When working on jumping gymnastic lines, don't always just set up the typical cross rail, one stride to a vertical, one stride to an oxer. That may be the ideal introductory grid for a greenie, but the more advanced horse needs to be challenged much more than that.
The horse's energy flowing through a turn is similar to water flowing through a tunnel. Just as the outside wall of the tunnel is paramount, a good connection on the outside rein is crucial to a successful turn.
Horses naturally lean into pressure. We have to train them to yield to it instead. Make sure you do not skip this step in the training of the young horse!
It is best to always carry a whip when you ride. The whip is such a important tool to reinforce your leg aid. It is far better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
Every single Dressage test requires the rider to change the horse's bend from one side to the other. At the lower levels, it may only be required a few times in each test. But as you move up the levels that number increases, with some tests having as many as 20 different opportunities to show the judge how good you are at changing your horse's bend. Or maybe how not so good you are at it!
Being able to change your horse's bend WELL will allow you to best maintain the quality of your horse's balance, carriage, rein connection, and overall harmony between horse and rider. This means improved Dressage scores! And most importantly, being able to make smooth, effortless changes of bend improves (and proves!) your horse's suppleness.
The ORDER of aids involved in changing the horse's bend is very important! It can make the difference between a horse that changes bend smoothly while maintaining the quality of the gait, versus one that stiffens and resists slightly every time the rider changes the bend.
MANY riders go to their new inside rein first... and that is definitely the worst thing that you can do! Read on to learn about the sequence of aids for changing the bend that will give you the best results! (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
"Dressage experts spend much time talking about the physical issues of correct riding: which of the rider’s legs goes where, how the horse’s back moves, what the horse’s hind leg does and so on. It’s true we need to know these details about the physical aspects of riding, but we must not forget that dressage is all about the horse understanding what the rider wants him to do. I think the quality of any performance is determined 50 percent by the horse’s fitness and 50 percent by the rider’s degree of success in helping his horse mentally understand what to do from a light physical aid." ~ Steffen Peters
When a rider (even if unintentionally) offers to help support the weight of their horse's head and neck, the horse will usually simply oblige, and lean on the rider's hands.
"Dressage is all about using the minimal aids to gain the highest result. If the rider sets his standards high enough and gives the horse a light aid that the horse understands, that is the sport ideal." ~ Steffen Peters
The more you can guide your horse through turns and circles with your eyes and your body position, the less hand and leg you will need to use. Which usually means more harmony and self carriage.
Always keep in mind that truly good Dressage produces a horse that is a happy athlete. If the horse does not look happy in his work, that work is probably not correct.
"I once had an instructor describe a half halt as a call to attention. When riding a laid back horse who sees forward as a waste of energy, thinking of a half halt this way will convince you that you need lots and lots of them." ~ Liz Chilcott
"The distance between your ears and shoulders needs to be as big as possible." ~ Bettina Hoy So keep your head tall and your shoulders down and relaxed. :)
"I'd rather start with a horse that is careful and looking after himself than one that is reckless and out of control because the careful one will take care of you and can learn to overcome his fears." ~ Blythe Tait
The less you can see a rider do, the better. When you see the rider doing very little, it means they are communicating with the horse quietly, and the horse is attentive and responsive.
A careful and judicious lunging program is a great way to help a young or green horse build up the muscles in their body for riding. And it also helps them to develop a work ethic.
"Many people, especially people who learned the wrong way, simply do not want to invest the time and energy to go back and learn the basics correctly. It’s even harder than learning the basics correctly the first time." ~ Elaine Hayes
A truly good halt is square because it was a balanced, straight, and well ridden halt. Not because the rider has taught it the trick of squaring up after an unbalanced halt.
"The lower leg I liken to a seat belt. You hop in a car, the first thing you put on is a seat belt for safety. Keep your lower leg forward, cover the girth when you are jumping, I don’t want to see that girth, it can act like a seat belt – you can brace against it. If something goes wrong, then as long as you are not in front of that lower leg, as long as your upper body is back behind that leg, then you can brace against being thrown forward." ~ Matt Ryan
"For many horses, the flying change can be one of the hardest things to learn. Regardless of the age of the horse, it is important to wait with the training until he is relaxed and trusts the rider." ~ Steffen Peters
Transitioning back and forth between "work time" and "break time" when schooling is every bit as important as any other transition - best done gradually and smoothly.
From Facebook fan Joann Messersmith ~ "Contact is a living, breathing, elastic, relationship and communication with the horse. Nothing fixed. It's like holding hands with your lover as you walk, no yank or pull, but a pleasant feel for both."
"School figures should not be regarded as an end in themselves but rather as a stage in a particular aim, that of control of the horse. Initially, they will be practiced in the school but an early opportunity should be taken to perform them outside so that the rider may learn to cope with extraneous influences which can distract his horse and prevent it concentrating (for example, his horse not wanting to leave its stable or move away from other horses." ~ Wilhelm Muessler
So much of the time, I talk to people about creating expression or energy. Routinely at clinics filled with lower level or amateur riders, the majority of them under-ride their horses. Dominant themes are getting the horses quicker to the leg, more attentive, and more active.
But there are exceptions. Sometimes these qualities are already there, even overflowing into tension or stress. More of the aforementioned qualities of themselves do not necessarily make a better picture. (Click on Blog Title above to read full entry)
"Riding is, therefore, an ongoing, never-ending, challenging process. That aspect makes riding so intelligent and significant an effort. One merely strives, never arrives." ~ Charles de Kunffy
"Try to do the work early then leave her alone. Being clever enough to leave the horse alone is one of the ways we get them to jump. Look at a horse free-schooling, the neck is down, the jump is classical. We want to leave them alone so we get that jump with us on their backs, and again, that is why we need that good lower leg to support us, so we can leave them alone and get that natural jump." ~ Chris Burton
"A good rider has a natural springing down of the ankles. The body is flexible. The rider maintains the same seat now matter how big the gaits. World class riders must do it by feel and mental fitness. Feel comes out of the seat." ~ Conrad Schumacher
Practicing transitions on a circle allows you to utilize the bend and increased engagement from the exercise of the circle to improve the connection in your transitions.
("The wall has a magnetic quality which pulls your horse towards it.")
Open spaces are a great advantage at times when you are schooling. No corners or turns coming up in a few strides to break the rhythm or cause anticipation. But at times solid boundaries can help. (Click on Blog Title above to read full entry)
The more contact you hold on your horse's mouth, whether on the flat or between jumps, the more effort you may have to put in to half halt or stop. Try to be as light as possible, so that when you do ask for something softly, your horse will hear you.
The inside rein should be used only as much as is truly necessary. Make it a game to see how little inside rein you can use in any movement that you ride.
Always strive for the feeling that there is more horse in front of you than behind you when riding. This means staying safely back behind your horse's shoulders, and allowing the horse to have as long of a neck as possible.
