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Transitions
between gaits (walk/trot, trot/canter, trot/halt) and transitions
within a gait (collected walk to extended walk) are excellent
exercises to build a horse's confidence, hindquarter and back
muscles, and responsiveness to rider's aids.
Half halts should be practiced each lesson.
The horse should respond to the half halt and the rider
should immediately give. If the horse does not respond to a half
halt, a stronger not prolonged aid should be given, immediately
followed by release so the horse remembers this pleasant moment
and wants to respond immediately. If
the horse does not respond, the rider cannot give and the horse
will constantly be against the bit, on the forehand, unbalanced,
and unable to carry himself.
The walk is a
gait that cannot be improved but it should always be maintained.
Allow the horse to walk on a free rein to find his natural walk.
When the horse is relaxed and the walk is regular, square
halts can be practiced. Use
half halts to collect the walk, then with a supple hand, ask for
halt. This is a
difficult exercise. From
an energetic walk, prepare for the halt with half halts.
At the halt, the rider should leave the horse alone being
sure not to work backward with the hands.
In walk pirouettes, riders have a tendency to over collect
the horse and to continue pulling on the reins.
Then they have to rely on the spur to move the horse
around, which often causes the haunches to swing out.
If the horse is not responsive enough to the rider's aids,
then the horse should be schooled outside the pirouette before the
pirouette is attempted again. When
the horse is able to collect to a high degree on a straight line,
then the rider can consider beginning pirouette work.
Ride out of the pirouette in the shoulder fore position on
a straight line.
Work on passage
by trotting on a 20 meter circle and collecting the horse towards
passage, keeping the rhythm.
The rider's hands must stay forward and the horse be
allowed to go forward by himself, with the rhythm supported by the
leg and the seat. Immediately,
trot on. Let the
horse go, but do not hurry him interrupting his natural rhythm.
Piaffe and passage must show a purity of the gait first, then you
can ask for more expression.
Shoulder in is a
great exercise to prepare for schooling half pass.
If accuracy is lost in the half pass to the right, correct
by working the shoulder in to the left.
Rhythm and liveliness should be the same whether the horse
is straight or moving laterally. A passage-like trot in half pass is not acceptable. The
half pass must be ridden forward with steady contact on the inside
rein to keep the forehand from leaning.
Canter pirouette
should not be ridden with haunches in. If the haunches are in, then the shoulders have to travel
farther and the horse becomes confused.
The haunches should follow the forehand and the hind legs
should step toward the center of gravity.
Supple contact is needed, the horse must feel that he is
free.
To teach a young
horse flying changes, first the horse is ridden forward in the
trot. If the horse is
reluctant to go forward, the whip is used lightly.
The rider must establish the training scale -- relaxation,
rhythm, tempo, contact, collection -- whether the horse is
training level or Grand Prix.
Once the horse is in front of the leg, the rider can begin
doing exercises.
First, the horse
is asked to canter very forward across the diagonal, collected at
the wall and asked for the change immediately after the horse is
collected. This
increased in collection makes the change easier for the horse.
The horse can also be ridden in a big pirouette on one lead
which is a collecting movement, then straightened for one canter
stride, and then ridden out on the other lead (like riding a
figure eight.) Changes
are asked for after collecting exercises.
The horse can
also be leg yielded in the canter down the long side to three
meters away from the wall, then asked for the change as the horse
is allowed to return to the wall.
The rider must be
careful that the horse is not allowed to go sideways in the fling
change -- the changes must go forward. Flying changes must come out of a swinging back and a desire
to go forward, not from the horse being chased into the change.
The horse must have complete trust in the rider.
If the horse is
short on the change to one side, the whip should be used to
correct it. If the
rider tries to correct by pressing harder with the leg, the rider
will unbalance or confuse the horse.
The whip and the spur are AIDS and not punishments.
If the whip is used too firmly, the horse becomes angry and
tense, which is counter-productive.
When the whip is used lightly, it serves as an aid.
Flying changes come from the hindquarters which can only
work well when they are not disturbed by the rider's hand. |
