Posts Tagged ‘suppleness’

Show season brings with it the excitement of getting our horses ready to compete.

Unfortunately for many of us, riding well in public is an elusive undertaking. At home, our equine buddy goes brilliantly, but at a show we become tense. The horse either acts up or loses suppleness and our performance is a far cry from what we could achieve. Instead of fun, the competition becomes a frustrating disappointment.

Show Anxiety

Nerves used to make me impossible to endure even a week before the event: I snapped at everyone! On show day, when I entered the ring I’d panic and tell myself “there’s no point, I’ll make a mess of it, let’s get this over with.” With the predictable result that I knocked down show-jumps, got multiple refusals cross-country or couldn’t get canter strike-offs in my dressage tests. I had no faith in myself — which was ridiculous, because physically my horse and I had prepared properly and should have done well.

Sound familiar?

Addressing the Mental Side

Until I sorted out the mental part of the sports equation, I would never compete to the best of my ability.

Desperate, I visited a hypnotist. He taught me the following simple, but effective, method of over-coming my self-destructive behavior. Once I used his techniques, my show performance improved hugely and as a result, so did my confidence. I started winning.

De-stress for Success

Sit yourself down in a comfortable, quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least twenty minutes.

Close your eyes, and — very slowly — begin to count backwards from 10. After the word ‘ten’ breathe in deeply then exhale for as long as you can, concentrating on each breath. Then say ‘nine’ and breathe in and out deeply again. Keep your eyes closed throughout and relax your whole body — head, neck, shoulders, back, legs, ankles, toes …

You’ll find yourself sliding into that no-man’s land between wakefulness and sleep and once you complete the countdown, you’ll focus inwardly.

Record Your Perfect Movie

In this state of total relaxation imagine your show day. Go through every action in minute detail. Begin with waking up, getting dressed, preparing your horse for the trip, loading and transporting him. Visualize everything going smoothly — your horse is relaxed, he loads first time, there’s no traffic and your radio is playing calming music (I find classical tunes ideal). Upon arrival you find a great parking spot.

In your mind’s eye, you’re now saddling your horse, then mounting him and on your way to the warm-up arena. Are you getting nervous? Take another deep breath. Imagine you both looking fabulous out there: your horse performs brilliantly. Allow yourself to see the impressed looks on other riders’ faces as you glide past them. Yes, that’s you they’re staring at!

An Oscar-Worthy Production

Now you’re ‘on deck,’ calmly patting your horse as you look forward to wowing the judges and spectators.

Picture a grand entrance, after which you and your horse excel in each movement as you perform your dressage test, jumping round, or whatever applies to your particular discipline. It’s important to see and feel every part of your performance happening exactly as you want it to.

And here you are now, leaving the ring after a stunning show. You pat your horse enthusiastically, a big smile on your face.

You will ‘wake up’ more confident now.

Rewind and Play Again

Repeat this process many times before the show.

If you’re really anxious, enter a class below the level you ride at home until you get comfortable at shows. Combining that with this exercise will give you the best chance of succeeding.

Soon just visualizing your terrific performance, rather than the whole day, will be sufficient to reinforce the positive images in your brain and ensure a great competition experience.

Hilary Walker is English, living in Maryland with her three horses, four dogs, schizophrenic cat, perfectly normal American husband and teenage son. She loves teaching people to ride, taking them to shows and watching them win ribbons. She also enjoys training her young horse and is winning ribbons with him at First Level dressage. Her other love is writing, and she is about to release a humorous non-fiction book describing the times when things haven’t gone quite so smoothly in her horse life. Like every self-respecting horse-woman, she loathes and abhors housework.

Author: Hilary Walker
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Dressage is the be all and end all of every single event that a competition horse will ever learn to compete in. Considered as the backbone and sole training and guidance technique for the proper suppleness, intelligence, conditioning, and mental awareness of the horse, a dressage routine can rarely be perfected, for this is in the eye of the beholder. The elements and teachings of this art form are evident in everything that makes horse and rider a fluid unit, however, and the competitions based around this discipline are bewilderingly awesome. There are two stages of the dressage discipline played out during the FEI World Equestrian Games, the first being a Grand Prix style exhibit which is stringently patterned and 5 minutes in length per horse and rider team.

