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I just had to share this somewhere where someone might understand

Dressage
#1

I had to share this somewhere with like minded people :slight_smile:

My preteen daughter leases an old lesson horse. She has been his only rider for the last year. He’s not the fanciest horse. He has a club foot and really uneven shoulders. He was mostly a hunter jumper lesson horse. His best quality is he is SUPER safe. But he doesn’t have a lot refinement. Point and shoot. Head up in the air and counter bent is his go to way of going.

Today she worked on spiral circles going over ground poles, downward transitions from trot to halt at cones focusing on preparing for the halt beforehand. Then she really focused on her canter transitions up and down from trot.

Because of the spiral work, I think I saw a little light bulb go off in her head. She effectively moved him off his inside shoulder to get the right canter lead, instead of just over bending him. This is HUGE progress. I think she finally understands bend in a way that she can actually influence him.

I’m a dressage nerd so these little details just thrill me ha ha ha! She wants to jump but these lessons are invaluable imo.

61 Likes
#2

If anyone has any tips for a better downward transition from canter that a kid would understand, I’m all ears!

He loves to just run into the trot and get behind the vertical. It’s partly her needing to keep a shorter rein but it is definitely an old lesson horse habit on his part too.

2 Likes
#3

Have your daughter ask the horse to spiral in and make smaller and smaller circles with the inside rein…opening rein. It will come to the point where the horse will “downshift” into trot when he can’t maintain a collected canter pirouette. If your daughter can get her timing right, sit up straight and relax the seat, she can ask for a canter walk transition from this exercise. Making smaller circles allows the figure to help the rider make the transition, not the rider fighting the horse with the reins.

6 Likes
#4

Great idea. I’ll have her keep practicing the spiral at the trot a few more weeks then try it at the canter.

#5

I would suggest just going ahead trying the spirals from the canter so the horse doesn’t get too proficient at trotting circles or think that is what he is supposed to do.

You can come down the long side at the canter, (say canter right lead) half circle and turn down center line and continue with your circle towards the wall. Continue with the circle thru the arena corner (which will temper the tendency to rush). Come down the centerline again, or aim for inside the center line towards the wall and continue to spiral in using 1/4 of the arena. Use the arena walls to your advantage.

4 Likes
#6

We can try. I just don’t think my daughter understood the spiral until today. But sometimes she catches on quick too. Learning this stuff is so different than learning how to post or canter with no stirrups. Definitely a new level of understanding for her but it will help her immensely of course!

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#7

If the rider is stiff and braced, both in seat and in arms & hand, it’s going to be tough to improve. Sometimes a stiff older horse gets a rider to stiffen in response. Especially if he has a jarring trot, as sometimes stiff horses do.

Do less rather than more, would be my idea. Be correct in posture but softer in the seat. However the rider really has to push the horse forward forward forward, keeping the horse’s balance in front of the rider, to be able to function. When she signals ‘go’, he’s got to ‘go’. It helps if he wants to do that anyway.

2 Likes
#8

She works a lot on her seat but yes he’s not a very supple horse. I think it only can improve do much at his age but they can improve a little still.

Perhaps working on transitions in the canter would be helpful? He is fairly forward minded, especially the longer she rides him. He’s went from a dull slug to having a go button

1 Like
#9

Ride forward into the downward transition. Don’t just pull on the reins and let the horse collapse onto the forehand. Support with the lower leg while squeezing with your thighs and hands to ask him to trot. Keep your chest up and think about him lifting his withers as he slows to the trot.

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#10

Yes. I think this is what she’s missing. He’s just running on the forehand.

I’ll see what we can do as far as getting her to understand that. He’s pretty old and almost retired but pretty sound and happy with her.

1 Like
#11

I think it’s wonderful that you’re so proud of her. What a lovely relationship you must have!

I’m a recovered eventer, but to get a downward transition from canter, I was taught to simply weight my outside seatbone a bit. Of course, this assumes that the rider is pretty even to start with. Spiraling in was used extensively with the OTTBs that were being re-educated. It works well too! She will get it.

4 Likes
#12

He’s not super sensitive off the seat, bless him! But the concept will still be good to introduce.

#13

Congrats Lunabear1998. That’s super. I’ll ask my daughter and see what helped her (likely was close to the same age of your daughter when it started coming together).

2 Likes
#14

Thank you!

Yes, I know how to do this myself but getting it to click with a 12 year old is the tricky part.
The ride above was a lesson but I help sometimes on the weekends, if she wants help.

She will outgrow him this summer. But she’s grown so much with him.

#15

Sometimes the way to get the downward on one like that is to kind of…stop riding. Don’t pull on the reins to slow down. Just kind of go to almost sack of potatoes, but the energy kind of dumps out through your core and seat (but, growing up as a kid on TBs in h/j land, you don’t actually have to sit to get the same effect and result…although I can get anything stopped without much effort, and had to tell my young horse he’s an Oldenburg not a reiner when we were practicing our first center line halts :laughing:). If she wants to stay in trot then use the posting rhythm to help him regulate tempo, but try the downward as a more passive action. It’s not like they are doing the level of collection for a real canter-walk transition or something, and who knows if his joints would allow him to sit much into the transition anyway, but a clear change in tempo without the bracing forward (evidenced by the rushing and BTV) can be achieved by just stopping riding. You get the relaxation part even if he kind of still needs to be a little on the forehand.

8 Likes
#16

They were doing that today
It helped but like I said he’s not the most sensitive to the seat (teaching beginner lessons for years will do that)

But we will keep working on it.

#17

LOL, my children never really gave me grey hairs from misbehaving; but, they did add to the count when it came to ‘trying to help them with their riding’. Both kids made it clear that they had to learn it more or less ‘on their own’ which is why they had lessons with someone else.

The key to anyone’s riding success is the right horse/pony. They often need a saint to start with and the saint part doesn’t always mean they won’t challenge the child but at least are relatively safe when they do so :wink:

2 Likes
#18

Yes this was in a lesson but sometimes she ask for my help. It depends on the day if she actually listens to what I say though ha ha! One day I told her she needed to just hack around the property instead!

He’s so safe and she feels very confident on him even if he gets very forward which I think is wonderful for her. He’s a blessing.

1 Like
#19

I’m sorry to hear she will outgrow him…I hope his next person appreciates him as much as you do.

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#20

She’s his last rider so he will get to be retired after this. :heart:

It’s going to be tough because she’s pretty attached to him now. And him to her. But we can still visit him too. He’s very special to her and me.

7 Likes

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