If your horse doesn't want to be straight in his body, you can best improve him by exaggerating the opposite of whatever tendency he has. For example, if he likes to over bend his neck to the left and carry his haunches to the left as so many horses do - regularly ask for flexion and bend through the body to the right (no matter which direction you are going.)
What extra visual challenges does this jump into water present to the horse? How could you best ride this fence to help your horse to remain safely focused on the top rail? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)
"The relaxing of the legs & the hands of the rider is the proof of the real collection. And the collection is the poetry of the impulsion." ~ Nuno Oliveira
To encourage your horse move fully through his body, as well as giving him the confidence to truly think forward, you must make sure your hips and lower back are 100% moving with his motion. The bigger your horse moves, themoreyou must move your hips.
Remember that your horse is always learning based on how you react to his actions and responses. Be careful that you are only teaching him things that you actually want him to learn.
Don't make the mistake of "skipping" rising trot just because your horse is comfortable with you sitting the trot. Rising trot can be a great way to encourage more back movement and swing within the trot, for horses at any level.
Gridwork and gymnastic lines are meant to teach the horse to better solve problems when jumping. They develop the horse's "eye" for jumping, as well as his mental focusing skills, timing, and judgement. And of course to be more clever with his footwork. Make sure you leave your horse alone through the gymnastic lines as much as possible, to let him learn from the specific exercises you have set up. Your job is to get into the grid correctly - straight and balanced, with the right amount of impulsion for the specific question. And then leave him alone to let him do his job!
If you don’t ride and train in such a way that your horse learns to listen to your seat, you will usually find that you have to use a lot more hand to get things done.
Horses need to be moving with a supple and relaxed back to have true impulsion. If the body is not relaxed and supple, any forward energy is just running.
Feel your horse's rhythm with your whole body when riding. Whether you are doing Dressage, jumping, galloping cross country, or just enjoying a relaxing trail ride, the more you can be in sync with your horse's rhythm, the more harmony you will find.
Let your aids breathe. By that I mean two things. While giving any aid, keep breathing. And for the aid itself, make sure you are able to keep it supple so that it can go with the horse's motion while being applied. Aids of any kind always work best when given within the rhythm of the horse's stride as well.
As an Eventer, it is smart to do some of your canter flatwork at the gallop, to teach your horse that the extra speed of the gallop is not an excuse to be wild or disobedient.
A guy came down my center line some years ago all decked out in his top hat on a Friesian exuding cadence and displaying a high, arched Second Level frame. He then proceeded to ride a very elegant Intro test which garnered something like 80%.
My obvious question after his final salute was, "So what are you doing in this class anyway?"
He replied, "Well his canter isn’t quite perfect yet."
"If one induces the horse to assume that carriage which it would adopt of its own accord when displaying its beauty, then, one directs the horse to appear joyous & magnificent, proud & remarkable for having been ridden." ~ Xenophon
From Facebook fan Jennifer Stankiewicz ~ "To move the back end faster, move your hips faster. To do changes in dressage, you need to move your hips faster than the change, not with the changes or they get too slow and you end up behind the horse instead of with the horse (for 3's and 4's and tempis)"
Bend in the horse's body is not created by the rider using the inside rein! In fact a correct inside bend in the body is evident only when there is a soft, almost loose inside rein.
If you live in the Pacific Northwest or maybe London, you might as well stop reading right here. My suggestion will not translate to your world. If you live in a land where the sun shines at least occasionally, however, take advantage of it in the following manner... (Click on Blog Title above to read full entry)
I love to look for an area in a field where I can do a big circle on the side of a hill, where on that circle the horse has to go down into a little dip in the ground and back up again. This can really help the horse to let go in their backs. The canter in particular usually feels loose and free when they come out of it.
"The warm-up should lead each horse to a physical, emotional, and psychological state of balance and relaxation. The phlegmatic horse has to become alert and responsive to the rider. The timid, nervous horse has to become calm and confident in his rider as well as himself. The hot, overly reactive horse has to become relaxed and more tolerant. The distracted, spooky horse has to become attentive and focused on the work." ~ Thomas Ritter
"It is important that you do a variety of things when you are training an eventer, that means you never do two training sessions the same in a row. Maybe you will do two dressage sessions in a row, but then you might start the session by working your horse over cavaletti. Once or twice a week you jump – either you do gymnastics or cavaletti work or you do some jumping exercises from the cross-country course, like training over narrow jumps in the arena. Make sure you work always on getting your horse supple and loose." ~ Ingrid Klimke
Your rein connection is a line of communication that connects your brain to your horse's brain. When done correctly, your horse should feel every nuance of your seat through the reins as well as his back.
Excessive bend in the neck, whether lateral (most often to the inside), or longitudinal (behind the vertical) disconnects the haunches from the rein aids and allows the horse to remain locked up in other parts of the body, such as the poll and hips.
"I do a lot of cavaletti work also with my dressage horses because then I can really make them active behind, over the back, stretching into your hand, and really supple in the back." ~ Ingrid Klimke
This cross country complex asks a question that riders will commonly see in some form on course from Training to Advanced levels. The question is, can you jump this big wide spread fence, and still have enough control to jump the accuracy question that makes the next element?
In this case, the next element is a nice, inviting, and only somewhat skinny log. Sometimes that B element is a corner jump, an angled line, or a super skinny chevron. Course designers like to ask this question quite often at the upper levels. So if you are moving up the levels, this is something that you want to be good at!
Who can tell us how we can train at home for complexes like this?
What speed would you use to approach this particular complex? What part of the A element would you jump? At what point should you be looking at the B element?
There is a very common pitfall that many riders fall into when being asked the question of jumping a big, wide fence followed by a turn to an accuracy question. One that can easily cause a refusal or a weak jump at the A element. Can anyone tell us what it is?? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)
Working on shoulder fore or shoulder in on a large circle is a great exercise to teach your horse to pay more attention to your inside seat bone aid, as well as to improve the outside rein connection.
Always think about the depth of the water when deciding how fast to approach and negotiate a water obstacle. Riding too fast in deep water can easily cause the horse to lose his balance or even fall.
Soften the reins too much at the beginning of a lengthening, and you may find that you lose your stored energy. Which will likely cause your horse to quicken his stride rather than giving you a true lengthening.
From Facebook fan Suzan Mchugh ~ "I used to put a tiny smiley face sticker on the crown piece of the bridle. When I saw it I took a breath! It worked and relaxed me. If you breath your hips relax!!"