During this phase of the competition, one horse and rider team is allowed in the enclosed performance arena at a time. Beginning in the middle of the arena, directly facing the judges, the team will begin a series of precise and technically superior movements which have been predetermined for the event and cannot be altered or changed in any way. The fluid communication between horse and rider should seem motionless, effortless, and seamless during all points of the exercise.

Flying lead changes, pirouettes, and passage are all to be performed flawlessly with seemingly no direction from the rider. To the audience, the horse seems to be dancing about beautifully with no help or guidance at all. In actuality, the rider is expertly controlling the horse through weight shifting, knee pressure, and slight heel directions. At no time should the riders heel come into contact with the horse during this or any dressage exercise. Once the Grand Prix event has been completed and judged, the leaders are entered into the freestyle dressage ring for the ultimate dancing show.

Set to music and choreographed by the rider and or trainer, the freestyle leg of the dressage competition is explosive and amazing, set to the music of choice and performed as a combination of maneuvers which consist of both required movements and motions, and the artistic interpretations of the horse and rider team. A rider who really knows the strengths and most beautiful elements of their talented mount can turn this event into a magical and spellbinding routine. This is compulsory training at its most artistic and expressive level, and is extremely difficult to master.

For more information about the world equestrian games and to find the best world equestrian games housing visit http://weg2010housing.net.

Author: Abbey Dale
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Leg-yielding is an elementary exercise that should be taught on a circle (although at times it is asked for on a straight line or diagonal). It is used mainly to teach the horse to move away from the rider’s leg pressure. Once the horse is responsive, the objective is complete, and the horse should be moved towards the more beneficial shoulder-in. I believe leg-yielding has become too popular, for two reasons. First, it is required in some first-level dressage tests, so too much emphasis is placed on “schooling” for this movement. Second, it is much easier to produce than shoulder-in.

To perform leg-yielding, the horse is led onto the circle and the rider’s inside leg, used behind the girth, pushes the hindquarters out. It is easy for the horse; he is not required to maintain this bend and can easily let his hindquarters “fall out”. The horse may thus be denied the strength and balance building required in more advanced movements. He can, in fact, perform this exercise with his weight primarily on his forehand, in effect pushing himself thought the movement instead of carrying it.

Overuse of leg-yielding is not beneficial to the horse’s physical development and will only add to his resistance when he is asked to perform movements that require suppleness, bending and collection.

Shoulder-in, on the other hand, benefits the horse in many ways. The correct execution of this movement will increase the flexion of the hind legs, thereby enabling the hindquarters to carry more weight. This, in turn, allows freer more supple movement of the shoulders. It also increases the horse’s ability to collect and extend paces, and will help to improve the canter departs (again, because the movement develops the hindquarters, and lightens the forehand).

When these exercises are analyzed, shoulder-in is clearly more beneficial, from the fundamental physical development of the horse, to eventual progress to higher levels. Leg-yielding should be used minimally, with knowledge and care. I encourage anyone concerned with the correct development of the sport horse to consider this important issue.

Adrienne Neary lives and trains horses in Maine. She founded a company called Wingspan Arts International, which specializes in quality Equine Products and expert Equine Consultations. http://www.wingspanartsintl.com

Author: Adrienne Neary
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“Get him on the bit!” “Rounder!” “Demonstrate self carriage!” “More impulsion!” You hear the commands from dressage (and event and hunter/jumper) instructors all the time. But sometimes the terms can be confusing and confused with other terms. Here, we’ll define a few basic terms, hopefully in a logical rather than alphabetical order, so you can get a better understanding of what your instructor wants you to do.

Self carriage: your goal to achieve is moving the horse in a correct and balanced frame without your horse relying on you to hold him there. In other words, he carries himself by himself. (This can be tested by giving with the reins as some horses just hold themselves in their riders hands.)

Resistance: when the horse resists the rider’s aids and refuses to do as asked.

Suppleness: when the horse responds to the rider’s request to bend and give flexion without resistance.

On the bit: the horse moves forward with energy into the rider’s hands. He accepts bit contact, even seeks contact with the rider’s hands. He is not resistant to contact. He doesn’t come above the bit with his head raised or suck back behind the bit, refusing contact.

