forwards and its centre of gravity moves forwards (towards the mouth), inversely, when a horse slows down or stops it draws back its head and curves its neck and its centre of gravity moves back and down (towards the hocks), and lastly when it turns right or left it inclines its body and its centre of gravity moves in the direction necessary to make the movement possible (towards the stirrups).
In this way, something very important can be observed, a ‘comfortable’, balanced horse moves low down, close to the ground, without excessive lifting of its members or even less its head and neck (balance).
What happens when a horse moves its head or neck incorrectly? Its forefeet move unsynchronised with its hindfeet, the centre of gravity does not move towards the hocks and the horse is unbalanced or ‘uncomfortable’. This shows why both the mouth and the hocks are so important in a Polo Pony, in as far as both their conformation and integrity.
This almost horizontal movement of a horse is what allows it to achieve maximum speed when it moves laterally, starts, turns or stops. As Dr. Alberto P. Heguy says a horse’s movements show complete harmony, “its hindfeet and forefeet land on the ground like the spokes of a wheel”, in a successive, synchronized, alternate and equidistant manner. To give a further example, a horse’s movements are like those of one of the large cats, which display great balance and stability.
During its movements, a horse changes the position of its four feet, consequently, as is only logical, the imaginary polygon created by lines joining the four feet on the ground is called a weightbearing polygon.

During different gaits this polygon is constantly modified, larger when the horse stands or stops and smaller when it moves at speed.
The projection of the centre of gravity must always fall within the weightbearing polygon, or better said, we must allow time for this to take place. This underlines the importance of the player keeping his balance and moving as little as possible on the horse’s back, specially if the field is uneven or wet or during a ride off.
It is useful to specially mention the case of new not completely trained horses that have not yet learnt to control their centre of gravity and therefore are slightly lacking in balance, in other words, these horses are not mature enough to coordinate gravity, movement and weightbearing and in consequence can be dangerous when playing, these cases must be kept in mind.
Daily workouts and practice sessions allow a horse to gain greater confidence, better footing, better balance and therefore to become more ‘comfortable’, horses learn to control the force/movement relationship which is so important in Polo.
The Polo Pony trainer must be very careful as to the position of the head (profile) and neck, as also the rest of the body, so that a horse acquires an appropriate posture and ‘comfortable’ and balanced movements.
The position of the head-neck balancing weight plays an important role in a horse’s balance.

If a horse’s head and neck are held very high, its hindlegs will be subjected to more weight, this is the case of horses that have a posture similar to a deer’s or seem to be stargazing, both place too little weight on their forefeet and their movements are too high and ‘uncomfortable’.
The second thing to take into account as far as a ‘comfortable’ horse is concerned is its sensitivity, that is its reaction to minimum stimuli. A horse has areas which are very sensitive and it is there that a rider must make his commands felt in the correct manner.
These areas are the mouth, the neck, just behind the girth on a level with the elbows and also the perception a horse has of the changes in the rider’s position and where he places his weight.
A horse’s mouth is its control panel, it is extremely delicate and cannot be replaced by another area, it is unique.
A ‘comfortable’ horse must have a good mouth, this is fundamental. With good contact and the necessary support it allows management of its speed in a gradual manner, both to increase and decrease it.
A horse with a good mouth should be in the comfort zone as long as possible, that is to say with a relaxed tongue and neck (the head strap area). Special attention must be given to the mouth and its components: tongue, gums, palate, comissures, chin and in the case of using some snaffle bits the internal surface of the cheeks as some horses may have ulcers.
The neck is sensitive to contact with the reins and its sensitivity increases nearer the head.
Another sensitive area is about 20 cm. behind the girth on a level with the elbows, where a rider ‘heels’ a horse to turn it left or right.
Lastly, a horse perceives the rider’s movements on his back and changes gait and movements in consequence, it is important, therefore, that once the horse has made the desired movement the rider take up his original position to help the horse.
A horse is more ‘comfortable’ if it is sensitive both to commands and help from the rider.
To summarize: balance and sensitivity are key factors in making a horse ‘comfortable’.
A horse may be very fast and resistant but if it lacks balance and sensitivity it is not ‘comfortable’, which shows how important these two qualities are.

Eduardo A. Amaya, DVM
Polo Instructor