As a green dressage rider with a green dressage horse who is a chronic bulger, this was pretty spot on for me. I didn’t notice how frequently she bulged when all I did was ride on the rail. Once we started doing figures off the rail, it became very, very apparent.
Some things that helped us: never riding on the rail, turns on the haunches/forehand, square turns and squares, focusing on straightness (off the rail), counterbending. I also sometimes will use a whip on her shoulder (resting it there or light tap) if she really does not respond. While obvious, dropping the focus on bend—and the inside rein—was my lightbulb moment because you can’t bend properly if you aren’t straight, and using the inside rein on a horse bulging their outside shoulder just encourages more bulging.
I have an end of the arena that is partially open. My 5yo loooooves to bulge out there. Great way to highlight my deficiencies with the outside aids, and of course the instinctive reaction is to use the inside rein to pull her back in. Provided the horse understands what the outside aids actually mean, I have found with my mare that pre empting the spot where she bulges has a much more successful outcome than trying to correct once it happens.
Things that have helped us include lots of riding OFF the rail. Can you keep him in a straight line say 1m off the rail the whole way down the longside? Ride lots of figures. Squares as opposed to circles are fantastic. Come off the rail at a random point and do a 15m circle. If he likes to bulge, I guarantee you’ ll a) come off the rail several strides further down than you intended and b) the circle will end up much closer to 20m than 15. Don’t forget your outside leg and seat. Leg yield spirals in and out on the circle. Leg yield away from the wall to the quarter line (this one really gets them thinking!). If horse has shoulder in, shoulder in on the quarter line instead of the rail.
Plus side of the bulging showing up my deficiencies…the improvements are translating over to my older horse. She let me “get away” with it, but fixing up my outside rein has made a noticeable improvement with her too.
We don’t have a horse capable of going into the outside rein here because the horse isn’t straight yet. We know the horse isn’t straight because he’s bulging the shoulder. So we don’t have a dressage “halfhalt”, we have a green horse being rude and not accepting the aids, so we need a bocking halfhalt with the outside aidS, which is plural because we need to back up the outside rein blocking action with whip on the shoulder and outside leg at the girth. Yes, your outside rein is going to be really helpful but you’re going to use it as a blocking aid combined with whip tapping on the shoulder and leg at the girth.
Also, you need to make sure you’re not collapsing on your inside in your efforts to pull and putting all your weight outside, which means go that direction.
A sharp tug open and out on your inside rein is helpful in redirecting in the direction you want to go too.
Check your left leg and make sure it’s not in a chair seat too.
I just wanted to say that what we said upthread about the outside rein being held in one spot, with one poster saying using a grab strap and me saying keeping outside shoulder and elbow still, that is only in trot. In walk and canter your elbows have to follow the horse’s head without throwing the rein away. It is a balance.
Some one said we give and take the inside rein, that is incorrect terminology for dressage. You give the inside rein and return to where it was, be very careful not to take more rein. Also there is no pulling or tugging which has all been said in this thread.
It takes 2 to pull. The horse can not pull unless you are pulling.
If the horse is bulging or falling out of the arena, think of it this way. You have 6 gates. 2 seat bones, 2 legs and 2 reins. You want to open the gates the way you want to go, but you also have to close the gates the way you don’t want to go.
Another thing is if there was a concrete wall next to you there is no way you would let your knee hit it. You would do everything in your power not to hit it. So ride as if you have 2 concrete walls running in front of you with only enough room for your knees. Keep your knees safe.
My mare is not one to give anything for free, so-to-speak. She suddenly started bulging through the outside shoulder on my circles, first one way and then began both ways. I could still do all of my lateral work, but it was just these circles I was struggling big time. It didn’t matter if I had spurs or my whip on the outside.
My coach rectified it by pointing out that I was not turning my upper body at all. I have a bad back (which has been getting worse) and I guess I was trying to protect myself and becoming a block of wood. I remember to do it now by thinking of bringing my inside elbow into my body - that works for me at least.
Just make sure you have someone on the ground that can point out positional issues, if it is something like that.
It is also common to do this specifically to raise the issue in the original post - by removing the corners you find holes in the training that may not be as obvious when you have the full arena set-up. We often have missing rails down our long sides and on our short sides - it makes it easier for the tractor and for schooling especially when busy (someone can quickly leg-yield outside the arena to allow another horse to stay on their line). And it forces you to ride more accurately.
Thank you! What specifically do I do with the outside rein when I apply it (in conjunction with all of my other aids)? I do understand not to pull it back. If I keep my outside elbow at my side and turn my torso in the direction I want to go, is that using the outside rein or is there something else i need to do with it? Thank you again!
Not just your upper body, but your pelvis, as well. In my very first dressage lesson, umpteen years ago, the instructor said, “Turn with your zipper, and turn with both hands.” These words have stood me in good stead for a long time.
What a question, and sorry for the length but there is a lot of understanding that is behind that question. A lot.
