Dressage training thoughts, the rein back, December 14, 2011

Before proceeding to the rein back one must consider the nature of the movement. The rein back is created by using a driving seat to a non-allowing rein aid. When the horse is given the driving aid from the seat and legs and begins to move forward you must close your hands, he meets the non-allowing rein and walks backwards instead of forwards.Start by doing a series of quick walk/halt transitions until you get a square halt and your horse is not only on the bit, but on the aids.Remember, the half halt & driving aid are the same seat/weight aids. The half halt/full halt/rein back is the driving seat with the non-allowing rein aids. The same seat/weight aids are the driving aids when given with an allowing rein aid.That said, I follow a simple set of instructions:* Lighten your seat slightly by shifting your shoulders slightly in front of your hips*Bend your knees & move your lower legs behind the girth* Apply driving aid by lifting your tailbone towards your belly button*KEEP YOUR EYES UP*At the moment you apply the driving aids close your hands on your reins*As soon as your horse begins to move backwards follow with your seat by swinging with your hips-don't block with a dead seat!* Praise the horse!!!!

Dressage training thoughts, December 13, 2011

"Rock On" by Rubaiyat, 4 year old gelding out for a walk:)) Riding the young horses out teaches them to think FORWARD!!!!

Dressage training thoughts, December 13, 2011

I was just going through some old pictures & found this one of Rocky's father.....

According to Willi Schultheis, "good breeding means less training." I can see Rubaiyat in Rocky every day in his work & beautiful conformation:)))

Dressage training thoughts, December 10, 2011

When you are bending your horse it is critical that you NEVER take back on the inside rein, since this will make it impossible for the horse to bring his inside hind leg forward & under his body. At the same time this will cause the horse to fall out over his outside shoulder.

Remember that you have to ride the front, back, right & left side of the horse simultaneously.

Training thoughts, December 9, 2011

There is not "one" perfect position for every horse's head & neck. The rider needs to find the position most appropriate for the horse's conformation.

The perfect carriage of the the head & neck in collection is when the neck rises from the wither (in relative elevation) well arched, with THE POLL THE HIGHEST POINT.

Training thoughts, December 8, 2011

Riders should try to ride a variety of horses. Every horse has different strengths & weaknesses, this teaches the rider how to work with different issues. In the end the horse is ALWAYS the best teacher!!!!

Training thoughts, December 7, 2011

“Only few people are aware of how much time, patience and effort is involved in giving a horse a complete training.”

(From ‘The Gymnasium of the Horse’ by Gustav Steinbrecht)

Training thoughts, December 6, 2011

Impulsion, Swing

Impulsion is the result of the energetic push-off of the hind legs into the swinging back, influencing the entire forward propulsion mechanism of the horse. It is therefore a direct result of the rider’s correct training. The only part of the horse that should swing is his back!!! If you have a horse with good natural gaits the development of impulsion is greatly helped. Impulsion is only found in trot and canter, since there is no moment of suspension in the walk.

Important factors for swinging movements are:

* The supple and closed seat of the rider
* The first three steps of the training system (Rhythm,Suppleness, Contact with the bit)
* The horse has to have a degree of straightness

It is very important that the rider is able to use the driving aids.
Swing is developed by:

* Riding the horse forward and straightening it (Gustav Steinbrecht)
* Increasing the driving aids quietly, without hurrying the horse
* Riding tempo changes in trot and canter
* The rider’s hands staying elastic to prevent blocking the forehand of the horse

Training thoughts, December 5, 2011

A loosened-up horse is recognized by:

* His swinging back
* His neck stretching deep and low with his mouth at least at a level of his point of chest or as deep as he can without losing balance and forward impulsion
* Normal, quiet breathing
* A closed, chewing mouth because of his relaxed jaw, a bit of foam forming around his lips
* His tail moving like a pendulum in continuation of his swinging back

Training thoughts, December 5, 2011

The definition of ‘throughness’ (Durchlaessigkeit) – willingness of the horse to accept the rider’s aids obediently and freely, reacting promptly to the driving aids and swinging through with his hind legs actively in order to develop impulsion. The rein aids should ‘flow’ from his mouth over his poll, neck and back into his haunches without being blocked somewhere along the line by tension. It is often said that if you can do all this, the movement will be your reward!

The half halt

Here you can see that the horse is accepting the half halt well. Here you see flexion in his back, stifles, & hocks. This is the way to developing collection.

Training thoughts, December 4, 2011

This is what "straight" should look like at the canter. The hind legs are stepping into the footprints of the front feet & the haunches are exactly behind the shoulders.

Developing harmony

Click here to visit Rhapsody Farm Riding Academy where our goal is create harmonious relationships between horses & their riders:)

Training thoughts, December 1, 2011

Straightness

Horses, like all other mammals, are crooked to one side. Most often this crookedness goes front right to hind right with front lift to hand left more the exception. This crookedness has to do with the way the horse was curled up in the womb and can be compared in people to right-handedness or left-handedness. Impulsion and self-carriage in a crooked horse are not directed at his center of balance and therefore ineffective. The horse is straight when his longitudinal axis (his spine) follows the track on straight and bent lines. In other words, when the inside hind legs follow the inside front leg. Since horses are naturally wider in their hips than their shoulders, and we aim to have the inside hind leg follow the inside front leg, we call this ‘relative straightness’.

When the horse begins to learn collection he will need to be  more flexible in his back, stifles, & hocks.

Training thoughts, November 29, 2011

Rocky has been in dressage training now for 3 weeks. He is getting stronger every day and is walking & trotting under saddle. I am allowing him to use his head & neck to counter-balance the weight of the rider.

It is critical that he is allowed to learn to be forward, straight, & calm in a state of relaxation without the interference of conflicting signals.

