"The legs bring the horse to the seat, and the seat brings the horse to the hands. When the teacher says 'shorten the reins' it needs to be translated into: 'engage the hind legs, sit on them, and then take the slack out of the reins', because if you shorten the reins from front to back, the horse will only resist." ~ Thomas Ritter
"There is one principle that should never be abandoned when training a horse, namely, that the rider must learn to control himself before he can control his horse. This is the basic, most important principle to be preserved in equitation." ~ Alois Podhajsky
Remind yourself to breathe before and after every difficult exercise. Of course you need to breathe while riding each exercise as well! But thinking about checking your breathing before and after is a good first step.
Remind yourself to breathe before and after every difficult exercise. Of course you need to breathe while riding each exercise as well! But thinking about checking your breathing before and after is a good first step.
"Only use the spur to correct. The spur is not intended to ride a movement. It cannot just support the gait or the movement. Make a clear correction with the spur. If you are constantly giving your horse an aid, he will get numb to it." ~ Steffen Peters
True lightness does not come from playing with the bit until the horse feels lighter in your hand. Only hind leg engagement and lowering of the horse's quarters will bring about true lightness.
If your horse does not offer to stretch near the end of a workout, there is a good chance that you didn't have him working correctly through his topline during your ride.
When working with a horse that does not have a great natural trot lengthening, make sure that you don't ask for too much too soon. Compare this to a singer who is training their vocal cords… they gradually expand their vocal range until they hit their limit. This helps to prevent them from overextending themselves, and builds up confidence in their abilities.
"The volte is one of the most important movements you can ride. It is teaching the horse to bend in his ribcage, within his body, and then to maintain a rhythm – in the future this movement will become a half pass. We are working on control over the balance of the horse so that it is learning to maintain a rhythm." ~ Ernst Hoyos
Whenever you are facing any type of jump with a ditch in front of it, think of it as a "free" front rail, or a rolled out ground rail. Focus on the top of the jump (ignoring the ditch), and ride freely forward to it in a balanced, rhythmical gallop.
If you want to improve your medium and extended gaits, improve your collected work. The more your horse can "sit" behind, the more expressive your mediums and extensions will be.
"I find it better to often have short, intensive moments – ten or fifteen minutes – not longer, then a break to allow the muscles to recover. If you want the horse to carry more weight, then you need time for muscle recovery." ~ Johan Hamminga
Activity doesn't really start in the horse's hind legs... it starts in their brain. They have to decide to create activity before it will appear. Why is this significant? You need to train your horse's brain to understand and respect your light leg aids, rather than try to physically push him anywhere.
"I make my students ride in gallop position in trot and canter with no rein contact and no hands on the neck, as there is no point in trying to progress until a good balance is in place. It is a great concern to me that so many riders are out of balance between fences, and then too stiff and upright on the approach to the fence" ~ William Fox Pitt
"Lightness, whose characteristic lies in the elastic and springy flexibility of all joints and muscles, can only be acquired after all resistances have completely disappeared, that is, with the disappearance of all inopportune contractions." ~ Alexis François L’Hotte
An exercise to check if you are sitting straight and putting your weight equally down into both stirrups is to stand straight up for a few strides (at all three gaits), and notice which stirrup you have to consciously put more weight into to keep yourself balanced.
To help your horse make a softer, more balanced canter depart - set him up for it, and then think of allowing him to canter, rather than asking strongly. If you push too strongly, your horse is more likely to push hard with his hind legs into the canter, and begin the transition on the forehand.
Excessive bend in the neck, whether lateral (usually 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.
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.
The use of "half steps" in your training can be very beneficial, as it can help the horse to understand the idea of engagement without increasing speed.
Position your horse in a very slight shoulder fore before every movement or transition, to help him engage his inside hind leg and really step through from behind.
"Many riders in the name of impulsion, put too much tension in their horses. Others in the name of lightness, have their horse 'abandoned' (without a sufficient connection). The truth of equitation is in between those two extremes." ~ Nuno Oliveira
The quality of the contact that the horse will give you is largely dictated by the amount of hind leg activity at that moment, and how much the energy from that activity is able to flow in an uninterrupted way through the horse's supple and permeable body into your hands.
The old masters learned early on that riding accurate arena patterns is the key for improving a horse's balance and straightness. Always keep this in mind in your training.
"Through the energy of impulsion mobilized from within himself, the horse is now prepared, in his physique and emotional attentiveness, to respond instantly to the slightest indications to change his tempo, posture, direction or gait." ~ Waldemar Seunig
From Facebook fan Sarah Feathers ~ "When your horse likes to run and/or buck before and after jumps, it is much better to 'hold' with your core than snatch your reins."
