Last week, I wrote about how the walk is important to score well in your dressage phase. This week, let’s look at exercises to make the most of your walk breaks. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 80Never let your hand drop below the elbow to bit line, as this makes the bit work in a downward action on the sensitive bars of the horse's mouth, increasing the severity of the bit considerably. Video # 51: Jen doing jumper round number 2!(Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 79Always have more time than your horse.Tip/Quote of the Day # 78Temporarily riding with your hands a bit wide can be helpful to prevent the horse from evading the contact. You will be more easily able to follow your horse's movements elastically, and your horse will find the connection a bit more inviting, as wide reins are essentially an opening rein on each side. Horses are much less likely to resist an opening rein than they are a direct rein, as the effect of the opening rein is more gentle. Tip/Quote of the Day # 77On straight lines, the principle of inside leg to outside rein still applies - particularly in canter, to keep the horse truly straight.Tip/Quote of the Day # 76The canter is often the most valuable warm up gait, as it can be more effective than the the trot in loosening the horse up and encouraging him to move fully through the back.The Fringe Eventer Blog Post # 7
PRE SEASON TRAINING CAMP
Well, here we sit 6 days out from our official debut into the eventing world and I find myself praying that our pre season is not a portend of things to come. Riding between thunder boomers has become the norm here in rainy Florida. If it is not ninety-four degrees with a humidity index that pushes the real feel well up above the one hundred mark it is pouring down rain. Either way I have yet to actually use my new-ish jump bridle or even jump an actual jump in 2 whole weeks! Yikes! (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 75Focus on the horse's hind legs in upward transitions. Look for the feeling that your horse begins to step into the new gait with their hind feet first.Tip/Quote of the Day # 74Always keep bend in your knees and elbows. If either become straight at any time, that limb will become rigid, and unable to follow the horses movement.The Rein Back
The rein back is such a valuable exercise... It reinforces the rider's restraining aids as necessary, and engages the horse's hind legs - increasing the "sit" behind. Like any exercise, however, it must be done correctly to be beneficial. Here's how to do it: (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 73When seated, you must be sitting in the lowest part of the saddle. It is common for riders to mistakenly sit too far back in the saddle, where the seat of the saddle is rising towards the back - especially when riding in Dressage saddles. This renders your seat ineffective, and makes it hard for the horse to feel your seat aids. Discussion # 75: Lets discuss the front leg conformation on these three horses!
What front leg conformation faults do you see in these three horses? Which one has the best set of legs? (Click on Discussion Title above to read this educational discussion)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 72It is a good idea to alternate harder days and easier days in your training schedule. That way you give the horse a chance to physically recover from each day of hard work, and lessen the chances of injury. Tip/Quote of the Day # 71While a thicker mouthpiece is generally considered to be more gentle than a thinner bit, the horse with a small mouth or a low palate often prefers a thinner bit. Tip/Quote of the Day # 70Only the horse with a supple, relaxed back can have true impulsion.Question # 144: I have a question about riding my horse down hills.I know that it's a great exercise for increasing carrying power in the hind legs (which is something my horse really needs, as he is built with more pushing power, and most of his hind leg motion is from hips back), but my horse is rather "squirelly" when he goes down the hill, trying to swing his body from side to side to avoid the work. What suggestions do you have for solving this problem, or other exercises to do to improve his carrying power? (Aidan)
Hi Aidan!
Whenever a horse does this, it they are trying to... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer) Tip/Quote of the Day # 69Bending and lateral work stretches the outside of the horse's body. As with any type of stretching, increase your demands gradually as the horse becomes more supple. The Fringe Eventer Blog Post # 6
Welcome To The (cough, cough) Masters! - #5
Okay, so what does professional golf and (almost) over the hill eventers have in common?
