Dressage in General
Outfitting Your Horses
Basic information about tack and gear needed for your horses can be found at the following link: Outfitting Your Horses
Classical Dressage Training Basics
“As a conclusion of these general observations about the course of dressage training I want to add the serious admonition; not to hurry any of the exercises and to let them all follow one another in such a way that…
Keeping the Horse Happy
“Do not demand at the end of the lesson what the horse cannot do easily and happily yet! Always finish the lesson with something the horse is able to do easily and that he will thus perform happily, so that…
Dressage – Your Relationship with Your Horse
“Dressage is more than just learning how to ride. Dressage is a way of life. As you learn more about horses … and the beauty of creating something in a horse … you find that this process becomes how you…
Learning New Things
“Whenever a horse has learned a new movement or a new aid in its basic form, the rider should give him a break and deliberately ride something else for a few days or weeks. When he returns to the movement,…
What is Riding?
“Riding:The dialogue between two bodies and two souls aimed at establishing perfect harmony between them.” – W.Seunig
Rider Characteristics
“If the art were not so difficult we would have plenty of good riders and excellently ridden horses, but as it is the art requires, in addition to everything else, character traits that are not combined in everyone: inexhaustible patience,…
Schooling the Young Horse
“Young horses should never return to their stall tired, since they lose their motivation to work and the tendons and joints suffer too much that way. After having asked for a more difficult, more demanding exercise, necessitating somewhat stronger aids…
Patience is a Virtue
“I have time” should be the guiding word especially of dressage riders during the entire course of training and remind him of the fact that the goal of the classical art of riding is to be attained only by the…
Understanding Progress
“As always, everything is connected, every single exercise or movement influences all the others, which is the reason why we can improve certain movements by not riding them at all, but by practicing exercises that improve the necessary ingredients of…
Why do we ride?
“We ride horses for the pleasure of `creating beauty’ as the Master Ecuyer (La Guérinière) said. We ride for the pleasure of feeling ourselves transported into different attitudes, drowned into the fluidity of a supple and tranquil back, rocked by…
Food for Thought
“A clumsy rider will hardly be embarrassed on a trained horse. The most skilled rider, on the other hand, can get into the most embarrassing situations on an untrained horse. For that reason: Always focus on the horses, not on…
The Walk Pirouette
View Video Online The Walk Pirouette Defined The walk pirouette is a collected 180 degree turn on the haunches at the walk. How to Execute the Walk Pirouette Start in collected walk, Apply half halts and almost simultaneously flex the…
Walk
View Video Online Walk Defined A clear “four-beat” gait with footfalls following one another. This gait has a clear, even rhythm as the feet land and take off. There are 4 variations of the walk – the collected walk, the…
Volte
View Video Online What is the Volte A 6, 8 or 10-meter diameter circle starting and ending at the same point. How to Execute the Volte Start in the walk, trot or canter depending on the horse’s ability. Flex the horse at the poll to…
Trot Halt Transitions
View Video Online Trot Halt Transition Defined In the trot halt transition, the horse is moving in an energetic, forward-moving trot and is then asked to cease movement, while maintaining contact and lightness in the transition. How to Execute the…
Trot Variations
View Video Online Trot Variations of Pace Defined Pace refers to the variations of a gait. For example: Gait = Trot. Pace = Collected trot, Working trot, Medium trot or Extended trot. The length of the stride is what changes…
Trot Lengthening
View Video Online Trot Lengthening Defined A distinct two-beat, diagonal gait where diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time, in which the horse demonstrates more elongation in the frame and an increased stride length from that presented…
Trot
View Video Online The Trot Defined A “two beat” gait where diagonal leg pairs move simultaneously followed by a moment of suspension. There are four main types of trot: the working trot, the medium trot, the extended trot and the…
Travers
View Video Online Travers Defined The travers is also known as head to the wall. The horse is bent around the rider’s inside leg in the direction of travel and should step forwards and sideways with the outside legs. Travers…
Stretch Down Circle
View Video Online The Stretch Down Circle Defined Also referred to as “long and low.” The stretch down circle is a gradual lengthening of the reins, as far as the horse is willing and prepared to stretch, while maintaining contact,…
Shoulder Fore
View Video Online Shoulder Fore Defined An exercise that moves the horse’s shoulder to the inside similar to shoulder in. The angle of shoulder fore is approximately 1/2 that of the shoulder in. This exercise can be used by the rider to…
The Shoulder In
View Video Online Shoulder In Defined The horse is evenly bent around the rider’s inside leg and travels at a 30 degree angle to the track. The hind feet remain on the track and step straight ahead for the most…
Serpentines
View Video Online The 3-Loop Serpentine The horse travels back and forth across the arena while maintaining the appropriate bend, flexion, rhythm and tempo. Serpentines can be performed four different ways and in all three gaits. A serpentine can…
The Rein Back
View Video Online Rein Back Defined The horse moves backward in a straight line by moving legs in diagonal pairs. This is a two-beat movement that has no moment of suspension. How to Execute Rein Back Start from a square…
