Everyone talks about engaging the horse's inside hind leg... But think about the fact that the key to a good quality canter is sufficient engagement of the outside hind leg… as that is how each canter stride begins.
"The outside rein keeps the horse straight. It controls the outside shoulder, it helps in the halts, it must always be a connecting feel. If the connection is too strong it blocks the inside hind leg. The contact must be elastic in both reins." ~ Gill Rolton
Try 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 engaging the back and the hind legs positively affects the front end.
"I've been working on making sure my hand is following and not fixed, especially in the walk and canter when the head and neck need to move more. The biggest breakthrough has come in working on doing a little shortening/collection at the canter, as now I can get my very sensitive mare to sit more without stopping or hollowing her back or bracing in her neck, just by making sure I don't lose the motion in my arms as I ask for her to come back." ~ Alexis Soutter
In Dressage, your upper arm belongs to your seat, as it is what connects the rein to your seat. Your lower arm belongs to the horse, as you offer an elastic connection to the horse's mouth.
You cannot create a correct rein connection when the horse is not truly thinking forward. You must first create a situation where the horse wants to move forward into the connection.
Quality always trumps quantity in regard to riding transitions. Yes, try to always do lots of transitions when you ride. But keep your top focus on quality, to make sure every one counts!
Always challenge yourself to use as little hand as possible when riding any exercise. The more freedom your horse has up front, the more expressive his movement will be.
Horses that tend to hurry often do best when ridden at a deliberately slower pace until they become rhythmical and relaxed, and are then no longer trying to hurry. Only then is it a good idea to gradually develop more energy within the stride.
When you have a horse that is misbehaving out of excitement, it is often best in the long term to ignore the bad behavior and instead focus on trying to calm the excitement.
If a rider is not able to stay completely out of their horse's way, they might have to spend a lot of time fixing problems in the horse that they are actually causing themselves.
"Riders who are successful are ready for things that are not what they have planned for. They're thinking, on their toes, and reacting. They are ready for trouble." ~ Lucinda Green
For some horses, it is absolutely essential to do some work in a connected long and low frame, to help them to move and swing more fully through their backs.
The stirrup bar placement in relation to the balance of the seat on your saddle can make or break your position. Make sure you choose a saddle that will allow you to be in balance.
To keep your horse's hind legs more engaged in your upward transitions, (with the hind legs carrying weight AND pushing, rather than pushing alone), think of sitting on those hind legs and feeling the transition begin with a deeper step of a hind limb.
Everyone knows that we want to keep a straight line from our elbow to the horse's mouth. But did you know that it means when viewed from above as well as from the side? And that it also includes your wrists and fingers??
When your horse is spooking, don't stare at whatever it is that they are looking at. Look where you want to go, and don't let any of your horse's antics change your focus.
In the Dressage ring, you must look at the corners as your friend and a useful tool! Each corner is an opportunity to improve your horse's carriage and connection.
The very best riders are often not the best teachers... It all comes too naturally to them, so they often don't know how to help those who don't have their gift.
"When you relax your arms and feel the reins softly you need to feel that your horse wants to step into the contact. If you do not then he is behind your leg and seat." ~ Yvonne Barteau
* I will add: Or, he has been taught to drop behind the contact by a rider using busy hands or draw reins.
When a horse has trueimpulsion, they become easier to steer and keepstraight. And being able to perform perfect geometrical figures (the ability to be straight on curved lines) proves your ability to maintain a consistent level of impulsion.
Put your leg on justbeforeyou start to shorten your reins after the free walk or the stretching trot circle. This way you can ride forward into that shorter rein (as well as asking for bending) even as you are shortening them.
The increased activity of the hind legs will elevate the horse's head and neck naturally from your stretching position, and that allows you to shorten the reins with minimal fuss. If you start to shorten your reins with your leg off, and your horse will be more likely to hollow his back and resist.
"Suppleness in the back is the most important basic you can give your horse. When a horse is not supple in his back, it’s a big deal for him. Horses store a lot of emotion in their backs. If you have ever hurt your back, you know how painful it can be. It occupies your every thought." ~ Scott Hassler
With true impulsion, the horse has lots of forward energy, but the rider remains the driver. When the horse overpowers the rider and takes control, the horse is just running.
Riders will usually progress the the fastest by sticking with a system of training, instead of hopping around taking individual bits of information from lots of different systems.
"Give the horse the feeling of freedom when you sit on it, always the feeling that it can move forward. Most riders all over the world use their hands to try and control their horse, the neck starts to shorten and then it all starts to go wrong." ~ Christoph Hess
Sometimes you can improve your circles by not working on circles!
Work onsquares, 90 degree turns, and diagonal lines for a while, and maybe somenose to the wall leg yield. Then come back to your circles, after you have worked on better use of and response to your outside turning aids.
"I think we judges have to look more carefully into the body language of the horse. The body language for me, is more important than the technical part of a movement. Three strides in the half pirouette that's okay, but if everything is good and we have four strides, that for me is no problem, for me it is important that the horse is happy and you see it in the face, you see it in the tail, you see it in the swinging, you can listen, how the horse is breathing, these are the things that are important for a quality test." ~ Christoph Hess
You have to look for the particular rhythm that works best for each horse in each gait, allowing them to swing through their bodies with activity. Slower than the horse's optimal rhythm, and the horse will probably be inactive behind. And faster will be rushing, inhibiting the swing.
Never underestimate how much any turn on course can take away from the power in your canter. With the lazier type of horse you need to be proactive in maintaining your impulsion through the turns. And even with the hotter type of horse, you need to be conscious of being soft with your hand, so you don't take too much away from them.
