hdressage

CLASSICAL DRESSAGE IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
by Dr. Thomas Ritter, 2000

Classical dressage is at the same time elitist and democratic, depending on what angle you are looking from. It is important to keep in mind that you don't need to be a Grand Prix rider in order to be a classical rider. The determining factor is whether someone rides in accord with the laws of nature and the classical principles, and that can be done at any level, high or low. The quality of what you are riding is much more important than how advanced the exercises are. Anybody who knows anything will always respect an honest, classical 1st level rider more than a "wannabe" Grand Prix rider who has all kinds of holes in his basic education.

As you progress along the path of classical dressage, the number of your peers and "superiors" decreases. If you are fortunate enough to rise to the level of the Spanish Riding School riders in the quality of your riding, you have become a member of the equestrian elite. At that stage you are one of the best riders in the world. The members of this elite distinguish themselves by an above average dedication to learning how to ride. They spill more sweat and tears than others. In addition, they usually also had access to outstanding teachers for a number of years. Since these teachers are few and far between, access to them is limited. Ironically, the best trainers are not always appreciated by those who do have access to them, for whatever reasons. There seems to be a tendency for appreciation to increase proportionately to the distance the clinician, e.g., has to travel to the student's barn.

Riding is eminently democratic as well, because a good seat, tact, feel, and a thorough understanding cannot be bought. They have to be earned. Have you ever noticed that the riders with the most talented, most expensive horses are often the worst riders? They are used to being able to buy everything they desire. So they buy an expensive horse and expensive tack. They board their horse at an expensive barn with an expensive trainer. Yet, they will never learn anything, unless they apply themselves wholeheartedly, and their horse will never learn anything, unless the expensive trainer is also a good trainer, which is not always the case.

Conversely, some of the best riders cannot afford to buy horses whose talent matches their own level of expertise. These "poor" but excellent riders then have to ride all the difficult horses that nobody else can fix - which makes them even better riders. But since this is very quiet, unspectacular work, it doesn't translate into fame and fortune the same way that riding fancy movements on superhorses does. Without a good horse, even the best rider in the world is just a pedestrian. That's why some excellent riders are completely unknown, although they may be better than most Olympic participants, simply because they were never able to "show off" on a talented horse with superior gaits. By the same token, mediocre riders sometimes are highly overrated, because they are lucky enough to ride horses that make them look good *in spite of* their limited equestrian expertise.

You may also have noticed that some of the most talented students never rise above mediocrity in their riding. Progress comes so easily to them that they never care enough to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the pursuit of classical dressage. They get stuck, and eventually stop riding altogether. On the other hand, those riders who want most desperately to learn to ride are often not very talented at all. But their perseverance and their almost "superhuman" efforts pay off over the course of years and decades, especially if they have the help of a good teacher. These less talented students then end up surpassing the much more talented ones, and some of them even go on to become highly accomplished riders and teachers.

Dedication is maybe the most important quality in a student. It can compensate for many other shortcomings in much the same way as a willing, generous disposition can make up for many conformation flaws in a horse. Often these seemingly less talented riders and horses can surprise you by surpassing all expectations.

The demographic representation of expertise is always pyramid shaped in any field. There is a large base of novices and a small number of true artists who combine dedication, talent, feel, and a superior education. These artists who form the elite of their field should serve as role models and as an inspiration to everyone who is involved in the field. Everyone who is serious about learning and becoming accomplished in this field should strive within his possibilities to reach this elite someday. The reason is that the higher we aim, the higher we will climb, and life has a way of forcing us to make compromises which tend to make us achieve less than we had aimed for. Even if we don't end up riding like Spanish Riding School riders, we will become much better riders that way than if we were aiming low to begin with.

In the end, all we can do is make an honest effort to do our best every day, whether it is at Training level or at Grand Prix. If we do that, we can be content with what we have accomplished. I often tell my students that the rider has to lead by example, that we can only ask of our horse what we are willing and able to do ourselves. In this case, we can say that the converse is also true. We can only ask of our horse to make an honest effort, no more and no less. Nobody is perfect, so we cannot reasonably expect perfection of ourselves or our horses. But that is precisely what the armchair experts often do. The less practical experience and expertise in the saddle someone has, the more critical he often is of others. Nobody is safe from the armchair experts. Even great riders like Podhajsky often found themselves to be their targets. In fact, they are probably more at risk, because they are more exposed, and personal envy is a powerful motivation. Podhajsky always shut all the ringside critics up by inviting them to get on his horse so that he might learn from them. Not a single one took him up on his offer.

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THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

As a Classical Riding Instructor, I would advise anyone who is serious about their interest in riding to try and learn a little about the Alexander Technique.Go to one of the many workshops that are held all over the U.K. I know that at one time I was having difficulties due to my posture which was putting more weight on my left side, and this in turn was obviously affecting my horse. Going on one of the early ‘workshops’ run in the North West, it took time, but I eventually reached my goal – sitting evenly and correctly on my horse. Not only did it make life easier for both of us, the pain went out of my riding!

What is the Alexander Technique?

by Richard Brennan

The Alexander Technique is not so much something you learn as something you unlearn. It is a method of releasing unwanted muscular tension throughout your body which has accumulated over many years of stressful living. This excess tension often starts in childhood and, if left unchecked, can give rise in later life to common ailments such as arthritis, neck and back pain, migraines, hypertension, sciatica, insomnia and even depression.

Vast amounts of money are being spent on the treatment of these illnesses (to say nothing of the pain and discomfort that is endured by the sufferer), yet the number of patients continues to increase. With the right education, however, many people could be helped to understand the causes of their problems and be taught to help themselves, so that their aches and pains may either be relieved or avoided altogether.

