"The most repeated mistake is the riders' weight taking off before the horse and often with catastrophic results - The rider that learns to look after the Engine, Line and Balance of his horse on the Approach and allows his horse to make the decisions about where he takes off, repeatedly puts in a smooth and confident performance" ~ Lucinda Green
"The absence of a correction is not a reward to a horse. The only thing that is a reward is 'good girl' or a pat on the neck or giving them a sugar. You can’t train a seal without fish." ~ Robert Dover
"The more soft and gentle my aids are on cross country the better, then I can really speed up, slow down, turn – a balanced turn – have my horse absolutely under the centre of gravity. That’s what I need in a pirouette, and that’s what I need in a line of fences, where you have a narrow one uphill, down two strides, turn, there the horse must be in balance." ~ Ingrid Klimke
The horse's loin area (behind the saddle) is loosened and suppled with each good lateral step behind. Just one reason of many why lateral steps are a very important part of training horses.
Practicing movements incorrectly will create an ingrained habit in both horse and rider that can be hard to break at a later date. Make sure you have eyes on the ground (whether that is in person, or virtually through online coaching) to make sure you are on the right track.
With any related distance when jumping, make any needed adjustment early on in the line, and then focus on riding the rhythm and quality of the canter, while patiently waiting for the jump to "come to you."
Is there any chance you can tell me how to fix this obnoxious habit, and perhaps what might be causing it? I have a hard time keeping my right hand closed, and even though my reins are the same length (they’re laced, so I can count the lacing on each side), my right one inevitably feels too long, and my arm gets stupid.
"And here I say to parents, and especially to wealthy parents, Don't give your son money. As far as you can afford it, give him horses. No one ever came to grief, except honorable grief, through riding horses. No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle." ~ Winston Churchill
"You want [the horse] to relax in halt but as soon as you put your leg on, switch on and go forward. When he goes into trot, just give him one more touch with your leg to let him know you really want him to go forward. When you are going forward and coming back, ask yourself was it the reaction I wanted? If you are doing it halfways, then you are always compromising with him." ~ Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein
"So many riders think only about the physical aspects of training and I hear too many times from riders, ‘well my horse just needs to get stronger’. I ask myself constantly what about the mental part? My idea is that the physical part is 25 per cent and the mental part 75 per cent and I find myself asking each and every day, did my horse really understand what I was asking for?" ~ Steffen Peters
"When you do something too much, too long, it’s called drilling. That’s not a good word with horses. If it’s not perfect it's ok. We have tomorrow, we have next week. Don’t be excessive with the horse." - George Morris
A good contact with the horse's mouth usually only occurs if the rider also has good contact with their seat and legs. When a rider tries to keep rein contact with their legs completely off, the horse will usually resist or try to avoid the rider's hand.
Let's say that you are are running at the Intermediate level here... So you are hunting red numbers! What part of the drop fence at A would you aim at with the plan of best setting yourself up for success at the C element? What part of the up bank at B would you jump to give you the best line for the final element? And at what speed would you approach this complex? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion)
"I really want to emphasize that a rider first rides a horse with the legs and seat; then come the rein aids, as a support to the seat and legs. These three things together subsequently determine the quality contact that leads to the complete harmony and understanding between the horse and rider." ~ Johann Hinnemann
Slipping the reins in the final strides in front of a drop into water must be done gradually and inconspicuously. Slipping the reins too much all at once, or doing it at the last second, and you can negatively affect the horse's balance.
When working with a horse that does not have a great natural 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.
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 fluidity of the movement, which should be one of your top priorities.
Look at the difference in this horse's musculature and carriage with time and training! What are the improvements that you notice from the top picture to the bottom? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion)
Many performance horses work hard for a living! And since horses don't have the ability to verbally voice their complaints, it is 100% up to us as owners, riders, and trainers to make sure they are truly comfortable in their jobs. While an obvious lameness is usually fairly easy to see, it becomes a whole lot more tricky when the horse isn't outright lame, yet is NQR, or "not quite right."
Some of the more common areas of chronic soreness that I find in horses is in the Lumbar back, the Sacroiliac joint, and the Lumbosacral junction, which connects the two: (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
"Lesson quote of the day (in reference to her horse being crooked) - He feels like two men in a horse suit who aren't speaking to each other! (identity of student being protected :)" ~ Carrie Wehle
"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
When trying to improve the activity and engagement of your horse's hind legs in downward transitions, think of a trot in place and dancing your way to the walk or halt.
First of all, I'm glad that you had so much fun at your hunter pace! Those are always so much fun and such a great experience for both horse and rider. And they are getting harder and harder to find, unfortunately. I'm glad you have access to one! Now, onto your question!
I think you will find all of the answers that you are looking for in this article on the horse that drifts when jumping. But there is something that I also want to mention that shows up in this series of photos.... (Click on Photo/Question Title above to read the full answer and critique of these photos.)
"One of the goals of dressage is to recreate the natural beauty of the horse’s gaits under the rider, so that the horse moves as beautifully under the weight of the rider as he does at liberty. In order to achieve this, the swinging of the horse’s back has to pass through the seat of the rider undiminished. The back has to be able to rise and fall with the same ease, regardless of the rider’s presence. If the rider merely sits passively, his weight alone can sometimes be enough to diminish the freedom of movement of the horse’s back. In these moments, the rider has to enhance the upswing of the horse’s back with an active contraction of his abdominal muscles, which helps the rider’s pelvis to swing more forward-upward, without tilting forward, however." ~ Thomas Ritter