Don’t worry I had no idea either. This weekend my husband was channel diving (surfing invokes pleasurable images) between Nascar, golf, and every single hunting channel while I was brushing up on the USEA rules. Exciting afternoon, I know! But in the midst of boring rules and skimming through channels I found my answer in one word ‘Masters’. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
"Generally riders do not pay enough attention to the geometry of the circle. The circle is a line of equal curvature and, to ask for it, the rider advances the outside shoulder taking care to keep the contact of the outside rein, which determines the circle rather than by the backward movement of the inside hand." ~ Nuno Oliveira
To me, the word dynamic means to be alive and at least slightly constantlychanging. The opposite of which is being static and fixed. If your aids become too fixed when riding, your horse will be more likely to become dull to your aids... even to the point of leaning on them. You can avoid this problem by.... (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
This is a topic where there is no one right answer - as each horse and each situation can be slightly different. But there are some general guidelines to keep in mind. These are as follows: (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 65Any rounding of the shoulders is weakness and immediately disconnects the arms from the back and seat.Video # 49: This is Kelly!(Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
This should be the mantra for my budget friendly life both on and off my mare.
When I suffered my epiphany and decided to test the waters of eventing once again I was in a quandary. I had a very nice, nearly new dressage saddle, but I was lacking a jump saddle. Lacking, as in none, nilch, nada, nowhere to be found sort of lacking. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 63Some riders seem to think that if they can just sit perfectly enough, their horse will naturally bring his body together and move in a balanced way. And that is not necessarily true. While it is very important to sit correctly, horses are likely to remain on the forehand until the rider actively improves the horse's balance through specific exercises.Maat's Blog Post # 2: 3 Tips to Improve Your Dressage Score
There's several tricks I use when doing a test to improve my score and counter balance those scores which might not be so great. Here's 3 to help you finish on your best dressage score possible! (Click on Blog Title above to read full entry)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 62Try this little experiment: Spend some time doing a turn on the forehand in hand (on the ground), so you can really watch what happens to your horse's body when he steps underneath himself with his inside hind leg. While he may remain hollow at first in tension, as he relaxes into the exercise you will usually see him naturally becoming "rounder" in his body, and therefore lowering his head and neck. You will also likely see him chewing the bit softly. This is an example of how changing the back and the hind legs positively affects the front end.Quiz # 16: Is this a refusal?Imagine a rider making an approach to a cross country obstacle as shown in this photo. Is this considered a refusal or not? (Click on Quiz Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 61Soften 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. Tip/Quote of the Day # 60Always be on the lookout for signs that your horse's topline is becoming fatigued, such as increasing mental agitation or fussiness, and allow for a stretching break before true resistance begins, or the horse will start to become resentful.Video # 48: This is Kayla on another very nice horse, this time riding Novice Test B!(Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
Question # 142: I was asked to ride a log oxer that had a 2.5 ft drop down to a very slight down hill terrain change. I was instructed to ride it in balance (staying in the center of the horse), flowing, shoulders up and to stay with the horses motion and that it was not necessary to slide the reins and push your heels forward on drops of this size. I have had instructors who have told me to slide the reins at this jump. At what height, types of drops and when do you need to slide the reins? (Kristi)
Hi Kristi!
It is so hard to know what to do when you get conflicting advice like this, isn't it? The way I look at this situation... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer) Tip/Quote of the Day # 59Nearly every rider will experience plateaus in their training. Only those that have the patience to keep a good attitude while pushing through them will ever get there.Video # 47: This is Kayla on a 3 year old TB, doing Intro Test B!(Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 58Stay quiet and let the exercise teach the horse.Question # 141: My mare has been having some sort of mental breakdown for the last few weeks, and I think we've narrowed the problem down to herd separation anxiety.It is so bad that she doesn't even want to eat her grain (which we isolate her to feed her since none of the other horses get grain) about half the time. She'll eat ok if I stand with her when she is eating. The weird thing is that she has been in a herd since I've owned her (11 years). She's never had any problems with separation anxiety before, and this started about 3 weeks ago. I can sometimes ride her in the arena right by the house and she does ok, but I can't really get any good work done down in the hay field where we jump because it is too far away from the horses. I can't tie her where my tack is because it is too close to the pasture and if the horses walk away where she can't see them anymore she just paces and I can't really do anything to get her to stand still or pay attention to me. I've been doing mostly groundwork last week and she has improved some on the ground, but under saddle she is still a nervous wreck. Today I trailered her over to a nearby barn, and she was fantastic. She tied wonderfully to the trailer, was super calm, and was great under saddle. I would like to not have to trailer her in order to get a successful ride in, do you have any ideas on how to deal with this problem? (Kayla)
Hi Kayla!
