If you want to be able to soften the reins without your horse speeding up, make sure you think about relaxing all driving aids (seat and leg) when you give the rein.
The horse that is the fastest on cross country is often not the one that is allowed to gallop at a greater rate of speed, but rather one that is highly adjustable, and is ridden on economical lines.
"No matter if you are a horse, a rider, a dancer, or even a tennis player, tension is your enemy. 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
"Riders use the spur instead of the calf of the leg. This is wrong. As trainers and judges, we need to encourage putting the rider in front of the leg, NOT the spur." ~ Christoph Hess
"A lot of riders think that will make their jumping better by jumping as many jumps as possible. They will go and get a jumping lesson, as opposed to a dressage lesson or doing some physical exercises to teach them body awareness skills, and probably the last would help them most." ~ Andrew Hoy
"I like to think about making my body longer in the front to make me sit up instead of thinking 'shoulders back,' which can make you stiff." ~ Mary King
If your horse is truly balanced and straight, and stepping up into your outside rein, you should be able to promptly and easily create a quality shoulder in at any spot in the arena, no matter what gait or figure you are currently riding.
“When you don't have a confident position, it’s saying to people you don’t believe in yourself. So sit up, shoulders back, chin high, and ride your best test.” ~ Robert Dover
Lateral workcan be used to steady and improve the regularity of the rhythm of your horse’s gaits. Particularly with horses that want to rush and/or become irregular, asking for a little shoulder in, leg yield, or a few steps of spiral in or out, can help them wait and find more cadence in their stride.
"When you relax your arms and feel the reins softly you need to feel that your horse wants to step into the contact. If you do not then he is behind your leg and seat." ~ Yvonne Barteau
"Think of your elbows as hinges, bent, hands level and together. Sit square and even in the saddle. Open your knees, open your thigh, let the weight go to your heels, keep your knee soft." ~ Gill Rolton
If your horse is strung out and on the forehand, they will be more likely to slip, trip, or stumble at any time. Just one of the many reasons you should strive to keep your horse balanced at all times!
Point your chest in the direction that you want to go. If you turn your horse with your body position, you will probably find that you will need a lot less hand and leg to get it done.
"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism." ~ Norman Peale
Think about how this can be applied to riding... You will improve more with a coach who tells you what you really need to hear, rather than one that just tells you how wonderful you are doing.
When riding any movement or lateral exercise, you should be able to give away the inside rein to prove that your horse is honestly stepping up into the outside rein.
"The true joy for the good dressage rider is found in watching a horse develop mentally and physically through successful training. I have seen some amazing transformations in horses. For instance, a horse with poor conformation—one that has an under neck and a back that drops away from the saddle—can be completely changed by developing the right muscles. After proper training in self-carriage, his outline can be beautiful." ~ Felicitas Von Neumann-Cosel
"Sit on your pockets like you got a million bucks in there." ~ Unknown
Technically it isn't correct to be sitting all the way on your back pockets. This can, however, be a good thing for a rider who has a tendency to lean too far forward to think about doing!
"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
"'I have time' should be the guiding word especially of dressage riders during the entire course of training and remind him of the fact that the goal of the classical art of riding is to be attained only by the gradual increase of demands." ~ Alois Podhajsky
"I want any rider approaching any jump to concentrate on rhythm. They should concentrate on HOW they get there, not where they get to." ~ Jimmy Wofford
"If you let your horse set the tempo - then they are in charge. If the rider sets the correct tempo then the horse - a herd animal - has a leader to trust and work with." ~ Peter Atkins
On being ridden with conflicting aids - "Some horses can cope while others develop serious behaviour problems. As riders and trainers, we don't always notice because horses don't yelp and scream, they just show conflict behaviour. As humans, we often interpret that as 'naughty' behaviour. Perhaps one day it will be part of every horseman's tool box to identify conflict behaviour in all its forms and see the horse as an entirely blameless participant in the training process." ~ Dr Andrew McLean
"Contact has to be just that, contact. People think 'oh this horse is very light I have nothing in my hand' – this is wrong because then you have no contact to his hind legs." ~ Jean Bemelmans
When tacking up, always take the time to pull your saddle pads well up into the pommel of the saddle. The pressure of a tight saddle pad across the withers area can make a horse sore.
Your arm position determines your hand position to a large degree when riding. So you must address your arms as well when you want to improve your hands.
Horses that have a smooth and naturally balanced gallop stride often have longer careers in this sport. Keep that in mind when looking for an Eventing prospect.
Always challenge yourself to use as little hand as possible in riding any exercise. The more freedom your horse has up front, the more expressive his movement will be.
"When selecting a French Link snaffle ensure the middle link is not too long, and that the holes are big enough for the bit to move freely. This will ensure your horse is comfortable in the contact." ~ Robert Dover
"Have a high standard for giving aids in a really clear, correct way. If the aids are that obvious, that’s not dressage. Educate your horse so that he responds to gentle leg pressure." ~ Steffen Peters
"Since the criteria of a correct seat are the same as the criteria of good posture in general, being constantly attentive to one’s bearing when standing or walking is excellent training. A correct vertical posture of the head and the trunk on horseback is not a special posture applicable only to riding." ~ Kurt Albrecht
Use the corner after the jump to get your horse back to you if necessary. Use the corner on the turn into the next jump to elevate the horse's front end.
