Dressage ?

GILLIAN B on Sat, 3rd Jan 2009 12:49 pm 



I have been training dressage horses for 30 years and have never heard ‘the one where you go in huge circle then turn your shoulders and kick at the right time etc!’
First, try reading Debby Lush’s book ‘The Building Blocks of Training’
Second. Practise riding in rhythm… keeping your pony at the same rhythm through turns and circles. Practise making transitions between the paces without kicking or hauling on the reins. An exersise we use a lot is to make a transition to walk from trot for just two or three strides and immediately trot on. Ride figures of 8 in various sizes and spirals. We start a spiral on a 20m circle and gradually spiral in to a 10m circle and then back out without pulling on the outside rein.
Ride serpentines of three equal loops across the school changing the bend as you change the rein and not changing the rhythm. Practise riding down the centre and quarter lines in the school keeping your pony straight between your legs and contact. The list of exersises is endless,but thats a start.

Princess Chanelle =] on Mon, 5th Jan 2009 12:37 am 



flying change, canter, trot, extended trot/canter, collected trot/canter, walk

the horses head should be held up.

eventer99 on Tue, 6th Jan 2009 8:01 am 



Softening your horses jaw. We had to teach that to my horse and some of our haflingers. They would always tense up which caused them to move stiff and clumpy. You have to teach your horse to bend nicely. Move their head to the opposite side while you are bringing them in a circle. So instead of bringing his head right when you are going in a clockwise circle bring it left. Begin teaching him this exercise by bending his head at a halt. When he brings his head down and back release pressure. Then work on it at a walk, trot..then a circle at a walk and trot. I do it all the time to prepare my horse for dressage. Even if your horse doesn’t need to have his jaw softened it is still a great exercise!

Good Luck & Happy Holidays!

LuckyLash7 on Fri, 9th Jan 2009 6:46 pm 



there is a wonderful book called USDF’s guide to dressage. IT covers just aobut everything. Check on amazon.com to see if you can get a cheap copy.

this website has all the dressage tests on it. Print off the intro level so you can work on it. If you do not have anyone to help you read the test I actually rode around the arena with the peice of paper in my hand the first few times. My letters were made out of boxes that I just magic markered the letters on. You will have to do a search to get the correct ring letter placements

USA eq. Dressage rule book has good knowledge!!

hope this helps

ilovesubasketball on Fri, 9th Jan 2009 8:27 pm 



I am not a natural rider at all. I struggle constantly with correctly feeling and effectively using my seat aids to help the horse. I spent 8 years learning how to ride incorrectly, and when I went to college, I was supprised to learn that I should be feeling what the horse is doing underneath me- understanding where every hoof and leg is at all times just by feel- where the shoulders are, where the hindquarters are, the stomach and back muscles, the neck, head, poll and feeling every tounge movement and chew that they horse may make when carrying the bit in his mouth. 4 years later, I am still learning and perfecting this. When you can fully understand how the horse moves his body, his natural carriage and the way that your body influences his, inhibits or aids and strengthens his, you will be able to go a lot farther in your riding. Understanding these principles will allow you to make accurate corrections in your riding without roughness to the horse. As a friend once said, “Riding well is easy, but learning to ride well is very difficult”. You should not need to kick your horse at all if the two of you are moving in correct balance with good impulsion (drive from the hind leg, fexion in the hock, and energy-do not confuse energy with fast)- rather the aids that you give your horse should be invisible- even to a well trained eye- no pulling, kicking, leaning, yanking, or otherwise. Work on feeling what the horse is doing- understanding how every muscle, tendon, and bone works in his body. Learn to feel when you should give the aids to your horse- as Walter Zettl says, “the right aids at the wrong moment are still the wrong aids”. For moving straight ahead (not lateral work) the only time the hind leg can be influenced is when it is pushing off from the ground. In the posting trot, it is when you sit when posting on the correct diagonal. In the canter, it is when the shoulders are lifted up in the stride. The correct aids are a gentle squeeze with the inside of your inside leg- not your heels- and a gentle squeeze on the outside rein at the same moment. The horse must move forward with energy in order for you to be able to help shape his energy. A horse whose head has been pulled down by the rider’s hands or other means is wrong. If the horse is moving correctly from behind, he will naturally and willingly drop his head and soften. I’m sure that is more than enough to think about. (And I have no idea what you are talking about with the circle- I don’t know who told you to do that but it sounds incorrect).

Ally on Sun, 11th Jan 2009 10:00 pm 



Work on getting your horse to accept the bite. Collection. To collect the horses I ride I squeeze the reins lightly. (Squeezing like a sponge. lightly and once head collected and down stop). Work on the hore being responsive and listening to your seat. You don’t want to flail your legs and have your hands bouncing up and down. Watch a instructional video. Or go to dressage clinics and observe. Take lessons or read a book on it.

Sexmuffin on Mon, 12th Jan 2009 5:24 am 



Work on collection, and getting the horse responsive to your seat and legs, getting the horse to accept and be soft on the bit. Work with extending the gaits, and transitions. I don’t ride dressage, but we use quite a bit of the basics in our everyday riding.

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