Turn on the forehand is a great tool to improve your connection and to teach your horse to engage the inside hind leg. Used early on in your warm up it will mobilize your horse’s lumbar back and hips, and will give you a chance to improve his response to your lateral aids.
"Permeability can only exist when, on the one hand, the thrust and impulsion from the hind legs reach the forehand undiminished, and on the other hand, when the weighting and flexing half-halts fully reach the hind legs. This requires the forehand and hindquarters to be aligned in such a way that, on a single track, the horse always adjusts his spine to the straight or curved line of travel, so that the hind legs follow in the same line as the front legs." ~ Waldemar Seunig
Don't half halt or make an adjustment in front of a fence unless you need to. So often I see riders that ruin their good canter on the approach by taking back unnecessarily. And the same holds true on the flat…. If you have a good trot or canter, leave it alone!
Some people misunderstand the term "on the forehand", which refers to the horse's shoulders being down, regardless of where his head and neck are positioned.
Be careful not to sit the trot too early on in a ride. Doing so before the horse is fully warmed up and truly moving through his topline can often be detrimental, as the horse is more likely to stay stiff and tight in his back.
Soften and let your horse lengthen his neck, while trying to maintain the feeling that he stayssittingbehind, with a lowered croup and well engaged hind legs.
The more successful you are in getting your horse to relax and swing through his back muscles throughout his work, the less likely he will be to lose focus and spook.
"If you ride and train for a living, have something else that you do. Don’t make this your whole life. The bad days - and there are always bad days - will eat you up and spit you out. Have something that you do that has nothing to do with horses, to help put yourself back together again." ~ Lauren Sprieser
"I do not ask the rider to alter the horse’s step in front of the pole because I want to awaken the horse’s initiative. Whether he takes a slightly long step or adds a step before the pole, I am equally satisfied. If he steps on the pole, the chances are good that he will learn from the experience and not do it again. If he continues to step on the poles on the ground, I suggest that the rider find another prospect, as this one is probably too dumb to improve over obstacles." ~ Jimmy Wofford
"Nothing is as impressive or as valuable for the training as being able to control the impulsion and the desire to go forward to such an extent that the rider is able to bring his horse to a standstill from an extended trot or canter without the slightest effort or disturbance. Conversely, departing immediately from the halt into an extended gait is an equal proof of the absolute desire to go forward." ~ Alois Podhajsky
A horse that is well balanced, with the right amount of impulsion for the jump at hand, can safely and comfortably leave the ground from just about any reasonable takeoff spot.
When a horse and rider have an apparent "miss", that causes a rail down or even a fall, the problem is the balance of the canter on the approach, NOT the takeoff spot. Riders who ride the quality of the canter instead of looking for a takeoff spot are the ones who never miss!
Eventers need a saddle for cross country that allows them to move their center of gravity back for drop fences or anything on a downhill slope. Make sure your saddle has enough room for this to happen.
If you don't have forward, you won't be able to achieve a truehalf halt. And without an effective half halt, it will be hard to improve the horse's balance.
"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
"I’m a big fan of ground lines. I think it teaches the horse to have better technique in front. Everything that we do is connected — the way we start on the cross rail to this, it all connects. We're building through our training." ~ McLain Ward
Always have a plan when jumping. Each exercise should have something to teach your horse. Don't waste jumps by jumping simple jumps with no purpose - other than for warm up, or if the horse needs them for building confidence.
As you complete a halt, lighten your seat slightly to invite your horse to keep his back up underneath you. This will allow you to move off after the halt without the horse hollowing and dropping his back.
"A steady hand with a soft, following elbow invites a steady, soft contact from the horse. Working the bit or being busy with your fingers invites a false frame." ~ Alexis Soutter
Your horse should still be connected when stretching. No loose reins! Only when they are honestly seeking the connection and moving with power from behind into the contact will the stretch be across the full topline of the horse.
If your trainer is not truly supportive.... find a better one! I am always baffled at how many riders stick with trainers who belittle them, and very often don't even really have their best interests at heart. Some trainers don't teach because they love teaching, but because they love to stroke their own ego!
"There is one way to check that you are on the right way – in the high collection you must be able to stretch them so they follow the bit and they are not stuck up there. In every situation you must be able to stretch them – even a piaffe or a pirouette, even then, I must be able to do it." ~ Hubertus Schmidt
When training a young horse you should be fairly single minded. Your main goal should be to build your horse's confidence in you, so that they think of you as a fair but strong leader.
If you want to have a really solid position over jumps, practice your two point position a lot. Really put in the effort, if you truly want the results!
"The quality of a good canter: round, energetic, straight, cadenced, light. You have to feel in the strike off that the horse lifts his forehand without throwing himself forward." ~ Nuno Oliveira
"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
"You need to have a good seat to be able to use a spur correctly. You should not use them unless your horse is in front of your leg. They are not to be used to get your horse forward." ~ Hazel Roberts
When you do a lengthening, whether in trot or canter, you should move up to your lengthening within a few strides. Thenmaintainthat exact level of lengthening until the end of your line, where you take just a few strides to (clearly!) show your transition down.
"In the warm-up, I mostly ride curved lines so that I can work on lateral suppleness along with getting the horse relaxed over the back. I spend as much time as it takes for the horse to feel relaxed and willing to lower and stretch from his withers. I do circles, serpentines and figure eights. There is no point in going on with movements if the horse is not supple over his back. I also use leg yields as part of the warm-up to help get the horse responsive to the inside leg and connected to the outside rein." ~ Charlotte Bredahl-Baker
"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
"A coachable student is like a trainable horse. Willing to listen, try, put forth effort, and accept/implement instruction and criticism." ~ Katharine Henricksen Coleman
"No complicated riding before the horses are going truly forward. In dressage, the difficulties are often created by a lack of good basic work (which is the foundation of the house)." ~ Nuno Oliveira