The Alexander Technique can help us to become aware of balance, posture and co-ordination while performing everyday actions. This brings into consciousness tensions throughout our body that have previously gone unnoticed, and it is these tensions which are very often the root cause of many common ailments. This is exactly what Frederick Matthias Alexander, the originator of the Technique, discovered when trying to get to the bottom of his own voice-related problem.

When applying the Alexander Technique you will learn how to release unnecessary muscle tension. As most of this tension has built up very gradually over a number of years you are unlikely to be award that it is even there at all. You will also learn new ways of moving while carrying out everyday actions which cause far less strain on the body, and discover ways of sitting, standing and walking that put less strain on the bones, joints and muscles, thus making your body work more efficiently.

In fact, many people who practice the Technique experience a general feeling of lightness throughout their bodies and even describe the sensation as being like ‘walking on air’. Since our physical state directly affects both out mental and emotional well-being, people often say that they feel much calmer and happier even after just a few Alexander lessons. This often results in less domestic tension and a greater ability to cope with life in general.

The Alexander Technique also involves examining posture, breathing, balance and co-ordination. As children our posture and ease of movement are a joy to watch, but as we start to tense our muscles in reaction to many of life’s worried and concerns, our posture deteriorates into what can border on deformity.

Yet this is not the case with people outside Western civilization - many of the indigenous races who still live on the land, such as Native Americans, the Berber people from North Africa and the Aborigines in Australia, retain their natural posture throughout their lives. Their upright posture is considered to be a reflection of their human dignity and integrity.

We have a series of reflexes throughout the body that support us and naturally co-ordinate our movements, yet we interfere with these natural reflexes to such an extent that many of us often hold four of five times more tension in our bodies than is really necessary. In fact, we often make life much harder for ourselves that it really needs to be, although of course we are completely unaware that this is the case. Our shoulders become permanently hunched, our necks become stiffer and stiffer, and we sit either slumped or holding ourselves in a very rigid fashion, as our minds become more and more concerned with the future and the past and our awareness of the ‘present moment’ diminishes.

Over the years we become accustomed to the ways in which we sit and stand without realizing that if is often these very positions that are putting strains upon our body - no matter how uncoordinated these positions are, they will always feel right to us. When we perform everyday activities it is amazing how frequently we subject our bodies to undue tension simply by not being aware of what we are doing; this tension spreads throughout the muscular system, even if it is triggered in one particular area of the body.

It may be many years before we start to suffer from aches and pains or restriction of movement. Many of our modern methods of combating such problems involve powerful painkilling drugs that block out the body’s warning system, whose function it is to tell us that something is wrong. Often, doctors can offer little advice as their training revolves around the treating of symptoms rather than uncovering, and also rectifying, the causes of such problems. The Alexander Technique, however, does just this; it shows you the underlying cause, enabling you to eliminate the tension responsible for so many of the ailments that we mistakenly put down to the aging process.

Richard Brennan teaches the Alexander Technique in England and Ireland. "What is the Alexander Technique" is taken from his book The Alexander Technique Manual - A step-by-step guide to improve breathing, posture and well-being

Click here to learn how to order The Alexander Technique Manual, and other books about the Alexander Technique

Click here to go to The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique Web Page

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE

Do you carry excess tension in your body?

Do you suffer from Repetitive Strain Injury or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

Do you have a backache or stiff neck and shoulders?

Do you become uncomfortable when sitting at your computer for long periods of time?

Are you a singer, musician, actor, dancer or athlete and feel you are not performing at your full potential?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, the Alexander Technique could be of great benefit to you. Welcome to THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE. This Web Site provides a systematic guide to all Alexander Technique information and resources - both on and off the Internet. If you are completely new to the Alexander Technique, you may want to start by clicking on "What is the Alexander Technique?"

What is the Alexander Technique?

Who can benefit from the Alexander Technique?

How can I find a teacher of the Alexander Technique?

What happens during an Alexander lesson or group class?

What can I do if there is no Alexander Technique teacher in my area?

Is it possible to learn the Alexander Technique without a teacher?

http://www.stat.org.uk/ - Main site for all information on the technique UK based

http://www.alexandertechnique.com/articles/brennan

BALANCE, FEEL AND RHYTHM

We look in awe at gymnasts, wondering how they are able to achieve such complete body coordination. They have control over different parts of their body, giving them the ability to perform movements that require ultimate flexibility and suppleness. On a horse, however, performance is not dependent on the horse alone. It is the rider who brings out the radiance in any dressage display.

A rider who has no control over his body will find great difficulty in achieving harmony with his horse. One must be aware of the function of every muscle movement of their body and how it should affect the horse. Mere awareness of this will aid in the progress of every rider.

Balance

All that is required of a rider seated centrally and in balance on a horse are subtle aids that are almost invisible to the onlooker. A well balanced rider results in a well balanced horse, thereby more responsive and alert. The more awkward the seat, the more awkward the aids; the more refined the seat, the more refined the aids. It is the classical seat that can lead to perfect balance on a horse, as will be described later in detail.

Gravity

Gravity should help you remain in the correct position, or it can help you crash to the ground, which is why it should always be used to your advantage. Sitting on a horse with the legs too far forward disturbs the vertical line of gravity. Lets imagine standing stationary on the ground. We will find that we are in balance. If we try to stand with our legs forward or backward, it will be impossible to maintain any balance. The same principle applies on horseback, a weak seat with wrongly positioned legs is not a balanced seat.

