Dressage:
Foundation for All Riding Disciplines
Lesson Six
HORSE & RIDER EXERCISES
Hopefully,
you are starting to feel your horse responding to the body and leg cues you
learned in lesson Five. Exaggerate the
cues if need be. As the horse learns to recognize
the cues, you can make them more subtle.
If your horse makes a mistake, and he will, it
gives you another chance to re-ask for the proper response. The horse learns by making mistakes; it’s the
mistake that allows him to learn.
If he is not responding well, then ask
him again, and add a cue you are sure he knows.
For example, if he does not turn with your hip cue, follow up gently
with a rein cue. Gradually decrease the
rein cue so he starts responding more to your hip. He will get it.
Now, a great exercise to get you
started and will help supple even the stiffest horse is called a
"Double".
The “Double” is a simple movement that gets the
horse to cross his hind legs correctly, strengthening his hindquarters, tucking
his tummy and strengthening his back. It
helps the rider learn to work the hips and use the inside leg effectively.
How to do a Double:
While walking your horse, turn your head and look
in the direction of your horse's tail while you bring your inside hip back and
bring your outside hip forward. Be sure
to keep both hips in the saddle with equal pressure. Do not lean.
Twist your torso.
Then softly bring your inside hand out and back
toward your horse's hip, be sure not to drop your hand below your waist. Keep
your elbow at your side; it acts like a hinge.
At this point, your outside hand can move slightly forward, but do not
drop it.
The inside leg slides back and presses about six
inches or so behind the girth. Let your
outside leg stay at the girth with a light contact. The outside leg does no work.
This position asks the horse to do a circle while
in a deep bend.
Do not do this exercise in less than a six-meter
circle.
Some kids call the exercise "chasing the
tail" because it appears the horse is following his tail.
When teaching the Double, and until the horse is
very supple, do not do the exercise at any gait other than the walk.
Some people use the Double as a punishment,
working the horse in a tiny circle at a trot or canter. To do so puts stress the horse’s joints, and
is not a safe procedure.
The Double is a great exercise if done correctly
at a walk, or done on a larger circle at the trot.
If you begin to encounter problems with your
horse’s responses with these exercises, it is not a good idea to add more
complicated work. You will need to go back to the ground suppling exercises for
a touch up.
If the horse is not responding as expected, first
see if you are the problem--check your body position to be sure it is
correct. If you lean or twist the wrong
way, your horse will tend to drift out or resist turning.
Your horse may need the additional help you can
provide by letting your inside leg really push his mid-section or hindquarters
over. Be more aggressive.
One side of the horse will usually be tighter than
the other. Work in that direction more
often.
The "U-turn" is a good exercise for
working the horse on the bend as well as going straight. It helps balance the horse through turns as
well as keeping his shoulders up and straight.
It helps the rider learn to switch his leg cues as well.
How to do a U-turn:
While walking on a straight line, turn your head
and look over your shoulder in the direction you want the horse to go. As you look in the new direction, twist your body
in that direction, moving your hips as before.
You hips are the key to this exercise.
Let your inside leg slide back a few inches. Your outside leg also slides back a little,
to keep the horse from swinging his hindquarters out.
Keep your outside hand back. There should be firm, not tight, contact with
the outside rein. The contact should be
enough to keep the horse's head and neck slightly straight, not as bent as in the
Double. Your
inside arm opens a little (not pulling back), to tip the horse's nose slightly
in the direction you want to go. You may
squeeze your fingers a few times to emphasize the turning request.
Your elbows must stay at your sides and your hands
must create a straight line from the horse's bit to your elbow. (All the previous rules of hands and legs
still apply. If there are exceptions, I
will mention them.)
As the horse turns in a deep turn, you slide your
inside leg forward a little, about even with your outside leg, and press your
horse forward with equal pressure from both legs as you straighten your body.
This will create what looks like a
U-turn. (Use a cone to go around if this helps.) Do this across the arena,
changing directions each time. You go
straight, deep bend, and then go straight again, parallel and opposite to your
previous direction.
Do this only at the walk. Exaggerate your hip movement, while keeping
your hips evenly weighted. Do not lean.
If you lean or do not twist tight
enough, the horse will drift off and go wide and may not turn at all. It will help you to remember your shoulders
follow your hips; they must turn too.