Contact: constant communication with your horse via your hands through the reins to the bit. The feel is consistent, active and alive. Think of this as keeping the same weight in your hands.

Flexion/Roundness: bending with suppleness of the horse throughout his body (typically when referenced to mean the poll but also means neck, back, stifle and hock as well). Some refer to this as riding one’s horse round.
Bending/bend: when the horse creates a curve through his body from ear to through the spine to the tail. Bending creates more suppleness as well as engagement of the hind legs for lateral movements. Think of this as bending to the arc of an imaginary circle that you are riding on. Your bend is correct if you turn your head and look at the imaginary center of the circle and in your peripheral vision you see both your horse’s nose (seen by one eye) and hindquarter (seen by the other eye).

Engagement: think of this as tracking up well in the hind end but with added flexion in the hock and stifle. This causes the horse to “sit” more by lowering the haunches. To get proper engagement, you must ride your horse correctly on the bit, moving forward and working toward self carriage.

Lateral movements: movements such as the leg yield or shoulder in that require a horse to cross his legs while moving sideways and (typically) forward.

Impulsion: the forward energy. With the horse moving his hind legs well under him, “tracking up,” more thrust energy goes forward.

Suspension: Picture the passage in dressage…the lofty trot where the hooves seem off the ground more often than on. With greater suspension, more energy and collection take the horse’s energy upward more often than forward, though still moving forward. The horse’s stride appears shorter because there is more lift upward, more height, in the stride.

Collection: if you take a balanced horse in self carriage and add engagement so he his hocks flex well under him, impulsion so he is still moving with energy forward, and suspension, so the energy is collected from going more forward, you create a frame that has a shorter stride because of increased height. The haunches are lower and the frame is shorter. This is not to be confused with going slower as many novices think. There is still the same forward energy, just compacted, and sent upward. Think piaffe, the trot in place.

Through/Throughness/Traveling through: as the horse steps up well under himself with his hind legs, the energy travels up over his back, creating a round back with lifted belly, then over the top of his neck, creating a relaxed softly rounded neck, relaxed flexion at the poll, and down to the bit. It’s the route that the energy travels, and if the energy is blocked at any one place, the horse isn’t traveling through.

If that all sounds too confusing, just keep in mind the very basics first: go forward with relaxation and submission, and the rest will come.

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Part 2 – Relaxation with Elasticity & Suppleness

In part 1, I described rhythm as the first step in the Training Pyramid of Dressage. I explained the hoof fall in the different gaits and how important rhythm is as the basis of the training of your horse.

The next building block is Suppleness & Relaxation. The same rule applies here; Practice Makes Perfect and a good coach on the ground will help you hind your shortcomings and work through them.

It is important to continually and gradually put a horse through a series of gymnastic exercises in his flatwork. This will not only quietly and gently supple the horse, but will increasingly engage the hind quarters as they build muscle, strength, and energy. This will result in bringing the horse more and more on the bit and ultimately result in collection.

This is not done overnight. A horse is an athlete. Just like you, when you start a sport or an exercise regime, you start slow. You jog 1 mile at first and work it up till you can run the marathon.  You stretch, a little at first, and become more limber when you keep it up. That is the same for the horse.

There are two types or suppleness for the horse: longitudinal and lateral.

1. Longitudinal suppleness is the looseness of the horse’s haunches, back, neck, poll, and jaw. The suppler a horse is longitudinal, the more adjustable he becomes in his length of stride while maintaining rhythm. We accomplish this through repeated changes in length of stride, forward and back while maintaining forward motion and rhythm.
2. Lateral suppleness is the degree to which a horse can ‘bend’ his body and neck around the circle. It really has more to do with balance than actual bend. A balanced horse learns to stay on a 20m circle without leaning his shoulder to the inside of the circle or swinging his haunches out. It is accomplished by lateral exercises including leg yields and shoulder-in. These types of exercises increase the flexibility and movement of the hocks, stifle, shoulder, back and neck.

There are many other exercises you can do to accomplish basic suppleness and balance. When done right, a rider can through repeated, appropriate work–accompanied by reward, never harshness and force–turn a stiff and uncooperative horse into a supple and obedient horse.