It is not right to simply say that balance should be maintained on horseback as is it maintained on the ground. Obtaining balance over a horse's constantly changing center of gravity takes time to learn. By practicing the correct position on the ground in front of a mirror, you can form a visual image of how you should look like when seated on a horse. Grasping on to that image, try to imitate it the next time you're mounted. Feel the gravity flowing through the checkpoints of your body. Let your legs grow long, as though reaching for the ground. Sit upright, as though reaching for the sky. This is a natural position, so breathe deeply and relax any tense muscles.

It is worth mentioning that short stirrups make a classical seat virtually impossible. Showjumpers often ride with shortened stirrups as it helps their legs absorb the shock of the jump. Shortened stirrups misplace the legs in a forward position for the dressage rider. It is advisable to sit in the classical position, letting the legs hang loose and long naturally, then lengthening or shortening the stirrup to complement the length of your legs.

A common mistake is to relax completely. An upright position would not be possible if the whole body was to relax. The spine must always support the upper body, so it must remain perpendicular and erect. The trick is to relax the lower body. Think that your body, from the waist down to your legs, has become part of the horse, while the upper half must remain upright and supporting itself.

"Mentally tell yourself your lower body has become part of the horse."

Sylvia Loch, The Classical Seat.

Over time, a natural sense of balance will develop. This will not happen overnight. It will take much practice, but awareness will speed up the process. Developing a sense of rhythm also takes time, as the body must be trained to listen to the horse's motion. With the horse in walk, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Block out any external disturbance. Focus on the horse's motion. Feel his muscles stretching and contracting as he takes his steps. Listen to each hoof as it hits the ground. Then try to predict which hoof is now going to hit the ground. Eventually, visualize the horse's complete movement with each stride he takes as if you were watching him from the ground.

This exercise can also be practiced while trotting and cantering, but make sure this happens on the lunge. The feel for balance and the feel for rhythm cannot be separated, as they both lead to a confident and secure seat.

Courtesy of Duaa Anwar

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ENLIGHTENED DRESSAGE TRAINING

Many riders are confused about the purpose of the 'stretching circle' included in the latest dressage tests. I can understand their confusion, especially when so many trainers DON'T have and understanding of the Whys of dressage. I pride myself on the fact that I don't teach a technique until I can understand the Why. I will trust a coach that I have faith in and try a technique and see how it works, and I tend to ask many questions, and eventually I can integrate the new with the old and figure out the 'single common truth'. Now, Why Forward, Down & Out (FD&O). First you must understand the training scale that seeks first Rhythm, relaxation & regularity. When those are confirmed, the rider’s strives to create a connection. Often called contact - but this term can lead riders to just shorten the reins. When you have Connection - the horse *seeks* your hand - it is the horse that creates the contact by telescoping his neck forward to meet the bit. This telescoping forward is an essential basic that is missing in 99% of all horses working under saddle today. And yet it is step two on the training scale! IF a horse reaches for the connection, he OPENS his topline and puts space in between his spineous processes (SP), especially in the area when the cervical vertebra meet the first Thoracic vertebrae. If the horse does NOT open up this area, the neuropathway from the haunches to the poll is not open. It is blocked here, and there are even horses who develop arthritis on the SP and have had their 'kissing spines' removed!!! When a horse does 'open his throatlatch' and lifts his topline, he becomes 'permeable' or 'through' and messages are free to travel from the riders leg to the horse's hind leg, bringing his haunches under, lifting the loin, arching the mid back, opening up the shoulders, extending the neck and raising the poll. The throat latch area becomes concave and relaxed, the salivary glands are free to work and the horse gently chews the bit and comes 'to the rider's hands'. With this thoroughness, comes balance and freedom in the shoulders. The next step after seeking connection and sort of coming hand in hand with it is Straightness - or alignment through the shoulders. This requires that the horse hold his brisket muscles in such a way that the otherwise unsupported spinal column is held centered between the shoulder blades (remember a horse has no collar bone to connect the spine to the shoulder blades, so it is sort of suspended between them on a sling of muscles). With this centering comes the ability for the horse to refine his balance, and lift the base of his neck and begin to show collection and self carriage. When a horse has this more refined balance, he can risk greater impulsion and begin to display the medium and extended paces, because he is working off his hindquarters and not pulling himself along with his front legs. So if he goes 'bigger' he is no longer in danger of falling on his face. Then you are entering the door way to collection and true elevation of the forehand through a lowering of the haunches, (meaning increased bending of the 3 joints of the hind leg - hip, stifle and hock), rather than just pulling the head and neck up. Having said all that, and it is a long explanation - Why fd&o? Because without that telescoping outward of the topline, none of the other things are possible. In every movement, the rider must feel that if she moves her hands a centimeter forward, the horse is going to gently telescope his head and neck out to go find that lovely feel in his mouth, just a cat will arch his back up to find a hand that has been petting it. If your horse does not desire your hand in his mouth as enthusiastically as a cat seeks your petting, then there is a problem with the connection, and communication will be flawed with distrust. Your horse should be in love with your hands and your seat, and should cherish every moment in contact with you. :-) How can you be SURE that he feels that way - FD&O!!! If you yeild the connection just a bit, HE should reestablish it!!! If he does not, you are not there yet! Is the current test correct, NO!!!! Does it promote on the forehand - YES. Is fd&o inherently flawed? *NO!!!* Just misunderstood and badly ridden. Is fd&o necessary? No, not if you are such a talented rider that you can feel without a blatant check when the horse is seeking your hands. But those of us who are human sometimes need a clearer test. I can't read my partner's mind, so some days I have to ask Robert - 'HEY what's up, you seem a bit out of sorts" And sometimes, I get WAY more information than I really want to hear, but I have to keep our connection and communication open too. Now, if you go to a marriage counciling retreat, and get that sort of advice, some people might easily go overboard, and NAG their partners into talking, even when they don't feel ready, or they teach their partner to lie 'everything is fine honey, I am just a little tired'. That is a good idea, gone bad, and misused. FD&O is like that. Use it too much, or accept the wrong answer and you can create many problems. But fd&o is a magical tool and allows the horse a chance to tell you what he really thinks of your riding. If he grabs the reins and sticks his nose in the air - he is telling you that you are hanging on his face. If he hollows and rushes away, your seat is grinding his back into the sand. If he falls forward on his forehand, it means that you have no engagement and the haunches are not doing their fair share of work. If he doesn't hold to the track of a 20 meter circle - then you are only using the reins to steer, and you have neglected the seat and leg aids. And if your horse ends up with his chin on his chest, you have proof positive that he is not seeking the connection with your hands - and he is definitely NOT talking to you, so all communication is over. Just as a 'hen pecked husband' who sits behind his newspaper and says 'yes, dear', the over flexed horse has given up. FD&O is a great diagnostic tool, but it is not an end product unto itself. I hope that I have given you a fair and complete answer, and sorry to have consumed so much space on the BB. Thanks for hearing me out. I would even be interested in what JLC might say in response. Ask him and type us his response. There is still so much more to learn - and each horseman carries a light. We would do well to look at all the stars and learn a little from each one.

