Practicing transitions on a circle allows you to utilize the bend and increased engagement from the circle to improve the connection in your transitions.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 85Counting each stride out loud or in your head can help you to maintain a rhythm and an even stride when jumping, and is a great trick to keep the troublesome part of your brain quiet as you negotiate fences.Tip/Quote of the Day # 84"It’s normal to lose momentum when pursuing goals. Sometimes this happens because we’re not truly committed to our goals. Other times, it’s because we struggle to hold ourselves accountable for doing the necessary work… but it’s time to re-focus, re-energize, and re-align with your goals and dreams so you can achieve greater success and finish off the year strong!" ~ Jack CanfieldTip/Quote of the Day # 83In training the horse to be more responsive and self motivated, it is better to use the whip than the spur as reinforcement. As if the horse only ever feels light aids on his sides, he will be more sensitized to that light pressure. While reinforcing with the spur might get the job done, a touch with the whip behind the saddle will do a better job of keeping him sensitive to a light aid on his sides. Tip/Quote of the Day # 82The horse's favorite reward is the release of the aid.Tip/Quote of the Day # 81Horses learn by a process of trial and error based on trying to make themselves more comfortable. Tip/Quote of the Day # 80Never let your hand drop below the elbow to bit line, as this makes the bit work in a downward action on the sensitive bars of the horse's mouth, increasing the severity of the bit considerably. Tip/Quote of the Day # 79Always have more time than your horse.Tip/Quote of the Day # 78Temporarily riding with your hands a bit wide can be helpful to prevent the horse from evading the contact. You will be more easily able to follow your horse's movements elastically, and your horse will find the connection a bit more inviting, as wide reins are essentially an opening rein on each side. Horses are much less likely to resist an opening rein than they are a direct rein, as the effect of the opening rein is more gentle. Tip/Quote of the Day # 77On straight lines, the principle of inside leg to outside rein still applies - particularly in canter, to keep the horse truly straight.Tip/Quote of the Day # 76The canter is often the most valuable warm up gait, as it can be more effective than the the trot in loosening the horse up and encouraging him to move fully through the back.Tip/Quote of the Day # 75Focus on the horse's hind legs in upward transitions. Look for the feeling that your horse begins to step into the new gait with their hind feet first.Tip/Quote of the Day # 74Always keep bend in your knees and elbows. If either become straight at any time, that limb will become rigid, and unable to follow the horses movement.Tip/Quote of the Day # 73When seated, you must be sitting in the lowest part of the saddle. It is common for riders to mistakenly sit too far back in the saddle, where the seat of the saddle is rising towards the back - especially when riding in Dressage saddles. This renders your seat ineffective, and makes it hard for the horse to feel your seat aids. Tip/Quote of the Day # 72It is a good idea to alternate harder days and easier days in your training schedule. That way you give the horse a chance to physically recover from each day of hard work, and lessen the chances of injury. Tip/Quote of the Day # 71While a thicker mouthpiece is generally considered to be more gentle than a thinner bit, the horse with a small mouth or a low palate often prefers a thinner bit. Tip/Quote of the Day # 70Only the horse with a supple, relaxed back can have true impulsion.Tip/Quote of the Day # 69Bending and lateral work stretches the outside of the horse's body. As with any type of stretching, increase your demands gradually as the horse becomes more supple. Tip/Quote of the Day # 68
"Generally riders do not pay enough attention to the geometry of the circle. The circle is a line of equal curvature and, to ask for it, the rider advances the outside shoulder taking care to keep the contact of the outside rein, which determines the circle rather than by the backward movement of the inside hand." ~ Nuno Oliveira
Tip/Quote of the Day # 67Hillwork is one of the best strengtheners. If you have any hills available, use them judiciously to make your horse a stronger athlete.Tip/Quote of the Day # 66"People seem to understand the power of practice when it comes to skills. You know you'll get better if you practice a riding skill like a shoulder-in or a right-lead canter transition. Well, you can also practice traits. You can practice courage. You can practice self-confidence. You can practice optimism. You can practice things that you might not think are able to be practiced, such as being a better friend to yourself or not always denigrating yourself." ~ Denny EmersonTip/Quote of the Day # 65Any rounding of the shoulders is weakness and immediately disconnects the arms from the back and seat.Tip/Quote of the Day # 64An effective rider has trained their inner voice to be either positive or constructively negative, never defeating.Tip/Quote of the Day # 63Some riders seem to think that if they can just sit perfectly enough, their horse will naturally bring his body together and move in a balanced way. And that is not necessarily true. While it is very important to sit correctly, horses are likely to remain on the forehand until the rider actively improves the horse's balance through specific exercises.Tip/Quote of the Day # 62Try this little experiment: Spend some time doing a turn on the forehand in