These exercises are simple, based on circles, turns, up- and down transitions, and lateral work. The more up- and down transitions you do, the more responsive your horse becomes, making him softer, more balanced on the hind quarters, obedient and energetic.

Ultimately we are looking for the horse to start using the big muscles that go over his back and through his neck so he can start engaging his hind legs more and carry the energy from his hind legs over his back and into your hands.

Most of the work and training in this stage is still done in the trot. The better the trot work – (1.) rhythm, (2.) suppleness & relaxation with balance-the better the canter will be. The trot can help you lay the foundation for the next levels in the Training Pyramid of Dressage.

And now I would like to invite you to find out more about Dressage and get your FREE eBook “What to Do In Time of Emergency – A Guide & Workbook for Families with Horses” at http://www.PerformingHorse.com.

Now Go Out And Ride!

Monique Myers for http://www.PerformingHorse.com.

Author: Monique Myers
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A lot of riders struggle to develop trot lengthenings with their first level dressage horses. What follows are 7 quick tips to help your horse with his lengthenings.

1. THE AIDS FOR TROT LENGTHENINGS

When you’re ready to ask for an upward transition from working trot to a trot lengthening, apply the aids simultaneously, as follows:

* Seat: use a driving seat, as though you’re pushing the back of the saddle toward the front of the saddle.

* Legs: press lightly with both legs to signal your horse to express his energy forward over the ground in longer strides.

* Reins: soften your hands a bit forward, but keep a contact with your horse’s mouth, and a bend in your elbows. Do not ‘throw the reins away’.

2. TROT LENGTHENINGS develop suppleness.

Here’s an image that will help you understand the type of suppleness you’re developing when you practice lengthenings with your First Level horse. Think of your horse’s body as a rubber band that can easily stretch and contract. Not only will this quality make him more athletic, but it’s also extremely useful for all disciplines of riding. Take showjumping, for instance. Just think how many jumping faults could be avoided if your horse’s stride were easily adjustable like this!

3. MAINTAIN THE TEMPO OF THE WORKING TROT

As with most new work, when you begin to incorporate lengthenings into your training at First Level, you start in the trot. It’s a bonus if you have a horse that can naturally lengthen his trot. Many Warmbloods and Arabians have this ability, but I’ve worked with a lot of Thoroughbreds, Connemaras, Morgans, and Quarter Horses who really need help developing their trot lengthenings.

If you ask your horse to lengthen in the way I’ve described and the tempo gets quicker because he runs with short, fast steps, you need to systematically develop his lengthenings. Part of his difficulty may be purely physical. He may lack the suppleness and strength that he will gain in time by basic dressage training. But part of the problem may be that the horse just doesn’t understand that he is to take longer strides in the same tempo. He actually thinks he’s being obedient when he rushes off because he feels you close your legs, and he responds eagerly by immediately going forward.

I often find that I can help him understand that he is to lengthen his strides without speeding up, by asking for the trot lengthenings while going up hills. Once he gets the idea, I go back into the ring and see if he can transfer this concept of lengthening in the same tempo on the level footing.

Sometimes I do something unusual with the horse that tends to quicken his trot tempo when asked to lengthen. Since it takes time to develop the trot lengthening, I go out in a big field, or I go all the way around the ring and round off the corners so that I don’t have to slow down for them. First, I take up a heavier contact than normal. In this way, I can temporarily act as the horse’s fifth leg and purposely support him so he doesn’t lose his balance. Then I ask for a lengthening in posting trot. While posting to the trot, I rise very high and stay in the air a fraction of a second longer than normal. I pretend that I can hold the horse in the air with my body. And, in my mind’s eye, I picture him floating over the ground with his feet never touching the ground.

I ask my horse to give me a greater and greater effort and eventually one of two things will happen. The first is that he realizes that his legs can’t go any faster, and he ‘shifts into overdrive’ and takes some longer, slower steps. At this point, I immediately stop, praise him, and let him walk on a loose rein.

In my experience I’ve found that the first time, I might have to go all the way around a ring once or twice before I get a couple of longer, slower steps. But after the reward, the next effort yields results much sooner. And the same for the next attempt.

