Horses tend to mirror their rider's posture. A horse is much more likely to carry himself in balance and self carriage if his rider is poised and balanced in the saddle. Tension in the rider creates and perpetuates tension in the horse. And tense riders are notorious for holding tension in their shoulders! Rounded and slumped shoulders are a big problem too.
Poor posture leads to muscle imbalances in our bodies. When you slump, your chest muscles shorten and tighten, making it more difficult for you to properly use your core and back muscles. You are also then much more likely to want to grip and "hang on" to try to stay in position (especially on the bigger moving horses!), often using your hands more than your seat to try to control your horse. All of these things effect the horse negatively - the imbalance, the tension, the gripping, and the overuse of the reins.
This should be an easy fix, right? Just square your shoulders! But here's the problem… I find that just telling riders to "keep their shoulders back" rarely solves the problem. Why? Because in trying to force the shoulders back while riding a horse (along with the 50 other things that you need to be thinking about at that moment), many times the tension in the shoulders remains. Which usually means that they will creep forward again as soon as you are focusing on something else! Here is a quick, simple fix that you can incorporate often into your riding, to help you find relaxed and square shoulders in the saddle. (Click on Article Title above to read full entry)
"We try to have discipline and attention to detail in everything we do. Being aware of all these little details gives me an advantage. And if I get a little edge everywhere more often than not I am going to be ahead." ~ McLain Ward
Always keep your spine stretched upward when riding. When you slump, your head and shoulders will become "heavy", and your horse is more likely to become heavy in your hands.
"A Horse(wo)man is someone who constantly seeks to find out what they don't know about horses, horse care, riding and training." ~ Andrea Monsarrat Waldo
"To motivate our horses to travel in a stretching position, I let them chew the reins out of the hand now and then and take care that the horse stays collected behind. I slowly lengthen the reins, ride actively to the hand, introduce the increased stretch to the bit and drive toward it. Ideally, my horse will take the reins out of my hands through the stretch of the neck and the chewing action of the mouth. To take the reins out of the hands means that the horse actively responds when he gets the signal to chew. Many horses deviate from the ideal in that they invert, roll over or go against the hand." ~ Uta Graf
"A true horseman/woman understands the psychological and physical health requirements of their horse just as much as they understand riding and training them. The deeper you look the more fascinating it becomes..." ~ Nancy Zanetta
"It's a wonderful and unusual thing when professionals (and amateurs) who compete 'against' each other are so fantastically supportive and helpful to each other. It makes our sport pretty special. :) " ~ Joan Childs
The Volte is an old school, classical movement that is invaluable in developing lateral suppleness in the horse. Although it can be utilized on a basic level for horses and riders that are fairly solid at First level, it is particularly essential for the more advanced Dressage horse. Read on to find out why and how! (Click on Article Title above to read full entry)
"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
"I'm very visual. I also am good at making myself into a pretzel. Last night I though of how a skier in slalom changes direction with subtle motion, otherwise they'll bite it. With that subtlety, my mare easily floated back and forth in the zig zag." ~ Annette Gaynes
Horses that have been trained with force often remain somewhat in "prey animal" mode, which means that they will be always looking for a way out of the situation they are in.
"At the beginning, the horse should have a long neck, and be really going into the bit, and that I am able to always have steady contact with a willingness of the horse to go forward. They are a little down at the beginning when I do my warm up, it doesn’t matter if it is a four-year-old or a Grand Prix horse, the first ten minutes are the same. Then when you go to collect, you try to keep them in exactly this position – in front of your leg so the horse is always willing to go forwards, and out." ~ Hubertus Schmidt
As an Eventer, it is smart to do some of your canter flatwork at the gallop, to teach your horse that the extra speed of the gallop is not an excuse to be wild or disobedient.
Here is an exercise that will help you to show your horse how to carry himself in a better way within the confines of the Dressage ring - helping him to be more ready to perform any movement that might be coming! (Click on Article title above to read full entry)
"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
"In matters regarding their nature, it is hardly surprising that horses can outwit the rider with considerable ease – after all, they only need to be themselves to succeed. This is so, because in horsemanship the task lies entirely with the rider to become more horse-like, and not for the horse to become human. But, as we gain better understanding of the creatures and find greater harmony with them, we discover to our delight that they feel neither the need nor desire to outwit the rider, and usually come more than halfway to comply with any reasonable requests." ~ Erik Herbermann
The bigger the jump, the more the horse must rock back and lift upwards on the takeoff. Therefore as the jumps get bigger, it becomes even more important that you are poised and patient with your upper body off the ground.
It is not wise to practice your Dressage tests in their entirety very often. Doing so will only cause your horse to learn the test and begin to anticipate the different movements. If you can get your horse truly connected and on the aids, the tests themselves will be easy. Spend most of your Dressage schooling time improving the connection and your horse's carriage, rather than test riding.
In discussing different training methods, and the use of various training gadgets such as draw reins, it is common for those defending their methods to say that as long as we get to the same place in the end, it doesn’t really matter how we get there. But those who jiggle the reins to bring down their horse’s head, or use strong bits or draw reins to force the horse to become more obedient, so that he is more likely to keep his head in the right place no matter what the rest of his body is doing, will not end up in the same place as those who take the time to teach the horse to correctly seek the connection. If Rome is where we want to be, the road they are on will NOT take them there! Read on to find out why! (Click on Article Title above to read full entry)
"First thing I look at when I buy a horse is paces rather than breeding. Beautiful parents don’t always produce beautiful children. I’m not looking for the flashiest paces, but also the trainablility and rideability. How are you going to keep a big, flamboyant mover sound into Grand Prix? You want an easy mover." ~ Carl Hester
Even for those of you who already have your flying changes down pat, it is a good idea to sometimes practice simple changes when jumping courses in training. Simple changes of lead are a great way to remind your horse that jumping a course is really flatwork with some jumps in the way.
Make sure that you never sacrifice the quality of your horse's movement when you are practicing lateral exercises. Keep your focus on maintaining an even rhythm and level of impulsion, with a nice relaxed swinging back, quiet soft hands, and a consistent connection throughout. If you start to struggle with any of those qualities, it is best to come out of the movement, and fix any issues before trying again.
A healthy muscle in your horse's body is pliable and feels a little like a beef roast. It should continue to feel pliable, without tensing up, when you palpate it.
Always challenge yourself to use as little hand as possible in riding any exercise or movement. The more freedom your horse has up front, the more expressive his movement will be.
"No matter if you are a horse, a rider, a dancer, or even a tennis player, tension is your enemy. Suppleness means that the muscles contract and de-contract, and this has to go through the entire horse, it cannot be blocked in the middle of the back, and it also has to go through the rider." ~ Susanne Miesner
If you quit on the right note when working on a difficult concept during training, many horses seem to ponder the concept, and come out even better the next day. Those that say horses do not think deeply are decidedly mistaken.
