The contact

Geplaatst op 29 november 201722 november 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

The next item in the Scala of Dressage is the contact. Also a matter that causes a lot of confusion. With contact in riding we mean the elastic connection between the hand of the rider and the mouth of the horse. The connection is made by the rider but -and this is where it gets difficult- accepted and sought by the horse. So it means that the rider should take up the reins, but the horse then has to reach for the contact and be soft and light…

Why on earth would he do so? Well, it is not just a simple matter of the front end and things you do with your hands. Oh no, contact is so much more. Lees meer

Relaxation

Geplaatst op 22 november 201720 november 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

The scala of dressage states a horse should move freely forward with natural movements in all gaits. ‘Relaxation’ is the next point. And it can be quite confusing. If a horse is truly relaxed, it is asleep.

You need a certain muscle tone to perform. Relaxation in de scala is working without tension. But not only the absence of tension, it is also a state Lees meer

The natural rhythm of canter

Geplaatst op 15 november 201715 november 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

Canter is a three beat movement. The starting point of the canter (and this is important, remember this) is the outside hindleg. Then the inside hind Lees meer

The natural rhythm of trot

Geplaatst op 8 november 20178 november 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

Trot is a two beat movement. The diagonal pair of legs is lifted up simultaneously, while the other two are on the ground. Not only the diagonal movement of legs should be equal, also the coordination of movement of front- and hindlegs should match.

You could say that if a horse moves with a lot of front leg action, while he’s dragging his hindlegs, his rhythm is not good. Unfortunately some judges Lees meer

The natural rhythm of walk

Geplaatst op 1 november 20171 november 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

So let’s go over the points of the scala in more detail. First the natural rhythm of the gaits. A horse puts his legs down in a certain order in each gate. If he’s restricted by physical problems or by a rider, this rhythm becomes unnatural. If you want to know if the rhythm is pure, you need to know the natural footfall of each gait.

The walk is a four beat movement. Each leg is lifted and put down individually. The front leg is lifted when the hindleg on the same comes near to be Lees meer

‘Modern’ dressage

Geplaatst op 25 oktober 201725 oktober 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

Germany used to win all the dressage titles the last century. But then came the Dutch.

Anky van Grunsven was our lead women. With her partner Sjef Janssen she worked out her own system of riding, which very soon was referred to as ‘modern Lees meer

‘LESS IS MORE’

Geplaatst op 18 oktober 20172 oktober 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

‘LESS IS MORE’

Physiotherapist Saskia Heykants is always looking for improvement. Hence the reason for her to ask Maarten van Stek whether she could possibly pay him a visit. ‘It intrigued me how he manages with his one arm to train a horse into the Grand Prix. That is unusual to say the least. I think we can all learn from that.’

Saskia is fascinated by rider position and seat. How, as a rider, can you become more efficient with your aids through your seat, that is what she is Lees meer

The scala of dressage out of the window

Geplaatst op 11 oktober 201715 september 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

Last time I explained the scala of dressage is the backbone riders are holding onto for centuries. As do I, when things get difficult. However, Anky van Grunsven is not too keen on it. And what she says makes sense.

The six points of the scala in the right order are: rhythm, relaxation, contact, energy, straightness and collection. Anky finds the scala too rigid Lees meer

The Scala of dressage

Geplaatst op 4 oktober 201715 september 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

When you want to train a horse you should know how he learns things and what his natural reactions are. And we’ll get to that. But first I want to introduce you to the guidelines that helped horse masters for centuries.

In Dutch and German it’s called ‘the Scala of dressage’, which can be seen as a pyramid of steps you have to go through to reach the ultimate Lees meer

The use of whips and spurs

Geplaatst op 27 september 201722 september 2017 door Tessa van Daalen

We use hands, seat, legs and voice to give a horse signals, we call them aids. We can also add whips and spurs. If used well, they are an useful extra. But there is a downside to it.

Let’s start with a whip. Take one and give yourself a good whack. It hurts. Think of this, when you ride with it. A whip is an instrument to point Lees meer