Natural Dressage Tips & Training Questions - Archive
Tip 1: Ride a lot of different figures throughout the
arena.
During your training process, and especially when
riding young horses, avoid straight lines! Keep it fun and interesting
by riding all kinds of figures throughout the whole arena. In addition
to helping the horse feel happy and stay focused, this will also
encourage the muscles on both sides of the horse to develop equally,
building strength and flexibility. This prevents injuries, AND prevents
the horse from walking, trotting, or cantering crookedly!
Tip 2: DON'T PULL! A horse can only lean on
your hands if you give him something to lean on, and trust us, you will
never be stronger than a thousand pounds (600k) of muscle and instinct!
Humans
are very hand focused creatures: hands with thumbs that can grab,
catch, grasp a paintbrush, hold onto a dogs leash, throw a spear...
these shaped our evolution into the dominant species on the planet. When
we are startled, lose our balance, or have a problem to solve, our
brain goes straight to the hands. Horses, on the other "hand" are
four-footed creatures who excel at running fast in straight lines, and
are designed by nature for speed, with a heavy head and long neck to
balance out their long, strong bodies. Horses use their weight, their
teeth, and their strength to spar with buddies or fight off dangerous
predators. You (puny human) will never be stronger than your horse, no
matter how harsh the bit or how long the stick. Use the tools given us
by nature - intelligence and creativity. Strong bits cause pain and can
even rip and tear into the sensitive tissues of a horses mouth - but
even this will not stop a horse from taking the bit in her teeth and
running off with you if she really panics, or simply gets fed up with
being pulled in the mouth.
Tip 3: Halt. How to stop without pulling on
the reins? Easy as one, two three...
Since you will never be
stronger than your horse, no matter how many weights you lift or how
small your pony is, and you don't want to cause your beloved equine
friend pain, you will have to use another strategy to stop your horse. A
relaxed rider can follow the movement of the horse, creating a
wonderful feeling of harmony as two bodies flow along as one. When the
rider changes position or gets tense, it creates an uncomfortable
feeling of disharmony, and the horse will adjust in an effort to get
back into sync with the rider. To begin, the rider must be sitting
straight, balanced and quite relaxed on the horse, with long legs, loose
shoulders, and relaxed arms and hands - all fluidly following the
movement of the horse. This is HARMONY. From here, there are three
simple steps to the perfect halt. 1. Without pinching the horse with
your knees, tighten only the muscles...
