A good hand is the one that can smoothly resist or yield as necessary, and can quietly receive with precision the energy from the horse's hindquarters.
"At the sitting trot everyone wants to stop themselves from bouncing. What you have to do is let yourself go with the flow of the horse." ~ Charlotte Dujardin
"An engaged hind leg is the foundation that allows you to stretch the horse at a moment’s notice without him falling on his forehand." ~ Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel
"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
"The true joy for the good dressage rider is found in watching a horse develop mentally and physically through successful training." ~ Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel
"Never leave a resistant horse without reconciliation, even if you had to treat it very strictly on that particular day. Do not put it away until it obeys, but then a friendly relationship must be restored between trainer and horse. Always adhere to the principle: "The punishment is directed only at the disobedience, never at the horse"; as soon as the disobedience is over, it is our good horse." ~ E.F.Seidler
"True straightness can only be approached when managed in conjunction with the other elemental structures of riding in which it is inextricably housed: forward and calm." ~ Erik Herbermann
"Just as the sculptor at first chisels the future outlines of his work of art with powerful blows out of the crude block of stone, and then lets it develop in increasingly finer detail in all its beauty, the aids of the rider must also become more and more delicate in the course of the horse's education. Every rider should always keep this strictly in mind and especially avoid destroying with crude aids, out of impatience or other reasons, what he has built in his previous work." ~ Alois Podhajsky
The use of the indirect inside rein to keep the horse from falling in is a crutch, and should only be used very briefly, if at all. Teach the horse to stand up straight by being obedient to the leg aids instead.
The short side of the arena is a great place to show your horse's movement off to the Dressage judge. If your horse is in lovely self carriage, push your hands forward a bit and show it off!
"The purpose of dressage is to enhance our ability to control our horses; hopefully, after a long period of consistent training, our horses will calmly and generously place their forces at our disposal." ~ Jimmy Wofford
When riding in a two point or galloping position, imagine that you are wearing a seat belt - loose enough that you can still bring your seat out of the saddle, but snug enough that you cannot bring your seat very far up or forward. Ideally your seat should remain centered and poised over the lowest part of the saddle.
If you struggle to get good quality flying changes, remember that as always the quality of your canter is the ultimate key. Ride exercises that will improve your canter, rather than drilling lead changes.
Collection is often best introduced in the canter, as most horses find it easiest to "sit behind" in the canter. I find that utilizing the spiral in at the canter is the most natural and clear way to begin the process.
From Facebook fan Jennifer McGinley ~ "If you establish the canter you need (balanced, adjustable) and keep the horse on his feet, your horse can jump from anywhere. We are learning that you can actually ride forward and powerful to the base. If the set up is right, they can jump from anywhere, safely, with balance and still remain adjustable on landing to set up for B & C elements!"
"If you don’t have the ability to buy yourself a great horse or if you don’t have a sponsor to buy one, you have to buy what you can afford, even if it might be a 2-year-old. Then get a good trainer, which is a more important investment than what you put into a horse." ~ Carl Hester
"Mares are in charge of survival, and in the wild they have a lot of responsibility. Mares will work WITH you, but they won’t work FOR you." ~ Tony DiGangi
"People don't like to go back and fix things…. I think they think of it as failing. I call it learning. I have a saying, 'The faster you go back, the quicker you'll move forward.'" ~ Elaine Hayes
"Suppleness in the back is the most important basic you can give your horse. When a horse is not supple in his back, it’s a big deal for him. Horses store a lot of emotion in their backs. If you have ever hurt your back, you know how painful it can be. It occupies your every thought." ~ Scott Hassler
With true impulsion, the horse has lots of forward energy, but the rider remains the driver. When the horse overpowers the rider and takes control, the horse is just running.
Well ridden half halts are the single most important way for you to increase your horse's carrying power behind. This is because half halts will be used constantly throughout your work, even in the show ring, to encourage the horse to carry more weight behind. So the effectiveness of your half halts will have a big effect on your ability to keep your horse carrying his weight on his hind legs.
"The worst mistake a rider can make is to fail to discover and accept a horse’s personality. By oversimplifying horses and lumping them all together the rider risks ‘breaking’ them and taking away their spark." ~ Klaus Balkenhol
"To ensure success, the Eventing coach must give the same sort of attention to cross-country training and conditioning that is currently given to dressage and show jumping." ~ Jimmy Wofford
"One of the many roles of the Event coach is to be able to recognize the interaction of the three parts of the sport and to keep them in balance." ~ Jimmy Wofford
Gymnastic jumping exercises are meant to teach the horse to solve problems when jumping. They teach horses to think about their timing, developing their eye for accurate judgement, and teach them to be clever with their footwork. To then go out and squelch the horse's initiative at fences by picking each spot for them is like throwing all that gymnastic work right out the window.
You will always have more options when approaching a fence off of a shorter, bouncier canter stride with lots of activity. That's when just about ANY takeoff spot feels smooth. Whenever you feel like your horse took off from a "bad spot", the actual problem was the quality of your canter!
With both jumping and Dressage, if your horse is struggling to maintain a consistent rhythm, think of using your breathing to help him stay regular. This is one reason why counting is so useful when riding, as when you count, you will breathe in that rhythm.
"It’s better to have three days of excellent schooling with breaks, stretching, or hacks in between than it is to have six days of sour, mediocre schooling. If your horse does something well, give them a reward and a little break. Be free and easy with the praise, and don’t keep 'drilling' for the sake of it." ~ Cathrine Dufour
"Get comfortable with centerlines. We ride centerlines all the time in dressage, so make them your friend. Remember, nothing changes on centerline." ~ Steffen Peters
