Learning Dressage Movements in Order?

[blue_heron]

Correct, but also when you have a nervous horse like the ones I was mentioning above, influencing the tempo before you have relaxation can be counterproductive. IMO adjusting the tempo and length of stride is another exercise in itself which comes further up the pyramid.

[outerbanks77]

@theresak

• Walk, trot, canter with a very light feel in the bridle on a long rein and neck wherever he wanted
• Working trot
• Working canter
• TOF
• 20 m circles
• W/T, T/C transitions up and down
• W/H transition in and out
• Medium walk
• Trot shallow loop
• Trot serpentine
• Trot LY (if you have a naturally forward horse, could start with walk LY)

This seems like a pretty normal progression, and also a good example of how horses can differ. I have probably 80-90 rides on my mare so far. She would just get stuck and grow roots, so it took a while before it even seemed worth it to canter. I was actually teaching her baby LY, TOF and even SI/CSI at the walk before considering canter. I also use trotting squares to get control of her hind legs, and now that she is not so stuck, we are introducing 20meter trot circles, and trotting over poles. I have cantered her, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we have a decent baby SI and HI at the trot before we can do a respectable 20m circle at the canter.

[joiedevie99]

@Jealoushe

Again the movements are just you manipulating your horse in a way to help supple and strengthen them. They are exercises. Some exercises can not be performed until you reach a certain area of the training scale. Some parts of the training scale intertwine.

This! There are some movements that naturally arise out of others, but generally speaking, the movements are tools in an educated riders toolbox to show the horse how to do what they want or to strengthen the horse to be able to do what they want. The ultimate goal is to improve the gaits, not to be able to check the box that the horse can do a movement.

[atlatl]

@cnm161

Not to be that person, but here I go.

Rhythm and tempo are not interchangeable.

Someone had to! Thank you!

[Scribbler]

Picking up a comment further up the thread. “Assuming a horse has good rhythm” you wouldn’t want to change it.

True. But if your green horse has good rhythm at all tempos at all gaits, you are very very lucky! It’s really easy for a green horse to get rushy unbalanced rhythm at a faster trot or canter, or to get a slightly off beat at a slower trot or canter (lateral trot, 4 beat canter).

[atlatl]

@Scribbler

Picking up a comment further up the thread. “Assuming a horse has good rhythm” you wouldn’t want to change it.

True. But if your green horse has good rhythm at all tempos at all gaits, you are very very lucky! It’s really easy for a green horse to get rushy unbalanced rhythm at a faster trot or canter, or to get a slightly off beat at a slower trot or canter (lateral trot, 4 beat canter).

What do you mean by a “lateral trot?” Do you mean pacing?

The rhythm of the trot is 2 beats, so even if a horse is pacing, there are 2 beats so it’s not a rhythm problem, the horse just isn’t trotting

Now, if the diagonal pairs are disjointed, then you have a rhythm problem.

[Scribbler]

Not exactly pacing. But yes, slightly disjointed. Definitely it’s a rhythm thing. In nongaited horses that are tense or green.