Your shoulders and your waist are included in your torso.
If done correctly, the turns will be
tighter and the straight lines will be straighter. The horse will be more forward and he should
not be dropping his shoulders.
"Corners" and
"Squares" will help get your horse straight. You will now be getting the horse to move his
rib cage over, stepping deeper over and underneath him. He will start to collect and lift his back
and track up. Now things are coming
together.
How to do a Corner and perform Squares:
A note: This has the same feel as the U-turn, except
we want the haunches to swing over, and we do not want a deep bend; we want to
try to keep the horse straight.
Walk your horse on a straight line,
preparing to turn right by sending your horse's haunches to the left. Keep your
(left) outside elbow back over your hip; this will block his shoulder and act
like the brakes. Let your (right) inside
arm open slightly, gently tilting his nose softly to the right, but only
slightly.
Ask the horse to halt, or almost halt, whichever
will be easier for your horse. Should
your horse try to "walk through" this exercise, move your outside arm
back, and close your fingers on the rein. (This is key: riders often give away the outside rein by
putting their arms forward or straight, or having too loose a rein, thus
loosing the connection. Doing so allows
the horse to move his shoulders wherever he wants and to ignore you.)
Most problems with this exercise can be fixed by
holding the outside rein firmly!
Your
(right) inside leg slides back toward the horse's haunches; put it as far back
as necessary to move the haunches away from your leg pressure. Turn your hips
to the (right), inside hip back, outside hip forward. Be sure your outside arm is firm so the horse
turns and does not trot off. Your
(left) outside leg is passive at this point.
Keeping the horse's neck pretty straight or only
slightly to the inside is of utmost importance. What you will be doing is
sending his haunches over 90 degrees (a fourth of a circle) from the (right to
the left), inside to outside. Basically,
you will be describing the first corner of a square. As you send his haunches over, your (left)
outside leg will then squeeze with the inside leg and send your horse forward.
We did this from the ground in Lesson Three.
We are sending the hindquarters over, forming a
kind of pivot around the horse's forehand.
Hence, "turn on the forehand".
It is important the horse does not back up; he
needs to cross his inside leg in front of his outside leg. If he backs up, he will cross behind the
outside leg. That is a major error. Do not get upset, just send him forward and
lighten on the rein. The hind legs will take about 4 strides across to make a
corner.
If you have difficulty, refer to the
ground lessons.
Make several squares in one direction, then the
other. A tip: walk the horse straight toward a wall or
fence, send his haunches over to the wall, and then walk the horse straight
beside the wall. You may practice that
several times until you get the idea of bringing him to a halt and then moving
his haunches around.
As you both improve, you can do this
exercise without halting at each corner.
Some find it easier to do a halt and then a turn and some do it better
by just slowing the horse. Try to master
both techniques.
REMEMBER:
reward, reward, reward! If you
or the horse gets frustrated, return to the U-turn and Double, or refresh with
groundwork.
Once you have mastered the previous exercises,
these new exercises should not be too difficult.
When
the horse is making a good quarter-circle, increase the difficulty by asking
him to do a full pivot or circle.
Keep the horse "in front" of you; do not
let him back up. Usually the horse's
front legs describe a very small circle.
They lift with each stride. He
should not be twisting around on one leg.
Remember: Keep sitting upright. Do not lean -- twist
from head to hip! Keep the horses
straight. Keep the outside rein firm,
but not tight. Be soft and giving on the inside rein.
Put your inside leg back and press only as much as
needed to get the desired result.
Lighten your cues, as the horse grows more proficient.
Use both legs to send the horse straight forward
after the turn.
The ability to do a turn on the
forehand is a very great asset as almost all other exercises are dependent on
being able to move the hindquarters at will.
The U-turn and Double help you to develop an
excellent turn on the forehand. Practice, practice, practice. Once you've mastered it, use it in every warm
up session; use it often.
Circles and spirals use all the
important skills.
The goal of circles is to get your horse straight. Straight means that the horse is tracking
up. Tracking up means the hind feet
follow in the tracks of the front feet, and that the three parts of the horse
(the head, neck, chest and shoulders are the front part, the rib cage and back
are the midsection of the horse, the entire haunches are the back part of the
horse) are aligned.
The junction of each of the three parts of the
horse is very flexible. Aligning each
part of the horse is what makes him straight.