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TIPS FOR PERFORMING YOUR BEST DRESSAGE TEST EVER

Preparation

Choose the level most suited to you and your horse's ability. It is not wise to place yourself and your horse under pressure on the day of the competition.
Start practicing early. Do not wait until a couple of days before the competition to practice. Early practice pinpoints areas that will need more focusing.
Know your test! Do not depend on having someone read it out for you at the competition. Grab a pencil and paper and graph the test out by drawing as many rectangles (to represent the arena) as it takes you to graph out the whole test.
Do not repeat the test over and over during practice since your horse may begin to anticipate the movements.
If your horse is young and inexperienced, take him to a few show grounds to get him used to the atmosphere.
Get well accustomed to the dressage arena if you're going for elementary or second level dressage, which is performed at the 20m x 60m arena.
You may want to try to walk the test on foot, much like walking a jumping course, to help you memorize it. You can walk the test in the dressage arena, in your backyard, or even in your room. Tip submitted by orbit Jen.

When you have thoroughly memorized your test, start visualizing the sequence in your mind. Psychological preparation is as important as physical preparation. Visualize the whole test and let your mind see you and your horse perform perfectly on the day of the competition.
A couple of days before the competition, start planning the day. Write down what time you will have to get up, when you will load the horse into the trailer, when you will arrive at the show, etc. Get even to the smallest details such as the time you will begin plaiting the mane. Make an additional list of the items you will be carrying with you to the show, i.e. clothing, tack, plaiting set, etc.
If you're planning on using brand new equipment, make sure you test them thoroughly. Example, ride in your new saddle to get familiar with it, soften the leather, and check if it properly fits your horse.
Give the horse a scrub a day before to insure that he will shine!

It's Show time!

Arrive Early - approximately 2 1/2 hours before your scheduled entry. Nothing is more damaging to the nerves than running behind schedule!
If you're new to the grounds, explore the area with your horse in-hand to familiarize yourself with the atmosphere.
Make sure you dress according to your affiliation. Check to see that your bridle and bits, whether snaffle or double, meet the criteria specified by your dressage association.
Plan to have your meals at least a couple of hours before you mount to allow your stomach time to digest. An upset stomach is best avoided!
If you're no good at plaiting, plan to have someone do it for your horse. A good plait goes a long way.
Give yourself 30 to 40 minutes warm up period.
Walk on a loose rein during for 5 or 10 minutes before you begin your warm-up as this will help calm your nerves and relax the horse.
To help your horse get on the bit, give him an apple half way through your warm-up. This will induce salivating and will easily get him on the bit.
Lunging the horse for 10 or 15 minutes before your warm-up will quieten him down if he's fresh.
Do not over-work your horse to avoid exhaustion. The horse must be in good shape when he enters the arena.
If you're nervous, take a moment to close your eyes and take a few, deep breaths, exhaling slowly each time.

Before the Judge

When riding around the arena, stay on the rein that you will follow once you enter. For example, if the test asks you to turn right at A, maintain the right rein until the judge signals your entrance. This will keep the horse thinking 'right' and will make him less likely to wander off the centerline.
Ride with more impulsion than usual when trotting down the centerline as this prevents the horse from wandering and wobbling.
Smile and look confidently in the judge's eyes. It enhances your image if you appear happy against all odds.
When riding circles, think that you're trying to make 'diamond shape'. This is to ensure that you meet all the right points on the arena while maintaining the correct bend.
Make a clear difference between riding loops or circles and riding the corners. Ride the corner as deep as you can.
Be accurate! Perform your movements exactly at the letter. Keep circles as circles and not as squares or ovals. The judges are impressed by accuracy and won't mark you down too much if the horse's paces are not as good.
Plan your transitions. Half halt to balance the horse two or three strides before the transition. Try to keep him balanced and on the bit for a smooth transition.
Where lengthened strides are required, extend your horse's strides rather than rush them. You will not be able to fool the judge if you run instead of extend. A slow and well-balanced pace is better than a clumsy, rushed extension.
Where the test says 'walk on a long rein' do not drop your contact completely. It does not say 'walk on a loose rein', so keep the contact and encourage the horse to stretch down by secretly sponging the reins.

