It can be helpful to make lots of little changes of frame in your warm-up… a little stretching, a little up, and repeat… This can help your horse to come more through his body.
Let's talk about WHY we ride our horses in the movement known as the free walk. Is it just because this is a movement that appears in our Dressage tests, many times even with a double coefficient?? Or are there important reasons we should be asking our horses to perform a quality free walk in our daily riding, even when there is no judge watching?
When schooling, do you mostly only ride in a free walk when you want to take a break from work, maybe while chatting with your friends, or discussing what you just did with your trainer? Or do you have a plan to actually USE the free walk to improve your horse's mental state and to encourage better use of his entire body??
Read on to learn and see (through a video example) how to make the free walk movement a much more USEFUL tool for you and your horse! (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
"You are connected with your seat to the horse’s back, connected with your legs to the horse’s body, and connection can only work if it goes through the whole horse and into the rider’s body, and from the rider’s body back to the whole horse." ~ Susanne Miesner
Riders should be aware of the specific questions posed by each individual jump on course, and should not treat all jumps the same. Things that need to be taken into consideration are the shape of the jump, the footing, the terrain involved before and after the jump, the lighting, the kind of approach you are given, and what is on the landing side of the jump.
"Horses are not trying to be difficult. They’re probably just trying to understand and sometimes they don’t know how to do it, or they don’t get your signals. You have to learn a little bit every day, and when they do something correct, give them a lot of positive reinforcement to let them know that they’ve done it right." ~ Jessica Springsteen
"When the horse is forward, when the horse is using his hind leg more under the body and the neck falls down from out of the wither, then it doesn’t matter if the nose is a little behind the vertical if there is no pulling by the rider." ~ Johan Hamminga
It is NOT correct to try to raise the horse's neck or shoulders in any way with the reins. True front end elevation in Dressage comes only from real collection induced lowering of the hind quarters.
If you love your horse, teach him to have good manners, both on the ground and under saddle. A horse with good manners is more likely to end up in a good home if the unexpected happens.
FAR too many riders bend the horse's neck when asked for more bend. That is not what we want! We want bend in the horse's ribcage. Which is achieved by asking for a hint of a lateral step with the rider's inside leg, into the connection of the outside rein.
A tip for all of the instructors out there... When a student has a lightbulb moment during a riding lesson, ask them to explain it you in their own words. This way it becomes even more cemented in their own mind, and you can more easily help them find it again if they lose it.
The rein back is an underutilized and very often incorrectly performed exercise. To be truly beneficial to the horse, it has to be performed steadily and in a relaxed way. And most importantly straight, while on a soft rein, so that the horse is not jammed together from front to back while stepping backwards. Otherwise he will not be able to use his body correctly.
If you are able to follow your horse's mouth with a consistently elastic feel, he will learn to trust your hand so fully, that he will lose the desire to escape it.
Your rein connection should have suppleness in it, allowing it to breathe along with the horse's movement. It must remain a living, breathing thing - never rigid.
"From half-halt to half-halt, you have to own the rhythm of their footfalls in each of the three gaits and the tempo or how fast they are going over every meter of ground in that gait." ~ Robert Dover
On wrestling with the strong horse in front of a cross country fence: "If you can’t get them back, at least drop the reins and let them see the fence." ~ Clayton Fredricks
Strive to always keep your spine fully stretched upward when riding. When you slump, your head and shoulders will become heavy, and your horse will be more likely to become heavy in your hands.
"I teach riders to adjust their reins within three strides on level ground [after a drop fence], and I want them seated between elements of a combination. This will give the rider more stability plus a wider and more sophisticated range of aids." ~ Jimmy Wofford
In the sport of Eventing, ensuring that our horses are truly fit for our level of competition is one of the best ways to prevent unnecessary injuries. When a horse's muscles become fatigued, the strain on their tendons and ligaments increases significantly. A single misstep that results in serious injury can be far more likely to happen. ALL of the horse's structures are vulnerable to overuse injuries from fatigue. Having the horse truly fit for the job required greatly mitigates the risk.
Interval training is the safest way to develop the horse's ability to do more work over longer periods of time, as it helps to prevent fatigue and a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. Read on to learn all about it, and how to use it to better prepare your horses for hard work! (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
The shape of your canter stride on the approach to a fence (which is an indicator of your horse's balance in the canter) is what determines the shape that your horse makes over the jump. A round, bouncy canter produces a round, lofty jump. A flat, strung out canter produces a low, flat jump with the horse heavy on the forehand.
We all know that as riders we want to aim 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??
Whenever you are facing any type of cross country fence with a ditch in front of it, think of it as a "free" front rail. Just ride forward with your eye on the top of the back rail.
"Infinite repetitions of one and the same problematic movement are usually a sign of insecurity in the rider and serve no purpose other than self-satisfaction. The horse doesn't gain anything from it. It leads to an overwrought horse and causes muscle fatigue and nervousness. Here, a trainer must intervene and go back to easier exercises rider and horse have already mastered." ~ Klaus Balkenhol
It is important to treat each horse, and each situation, individually. When problems arise, sometimes what is needed is time, patience, and encouragement. And other times strong corrections might be in order. This is why it is so important to be working with an instructor who has sufficient experience with a wide variety of types of horses - so they can help you make the best choices with your horse.
"Self carriage is really easy to see. The best thing you can do for self-carriage is the give and re-take of the reins. It is amazing how you forget to do that when you ride on your own." ~ Carl Hester
The purpose of riding a transition is not just to get from one gait to the next. But to do so in a way that further gymnasticizes the horse, and improves his carriage.
"Why not ride your dressage movements out in the open, in the field or the back paddock? Chances are your horse will be brighter, more forward and focused." ~ Michael Jung
Deepen your seat to begin a downward transition. But as you feel your horse beginning to change gears to make the transition, if you can slightly lighten your seat and soften your reins, your horse will be able to come more "through" his topline.
"Having a horse with crazy gaits and an eagerness to please at 5 years old is freaking me out because I’m really feeling the weight of the responsibility to not push too hard, too fast." ~ Lauren Sprieser Something every rider should be thinking about!
"The motto of any instructor or rider must always be forward. Forward in the movement of the horse instructed to his care. Forward in order to achieve his aim in the art of training. Forward whenever difficulties appear." ~ Alois Podhajsky
You have to have the ability to ride in "neutral", with no aids whatsoever, for your horse to be able to feel, recognize, and respond to your lightest of aids.
