It is never wise to add pressure to the situation when your horse is already tense. Make careful use of quiet, soothing exercises that the horse is already familiar with to help him to relax, rather than pushing for anything difficult.
In a good, productive stretch - active energy travels over the horse's topline and into the rider's hands. If you don't feel at least a little power coming from behind up into your connection, your stretch is not correct!
"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.)" ~ W. Muessler
"You have to have a little contact so the circle from the pushing aids to the steady contact to the mouth is correct. Even in halt, you still have to have the feeling that the horse wants to go forward – without pulling." ~ Jo Hinnemann
Correct Dressage is the best physical therapy for horses. 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.
"Stay dedicated to the quality of the basic gaits - the suppleness and balance of the walk, trot and canter. Then as you cultivate the movements, those gaits improve." ~ Volker Brommann
"Your legs should have a neutral position. A place where they do nothing but be there ready to use. Your horse should have gait control in all three gaits where they go without you pushing." ~ Amanda Fought Pierce
"As Jimmy Wofford says... You need to look at the fence until it disappears. This gets you and your horse focusing on the same thing. If you are looking at the next fence before you have taken the 1st then you are ahead of your horse." ~ Brenda Herzog
"Event horses need to learn to jump facing into crowds and other spooky things. At home, I have my horses jumping into banners on the fence line and other things to get them used to that idea." ~ William Fox Pitt
Everyone talks about engaging the horse's inside hind leg... But think about the fact that the key to a good quality canter is sufficient engagement of the outside hind leg… as that is how each canter stride begins.
"The outside rein keeps the horse straight. It controls the outside shoulder, it helps in the halts, it must always be a connecting feel. If the connection is too strong it blocks the inside hind leg. The contact must be elastic in both reins." ~ Gill Rolton
Try 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 engaging the back and the hind legs positively affects the front end.
"I've been working on making sure my hand is following and not fixed, especially in the walk and canter when the head and neck need to move more. The biggest breakthrough has come in working on doing a little shortening/collection at the canter, as now I can get my very sensitive mare to sit more without stopping or hollowing her back or bracing in her neck, just by making sure I don't lose the motion in my arms as I ask for her to come back." ~ Alexis Soutter
In Dressage, your upper arm belongs to your seat, as it is what connects the rein to your seat. Your lower arm belongs to the horse, as you offer an elastic connection to the horse's mouth.
You cannot create a correct rein connection when the horse is not truly thinking forward. You must first create a situation where the horse wants to move forward into the connection.
Quality always trumps quantity in regard to riding transitions. Yes, try to always do lots of transitions when you ride. But keep your top focus on quality, to make sure every one counts!
Always challenge yourself to use as little hand as possible when riding any exercise. The more freedom your horse has up front, the more expressive his movement will be.
Horses that tend to hurry often do best when ridden at a deliberately slower pace until they become rhythmical and relaxed, and are then no longer trying to hurry. Only then is it a good idea to gradually develop more energy within the stride.
When you have a horse that is misbehaving out of excitement, it is often best in the long term to ignore the bad behavior and instead focus on trying to calm the excitement.
If a rider is not able to stay completely out of their horse's way, they might have to spend a lot of time fixing problems in the horse that they are actually causing themselves.
"Riders who are successful are ready for things that are not what they have planned for. They're thinking, on their toes, and reacting. They are ready for trouble." ~ Lucinda Green
For some horses, it is absolutely essential to do some work in a connected long and low frame, to help them to move and swing more fully through their backs.
The stirrup bar placement in relation to the balance of the seat on your saddle can make or break your position. Make sure you choose a saddle that will allow you to be in balance.
To keep your horse's hind legs more engaged in your upward transitions, (with the hind legs carrying weight AND pushing, rather than pushing alone), think of sitting on those hind legs and feeling the transition begin with a deeper step of a hind limb.