It may help you keep an image of your favorite rider in your mind as you ride your test. You will be surprised how close you will come to imitating him or her!
End the test with a hearty salute and a wide smile even if you feel you have messed up. Again, this small gesture will gain you the judge's respect.

TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS

by Ron Meredith

Intensity and Activity

Never do anything to frighten a horse to gain control. Swear pressures or avoidance pressures can create activity in an animal but activity should not be mistaken for learning. A high level of activity can sometimes limit the amount of learning. If a horse is reacting to frightening situations, it is not responding to your aids.

Many people think that a horse isn't working very hard if the horse isn't reacting in an "active" way- trying to avoid a punishment that will surely come if it doesn't perform correctly. Avoidance situations create more activity than approach situations. An avoidance situation is stronger in that it creates more reaction. You create about five times as much negative feeling with an avoidance situation as you can create positive feeling with an approach situation.

People often use avoidance pressures because they stir the horse up so much and so quickly and these so called trainers think that activity indicates learning. It does not, necessarily. So whenever these people come to the end of their knowledge about how to enforce training positively, they often resort to avoidance pressures. That means pop that sucker, jerk him, jab him. Jabbing, jerking or excessive spurring are not going to produce a high level of trust in the horse.

Calm concentration teaches the horse more than frantic confrontation. The mental effort of straightening things out in his own mind and then repeating that effort over and over is the important part of training. And that's working pretty hard work. You don't want the horse to do anything from fear because if does, you're going to get the wrong result.

What you want to do first when training a horse is to get rhythm and relaxation first, to keep that rhythm and relaxation throughout the training session, and to gradually build up the amount of energy that is used while you are working.

If a horse has been enjoying himself throughout his training and then something happens that frightens him, it takes the fun out of the game for awhile. As soon as he gets back to playing the game with you and feeling like he's got some input again, he'll be alright. A good trainer will notice when the horse stops having fun. This is not unusual during any training program. The horse may lose its sparkle, even get a little depressed.

If you are the kind of person that believes in breaking horses rather than training them, then this horse version of the blues is what you're looking for--you want ten times this. Because most people think that a horse that walks around with his head down, appearing clam, is really doing right. But that isn't necessarily so if there is no spark. Spark is what makes winning horses.

Don't get greedy and force your horse on the days when he loses his spark or seems a little bit depressed. There's no good reason to push. If you do, he'll be doubly disinterested or depressed tomorrow. When your horse loses interest in the program, you have to back off your training schedule and help him find something to be interested in again. I'm not saying that you should stop working a horse every time everything isn't going right. I'm saying that you should never get so hung up on procedure that you forget about the horse's input.

You should always be thinking about progress. At higher levels of training and when you are more in the horse's mind you can sometimes push harder than you can with a young horse. But you don't want to create a situation that's anything other than fun for the horse. You want him to do everything with enthusiasm because without enthusiasm you are not going to get any rhythm and relaxation. You should always give your horse two to three days off in a week to rest mentally and physically. Those days do not necessarily have to be consecutive.

Activity drive builds from three to five days. That means with super horses like finished cutting horses or grand prix jumping horses or grand prix dressage or whatever, you want the work cycles to be within the three to five days as much as possible. You never want to skip more than three to five days. But you always want to have some one or two or three day breaks for the activity drive to build back up. Activity drive is what keeps these horses really enthusiastic about what they're doing and it is satisfying for them to spend their activity drive.

Horses are willing to put so much energy into a moment but because of the way their digestive systems work they have a limited amount of energy at any one time. So you have to either teach them to monitor it out or you have to get them in better and better shape. Horses can put out energy at a tremendous rate but not over a long period of time. They function more like a capacitor than a battery.

Everybody thinks that the healthiest thing for a horse is to be running around out in a field. But if you have a well-trained, tremendously valuable horse, you want to give it the actual best care regardless of cost. In this case, YOU will control 90 percent of its exercise. You don't take a horse to a very high level of athletic capability that he doesn't understand, let his activity drive build up and then turn him loose. He'll hurt himself.

If things are going really well for you, the horse should appear as lazy as you ask for and become as energetic as you ask for. No change in his actual excitement level. Most of the time, changes in the excitement level come from being frightened or uncomfortable or insecure. Changes in activity level should occur relative to the whole situation that you establish as trainer.

© 2000 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre. All rights reserved.
Instructor and trainer Ron Meredith has refined his "horse logical" methods for communicating with equines for over 30 years as president of Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre, an ACCET accredited equestrian educational institution.

PURITY OF GAITS

by Dr. Thomas Ritter, 2000

A subject that, to my mind, is not often talked about is the purity of the gaits. It is not just a topic that comes under discussion at the end of a competition test sheet where a mark has to be given for paces. The whole purpose of classically training the horse is to preserve the horses health and mental well being, promote a longer working life and to enhance the movement of the horse.

That is to say that it does not matter whether the horse has 'Grand Prix potential' gaits in the beginning, the good rider should take what the horse naturally has and through correct classical training should be able to make this movement more expressive and beautiful.

For this purpose the rider should have a good knowledge of the gaits and the pitfalls of incorrect training.

The walk should show a clear 4 time beat, the sequence being near hind - near fore - off hind - off fore. There must be an even beat with the same gap between each footfall. The problem that happens with the walk is that the beat goes 2 time - ie the horse walks in lateral pairs, the near hind and fore move together, then the off hind and fore move together. This is normally caused by either tension in the horse or faulty riding which could include rushing the horse, trying to collect the walk too early, too much lateral work in walk without paying attention to the gait. The rider must feel for the regular 1-2-3-4, not 1-2....3-4. This is a warning sign that the horse is beginning to head towards lateral movement.