I'm sorry to hear that you are having this problem! Whenever a horse has any sudden change in personality or behavior, I think it is always a good idea to have them fully checked out to make sure there is not a physical issue. Ulcers are the first thing that comes to mind. I would either have her scoped, or just do a week or so of Ulcergard treatement as a diagnostic test. If her behavior goes back to normal when on a trial of Ulcergard, then you will know that ulcers were likely contributing to your problem. You may want to have a vet check for things like ovarian cysts, which can make a mare uncomfortable enough to act unpredictably.
If everything checks out physically, then there are a few things you can experiment with... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 57Correct Dressage is like physical therapy for a horse. When done well, it brings out the best movement the horse is capable of - creating a straight and supple athlete, that is therefore more likely to stay sound.Tip/Quote of the Day # 56The intensity of a half halt is determined by the strength of the push into it. Shannon's Blog post # 5: The Mental Obstacle Course of RidingThe Mental Obstacle Course of Riding
I'm a competitive person by nature, always have been, and if my parents are any indication, always will be. Growing up, I was a tri-sport athlete, an honors student, and rode 6 days a week while working off lessons at the barn. My family supported me in every way they could, but more than weekly lessons and some board was out of our budget. In every sport, I tended to find myself in more leadership roles, where I'd always encourage everyone to focus on doing their best, not to get frustrated, and to simply shake off the mistakes. Why, oh why can't we listen to our own advice??? (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)Tip/Quote of the Day # 55"Under no circumstances (except to save your life) is see-sawing on the bit ever allowed. Nor is sneaky jiggling. The bit should only be moved by the chewing action of the horse." ~ Catherine Haddad StallerMaat's Blog Post # 1: Using Trot Lengthenings to Improve Your Training
Even though trot lengthenings don’t show up until your dressage test at First level, you can still use them at home to improve your horse’s overall training! Trot lengthenings gymnasticize your horse and help build muscle. They improve the overall elasticity of your horse, meaning your horse has an easier time lengthening his frame and collecting his frame, which also helps to bring your horse back or to take out that extra stride in your show jumping phase. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
"Every horse has only one appropriate head and neck position for riding with respect to his conformation into which he has to be brought and in which he has to be worked. In other words, it can never be arbitrary. It is determined by the poll, whose position is limited to a very small space, if not merely a point, in terms of its height. The rider has to search for it. He has found it by keeping the neck in the same place, or by raising or lowering it, when he feels that the reins affect the entire horse, including the back and hindquarters, through the poll and the steady neck. This point in terms of the poll height has not been found yet as long as the horse yields to the reins only or even partially in the neck and evades with his neck." ~ Adolph Kästner
Interesting quote... I personally don't believe that there is only one position for each horse, but rather that there might be one best position for each situation. For example, if a horse is tight in the back at that moment, a lower neck (still reaching correctly forward into the bit, ie a proper stretch) would be most beneficial. And the horse that is trying to be too low and heavy on the forehand should be encouraged to carry himself a bit higher by doing exercises that lower the quarters.
I also believe that for true gymnastic value, the horse should be worked in a number of different frames within each ride. Typically starting off with a longer, lower frame, building up to a higher, more collected way of moving, with periods of working lower to give the horse a break, and re-establish any lost suppleness and relaxation. And of course finishing each ride with some good stretching so that the horse finishes each ride with a loose, relaxed body, and a happy mind. What are your thoughts on this? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)
