Posts Tagged ‘dressage riders’

A lot of dressage riders aren’t clear on the difference between flexion at the jaw and flexion at the poll, and how to ask their horses for each of these positions.

Keep in mind that a dressage horse can flex three ways-to the left, to the right, and “in”.

When a horse flexes to the left or right, he’s flexing at the poll. When he does this, you’ll just see his inside or outside eye or nostril. I call this position +1 or -1 because you’re bringing his head 1 inch to the inside or the outside of where his head would be positioned if his chin was directly in front of the crease in the middle of his chest.

You’ll ask for flexion at the poll to the left or right with an indirect rein aid. To give an indirect rein aid, give a quick turn of the wrist so your thumb points to the center of the circle, your fingernails point up toward your face, and your baby finger points up toward your opposite shoulder. As you turn your wrist this way, bring your hand very close to the withers, but don’t cross over them. As soon as you’ve turned your wrist, return to the “starting position”where your thumb is the highest point of the hand. Be sure you support with your outside rein as you do this so you “catch” his poll rather than bend his entire neck.

When a horse flexes “in”, he flexes at the jaw, and he closes the angle at his throatlatch. You’ll use a completely different rein action to ask your horse to flex “in” than the action you used to ask for flexion to the left or right.

Ask your horse to flex “in” by moving the bit in his mouth. Be sure you only use ONE rein to move the bit. If you alternately saw on his mouth with your left and right hands, he’ll just bring his face closer to his chest.

We often flex the horse’s jaw. In fact, his jaw must be flexed for him to be completely on the bit. BUT, the danger lies in flexing the jaw BEFORE you connect him over his back. If you flex his jaw first, he’s not really connected. His face is just “in”. The danger here is that you can fake yourself out.

You might think he’s correctly on the bit because he feels soft in your hand when his jaw is flexed. But if you go to do something like a transition, you’ll find out that he’s really not connected at all.

During the transition, your dressage horse will raise his head and neck and look hollow because all you have control over is a flexed jaw. He wasn’t honestly on the bit to begin with! You need to ride your horse from back to front. Close your legs and send your horse forward through your outside hand to get his back round. And ONLY after you’ve sent him forward through your outside hand should you flex his jaw as the final ingredient of putting him on the bit.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques? Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence? Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach?

Learn how by going to: http://www.janesavoie.com or http://www.dressagementor.com

Author: Jane Savoie
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First, let me define rhythm and tempo. I want to do this because lots of dressage riders use those terms interchangeably and they don’t mean the same thing.

Rhythm – Regularity of the rhythm refers to the even spacing between each step in a stride of walk, trot or canter. Regular rhythm is a priority for all work–whether or not you’re riding a pure dressage horse. Movements and exercises should never be done at the expense of rhythm. Rhythm should always stay the same. Tempo or speed, however, is a different matter.

Tempo — which is the rate of repetition of the rhythm — can be adjusted, depending on what your horse needs. Think of rhythm and tempo this way: A waltz is always done in 3/4 time. That is the rhythm of a waltz. But a waltz can be played faster or slower. In other words, the tempo can vary.

When should you ride at a tempo that’s different from the one your horse chooses? Let’s take an overly fresh horse as an example. You start your warm-up, and this horse is so excited that he picks up a trot that is much too quick. The longer you let him go at this clip, the more his tension builds. Left alone, he probably isn’t going to slow down. He’s like an overtired child who is so wound up that he can’t quiet his mind or his body. He needs you to help him calm down by asking him to trot at a much slower tempo than that of his normal working trot.

Slow the tempo by asking for a transition to the walk (or even the halt!), Then, just as he’s about to step into the walk, don’t finish the transition. Instead, allow him to jog forward very slowly. Think about riding “halfway to walk”, and then jog forward slowly. If he accelerates after a few strides, repeat the incomplete downward transition until he understands and is willing to stay in the slower trot.

Ride him in this lazy tempo — the opposite of what he wants to do — until he relaxes. Once you feel him relax, gradually allow the tempo to become more normal.