The trot is a 2 time movement with the legs moving in diagonal pairs with a moment of suspension between each pair of legs touching the ground. The possible problems here are many:

The diagonal pair is broken so that the foreleg is still on the floor after the hindleg has lifted.
The pair is broken by the hind leg being left behind when the fore leg has lifted.
The forelegs are moving faster than the hindlegs.
The horse moves with lateral pairs as opposed to diagonal pairs.

The canter is a 3 time beat. The outside hind, diagonal pair of inside hind and outside fore then the inside fore followed by a moment of suspension. The reason that I use inside and outside here is deliberate - because when the horse is on the right rein the canter sequence starts with the left/near hind. When the horse is on the left rein the sequence starts with the right/off hind. Although the inside fore is called the leading leg it is not the first beat in a canter stride. The canter gait may become irregular if the beat goes four time, ie the diagonal pair is broken and there is a 'roll' to the gait. When a horse is stiff / lazy the horse sometimes 'ca-trots' as I call it. This is when the horse is not fully in the 3 beat canter stride and is somewhere between trotting and cantering. The other common problem with the canter is that it can go dis-united. This is when the hind legs are on left rein lead and the fore legs are on the opposite, or vice versa.

Further comments on the gaits:

Stiffness - if the horse is either laterally or longitudinally stiff then there will be the potential for gait irregularities. The walk could 'pace' ie go 2 time or it could remain 4 beat but look stilted and lack the impression of 'going somewhere'. trying to ask for an outline within a walk gait that is stiff and therefore having no forward flow will inevitably lead to further problems. Stiffness in the trot can lead to 'leg goers'. This basically means that there is little or no lift to the trot, the back stays on a horizontal plane and the legs just go 'back and forth' underneath the horse. The canter will suffer greatly through tightness in the horses back and muscles. The sequence becoming disunited is the most common result.
Straightness through the horse: This will have a great effect upon how the horse moves. The best example is when the rider tries to ask for lengthened strides in the trot on a horse that is crooked. The horse may show some difference but normally there will be a diagonal irregularity - one diagonal pair will take a greater stride than the other. The bigger the steps asked for the more noticeable the difference between the diagonal pairs. The other possibility here is that the horse cannot lengthen so simply rushes and falls more onto the forehand. The lack of straightness and suppleness will prevent a rider working on transitions within the gaits and so progress will be very limited.
Sometimes a metallic noise can be heard when riding, a striking of metal upon metal. This is called forging and is where the toe of the hind shoe strikes into the underside of the front shoe. This is normally a sign that the horse is on the forehand and rushing - the front foot has not had the time to get out of the way before the hind foot comes through.
Tracking up: This is defined as when the hind foot steps into the foot print that has just been made by the fore foot on the same side. When the horse overtracks then the hind foot should come over and land in front of the print of the fore foot, when the horse under tracks then the hind foot will land short of the fore print. tracking up can be a useful indicator of how the horse is working. When we talk about horses working correctly we should be referring to the length of stride and certainly not the speed. The basic walk, 'medium walk' should show a clear over track. The working trot should track up. Medium and extended trot should show over track but the collected trot may undertrack. This is because the stride has shortened due to higher steps - the speed is the same but what is lost in length of stride is gained in height.
A tip for observing the canter. Tracking up does not really apply to the canter. When you look at the horse cantering try and look for two triangles. As the horse completes a canter stride the first triangle will be made up from the ground as the base and the two front legs as the sides, the other triangle will the ground and the two hind legs as the sides. When a horse is on the forehand the triangle made by the hind legs will be smaller than made by the front legs. When the horse starts to show a working canter then the two triangles should roughly speaking be the same size.

The subject of gaits is an interesting one and probably not discussed enough. At then end of the day we are trying to achieve more expressive and fluent gaits by correct training so it is good to have a thorough understanding of what you are looking for.

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TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS II

by Ron Meredith

Self Control Precedes Horse Control

Merely causing a horse to do something does not mean that you are in control of the horse. Think about the times you have seen someone put a chain lead shank under a horse's chin or over its nose. They may have been successful in leading that horse from Point A to Point B but the use of that shank is a dead giveaway that they were not really in control. If they were, coercive equipment would not be necessary.

Trailer loading is another activity where you see a lot of out of control horses. You may use a longe line or a buggy whip or some form of bribery to get your horse into that trailer. Most horses eventually give in to the pressure if you nag them long enough or coerce them hard enough and they go on that trailer. But that is not training. Even though you succeeded in causing the horse to do what you wanted him to do, you were not really in control.

At Meredith Manor, the beginning step for students learning how to control and teach horses is ground work we call "heeding." We call it that because, to an observer, it looks like a combination of leading a horse and getting a dog to heel. The trainer first uses body language to establish himself or herself as the lead mare in a little herd of two. Once the horse tunes in to the trainer's body language and acknowledges the trainer is leading the dance, the trainer then uses body language to create shapes that the horse can successfully mirror.

The trainer starts by mirroring the horse's natural shapes (such as the animal's normal walking stride) until the horse learns that matching shapes is the name of the game. Then the trainer can gradually take greater control by asking the horse to mirror new shapes introduced by the trainer.

