"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.
"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.
"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
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.
When trying to find your balance, whether for posting at the trot, jumping a fence, or anything in between - you will always be in one of three positions: Either ahead of the motion (too far forward), behind the motion (too far back), or exactly with the motion (perfect). If you have a strong tendency to be in one of the positions other than perfect… say you are often a bit too far forward, don't be discouraged if you find yourself going the other way (too far back) when trying to break your bad habit and make a change. It is a perfectly normal part of the process of finding your balance. Riders will almost always teeter back and forth over that line…. sometimes a bit too far forward, and sometimes a bit too far back, before they find that perfect middle ground.
Once your horse is fairly solid at first level Dressage, a good thing to ask yourself regularly while riding is, "Could I easily go into shoulder in at this moment?"
If your horse is balanced and straight, and stepping up into your outside rein, you should be able to promptly and easily create a quality shoulder in at any spot in the arena, no matter what gait or figure you are currently riding.
"Anyone using their spur every stride, should be yellow carded and kicked out of the sport. Use your whip, get a response, then ask again with your leg, and get a light response." ~ Christopher Burton
Think of Dressage training exercises as physical therapy for your horse… similar to the strength training that you might do at the gym. Do a few good reps of a particular exercise, and take a break, or move on to something else. Overtraining any particular group of muscles can be counter productive, often doing more harm than good.
You can't assume that a horse with a low head and neck is on the forehand, any more than you can assume that a horse with a high head carriage is truly collected. You have to look at the whole picture.
When your horse is impressed by a jump, and gathers itself a bit to "look" on the approach, you have a free half halt. Do not get caught taking back in this situation, or you may cause your horse to stop. Think "keep the hind legs moving" all the way to the base of the jump to ensure that you maintain sufficient forward energy as the horse looks. Yet don't push them out of balance by trying to run at the jump.
"I want any rider approaching any jump to concentrate on rhythm. They should concentrate on HOW they get there, not where they get to." ~ Jimmy Wofford
"What is essential is not to tighten the legs during the dressage training, but rather to use them without effort while allowing them to hang softly near the horse’s sides." ~ Nuno Oliviera
Remember that even a COW can jump a 3 foot fence from a standstill... if it wants to. So never worry about whether or not your horse has enough scope to do lower level eventing or jumping. The bigger issue is whether or not you can keep him balanced at the canter.
The better the rider's seat, the more easily the horse can understand the rider's aids. So make working on developing and maintaining an independent seat a top priority!
"Sometimes doing the small things that others think is like watching paint dry, like taking the time to warm up at the walk, will give you a better foundation in which to improve upon your trot & canter work." ~ Joan Dunlap
Varying the degree of your half pass can improve your horse’s suppleness from all angles, as well as increasing his responsiveness to your aids within the movement. In other words, while going in half pass across the diagonal, half halt, and do a few strides with a steeper angle (more sideways than forward), then go forward again.
To achieve the lovely feeling of jumping "right out of your stride", you have to have the right canter for each situation. If you don't know what kind of canter you need for a particular jump… or are unable to create it exactly when you need it, you will be more likely to meet the jump awkwardly. This has less to do with the rider's "eye", and more to do with the awareness of the quality of the canter.
"Riders who lean back are driving the horse down in front. If they sit too strong, behind the vertical, then they are pushing the horse down, through and into the hand." ~ Carl Hester
"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
It is a good idea to ask yourself regularly throughout your rides…. "Am I working too hard here?" If you are, your aids are probably WAY too strong. Go back a step, and work on more finesse.
"What we want to start creating in these horses is an engine that is always running, where we don’t shift gears until we want to. It’s like revving your RPMs and waiting a moment before you shift up into that higher gear. But if you don’t have that energy in the lower gear, you might stall when you go to send them forward." ~ Laura Graves
"Every downward transition perfects the half halt. You don’t have to have a driving leg for the downward transition, you need a sustaining leg." ~ George Morris