On the other hand, let’s say you have a horse that tends to get too slow and labored in his tempo. For example, his canter becomes 4-beat because the tempo is too slow. Quicken his tempo by doing a few strides of a lengthening. Feel how your seat moves faster during the lengthening. Then when you shorten the strides, keep the same quick tempo by moving your seat “as if” you’re still lengthening.

So whether or not you’re riding a dressage horse, always work in a regular rhythm and a tempo that allows your horse to be in good balance.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques? Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence? Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach? Learn how by going to: http://www.janesavoie.com/

Author: Jane Savoie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Get my ex back

When riding your dressage horse, it’s important to keep your hands in what I call the “work area”.

The “work area” is just in front of the saddle above the horse’s withers. Put your hands in that position and draw an imaginary box around them. That box is your work area.

No matter what rein aids you’re giving, keep your hands in the work area. If you bring your hands closer to your body, you steal power from the hind legs. If you put your outside hand forward, for example, you lose control of the outside shoulder.

If you raise or lower your hands, you break the straight line from the bit through your hand to your elbow. When you break that straight line, and there’s an angle where the rein meets your hand, the action of the rein stops there. That is, the action of the rein can’t travel through your arm and down your back so it can affect your horse’s back. It also can’t travel through the horse’s body and affect the hind leg on the same side.

Generally, many dressage riders tend to pull back by drawing their hands toward their bodies and behind their horse’s withers. If you tend to do that, here’s a simple tip to remind you to keep your hands FORWARD in the work area. Imagine there’s a basketball in front of your stomach. Keep your hands in front of the basketball. No matter how hard you try, you can’t draw your hands closer to your body because the basketball is in the way!

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques?
Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence?
Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach?
Learn how by going to: http://www.janesavoie.com/ or http://www.dressagementor.com

Author: Jane Savoie
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Horseback riding has grown as a long time favourite sport, and has just recently begun to become popular not just in the USA but all over the world, which is why using the correct rein contact is so important in riding. A rider’s hands needs to guide, encourage – with a little give and take without being hard or too strong. This is something riders should try. You may be delighted to see how quickly your horse will respond, as the reins are a means of communication. The reins must not be used to punish or to maintain a rider’s balance. Just following that advice will certainly add benefits and a touch of adventure to your riding! Evidence of the growing popularity of horse riding is the availability of horses. There is knowledge and experience for anyone who is unfamiliar with this sport.

Nervous riders

It will not matter if you are not an expert at horse riding, because there is always a skilled rider who will be available to give a few horse riding tips to those who are completely inexperienced, but who want the thrill of riding and owning their own horse(s). As a learner, you may be afraid of being run away with the faster gaits; jumping can also cause you to become preoccupied with keeping the horse down to a reasonable speed for control, rather than developing fluidity and freedom. This can cause a nervous rider to pull on the reins subconsciously. There is also the fear of falling off, and this fear can be transmitted to the horse, often resulting in the horse refusing. Under a nervous rider, a galloping horse will go faster, generally, because it senses the lack of control. The horse will get nervous itself, and will do what most frightened horses do – run away!

What You can do

Consider your abilities and genuine fears. You want to ride a horse and be professional like a Pro. You want to learn dressage riding – the set series of movements performed by dressage riders. There is no need to struggle on your own, without help, as this could result in you or the horse getting injured. Ride more suitable mounts under good instruction until you are more competent and confident. Get good quality help and instruction from people who have years of experience and know. Ride at a slow pace that you are happy with under instruction, from an understanding instructor. Once you follow the instructions and are confident you can progress on to the faster gaits.

You need to understand, through a good teacher, exactly what you are doing to stop the horse. You may badly want to do something, but are afraid of doing it, such as jumping or cantering or having a gallop in a wide, open space. You may be pulling back on the reins unconsciously, clinging and gripping – pulling back with your body? The epitome of fear could be the “foetal crouch”, which you may be unaware of doing.