This is a greatly oversimplified description of basic heeding. But it is enough to help you understand that as both horse and trainer progress in this relationship, "advanced heeding" gives the trainer control to lead that horse wherever the trainer wants it to go, to get the horse to stand quietly for a farrier or vet, to march on that trailer without blinking an eye, to stand to be caught in the pasture, and to respond to cues under saddle. The trainer is in control. Not guessing, not hoping, not praying, but actually in control without coercion, without nagging, and without any special gadgets, gimmicks or drugs.

There's a catch, though (isn't there always a catch?). To succeed at teaching a horse to heed or anything else for that matter, students must first be in control of themselves. That's the catch. If you want to be successful at teaching things to your horse, you must first be in control of yourself mentally, physically, and emotionally. You must be calm, mentally focused, and self disciplined before you can to control any horse.

Being in control mentally means that your entire attention is focused on your horse at all times. Every moment, every stride, even when you are just leading your horse. Your attention to your horse must be the greatest when something startles it or when something goes wrong such as another horse kicking out as you trot past. When you take your attention off your horse, even for a second, you have just told your horse that you won't always be there when something goes wrong.

Your ability to concentrate on what you're doing, to be mentally with your horse at all times, has to be unquestionable. The horse should be so used to you always being there that it never surprises him when you are. A lot of people ride along like they're in the back seat of a taxi cab and all at once they want to lean forward and beat on the glass and yell at the driver about where he should have turned. Working with horses shouldn't be like that.

Being in control physically means that you are always aware that you are always creating physical shapes that your horse will mirror. Every stride. On the ground, your horse will walk the way you walk, in the direction you walk, and at the speed that you walk. That's how you just walk him onto that trailer. Under saddle, your horse will mirror your breathing patterns and the shapes you make with your own body. That's how you get him to speed up, slow down, collect, extend, turn, and stop.

Being in control physically does not mean physically dominating the horse. When you look at pictograms of how to apply the aids, you might get the impression that you are supposed to put one leg back, the other on the girth and squeeze so hard that you push the horse's hindquarters over. Give me a break. Arnold Schwarzenegger is not strong enough to push a horse over. Nothing about horse training or riding is about physical force.

Finally, to train horses well, you must be in control emotionally. A real chess master makes his moves calmly without showing any emotion that might reveal his real motives to his opponent. Good riding, good training, calls for the same kind of emotional control.

There's a paradox here for riders and amateur trainers. A totally effective rider or trainer must be so emotionally committed to getting the job done correctly that they will do almost anything, including waiting a year or more, to get the job done exactly right. But someone with that sort of emotional personality, that intensity of commitment, usually hates waiting. So there is a conflict.

To succeed as a trainer, you have to develop the discipline to control your emotions and your ego. You cannot get greedy or impatient and force your horse faster than it is physically and mentally able to master something. You have to stay calm, stay in control, and not let anyone influence you to alter a sound training plan.

It does not require strength to train horses to the highest levels. Horse training is a mental game played in a physical medium. As your ability to manipulate and control the horse increases, your judgment about what to do and when to do it has to increase along with that ability. Otherwise, you may cause the horse to hurt itself and you don't want to do that.

© 2000 Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre. All rights reserved.
Instructor and trainer Ron Meredith has refined his "horse logical" methods for communicating with equines for over 30 years as president of Meredith Manor International Equestrian Centre, an ACCET accredited equestrian educational institution

STRAIGHTNESS

Straightness: What?

Most horses possess a side that is stiffer than the other. This stiffness leads to crookedness in the paces. In dressage competitions, the judges deduct a fair number of points for crookedness. If the horse is stiff on one side, he will not be able to trot down the center line without drifting. In circles, his hindquarters will swing out and he will find great difficulty in bending through his neck and body. He may rush in his paces or he might go too slow to avoid stretching his stiff side.

For Example, if you were trotting on the right rein (your right hand is the inside hand) and you attempt a circle to the right, you horse does not easily bend and appears to be straight along the topside of his spine, that would mean that he is finding difficulty stretching his left side enough to bend properly, therefore, he is stiff on the left. Crookedness will occur when one side is stiffer, not if both sides are equal. Horses are naturally stiffer on one side than the other, but fortunately, this can be corrected.

Straightness: Why?

In all equestrian disciplines, equally developed sides in the horse is of great importance in order to maximize his performance. It is good to remember that stiffness on one side may cause injury to the horse if the muscles in that side are stretched beyond their limit.

In showjumping, for instance, where speed and agility is required, may bring injury to a horse that is not straight. A sharp turn could, in the least, cause pain and discomfort for the horse. In Dressage, required movements beyond the novice level may prove to be extremely difficult to perform on the stiff side. Such movements would include shoulder-in, travers and renvers, half-pass, counter canter, flying changes, pirouettes, piaffe and passage, and all movements that require suppleness for bending.

Straightness: How?

To develop straightness in a horse, you will need to develop the strength and suppleness of both of his sides. The following exercises, performed at the trot, will help you supple the stiff side in your horse.

The Figure of 8: Ride a figure of 8 in trot, circling twice on the rein opposite his stiff side, i.e. if he stiff on the left, circle twice to the right to stretch his left side, followed by one circle on the left rein, since his rights side is well developed. The first two circles stretch the muscles on his stiff side without causing him discomfort while the second single circle gives those muscles a moment to relax.

The Serpentine: Serpentines make excellent exercises for suppling the sides on the horse. Begin with a two-loop serpentine (letter S) then gradually increase the number of loops until you can fit 4 or 5 loops in a 20m x 40m arena.