hand (on the ground), so you can really watch what happens to your horse's body when he steps underneath himself with his inside hind leg. While he may remain hollow at first in tension, as he relaxes into the exercise you will usually see him naturally becoming "rounder" in his body, and therefore lowering his head and neck. You will also likely see him chewing the bit softly. This is an example of how changing the back and the hind legs positively affects the front end.Tip/Quote of the Day # 61Soften the reins too much at the beginning of a lengthening, and you may find that you lose your stored energy. Which will likely cause your horse to quicken his stride rather than giving you a true lengthening. Tip/Quote of the Day # 60Always be on the lookout for signs that your horse's topline is becoming fatigued, such as increasing mental agitation or fussiness, and allow for a stretching break before true resistance begins, or the horse will start to become resentful.Tip/Quote of the Day # 59Nearly every rider will experience plateaus in their training. Only those that have the patience to keep a good attitude while pushing through them will ever get there.Tip/Quote of the Day # 58Stay quiet and let the exercise teach the horse.Tip/Quote of the Day # 57Correct Dressage is like physical therapy for a horse. When done well, it brings out the best movement the horse is capable of - creating a straight and supple athlete, that is therefore more likely to stay sound.Tip/Quote of the Day # 56The intensity of a half halt is determined by the strength of the push into it. Tip/Quote of the Day # 55"Under no circumstances (except to save your life) is see-sawing on the bit ever allowed. Nor is sneaky jiggling. The bit should only be moved by the chewing action of the horse." ~ Catherine Haddad StallerTip/Quote of the Day # 54A calm, attentive horse begins with a calm, attentive handler.Tip/Quote of the Day # 53When one speaks of "disciplining" a horse, it does not mean to punish, but rather to correct. You simply stop the unwanted behavior and show them what they should be doing instead. Always train the horse to give you a consistent pattern of behavior.Tip/Quote of the Day # 52The mouth is never the real problem. What you feel in your hand is a reflection of what is happening behind the saddle. Get the back relaxed and swinging, and the hind legs active, and the horse will feel like putty in your hands.Tip/Quote of the Day # 51The horse shouldn't feel punished for trying to escape the connection, they should just feel unsuccessful.Tip/Quote of the Day # 50The pulley rein can be used as a back up to ANY restraining aid that is ignored by the horse. Don't save it just for emergencies! Tip/Quote of the Day # 49So that you don't make the common mistake of following with your body when you give the rein, think of pushing the horse slightly away from you with your hands.Tip/Quote of the Day # 48Turn your horse from the middle of his body by using your seat to initiate the turn. And use both reins together to turn him from his shoulders. Turning with the inside rein only turns his nose, leaving the rest of his body to derail.Tip/Quote of the Day # 47From member Kayla Wafful: "Something I've found that works very well with my students is instead of "pushing" your heels down to rather think about relaxing the ankle joint and let the weight fall naturally into your heels. This way you don't create any unnecessary tension in the ankle joint, which then transfers to the rest of the body. You get a much softer and more fluid position that way!"Tip/Quote of the Day # 46When a horse is equally laterally supple on both sides, it will be evident in the ease of which one is able to perform changes of bend and direction. If it is harder to change from one direction to the other, the horse needs more lateral suppling exercises on that side.Tip/Quote of the Day # 45It is wise to remain at least slightly seated on the takeoff of an open ditch jump, and to look for the feeling that your horse jumps out in front of you. If you are too far forward, and/or are ahead of your horse's motion as he begins to take off, he can easily lose heart and jump weakly (and therefore losing confidence). Or he can even change his mind completely and stop, in which case you would then likely become a victim of the laws of physics. ;)Tip/Quote of the Day # 44The horse needs to understand that he should not go against the rider's hand - but we do not want him to think that he should "give" to the bit. When the horse thinks he should give to the bit, he merely poses in a false frame when he feels pressure on the reins. Our goal should be to have the horse happily moving INTO the rein connection. He should literally "chase" the bit, wanting to connect with it as if it were a carrot. Tip/Quote of the Day # 43From Facebook fan Gabby Ballin: "Some rides are going to be perfect. Some rides are going to have you wondering why you don't quit riding. When that happens, take a deep breath and go back to something you know you and your horse can do easily."Tip/Quote of the Day # 42You don't really do yourself any favors when you cater to your weaknesses. For example, if you only like to ride with your whip in your right hand, and it feels odd and uncomfortable in your left - you need to make yourself ride with it in your left hand. And if you are uncomfortable riding amongst distractions or with people watching, you only better yourself by seeking out those conditions.Tip/Quote of the Day # 41In just about all situations, the best transitions are initiated from the rider's seat... not the leg or hand. Tip/Quote of the Day # 40"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." ~ Stephen King
