Collection and The Wild Horse
Collection of the horse's body is an important mechanism for survival. If danger suddenly appears the horse has a large store of energy ready for instantaneous release and so it is much easier for it to spring away from the danger than if it had been caught flat-footed, or "on the forehand."
When a strange horse comes upon the scene, when a horse catches the scent of a predator, or when a horse scents a potential mate, the attention of the horse is naturally aroused and its body prepares for action. It raises its head, arches its back, and in so doing brings its legs more under its body where they can maintain the bending of the spine by their contact with the earth. With each step forward this spring is released slightly and then immediately re-compressed.
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