Think of train tracks. A train tracks up on its track. And although it is straight and in parts, it
can go on a straight line and also follow a loop in the tracks. Its parts are connected. If the train leans, it will tip. It must be upright and connected.
A horse must also be upright and connected. Arms straight, from your elbows (which are
over your hips, at your sides), through the hands and reins to the bit keep the
front and midsection connected. Your seat and legs connect the midsection and
hindquarters.
The connection itself is a
circle. Your legs create the energy
that helps lift the horse's back and tuck his haunches, which drive the horse
forward into the bridle that is connected to the rider's hands, and then
through the seat to the rider’s legs where the cycle begins again.
This is the correct order of the chain of muscle
reactions in the circle of the horse.
Everything is connected. Forcing and holding the horse's head in a
position, which at the time seems to be the most popular and misunderstood way
of training a horse, only creates a backwards cycle: Forcing in the head creates a tension of the
back, hollowing it (sometimes creating pain), which in turn causes the haunches
to hang out behind. When the
hindquarters are strung out behind the horse, the tummy muscles to go soft and
drop. With these problems, the horse is
forced to bulge his lower neck to carry his head, which will be carried higher
and stiffer, creating more back problems, etc.
The rider is then instinctively compelled to pull
on the reins recreating the spiral of problems and causing damage to the
horse's sound muscular conformation. The
damage is often so severe, medical attention is needed. Horses can become lame from such a destructive
cycle.
The horse's behavior will also be affected and the
horse will take on an angry attitude.
It often does not take long to create such
problems.
Making the horse straight, using the
correct order of aids, will help keep the horse sound, healthy and happy. Only a straight horse can truly be forward
and on the "aids" or "bit". A straight horse can track up correctly and
bend correctly. A straight horse can be balanced and do lateral work with
balance and ease.
Bending helps make the horse
straight. All the previous exercises
supple and strengthen the parts of the horse so you can bend him through his
rib cage. This means that you hold the
front end of the horse and the hind end of the horse together by sending the
rib cage, or midsection, to the outside of a circle. If you are going left, you send the middle of
the horse to the right, while keeping the front end straight (slightly to the
left) and the back end straight (slightly to the left.) Too much bend in the front end, or hind end,
will result in crookedness. You should
feel connected, or plugged in.
On a straight line, you use both your
legs to keep the horse's rib cage centered.
Horses will usually bulge their rib cage in one direction or the other,
which is why they can sometimes turn well in one direction and not the
other. If the horse "bulges"
on one side, he will be "contracted" on the other. He will turn better to the side that is
contracted, not bulged, but he will usually drop that shoulder. It is much harder for the horse to turn in
the direction he is bulging. When he
does turn, he will resist and go wide.
The exercises in this lesson will supple the rib
cage and allow the horse to bend better through his rib cage.
Now we can discuss circles and
spirals:
A correct Circle is not easy. It involves a singular bend that is
consistent throughout a complete circle.
Commonly, a horse is pulled around a circle by his nose, the rider leaning,
and the horse making various bend changes throughout, depending on his balance
at the time.
Try to have a safe and level space of
20 meters or 60 feet in which to work.
Mark it out in cones if you do not have a round pen of good size, or an
arena.
Sometimes it helps to do squares about
the same size as the circle you want.
Then, as you zero in on the size you want, cut off the corners of your
squares and create a circle. This is
done only to help you establish the size and layout of your circle. Do this at the walk first, although it is
usually easier at the trot.
Be sure your body is turned toward
your direction of travel; all rules apply about being level and even. Your inside leg is just behind the girth, and
your outside leg is slightly back farther than that. The job of your inside leg is to keep the
horse out on the circle with slight and consistent pressure. Your outside leg's job is to keep the
haunches slightly towards the inside so that he does not swing them wide like
the square. His body should create a
smooth arc.
Your hands keep the horse's front end
straight, but with only a very slight bend to the inside. You should only see a corner of his inside
eye. If there is too much bend in the
neck, the horse will not be able to track up.
Your outside leg not only keeps his haunches slightly to the inside, but
also keeps the horse moving forward.
You will need to make adjustments . .
. constantly. You will have to be ready
to anticipate any wobbling in his balance.
If he drops to the side at one place on the circle, he will probably
consistently do it in that same place -- be ready for it. If he drifts in, let the inside leg press him
out. If he drifts out, let the outside
leg push him back.
