The horse should always be the one who sets the pace of the progression of both training and competition. Pushing too hard, too soon, will usually result in having to go back and start over.
Keep your thumbs closed on the top of your hand, AND keep those thumbs pointing forward! Do not let your hand position deviate so that your thumbs point toward each other, as this will create a block in your connection.
When riding a Dressage test, you should always be thinking about damage control… Within each movement, sometimes it is best to be happy with 90% of what you are capable of, rather than risking what you have to push for that final 10%. It definitely pays to know your horse well, so you know how much you can get away with asking for at any given moment.
Riders need to understand the difference between sinking down into their heels or seat bones, and pushing down into them. There is a big difference between the two! Who can tell us what the difference is, in terms of how each effects the horse or the rest of the rider's body? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)
"No complicated riding before the horses are going truly forward. In dressage, the difficulties are often created by a lack of good basic work (which is the foundation of the house)." ~ Nuno Oliveira
A horse must first be able to travel in a connected long and low frame before a proper higher head carriage can be achieved. If you struggle with lengthening your horse's neck while still maintaining a soft contact - be sure to master this connection before moving on to more advanced work. If you don't, all of your more advanced work will likely be incorrect and will lack the back connection necessary for true hind leg engagement.
"Most riders know the required movements, but not the directives, and that is what we judges pay attention to. We look to see how the horse is ridden in these required exercises. Is the horse ridden to the contact? Does he maintain rhythm and regularity in all gaits? Does he show a degree of suppleness appropriate for his level? Does the rider keep a tempo that facilitates balance? Even for a simple circle the directives are explicit: 'consistent bend around the rider’s inside leg, placement and control over the size of circle, reach to the bit and the quality of the gait.'" ~ Lilo Fore
As the old saying goes, "You are only as strong as your weakest link." If there is a hole in your basics, or your horse's basics… it will hold you back. You must go back to the foundation, to find and fix any weak areas before you will truly be able to progress.
If you have short arms, you will have to be especially careful to make sure that you keep at least a little bend in your elbows at all times when riding. If your elbows become completely straight, you will lose your ability to follow your horse's movement with your hands.
When riding, always strive for the feeling that your horse is "short" behind the withers (because his hind legs are stepping deeply underneath his body), yet is "long" in front of the withers (with a neck that "telescopes" and reaches forward into the bit.) All "long" means the horse is likely strung out to some degree, and all "short" means the horse’s frame and stride are being cramped by the rider.
If you ask for too much angle in any lateral movement (more than your horse can handle at that moment,) you risk impeding the balance and fluency of the movement, which should be your top priorities.
"May every rider strive for a better connection with his or her horse by observation, closer understanding and patient groundwork. It matters not what discipline is pursued, only that there be a perfectly balanced union between the two – man and horse – so that the two become one." ~ Frederic Pinon
Always use both reins together to steer, especially when jumping. Using one rein only turns the horse's nose - but using both reins turn the horse at the shoulders, which means his body will more accurately follow your chosen line.
A variation of the Rubber Band exercise, this "rev the motor" exercise helps you to turn the energy in your horse's stride into true hind leg engagement - which is the key to building collection! Here's how to do it: (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
If you can keep your horse balanced as you gallop along between fences, you will have less "set up" work to do in front of the jumps. This means that you can be faster, smoother, and more efficient at the fences. Which will help to preserve your horse's energy on course, as well as his overall soundness.
Facebook fan Mo Jackson on teaching riders to maintain a consistent rein connection ~ "I try to teach this with pretending rider and horse are on the telephone. You are talking, oops no connection, talking again, oops no connection. This causes chaos in the horse's mind as he is trying to communicate, to be part of the conversation."
It is tempting to want to repeat something over and over when you feel like you are making some progress on a movement you have been struggling with. But it will be more productive to reward one good effort, give the horse a break, and move on to something else instead. When you come back to that exercise, your horse will remember that you did.
"If you want flawed results, go ahead and ask for collection before your horse is relaxed. This is a pretty certain way to produce a horse who needs his mouth strapped shut." ~ Jimmy Wofford
If you have truly done the right preparation for a medium or extended trot (or canter), you should need to do very little to actually ask for the movement. You should be able to simply allow it to happen… no mad kicking necessary.
"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
How far apart should we be carrying our hands when riding?? I'm sure many of our clever members will say, "It depends." And that is correct! But it depends on what exactly? At what times might it be best for us to ride with our hands just a few inches apart? In what situations can it be useful to ride with our hands wider - say, about shoulder width apart? Is there ever a time where it might be a good idea to ride with our hands so close together that they are almost touching? Or how about with our hands so far apart that they are much wider than the width of our shoulders? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)
To steady or rebalance your horse between jumps, many times it is sufficient to square your shoulders and stretch up your body in a poised way... opening up kind of like a sail on a sail boat.
The length of horse's neck and his length of stride are directly related. A short, restricted neck means a compromised stride, and a long neck that truly seeks the connection will allow the horse to move to his fullest potential.
"In the half halt that creates carrying power, we are asking the horse to slow down and carry more weight when his hind leg joints are closed and his hind foot is on the ground. The levade, in which the horse sits on his hindquarters, is the ultimate example of this kind of closing of the joints while carrying the weight." ~ George Williams
Sally Swift gives a good explanation about why the best riders are often not the best instructors: "Many of the great riders have the gift of natural balance and coordination so that they never have to question how to do anything with any part of their body. If they know what they want to do, their body will respond. Because of this innate coordination, they have not needed to know how one makes a leg move, or how one breathes, or how one balances. It just happens. Therefore it is usually difficult for them to explain to the rest of us less-coordinated mortals how to move some particular part of our bodies."
When training a young horse, you should be fairly single minded. Your main goal should be to build your horse's confidence in you, so that they think of you as a fair but strong leader.
Relax your aids as you ride by that scary spot. Many riders unconsciously hold or even clench instead. And this sends the horse the message that the scary spot really must be dangerous!
In response to your quote "The more often you give the reins, the softer your horse will be… both in the mouth and in the body." - I give the reins a lot. Like every time she asks. She is very soft. But I think she is also on the forehand? Your thoughts? (Linda)
Hi Linda!
This is a great question! Because although there are LOTS of riders who find it hard to get in the habit of regularly softening the rein, there are also many riders who take it a bit too far - giving the rein too much, or not at the right time. Timing is absolutely CRUCIAL! If you give at the right time, your horse can enjoy freedom and self carriage. If you give at the wrong time... best case scenario, your horse will simply remain on the forehand. More dangerously, you may be teaching your horse how to make you take the pressure off whenever they want you to. (Click on Question Title above to read full answer)
"After the horse has, for a certain period of time, been lunged in the appropriate way, it will not be very difficult to ride a twenty metre diameter circle." ~ Dr. Henri van Schaik
Lunging must be done absolutely correctly to attain this, or any other benefits really.
"One of the most important things when the horse is being naughty is that it does not feel that you are in a hurry. There was a hunter who would not go through a particular gate, and the owner tried every way possible to force him, and finally gave up and sold the horse. The new owner packed a lunch of sandwiches and something to drink, and rode to the gate, and waited until the horse wanted to go through it." ~ Kyra Kyrklund
In Dressage, we use bending both to develop and to prove our horse's lateral suppleness. When the horse is laterally supple, the rider will feel that it is easy to keep the horse straight, and that it is easy to change the bend back and forth when changing directions. Lateral suppleness will also allow the horse to conform his entire body to the shape of the circles and turns that we ride him on... which means he can perform those figures in balance.
This basic suppling exercise can be adapted to be used for horses and riders of all levels. (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
