Recent Articles in ~Lesley's Corner~

The outside rein connection is integral to dressage. Riders should strive for the outside rein to remain consistently and elastically connected throughout their work. Why is it so important? It's what allows circles, corners, and lateral work to improve the balance and self carriage of the horse.

True bend in the horse's body will not happen without sufficient outside rein. Think of...(click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Riding "forward to the base" to jumps gives the horse the ability to rock back on its haunches and send its body straight upward, just like a pole vaulter. When ridden in this manner, horses show their best form every time.

How does one ride "forward to the base" of the jumps? (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Some lucky riders are born with a natural ability to feel exactly what the horse is doing underneath them, or what their own bodies are doing when they are riding. But the rest of us have to develop that skill.

The rider who has a good sense of feel can progress much more quickly, and will be much more effective in the training of their horse. They will be able to instantly tell (on their own, with no instructor telling them) that their horse is crooked, or if the horse is really through in the back vs merely posing. They will notice when parts of their own body deviate from the correct position, instead of having to be constantly told, and be able to fix them. With advanced ability to feel, the rider will be able to tell if his horse was good with his knees over a jump, or if he jumped over his front end with his shoulders down or uneven.

The way feel is developed is to...(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Let me start by saying that I am certainly NOT a professional saddle fitter. But I have learned some very important lessons on the subject in the last couple of years, and thought I would share my experiences. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

 

Some people may wonder why it would be a challenge to simply walk across the arena on a long rein. Compared to the many other exciting things we do in the sport of Eventing, walking just seems so easy. But the free walk movement in the dressage ring can be quite a challenge! Especially on a fit, excitable Thoroughbred! At that moment when you go to shorten your reins, and your high strung horse knows that he is about to go on and do something more exciting, it can be hard to keep the lid on him! It can take a lot of tactful schooling to get that type of horse to keep his cool in that situation.

And even for those with the more relaxed type of horse, the movement of the free walk can be a challenge. Both riders and horses tend to think of the walk as break time, and lose points in little details. And you don't want to let go of any points in this movement, which usually has a double coefficient! With more attention to detail and some practice, you can improve your scores in the free walk! The key is...(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

How do you know if the working trot that you have in competition is the right working trot for your horse? Could you possibly have better scores with more impulsion? Or are you trying for too much impulsion and actually making your horse too quick?

One way to judge the quality of a horse's gait is to ask yourself these questions:(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Spiral in and out on a circle is a fabulous exercise for horse and rider. Spiral in tests the rider's ability to control the outside shoulder of the horse, and to keep forward impulsion in the horse while directing them into a smaller circle. If ridden correctly, it increases the engagement of the outside hind leg, and can help bring the horse into collection. Spiral out tests the rider's ability to engage the horse's inside hind leg while controlling the outside shoulder to keep the horse straight in the body. It also teaches horse and rider the concept of riding from the inside leg to the outside hand. Done correctly, it's a great suppling exercise. Here's how to do it! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

One of my favorite parts of an Eventing competition is that first course walk. I can't wait to see what the course designer has in store for us competitors! But walking the course is serious business - your course walking skills can mean the difference between success and failure out there on the course.

I always recommend that riders walk their course 3 times. The first is your chance to learn your way around, and get familiar with the jumps and all of your options. Your second walk is where most of your decisions should be made, and I highly recommend that you...(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

There was once an interesting controlled study of basketball players, conducted by Dr. Blaslotto at the University of Chicago, where he split the players into three groups and tested each group on how many free throws they could make. After that, the first group spent a set amount of hours a day practicing free throws. The second group spent that time visualizing themselves performing that perfect free throw. And the third group did nothing - sat around and watched TV.

After 30 days, he tested them again. He found that the first group had improved by 24%. And the second group had amazingly improved by 23%, without even touching a basketball! The third group had not improved at all, which was expected.

Visualization proved to be nearly as effective at improving skills as actual physical practice!

So how can we utilize this technique to improve riding performance? (Click on Article Title above to read full article)

Shoulder in is one of the most useful exercises that we have available in Dressage. Done correctly, it will engage and increase the carrying power of the horse's inside hind leg. Which will bring the horse into better balance. It also increases their lateral suppleness, teaches horse and rider the concept of riding from the inside leg into the outside hand, and gives the rider the tools to improve the horse's general straightness.

To obtain these benefits, shoulder in must be done correctly. Much of the time riders think they are doing shoulder in, but have little bend in the horse's body, turning it into a leg yield instead. And while leg yielding is a useful exercise for improving obedience and understanding of lateral aids, and increasing lateral suppleness, it does not have the engaging and collecting effect that shoulder in does. Here are two pictures which clearly show the difference between shoulder in and tail to the wall leg yield: (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article.)