Author: Sonia Dixon
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English saddles differ among themselves in several distinct ways. Primarily, the differences lay in the seat location and the flap shape and flap length. In disciplines like jumping where the rider needs shorter stirrups for extra support, the flap is more forward and shorter to accommodate the bend of the knee. For the same reason, the seat is positioned further back so that the rider is not pushed ahead of the saddle when jumping a fence. Additionally, padding in the seat and knee rolls of a saddle will assist the hunt seat rider, but is not necessary in other English saddles.

Within the discipline of Dressage, the rider sits more upright and with a longer stirrup length than a hunt seat rider because Dressage riders do not jump obstacles. Therefore, the saddle flap is longer and straighter down behind the horse’s shoulder than a hunt saddle. The seat is closer to the horse’s withers which helps keep the rider’s center of gravity in the proper place. The pommel is a bit higher and the deepest point of the seat is more forward as it allows for a longer leg position.

The seat is usually much deeper in a Dressage saddle than a jumping saddle, and allows the rider to comfortably sit up in the saddle yet in a relaxed position to influence the horse. The padding of the panels is usually less than in a hunt saddle to permit a closer feel to the horse. It often has a wider bearing surface than a jumping saddle as well.

Some designs feature more padding in front of the knee, much more than in a jumping saddle, said to assist the rider in keeping the knee down and thigh back. However, there is usually little padding behind the calf, as the rider needs to be able to freely move the lower leg around to give aids to the horse.

The billets of most dressage saddles are very long, to allow the girth to be buckled near the horse’s elbow rather than underneath the rider’s leg (which would get in the way of giving effective leg aids).

It is important that your saddle fit both you and your horse. When you decide to select a Dressage saddle be sure you measure your horse from his hoof to his withers and then from his withers to his croup. You will need these measurements when you select your saddle to be sure it fits. However, if you ride more than one horse, it is not that practical to buy a different saddle for each one! You can try gel pads that will conform to your horse’s shape to help your one saddle fit. Try to fit the saddle such that there is sufficient room between the gullet and the horse’s withers and spaced over the spine evenly.

You should also sit in several Dressage saddles to find one that is most comfortable for you. Most often you can visit tack shops and sit in the Dressage saddle you may buy while it is on a saddle stand. Brands and styles vary, so become familiar with them all before spending a lot of money!

Author: Lisa Blackstone
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A lot of dressage riders are confused by the dressage terminology behind the bit and behind the vertical.

When a horse is behind the bit, he’s not connected. That’s never acceptable. It means he’s dropped the contact with your hands, and there are loops in the reins.

Your horse can be behind the vertical and still be connected. However, he will be on the forehand. I’ll go into that a little bit more next.

Sometimes, riding a horse behind the vertical can be useful in schooling to give a horse the idea of staying connected during a dressage movement he’s having trouble with such as a canter depart or leg yields.

For info on more dressage terminology, sign up for my free dressage newsletter at http://www.janesavoie.com

For a short period of time, you’d ride him connected but “deep” to give him the idea of using his body as a unit during those movements rather than disconnecting and coming hollow.

But riding your dressage horse behind the vertical isn’t acceptable for competition. In competition, you always want your horse on the bit with his poll the highest point and the nose about 5 degrees in front of the vertical.

Think of the horse’s body as a parallelogram. If the nose is behind the vertical and you draw a parallel line with the hind legs, you’d see the hind legs trailing out behind the body. That’s what I mean when I say that the horse can be connected when he’s behind the vertical, but his balance will be on the forehand.

As you bring the hind legs more under, the parallelogram shifts. The hind legs come under, the head comes up, and the nose comes more forward. Eventually the poll will be the highest point and the nose will be where you want it to be in it’s finished product-about 5 degrees in front of the vertical.

Behind the bit, however, is an entirely different story than behind the vertical. If your horse’s neck is round but he doesn’t touch the reins, he’s behind the bit. This dressage term means he’s not connected.

Connection means that you’ve connected your horse’s back end to his front end. Think of your horse’s back like a suspension bridge.