If the horse drifts out, tighten your own bend
more to the inside to make the circle smaller.
Widen you own twist to the outside a bit if he is making too small a
circle.
Your outside rein is the key to
connection here. It keeps the horse’s
head, neck and shoulders straight, while the inside hand remains soft and as
inactive as possible. Only use it as an open
rein when you really must; try to request direction with the body and legs.
The inside leg keeps the horse pushed
into the outside rein. It keeps the
horse out on the circle. It creates the
inside wall that pushes up into the outside wall that is created by the outside
rein and leg.
You will feel your thighs up against
the saddle if you are twisted correctly and have good thigh contact. When turning to the right, you should feel
your left thigh pushing the front of the saddle over to the inside, as the back
of your right thigh presses the back of the saddle toward the outside.
You will be making slight adjustments
and improve your own reaction time as you practice.
There will be times the horse will slow or
increase speed. You must correct his
speed so he maintains a set cadence. If
he rushes in some places, just slow down your posting a little until he
responds. If the horse is lagging, give
him a little extra leg. It becomes a
game of anticipation (hopefully on your part), and fine-tuning.
The goal is to get a constant rhythm by frequent,
but subtle adjustment.
Don't let the horse continue an inappropriate gait
speed. Correct the horse
immediately. Remember to reward the
horse for every effort to comply with your requests.
The spiral is merely a circle that grows larger
and/or smaller. By twisting your body
more tightly, and increasing your outside leg pressure, you should be able to
send your horse into a smaller circle.
By twisting more toward the outside and increasing your inside leg
pressure, you should be sending your horse onto a larger circle.
You want to establish a correct circle first,
getting your aids in place, and then ask him to change the circle size
gradually, but progressively. Once he is
doing well, you can ask for the opposite spiral. It should become smoother and easier to do
with time and practice.
Practice by putting cones at various distances and
trying to reach each new level without steering him with his nose. Use your body! Try not to cheat. Give him the chance to do it correctly and
learn it.
The Figure Eight is the Circle and a mirror image
of it.
Put a cone or pole at the starting point. Do a circle in one direction, and as you
approach the starting point again, change your bend by twisting your body and
changing your outside and inside leg and hand cues.
Be careful you do not do a straight line when you
change your bend. Your Figure Eight is
to be two complete whole circles. There
are no straight lines in this exercise.
The circle's join at a point, which may be two or three strides at
first. Do a circle, then be sure you are
in a good bend, be straight for a stride, and then bend in the other
direction. You may need a stronger
inside leg to keep him out on the second circle of the figure. Be sure you have a firm outside rein when you
change directions.
Do figure-eight spirals next. For example, spiral around, gradually
changing your bend, going larger, and then change direction and start the next
spiral at the same size you just finished.
These are fun. Be creative!
Mix all these exercises. Let one exercise flow into a new exercise.
Take your time, keep your horse forward, and
reward him often!
TERMS:
Bulges: When the horse allows his rib cage, or
barrel, to extend to one side. You can
see, standing in front or behind the horse, that he has his rib cage to one
side or the other. It is often
considered the horse's "stiff" side because he will not want to bend
or go in the direction of his bulge.
Also, he will not want to move away from the leg on that side. Both sides of the horse need to be made
supple by doing ground or riding exercises.
Contracted: One side of the horse's rib cage is bulging,
the other side is contracted. It is a
tight muscular, concave bend. You can
also feel it from the horse's back; the horse is bulging on one side and your
leg will feel it sticking out farther, while the other, contracted side is
flat. The horse will turn into the
contracted direction, but will usually drop his shoulder. The horse will move away from the leg on the
contracted side. Both sides of the horse
must be worked to release the tension, starting on the side of the
contraction--often considered the horse's "good side". Suppling will
help release the contracted muscles and then the bulging side will be able to
move back. As a matter of fact, the
bulge happens because the one side contracts first.
Rib
Cage: The horse's barrel, midsection,
place of ribs. It should be flexible enough to swing from left to right, and to
be centered. This must happen to allow
the horse to bend properly and go straight.
Swing: The rib cage needs to be able to swing side
to side to allow the horse to bend in both directions. If the horse contracts the one side, he will bulge
the other. There cannot be one without
the other.