The Leg Yield: This exercise is relatively easy and very suppling for the horse. Assuming that the horse is stiff on the left side, trot around the arena on the right rein. At C, turn down the center line. Shift your weight slightly onto your left seat bone to encourage the horse to step under your center of gravity. Apply gentle pressure with your right leg behind the girth, and sponge the right rein to encourage the horse to bend to the right as he steps laterally to the left. He should take side way steps to the left, while maintaining a bend to the right to stretch the opposite side.

On the Lunge: I only recommend this exercise to the very experienced equestrian since any error may cause damage to the horse's muscles. You will need your lunging equipment: lunge rein, saddle, lunging caveson, side reins, and if required, a whip. First warm up the horse without the side reins for 5 minutes. Attach the side reins, yet keep them fairly loose, and lunge on both reins for an additional 10 minutes. Halt the horse to adjust the side reins as directed: tighten the side rein on his good side and leave the other side without further adjustment. Viewed from front, the horse's head should only slightly be looking to his good side. Now lunge him in trot on the rein of his good side (he should be looking to the inside of the circle.) Trot him for approximate 2 to 3 minutes, then halt, loosen the inside rein, and trot him to the opposite rein for 1 or 2 minutes. Halt, and take a break by walking the horse off the lunge for about 5 minutes. Repeat the pattern twice, and that's it for the day! Tip: Have someone time you with a stop watch.

You will begin to notice a difference within 3 to 5 weeks. The horse will bend more readily upon request, and you will be able to trot or canter down the center line of the arena without drifting. You might even strike some luck and get placed higher than usual in your dressage or jumping competitions!

WHY GOOD TRAINING STARTS ON THE GROUND

by Ron Meredith

When some students first arrive here at Meredith Manor they don't see the point of the ground work we call "heeding." Moving their horses around on the ground doesn't seem very exciting. They're impatient to get in the saddle and start riding. They might jabber something about "respect" or herd hierarchy or some other mumbo jumbo if I pushed them to come up with a reason why the ground work was important. But they really don't see much connection between how they, say, lead their horse from the barn to the arena and how they ask that horse to canter.

The horse experiences everything you do when you're with him as a positive or negative feeling. Positive feelings or experiences are non-stressful and keep the horse relaxed. Negative experiences are stressful, raise the horse's excitement level and make the horse tense. A horse must be relaxed before he can pay attention and learn. The horse that's tense is just looking for a way to get out of Dodge. And if he can't find one, he'll either blow or he'll shut down, depending on his inclination. There's no learning in going on with either one.

So we use our ground work to start building a base of positive feelings in the horse. We want the horse to start trusting that being around us is a positive experience. In order for that trust to develop in the horse, the students have to develop habits of concentration and consistency. The ground work helps them do that. And those habits of concentration and consistency carry over directly to their under saddle work.

Concentration means you start working with the horse from the moment you greet him in his stall until the moment you put him away. It means you have to pay attention to the horse at every moment if you want him to pay attention to you at every moment. You watch him and make a little fuss of some sort to bring his attention back to you as soon as his attention wanders.

Consistency means whenever you apply a pressure (some people prefer the word "aids" but I think that's a mythunderstood word that doesn't take all the mental and physical pressures we actually use into account), you always do it in a way that allows the horse to get rid of that pressure by moving in the right direction. Another way to say this is that your pressure creates a feeling in the horse and if he takes the shape you want him to take, the pressure goes away. Every time the horse responds and takes the shape you want, either the pressure goes away either because his own movement removes it and he rewards himself or because you as the trainer remove the pressure to reward him.

Directing every stride the horse takes naturally follows from concentrating on the horse and consistently applying communication pressures. When you learn to direct every stride the horse takes on the ground it's no big, dramatic change when you start him under saddle to direct every stride he takes. When both of you are concentrating on each other, the horse learns to expect that as soon as he takes a stride, you're going to be telling him what shape you want him to take with the next stride and the next and the next.

In heeding on the ground, many of the pressures or "aids" students use to communicate with their horses involve the positioning of their primary and secondary lines of influence relative to the horse's primary and secondary lines. Their position relative to his creates a physical or mental pressure which creates the feeling of the shape they want the horse to take. That might be to walk or trot or turn or halt or stand or whatever. And it might be while they're standing alongside the horse or he's at liberty in an arena or he's out on the end of a longe line. The horse learns to pay attention to the handler's body language as his clue to what his next stride should be.

When students start working the horse under saddle, they are still using body language only now the horse can't see the handler. He can only feel the student's body language and the shape it suggests. The student is still concentrating on the horse and every stride. The student is still being consistent so that when his or her body language in the saddle creates a feeling in the horse and the horse takes the appropriate shape, the pressure goes away. The horse's understanding of what the student wants under saddle is only one bite away from what he already understood when the student was handling him from on the ground. The horse doesn't have to start all over trying to understand how to get rid of a pressure.

If you concentrate on the horse and are consistent in whatever you ask, show or tell him, the horse's trust and confidence will just naturally follow. If you aren't concentrating or consistent, you'll be giving the horse mixed signals. He won't know what to trust or not trust and his "learning" will be erratic, if he learns at all. The smart ones will just start to ignore you and the nervous ones will just get more high strung.

That's why all training starts on the ground whether your training a horse or a horse trainer.

CLASSICAL DRESSAGE IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL	THE ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE
BALANCE, FEEL AND RHYTHM	ENLIGHTENED DRESSAGE TRAINING
TIPS FOR PERFORMING YOUR BEST DRESSAGE TEST EVER	TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS I
PURITY OF GAITS	TRAINING MYTHUNDERSTANDINGS II
STRAIGHTNESS	WHY GOOD TRAINING STARTS ON THE GROUND