Draw reins or other gadgets won’t help your horse understand how to come on the bit.

When a horse has been ridden in gadgets like draw reins, he’ll often adopt this “behind the bit” position of a round neck with loops in the reins.

Some horses even look like they have what’s called a “broken neck”. This expression refers to the fact that the highest point of the neck is near the third vertebrae rather than at the poll.

Gadgets create a false frame so there’s no real connection. The horse sees the reins as a restriction. Rather than going through them, he sucks back away from them or breaks at the third vertebrae.

You want your horse to come from behind, over his back, through his neck, and into your hand. So, if you just focus on making the neck round by using gadgets, you’ll never really have a horse that is honestly on the bit.

Also, fiddling with the bit and/or seesawing on your horse’s mouth gives you the same false head set that you get with gadgets. Your horse will just arch his neck and bring his face on or behind the vertical. There’s no true connection from back to front.

Author: Jane Savoie
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The word “dressage” is French, and is most commonly translated as “training.” On her website, Theresa Sandin defines dressage as: “The guiding of a horse through a series of complex maneuvers by slight movements of the rider’s hands, legs, and weight.” Dressage is a form of riding that focuses on a perfect partnership between horse and rider. The rider is not simply a passenger, but an active member of a horse-human duo.

It has been said that dressage is both a journey and a destination, with the core purpose of developing, “through standardized progressive training methods, a horse’s natural athletic ability and willingness to perform, thereby maximizing its potential as a riding horse.” In short, after a lifetime of studying dressage, a horse and rider make the strenuous look effortless.
So, how did this beautiful style of riding begin?

Dressage has its roots classical Greek horsemanship, evolving out of the necessity to train horses to fight in battle, and those training techniques, over time, have been employed to create an elegant dance in the show ring. It came to be considered an “important equestrian pursuit” during the Renaissance. By 1912, dressage had become an accepted form of training and riding, although it took many more years before men who were not in the military and women came into the picture as serious dressage riders and competitors.

Speaking of competition, what is a dressage show like?

The dressage arena is a rectangle, with letters placed at evenly spaced intervals around the perimeter. Competitors use the arena to present dressage routines, called “tests.” The letters are markers that dictate how and where particular moves are executed. Lower level tests are performed in a smaller arena, usually at a walk or trot. The movements are simpler and focus on lower level goals, like how well the horse bends around the rider’s leg (flexibility) whether the rider is on the correct diagonal while posting at a trot. Higher level tests are performed in a larger arena, and will include all gaits (walk, trot, canter, gallop), as well as more complicated movements, like flying lead changes or pirouettes.

Currently, competitive dressage has nine levels, with progressively more difficult tests in each level. There are also tests written for musical freestyle, sport horses, and for multiple horse and rider pairs. However, in all levels of dressage competition, judges will consider rhythm, regularity, relaxation, contact, impulsion, and collection.

If you would like to train in dressage, the first thing to do is find the right instructor. Ideally, it will be someone who has ridden at the Grand Prix level and has worked with other students with measurable, positive results. Check references!

You will also need the right tack, starting with a decent English dressage saddle, along with other items recommended by your instructor.

Most importantly, you will need the right horse! While there are many horses that are capable of performing dressage maneuvers (Quarter horses, Arabs, Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods, and even some draft horses have all made it to the highest levels of dressage competition), you need the horse that is right for you. This is the trickiest part – the part that is the “art,” and emotion, because there is only so much science and breeding will tell you. Only you and your dedication to the relationship will determine if you and your horse will forge the deep bond necessary to go all the way. And finally, if you want to train all the way to the top, you must start with horse that is fairly young, say three or four years old. It takes years to train a horse properly (most Grand Prix and Olympic horses are in their teens).

From the perspective of the spectator at a dressage competition, the rider should not appear to be overtly directing the horse in any specific way. It should look as though the horse and rider have become one being, and are moving together in complete unity. Watching a high-level (Grand Prix or Olympic) should be like watching a ballet on horseback.

Author: Anita Lamb
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