The other thing that might happen is that he loses his balance and falls into the canter. This isn’t the disaster it seems to be. If my horse hadn’t lost his balance and cantered, his next trot step probably would have been a bit longer. So I re-establish and immediately ask for a trot lengthening. It’s in that moment that I’m most apt to get a longer stride in a better tempo. And once again if I get even one or two better steps, I stop and praise him. The reward helps the horse to understand that by doing something different, even if initially he doesn’t understand what it is, he’ll be praised.

Once I get two or three better steps as soon as I ask for the trot lengthening, I leave them for another day. During each session the horse builds his understanding of what’s being asked, and over time he physically gets strong enough to lengthen in a good tempo for a greater number of steps.

4. HEAR THE TEMPO

Use some good auditory images to help you while you’re teaching your horse to do a trot lengthening in the same tempo as his working gait. Pretend you’re standing by a paved road and your eyes are closed. Because the tempo stays exactly the same, you can’t tell from the sound of the footfalls whether your horse is in the working gait, lengthening, or doing the transition in between.

Here’s another auditory image to help you teach your horse to lengthen the trot in the same tempo as his working trot. Pretend you hear a metronome ticking. The tempo stays exactly the same both when you’re in working trot and when you’re in the lengthening. (Even though I’m discussing trot lengthenings at the moment, you can use the same type of auditory image if your horse quickens his tempo in a canter lengthening. ‘Hear’ the tempo as if your horse is moving over the ground with big, ground-covering bounds in slow motion.

If your horse still tends to quicken his tempo when you ask him to do a trot lengthening, overcompensate by imagining that you ‘hear’ the tempo get slower. Pretend that the tempo gets slower because your horse stays suspended in the air for a long time. If you’re doing a posting trot, try rising and sitting more slowly to see if you can be the one to set the pace rather than automatically posting at the speed that your horse chooses.

5. USE FIRMER CONTACT FOR SUPPORT

Don’t be surprised if the contact with your horse’s mouth during trot lengthenings becomes somewhat heavy. Remember that lengthenings are developed out of the working gait at First Level, and the weight in your hands is somewhat firm to begin with. In addition, while your horse is learning how to balance himself during trot lengthenings, his center of gravity might shift even a bit further to his forehand. Don’t be alarmed by this. It’s a stage of his training, and it’s fine to temporarily support him by maintaining a firmer contact. Later on, if you decide to go on to more advanced work, you’ll develop ‘uphill’ extensions out of collected gaits. Because the horse will have a greater degree of self-carriage when he’s in a collected gait, the contact will be lighter.

However, there’s a fine line between a solid, supporting contact and one in which your horse is leaning so heavily on your hands that your arms ache. Here are some things you can try to improve a contact that is too heavy. Before you even begin to ask for a trot lengthening, make sure you drive the horse’s hind legs more under his body by closing both of your legs. In order to carry himself, your horse needs to have his hind legs underneath him. If his hind legs are trailing out behind his body, he can’t support himself in the lengthening and he has no option but to lean on your hands.

You can also ride some quick transitions: from trot to halt and back to trot again, or from the canter to the walk and back to the canter again. This will help to re-balance your horse and make the weight in your hands more comfortable.
Another reason the contact can get too heavy is that you may be asking for too many lengthened strides at one time before your horse is ready. Doing well-balanced trot lengthenings with his hind legs underneath his body for only a few strides at a time is much more valuable for your horse than lengthening for many strides with his hind legs pushing out behind his body. Remember that when you do the downward transition back to the working gait, be sure that you close your legs to send his hind legs under his body. It might feel natural to ask for the downward transition from the lengthening to the working gait by just using the reins. But, as you know by now, if your goal is to rebalance your horse and improve the contact, you need to add hind legs while doing the downward transitions.

6. ALLOW THE FRAME TO ELONGATE IN TROT LENGTHENINGS

In trot lengthenings, the front feet should touch the ground on the spot toward which they are pointing when each leg is at its maximum extension. When a horse has to draw his front legs back toward his body before placing them on the ground, or his toes flip up in front, it usually indicates that he hasn’t been allowed to lengthen his frame.
Sometimes a rider makes it difficult for the horse to lengthen to his utmost. Although I said earlier that you shouldn’t be concerned in the contact is a bit too firm, you want to be sure that you’re not making it heavy because you’re cranking his neck in. If you keep your horse’s neck short by restricting him with strong or non-allowing hands, he has to draw his foreleg back before putting it down. Allow your horse to lengthen his neck and point the tip of his nose more or less forward. To help you to do this, think about ‘opening the front door’ by softening your hands a bit toward your horse’s mouth and by cocking your wrists upward in a way that allows your little fingers to go more forward.

