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Ride with Your Seat rider technique

Put an End to the Tug-o-War (part 1)

“If your arms are tired, you’re riding wrong.” Saying or hearing that phrase can be how you make enemies at the barn, but there are better ways of controlling speed than by pulling. It may seem like the only solution at the time, but whether your horse is constantly pulling against you to drag his nose in the dirt, or you are pulling on them to slow them down, once you fall into the trap of tugging, it can be a difficult habit to break – for us. For a horse? They tend to

books dressage

Solidify your Schooling with The Athletic Development of the Dressage Horse: Manege Patterns

In this eloquently written manual, de Kunffy encourages as much the individuality of the horse as he does the athletic development for a fully-fleshed, evolved, and liberating approach to training. He begins in genuine fashion of the Classical schools looking at rider education, and emphasizing the good that comes from accepting the horse’s individuality and sometimes-unique …

dressage riding training

How to Correct Over-flexion as Evasion from the Bit

First let me clarify that I will be discussing over-flexion and not looking at or critiquing rollkur, the latter being something worthy of a blog post all its own, but I digress. Over-flexion is occasionally a soft-mouthed horse’s method of evading the bit, or a developed habit from a heavy-handed rider. Despite the “aesthetics” of all of those …

books dressage

Improve your Riding with Anatomy of Dressage

Getting right down to the core elements of rider position, effect and influence, Anatomy of Dressage by Heinrich Schusdziarra and Volker Schusdziarra is a staple of the dressage (or any!) rider to truly understand their body in the saddle and how best to use it to for desired effect. Originally translated from German and now co-published …

dressage riding training

Overcoming Obstinacy: Motivate a Soured Horse

While reasons are varied, rehabilitating the soured horse is as much about rekindling his desire to perform as it is his relationship with his rider. The latter is perhaps even more important as it is through developing a “partnership” that we’re more likely to be the person our horse wants to perform for, but when …

dressage riding training

Turn a Fast Trot into Expressive Collection

Whether you’ve got an off-the-track thoroughbred, that school horse that “isn’t recommended for beginners” or a warmblood who thinks he’s a bulldozer, it can be frustrating, difficult, and sometimes even intimidating to effectively address strong or fast gaits. While the “easy” thing is to lean back, haul on the reins and pray for a give, …

anatomy biomechanics dressage riding training

Creating Better Movement: A Look at the Shoulder and Neck

As any serious dressage rider who’s taken a lesson or two knows, the horse should be ridden ‘back to front.’ In other words, creating energy in the hindquarters to encourage the horse to carry himself over the back, lightening the forehand and suppling into the contact of the rider’s hands. So why start with focus …