Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Dressage

I'm not a dressage trainer by any means, but the best thing I ever did for
my riding skills was to take riding lessons from Becky Hart - utilizing
Centered Riding.  I was the typical uneducated trail rider riding a head
high hollow backed Arab.  In a few lessons, she taught me to have my
previously resistant horse softly on the bit and traveling happily rounded.
I'm not saying that you won't see me riding sloppilly because I'm sure I
lapse back into bad habits since I haven't taken a lesson in awhile... but
she taught me how to get the horse "on the bit" WITHOUT USING FORCE!

One of the most valuable lesson she taught me that she got from a dressage
instructor during a Centered Riding clinic was the concept of "unpull".
Basically it's not to get into the tug of war when your horse leans on the
bit - but yielding slightly when he pulls then bring him softly back on the
bit.  Having to pull that hard creates stress and is fatiguing for both the
horse and rider, which is the opposite of what we want to do for endurance
riding.

My thoughts on getting down the trail is that the horse needs to have a
little freedom to balance with his head and neck rather than being cranked
back into frame.  I used to ride with a dressage person that had a
Thoroughbred that she insisted to get him downhill that he had to be ridden
"like a croissant" bent sideways down the trail.  The poor horse was always
resistant and always had back problems.

Correct longeing is supposed to build up the topline, and this is where I am
totally deficient and lazy.   I believe it to be a good thing, but I
wouldn't rely on it for my total conditioning program at all - just as a
warm-up and/or calisthetic in addition to normal trail conditioning.

K.


------------------------------------------------------------
From: Val Nicoson <sweetmare55@xxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [RC]   Dressage (little long)


This instructor believes in riding in a "frame" and
most students wear gloves because of pulling
on the reins.



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