(Photo credit to Laura Szeremi)

Confidence is crucial to both horse and rider in the sport of Eventing. If you or your horse don't believe that you can so something, you most likely won't be able to do it, even if you actually are capable. A solid foundation with good basics will go a long way towards building confidence levels. Many times horses or riders lack confidence because of a weak link in their basics. It is so very important to find a good instructor who can identify what that weak link is, so that it can be improved. Many riders are pleasantly surprised to find out that they CAN do something that they didn't think they were capable of, once a good instructor has fixed an underlying problem.

For example, I regularly see riders who think that they are just inherently not talented at jumping. They may have been attempting to improve for years, and don't feel that they are getting anywhere. But when I show them how to find their balance independently of the horse in the two point, and they master that skill, they are suddenly much more secure and confident over jumps. Why didn't they already know how to find that balance? Because many instructors teach a particular "position" instead of balance. In other words, they say things like "shoulders back", "heels down", and "legs tight". But without true balance those position corrections will be hard to maintain.

Once there is a solid foundation for horse and rider, the way to further build confidence is to.....(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

All horses are sensitive enough to feel a fly land on their sides. So when you put your leg on to ask your horse to go forward, he definitely feels your aid. What he does with it depends on his rider. If you want your horse to fully respect your leg aid and go forward immediately every time you apply it, you have to decide to accept nothing less when you are riding. You have to change your expectations, and be ready to provide the appropriate feedback immediately. It's that simple. Here's what to do: (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Some horses are born with an innate natural ability to lengthen the trot. And some need to develop the ability through training. Those without the natural tendency to lengthen usually simply quicken their trot when asked for a lengthening. This is because they don't naturally bring their hocks underneath their bodies enough to "coil the spring" of the hind legs. It's the energy created from the coiling of the spring of the hind legs that propels the horse into that lovely lengthening that everyone loves to watch!

Here are some exercises that will help the horse with less natural ability learn how to lengthen the trot rather than quicken: (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Cross country riders must have this seat in their repertoire. It becomes increasingly important as one moves up the levels, as the speed and jump dimensions increase... (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

 


Narrow or skinny jumps have been increasingly showing up on cross country courses over the past 15 years or so. They started out only as an upper level test, and are now sneaking into the lower levels as well. They are a great test of whether the rider has the horse balanced, straight, and between their leg and hand. Course designers put skinny jumps on their courses to more safely test those qualities, as if the horse is not balanced, straight, or on the rider's aids, a runout is likely, but usually no one gets hurt.

As one moves up the levels in the sport of Eventing, the flatwork gets more and more exacting. At lower levels the horse's balance point is more forward, but at upper levels the horse should be in collection. Which means that the horse should be so balanced that they could literally canter on a balance beam. That is why the skinny jumps get narrower and narrower as you move up the levels. The upper level horse is expected to be accurate enough to gallop and jump on a balance beam.

How does one go about riding them successfully? (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Throughout the world, horseman employ many different methods of conditioning the horse. And indeed there are quite a few different "programs" that result in a fit athlete. But most programs focus on the aspects of the horse's fitness that are the most visible - their musculature and their aerobic capacity (cardiovascular fitness) - without enough thought to strengthening bones, tendons, and ligaments. With a program that does not sufficiently allow for progressive strengthening of those important structures, the risk of injuries in those areas are greatly increased. The key is....(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

(Photo credit to Jane Savoie - www.janesavoie.com)

This drawing shows three different possible positions of the dressage rider's pelvis. The imaginary bucket of water in your pelvis should help you to see the effects of the different angles of the rider's pelvis. You can see how the change of the angle of the pelvis shifts the rider's center of gravity, and therefore tips the bucket... (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Stretching is a fabulous exercise for the horse, and should be done at the beginning and end of each workout, as well as intermittently throughout the ride for brief periods as a reward, and to test that your training has been correct.

I think that there are many riders who are slightly confused about what constitutes a proper stretch for the horse. I see many riders riding long and low, thinking that they are doing a constructive stretch, but are instead doing something quite unproductive. Riding the horse with it's head and neck low is only beneficial to the horse if there is a connection over the back. The following pictures show examples of right and wrong, and should help to clear up any confusion. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

There are 3 types of horses: those who can’t wait to see what’s around the next corner, those who are worried about what’s around the next corner, and those who don’t think about what’s around the next corner, and are surprised every time! A good event horse is usually the first one - curious and brave, with a good work ethic. There are of course many other attributes that make up a good event horse, but those are the ones who really come to love the sport. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)