Self carriage isn't just for Dressage. Think of little checks for self carriage when jumping as well - even on cross country. Never attempt to hold your horse up!
"You have to constantly refine your program and train with the best people that you can find so that you’re always growing and staying competitive." ~ Jessica Phoenix
"There is no miracle, there is no magic wand. It is just education, trying to be as clear to the horses as you can. When I give an aid, is the horse going to understand?" ~ Emile Faurie
It is tempting to try to lift your horse up in front when he drops down too low, by giving a good yank upwards on the rein. But that is not a good fix for this problem… as it will tend to increase the horse’s anxiety about the rider’s hands. Which will likely only increase the horse’s desire to drop behind the connection in his work.
"The horse has to have independence, responsibility, and tolerance for a variety of distances because you’re going to mess up and the horse has to be able to cope." ~ William Fox Pitt
Lack of sufficient long and low stretching work often causes sore backs in horses. Their back muscles need to be loose, relaxed, and swinging to be healthy!
Turn on the forehand and leg yield can be used to teach the horse that the rider's leg can mean something other than, "Go forward." The horse must understand this concept in these very basic movements before you will find much success with any of the more complicated lateral movements.
"The absence of a correction is not a reward to a horse. The only thing that is a reward is 'good girl' or a pat on the neck or giving them a sugar. You can’t train a seal without fish." ~ Robert Dover
Riders can benefit SO much from discussions about their riding. Riding is as much cognitive as it is physical - both aspects need to be exercised to truly improve!
"The actions of arm and hand must complement rather than contradict the position and effect of the seat and leg. The inside rein must be shortened sufficiently to allow the hand to maintain the lateral flexion without any backward pull on the rein. In general the inside hand should be kept just in front of the outside hand." ~ Chris Bartle
When bending their horse or performing the shoulder in, it is a common mistake for riders to draw their inside heel up, bringing the inside leg too far back to give the aid. This tends to push the horse's hindquarters out, producing angle rather than actual bend.
Soften and let your horse lengthen his neck, while trying to maintain the feeling that he stays sitting behind, with a lowered croup and well engaged hind legs.
"Most of the riders ride with their upper body very stiff – especially their shoulders. If the stomach is in balance and in the position it should be, the shoulders are allowed to relax, and should relax. You need to be loose in your shoulders. As long as the rider is breathing in the upper body he is going to be too tight, too cramped to get the horse to go forward from a relaxed seat. The rider learns to breathe in the lower stomach and everything will relax. The weight will come into the saddle and the horse moves away from the aid of the weight. But if a rider cramps in the upper body, he cramps everywhere and is effectively unable to ride his horse." ~ Ernst Hoyos
When giving the aid to canter, let your outside leg sink back and down as the last part of your canter aid. If you lift your leg up and back to use it (as so many incorrectly do), you will end up losing your seat to some degree, and may also end up sitting crooked.
"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
"Contact is nothing more than the contact to the hind leg, the contact that the rider makes between the mouth and the hind leg. This is the duty of the rider, to put these two together. The moment the horse starts to move, and he moves behind, you have to feel it in your hand, then you have to let it out." ~ Jean Bemelmans
"Since the criteria of a correct seat are the same as the criteria of good posture in general, being constantly attentive to one’s bearing when standing or walking is excellent training. A correct vertical posture of the head and the trunk on horseback is not a special posture applicable only to riding." ~ Kurt Albrecht
The length of horse's neck and his length of stride are very related. A short, restricted neck means a compromised stride, and a long neck that truly seeks the connection will allow the horse to move to his fullest potential.
"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
"I think it is important to recognize that horses do not just teach us about how to ride and train them... they teach us lessons about our lives, and how to live them." ~ Jimmy Wofford
Dressage is natural for horses, but that does not mean it is always easy for them. Since we cannot explain to them why we are asking them to do things that require increased effort, and go against their natural instincts to do things in the easiest way possible - we must handle any inevitable resistances that might show up with patience in a quietly persistent manner.
"The seat and weight aids are supporting aids. They support either a leg or rein aid, or both. Don’t underestimate their significance though. They are important aids, especially in the fine tuning of advanced horses. The leg and rein aids will fail to achieve their full effectiveness without the support of weight and seat." ~ Christian Thiess
"As I grew older, I became more aware of the basic principles of dressage, and the first is soundness. In my country we have vets at the stables 24/7 – it's a red flag, it tells you something is wrong. Why is the horse limping? Because it is not worked correctly. You need dressage for soundness, to build muscle, to get the horse carrying the weight on its hind legs – then you have less vet problems." ~ George Morris
If your breastplate is fairly tight when your horse is standing still, you will be preventing your horse from being able to use his shoulders at all as he moves and jumps. Make sure there is enough room to put a fist between the middle of the breastplate and the horse, or a little less so for breastplates with elastic.
"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
"So what do we see when we watch these masters at work? We learn what it means to become a good rider. It means to be picky, detail-oriented, motivated for your whole life, paying attention to every stride, having a system but with the flexibility to adjust it. Even before you can control the horse, you have to first control yourself (99 percent of problems with a horse are caused by the rider). Finally, a good rider needs the willingness to say, 'I made the mistake. The horse didn't make the mistake.'" ~ Christoph Hess
Clinics can be great for the overall experience of doing lots of testing exercises, while hopefully getting some new tools and ideas to add to your "toolbox". But private lessons with your trainer are where you establish your basic foundation and understanding of your training system.
