Some riders have trouble controlling their lower legs.
In trot a rider goes up and down. The movement of the horse pulls your legs towards him and pushes them away. There is always some movement with your
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Don’t look down
Humans have hands and use them for almost everything. And as our eyes are in the front of our head, we like to watch what we are doing.
One of my cherished trainers, John Lassetter from England, once let a group of pupils dismount during a clinic and crawl through the school on all fours.
On your toes
‘Heels down’. I wonder if this is the most made remark in dressage training. And I think it is completely useless. But I’ll come to that.
If you stand on your toes in the stirrups, your upper leg and knee will come away from the horse. This makes you unstable. Some riders think dressage
Leaning backward
A lot of dressage riders are leaning backwards. Some of them do it all the time, some just in the extended paces or a transition.
There are trainers who tell you to sit back more. And when you are tipping forward they are probably right to say so. But not further then the
Leaning forward
Some riders lean forward. It’s not as bad as leaning backwards, but I’ll come to that later.
If you sit forward too much with your upper body, you can’t absorb the movement of the horse with your lower back which in turn will stiffen
Feel safe
In order to train yourself and your horse, you have to feel safe. If you don’t feel safe, your mind is not open to learning and you will tense up.
A lot of riders are secretly scared. They don’t dare to admit to their friends of even their instructor that they are afraid. Fear is a natural
Follow the horse
It all sounds so easy: follow the movement of the horse. And when you see Olympic riders it looks easy too, even though their horses move off the ground so much. But how do you do it?
A couple of things are needed. Stamina, a supple back and loose hips. You need to be able to let go of tension in your body, without losing posture.
The importance of the right position
The right position for dressage is not something that has been invented at random.
Riding horses started a few hundred years before Christ. Before that we just ate them. Since then man has developed the position in such a way
He doesn’t like dressage
Even if your horse does understand what you mean with your aids, it is possible he’s not very eager to react. It happens when you give aids constantly, without demanding an answer. Or when he’s bored.
Think about it: how would you be if you have to go into a sand school every day, walking round after round, doing the same all the time.
Motivation
It is very important
Yes, but…
‘Yes, but he….’ I think most instructors hate this phrase. Someone told me once that ‘yes, but’ actually means ‘no’ and I’d have to agree.
Saying that, I do believe instructors have a task explaining what and why. Gone are the days in which drill sergeants just told you what to do and shut