If you don't have forward, you won't be able to achieve a truehalf halt. And without an effective half halt, it will be hard to improve the horse's balance.
"Suppleness means that the muscles contract and de-contract, and this has to go through the entire horse, it cannot be blocked in the middle of the back, and it also has to go through the rider." ~ Susanne Miesner
"I’m a big fan of ground lines. I think it teaches the horse to have better technique in front. Everything that we do is connected — the way we start on the cross rail to this, it all connects. We're building through our training." ~ McLain Ward
Always have a plan when jumping. Each exercise should have something to teach your horse. Don't waste jumps by jumping simple jumps with no purpose - other than for warm up, or if the horse needs them for building confidence.
As you complete a halt, lighten your seat slightly to invite your horse to keep his back up underneath you. This will allow you to move off after the halt without the horse hollowing and dropping his back.
"A steady hand with a soft, following elbow invites a steady, soft contact from the horse. Working the bit or being busy with your fingers invites a false frame." ~ Alexis Soutter
Your horse should still be connected when stretching. No loose reins! Only when they are honestly seeking the connection and moving with power from behind into the contact will the stretch be across the full topline of the horse.
If your trainer is not truly supportive.... find a better one! I am always baffled at how many riders stick with trainers who belittle them, and very often don't even really have their best interests at heart. Some trainers don't teach because they love teaching, but because they love to stroke their own ego!
"There is one way to check that you are on the right way – in the high collection you must be able to stretch them so they follow the bit and they are not stuck up there. In every situation you must be able to stretch them – even a piaffe or a pirouette, even then, I must be able to do it." ~ Hubertus Schmidt
When training a young horse you should be fairly single minded. Your main goal should be to build your horse's confidence in you, so that they think of you as a fair but strong leader.
If you want to have a really solid position over jumps, practice your two point position a lot. Really put in the effort, if you truly want the results!
"The quality of a good canter: round, energetic, straight, cadenced, light. You have to feel in the strike off that the horse lifts his forehand without throwing himself forward." ~ Nuno Oliveira
"As dressage riders, we require our spine to remain in a neutral position where all the vertebrae are evenly stacked, one upon the other. We need to maintain this dynamic balance as the horse moves under us." ~ Rebecca Ashton
"You need to have a good seat to be able to use a spur correctly. You should not use them unless your horse is in front of your leg. They are not to be used to get your horse forward." ~ Hazel Roberts
When you do a lengthening, whether in trot or canter, you should move up to your lengthening within a few strides. Thenmaintainthat exact level of lengthening until the end of your line, where you take just a few strides to (clearly!) show your transition down.
"In the warm-up, I mostly ride curved lines so that I can work on lateral suppleness along with getting the horse relaxed over the back. I spend as much time as it takes for the horse to feel relaxed and willing to lower and stretch from his withers. I do circles, serpentines and figure eights. There is no point in going on with movements if the horse is not supple over his back. I also use leg yields as part of the warm-up to help get the horse responsive to the inside leg and connected to the outside rein." ~ Charlotte Bredahl-Baker
"We try to have discipline and attention to detail in everything we do. Being aware of all these little details gives me an advantage. And if I get a little edge everywhere more often than not I am going to be ahead." ~ McLain Ward
"A coachable student is like a trainable horse. Willing to listen, try, put forth effort, and accept/implement instruction and criticism." ~ Katharine Henricksen Coleman
"No complicated riding before the horses are going truly forward. In dressage, the difficulties are often created by a lack of good basic work (which is the foundation of the house)." ~ Nuno Oliveira
"Concentrate on the transitions, forward and back, build the activity from behind. When you bring the horse slightly back, you still have to push her forward to the hand, you can keep riding as long as you can feel the hind legs in your hand." ~ Susanne Miesner
Systematic, progressive training is like stacking one building block squarely on top of another, to eventually build a strong, solid building. Done this way, you have a solid foundation, and can simply go back a step if you run into difficulties.
"I think most riders do not focus on one of the foremost goals of dressage, which is the development of the gaits. To develop the horse’s gaits, the rider has to have a supple, balanced seat and ride the horse from back to front. Only then can you have the horse really through and even on both reins. From there you must ride the horse boldly forward within his tempo." ~ Hilda Gurney
In a movement like shoulder in, where the horse is likely to try to evade the difficulty of bending his body by swinging his quarters out, it can sometimes be helpful to bring your dressage whip forward, and touch the horse with it right in front of the saddle. This helps to reinforce your inside leg which should be up at the girth, and shows him to yield in that part of his body.
"All riders need very loose joints - loose hips, loose shoulders, loose elbows, loose knees, loose ankles. When I say loose I don’t mean uncontrollably loose, but they need to have a very good range of motion, and an absence of unwanted tension. A lot of riders when they are not comfortable in forward seat tend to grip with their knees, and tend to have a little stiffness in their ankles." ~ Tad Coffin
When you halt and salute the judge at a competition, remember to smile! This will send the judge the message that you are confident about your performance, which can impress the judge and may even influence your scores in a subconscious way.
"Riding the upper levels becomes less and less about who is the most naturally talented ... It becomes more of who is the best mental competitor. Who can take the competition down mentally, and have the ability to stay focused on the task at hand regardless of what happens, that's what true upper level talent is." ~ Stephanie Shepherd Ezzo
A running martingale that fits correctly does not come into play unless the horse tosses its head, or tries to stick it straight up in the air. It should NOT be used to keep the horse's head down.
Since the various available lateral movements all work to supple the horse's body in a slightly different way, it is a good idea to use bits of all of them in your training. Don't just do your favorites.
Everyone talks about engaging the horse's inside hind leg - but the key to a good quality canter is sufficient engagement of theoutsidehind leg… as that is how each canter stride begins.
Proper hand position will help you to remain loose and supple in your arms. Deviating in any way from the perfect hand position will immediately cause your arm muscles to tighten.
When trying to improve the activity and engagement of your horse’s hind legs in downward transitions, think of a trot in place and dancing your way to the walk or halt.
"One of the good things about our sport is that while getting older might slow your reflexes down, the knowledge you have enables you to continue to improve, and handle the challenges better." ~ Shane Rose