7. SIT UPRIGHT

When you use your driving seat to ask for the transition into the trot lengthening, don’t try to ‘help’ your horse to lengthen by leaning back. Even though you might feel that you can drive him forward this way (and I see many dressage riders doing this in lengthenings and extensions) you’ll just end up driving his back down and making it hollow. Stay vertical at all times.

I learned this lesson about sitting correctly in trot lengthenings the hard way while trying to qualify for the Olympic Festival with Jolicoeur at a competition that was being held at Knoll Farm in Brentwood, New York, back in 1987. One of the finest international judges in the world, the late Mr Jaap Pot, was there. He was a stickler when it came to the correctness of the rider’s seat. I remember Jo and I doing huge extended trots for him. I thought we had done really well until my score sheet came back with extremely low marks for the extensions and the simple comment – rider leaning behind the vertical. Believe me, it made an impression.

Author: Jane Savoie
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So many riders are confused about how to warm-up their dressage horses so they can have a productive schooling session. So here are 9 tips to help you with your warm-ups.

As a rider and trainer, your goal in the warm-up is to take the restrictions away from your dressage horse’s body. So depending on the day, your warm-up could be as short as 10 minutes, or it could end up making up your entire ride.

1. Since your horse has probably been standing in the stall, spend the first 5-10 minutes walking around on a loose rein.

2. After walking around “on the buckle” for several minutes, pick up a contact so you can begin your warm-up.

3. Focus on the first three ingredients in the Training Scale-Rhythm, Suppleness, and Connection. I always start my work on those first three ingredients on a large circle. Then if all goes well, I’ll go large around the arena.

4. Rhythm: As you walk, trot, and canter around, check that the rhythm is always regular and the tempo is neither too fast nor too slow.

5. Suppleness: Spend as little or as much time as you need, suppling and relaxing your horse both mentally and physically. Work done in tension is a waste of time. When you supple your horse, you’ll relax him physically. Once he’s physically relaxed, he’ll relax mentally.

In a nutshell, to supple your horse, bend his neck 7 inches to the inside of a neutral position (neutral is when his nose is in line with the crease in the middle of his chest) while you close your leg on the same side.

Do a set of ” three supples” which means you’ll bend and straighten him three times quickly but smoothly. Then do nothing for 7 or 8 strides. Then do another set of “three supples”.

(This “suppling” technique is described in detail in Cross-Train Your Horse, Train with Jane Volume 1, and A Happy Horse Home Study Course.)

6. Connection: Use the “Connecting Half Halt” to put your horse on the bit. The “Connecting Half Halt” is the version of the basic Half Halt (a momentary closure of seat, legs, and hands) that puts your horse on the bit.

Close your legs steadily for 3 seconds as if asking for a lengthening, close your outside hand in a fist to capture and recycle the energy back to the hind legs, and keep the neck straight by giving 3-4 little squeezes or vibrations on the inside rein. The connecting half halt lasts approximately three seconds. During those three seconds, you “Add, add, add” hind legs through your closed outside hand while maintaining flexion at the poll to the inside.

In warm-up, I connect my horse and ride him either long and low, or if he tends to be heavy on the forehand, I ride in a “horizontal balance” with his topline is parallel to the ground.

7. When things fall apart, always go back to the beginning of the training scale. First, reestablish regular rhythm. Then, supple your horse. Finally, ask for connection.

8. While focusing on rhythm, suppleness and connection, it’s appropriate to ask the training level horse to do school figures like circles, serpentines, and shallow loops.

The first and second level horse also can do school figures as well as leg-yields, and rubber band exercises like gentle lengthenings, and then coming back to the working gait.

9. Many riders do a lot of transitions from gait to gait with their dressage horses in the warm-up. Personally, I think your horse needs to be warmed up sufficiently first before you can expect him to do good transitions. So, I save schooling the transitions until the second phase of my work after the warm-up is complete.

Author: Jane Savoie
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