Regardless of where one places a horse on the intelligence scale, one thing is certain: horses do not have the ability to think logically like humans. They think by means of association. They are herd animals, and need to feel present in their lives a very definite order of rank. Certain animals are in charge and certain animals are subordinate. When people are working with horses there should never be any doubt in the horse’s mind that the human being is the one which is in charge. This is a situation that is normal to a horse. It gives him the security of knowing where he belongs. When he has this, he is in his optimal working climate. It is important to bear in mind that for it to be fully and properly attained, submission can never be achieved with the use of power. With this in mind, the rider must strive to use psychological rather than physical aids to the greatest degree possible to influence the horse.

Training thoughts, November 26, 2011

This is the correct way to carry your reins. Hands closed, thumbs up!!!!

Training thoughts, November 21, 2011

A rider who can only see and think in a human way will continuously misdiagnose situations and frustrate her horse. The next time we find ouselves in a situation where we seem to be getting nowhere, we should try to remember this: MOST DISOBEDIENCES ARE ACTUALLY MISUNDERSTANDINGS. THEY ARE DIRECTLY RELATED To A RIDER’S INCAPACITY TO COMMUNICATE FAIRLY AND CONSISTENTLY WITH HER HORSE. Maybe we should bring the horse back to his stall and take an honest look at how we ourselves have been communicating. Have we been asking for too much, or asking in a way the horse can’t understand? Just how often are we truly functioning at our peak, yet every day we expect such a performance from our horse. The various ways of making the horse understand what we are asking for should be discussed. Every horse is different. There is no such thing as a perfect horse. Every horse can only respond correctly when a rider asks correctly. Horses are not always going to be thrilled to have to learn new things. He might not even seem to respond initiallly to even a perfectly timed & applied aid, but a thinking rider will be patient. She will wait for the exact moment when the horse submits mentally & physically and respond in a rewarding manner immediately. That is where the rider has the chance to turn that submission into a desire on the part of the horse to work together. So begins the true partnership between horse & rider.

Training thoughts, November 19, 2011

Rocky is 4 years old. He is just beginning his dressage training. Here he is being lunged learning to carry the weight of his rider & become round through forward riding.

Learning to be round through forward work..........

Training thoughts, November 18, 2011

Using whips and spurs as weapons
against your horse will only serve to ruin any harmonious relationship. While there are times when auxiliary aids are necessary for training purposes, it has been proven time & time again that the more one has to rely on them, the worse the results.

When is a horse physically mature?

In my experience most horses are not completely physically mature until they are about 8 years old. Warmbloods are VERY slow maturing horses.

Yes, a horse should begin being ridden at about 3 years old, but the first year or two should just be about allowing the horse to become familiar with the basic concepts of walk, trot, canter, with the weight of the rider. Under no circumstances should the horse’s head carriage be altered during this phase. While the horse is becoming accustomed to carrying a rider he must be allowed to use his neck & head to counterbalance this new weight.

As time goes by the horse will let the rider know when he is ready for harder work because these basics will be solid foundation. When this happens the gymnastic work of developing the horse’s pushing power can begin. This period generally takes between 6 months & 1 year. Once the horse is capable of pushing himself through space carrying the rider the trainer can begin asking the horse to learn collection and begin movements.

At all times the trainer must observe the concept that the development of the horse’s gaits is always the top priority, along with maintenance of proper rhythm at all times.

Click here to see a slide show of Rocky starting his dressage training:)

Training Thoughts 11/11/11

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF TRAINING
“Without a system nothing works.”(Josef Neckermann)

The goal of training determines the length of the road that leads you there. In other words: The higher the goal, the longer the road! High goals can, by definition, not be reached within a short period of time and that is why it is a good idea to set intermediate goals for yourself along the way. Every time you reach one of these goals you feel you have made progress (and you have!) and you will not get discouraged because you haven’t reached the ultimate goal quite yet.This ultimate goal should be to have maximized your horses’ “Rittigkeit” (his willingness to cooperate with his rider) achieved together with perfection of his gaits while keeping him mentally balanced to enable him to come to the highest degree of harmony with his rider.The sooner you start with a systematical approach, the better it is for the overall well-being of your horse. The main reasons are:1. A horse that has been correctly ridden and taken care of will have confidence in his rider. This is an important position for you to be in because horses are herd animals and herds have leaders. When you are unquestionably in this position o f authority the horse will naturally be subservient which will make him more willing to work for you.2. When a horse has been trained with emphasis on correct warm-up of his muscles, ligaments and joints he will have a much more solid background from which he will be better prepared for the essentially hard work dressage is. By first working the horse in a frame that will gradually strengthen his body before moving on to the more collected work, many unnecessary injuries can be prevented.3. Loosened up muscles that are exercised at a steady rhythm will have better blood circulation and will therefore be better supplied with oxygen and energy.Obviously, the process of ‘getting there’ can not be hurried with short cuts and it will only be realistic when it is built up over many different stages of training and development.

Training thoughts

The methods I use are based on a single principle: A horse can only develop as an athlete if he can become round and allow his back to accept the pushing aids of the seat. This training system begins with teaching the horse to stretch and thus be able to be truly influenced by the rider’s seat. Once the horse is stretching properly, the rider must then become aware of the tremendous influence in a positive way to develop the horse’s athleticism, work ethic, and way of going. I strive to teach riders to use their aids with great care & effectiveness in order to produce a true equine partner. Melodye Sweetin

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Rhapsody Farm Riding Academy

Beautiful November day

Dave & Flex enjoying a beautiful Autumn day in their fields.

Relaxation & Suppleness

Physical & mental relaxation for the horse & rider are the foundations for all good training.