Everyone knows that we need our horses to be relaxed to perform well. But that starts with our own relaxation! A rider must be relaxed to give clear and precise aids to their horse, and to set the tone for the horse to be able to relax.
If you feel like you absolutely need to wear spurs when you ride, it would be a good idea to go back to the basics in your training to revisit the concept of your horse answering your feather light leg aids. EVERY horse can be taught this!
When your horse is more difficult going to the left because he wants to carry his body too "curled" to the left, (and therefore tends to fall through the outside shoulder when going that direction), this is often best addressed by schooling on theright rein, rather than the left. If you can do some good work with your horse's body fully bending around your right leg, you are stretching the tight left side of his body, which will help him to go straighter when travelling to the left.
A word about the double bridle: The curb bit should be a tool for increased refinement of the aids, not for applying a stronger force on the horse's mouth. If the double bridle is used because the rider can't otherwise ride their horse on the bit or because they can't control it, then neither the horse nor the rider are ready for the double bridle.
Make sure you finish every ride or training session on a good note, so that you always put the horse away happy. That will set the stage for a more positive attitude in your next ride.
When your horse becomes crooked, they will automatically fall onto the forehand. Horses need to be straight to be able to carry their weight from behind.
So many riders think they are being kind when they don’t give their horses boundaries. But whether we are talking about handling, leading, loading in a trailer, lunging, or riding, horses ALWAYS do best when they have clear boundaries. You can leave your horse free to express themselves, but ONLY WITHIN the basic boundaries of respect and basic good behavior!
"It is not Dressage that is difficult, it is making it look easy that is difficult. Some horses are born with presence, while others you can train presence. Either way, Dressage is about improving the paces." ~ Carl Hester
"A horse with good footwork will rarely fall. A horse who is not given the chance to practice that footwork because he is always brought to the right spot will come big time unstuck when the s*** hits the fan and the fallible human on top gets it wrong." ~ Lucinda Green
"Riders use the spur instead of the calf of the leg. This is wrong. As trainers and judges, we need to encourage putting the horse in front of the leg, NOT the spur." ~ Christoph Hess
Think about keeping your head up and still throughout your horse's jumping motion to help keep your upper body more quietly poised. This keeps you safely out of your horse's way.
When riding a cross country course that runs through wooded areas, always keep in mind that you are never going quite as fast as you feel like you are when you are traveling in the woods. You may feel like the trees are whizzing by, and can be tempted to slow down. But if you slow down too much you may find it hard to make the time up on the more open areas of the course.
"As dressage riders, we require our spine to remain in a neutral position where all the vertebrae are evenly stacked, one upon the other. We need to maintain this dynamic balance as the horse moves under us." ~ Rebecca Ashton
When you are looking down you will have even more of a tendency to ride from your hands. Sitting up and looking up will help to remind you to ride from your seat.
To steady your horse between fences, 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 sailboat.
"The best stretch can be achieved on a circle when you feel the horse is balanced laterally and longitudinally. Slowly allow the reins to lengthen and see if your horse will lengthen his neck forward and downward. This will feel like a clear release and you will be able to see how the neck fills out and gets wide when you look down." ~ Felicitas von Neumann-Cosel
"The relaxation of the mouth alone is not enough. It can be deceptive, because it does not necessarily lead to lightness. It has to be accompanied by the relaxation of the entire horse. When he relaxes the back, it will definitely have repercussions in the mouth." ~ Nuno Oliveira
"I like to think about making my body longer in the front to make me sit up instead of thinking 'shoulders back,' which can make you stiff." ~ Mary King
"A horse 'held in shape' by his rider is only posturing in a seemingly correct outline, usually for the benefit of the inexperienced observers." ~ Charles de Kunffy
"You need to produce a walk. So work at the walk as well as the trot and canter. Get a good feeling of the body working in the walk. The walk is a mirror of the training of the horse." ~ Christoph Hess
A horse that is well balanced, with the right amount of impulsion for the jump at hand, can comfortably leave the ground from just about any reasonable takeoff spot.
"Stay dedicated to the quality of the basic gaits - the suppleness and balance of the walk, trot and canter. Then as you cultivate the movements, those gaits improve." ~ Volker Brommann
"Your body follows your eyes. If you’re looking down that pulls your shoulders and torso down and forward as well, which could result in your feet and legs slipping back as well, and you possibly hitting the ground." ~ Tori Meinhart
The horse should always set the pace of the progression of both training and competing. Pushing a horse too hard, too soon will usually result in having to go back and start over.
If your horse struggles to maintain a consistent rhythm, think of using your breathing to help him stay regular. This is one reason why counting is so useful, as when you count in a rhythm, you will breathe in that rhythm.