When you look where you are going, you turn your head, this turns your shoulders, your torso, your pelvis and affects your seat. You horse can feel a fly on its side. It does not need a harsher aide than that. It can feel you breathe. It can feel your body turn and the horse will turn with no reins from you turning your head. This is not using your outside rein.
You will end up where you look. Look down to end up on the ground!
Your head should be up so you are looking at the horizon, not the horse’s head, not the ground in front of you and that means eyes as well. No trying to lift your head and look down. Look up.
When you are circling on a 20m circle, you ‘look’ 15 m in front of you, you think about 20m in front of you.
If you are going down the long side and you are going to turn on to the centreline, you turn your head and look at A or C while you are still on the longside.
The reins work as a pair and also work independently. The horse must trust the bit. In transitions in the gait, the horse must go forward in the gait without you throwing the reins away, however at the same time the horse must never hit the bit because you have not given enough, without giving. I know that doesn’t make sense, however this is a communication between you and the horse and no one else.
Close your eyes and think of a metal bit being hit on the bridge of your nose. OUCH! This is the responsibility of every rider. You wield an awesome power, that can cause pain - use it for good. You want the horse to trust the bit and to not be scared or worried about it.
So in general the reins are the same length, they hold and the inside rein gives and the reins never pull back, in the same vein, never fall off - if the horse is doing something that means that will happen - all bets are off and you do what you need to to stay on. Yank that head up if you need to.
Horses learn from a release of pressure. If the horse pulls and you give, voila you have taught him to pull. This is what people think they need to do to have soft hands. Nope. That does not work.
Instead we hold, not pull, and we release when the horse gives, voila you have taught the horse to give.
In dressage you always think, do and write, seat then legs then reins, the reins are never used first.
Now this is entering very dangerous territory, if the horse does not understand that giving means a release, then you are using EXACTLY.the. same. aides to teach a horse to rear, which as we all know can lead to the death or injury of a rider. This teaching has to be done with a sympathetic rider.
I have never had a horse rear, but have known of instructor’s with broken legs etc. They tried to rush it. It doesn’t work like that. It is the experienced sailor who drowns. Never forget this as there will be many horses in your future.
I am sorry to harp on this, however I have seen this happen twice in my lifetime and you will never experience anything scarier. The first time 2 kids swapped ponies after ponyclub to ride home. One kid was an experienced rider one was not. The inexperienced kid got on the experienced horse and kicked and held the reins. The pony rushed forward, hit the bit, had nowhere to go but up, overbalanced and landed on and killed the child. This divided the whole community. The inexperienced parents and riders wanted the pony put down. The experienced understood it was not the pony’s fault.
The second time was at an instructor’s school - so student instructor’s teaching lessons to student instructors, so experienced riders. One of the girls horses was lame so she was given a green mare out of a paddock to ride.
This mare was learning so quickly. She was a lovely mare. I was actually riding the instructor’s horse. I was the leader. We were in trot and the instructor called halt. I halted and then saw the look of absolute horror on the instructor’s face. I am haunted by that look. I don’t know why, maybe because I was on a strange horse, but you have never seen anyone dismount so fast in your life. I dismounted and turned to see the mare at the top of the rear and teetering and starting to overbalance backwards.
Luckily she landed on her rump and this meant she went a bit sideways and she missed landing on the rider. The rider did sit up, she was totally grey and for a long time she sat shaking, with a noise coming out of her mouth. AHHHHHHH.
She lived to tell the tale. The mare had learned so quickly that when the instructor said and halt, the mare halted before the rider asked for halt. Instead of praising the horse for being so clever, the rider felt angered and kicked the mare in punishment. The mare shot forward out of surprise, hit the bit and had nowhere to go but up.
If the horse does not understand - then legs mean go. Reins mean turn or stop. You NEVER use the legs and reins at the same time. If you do, this leads to a confused horse. It is not a naughty horse who bucks, rears, spins and/or bolts, it is a confused horse who bucks, rears, spins and/or bolts.
When I say more outside rein that means hold it stronger, more elbow by your side, add your knee if you have to, your outside thigh, your calf and if you need to your heel, and remember of course that your seat and inside leg are always on. It is a balance like the balance of the clutch and the acceleror holding a car, which I guess I will have to find another analogy as most young riders nowadays have only driven automatic cars.
In trot the outside rein is still, we give with the inside rein, we give both reins in long and low. The inside leg puts the horse in the outside rein. The outside aids indicate the size of the circle, the more outside rein the smaller the circle and remember that a turn is a quarter of a circle. When you are on the outside track of an arena with a wall, the wall adds outside aides without you knowing. You will find you might be drifting if you don’t add more outside aides, without the wall.
If you have your inside leg to outside rein out of balance it won’t work. Too little outside rein, they will turn out, too much outside rein, you will find the horse is in shoulder in and no longer straight.
In walk and canter you have to do all the above and follow the horses head as well. If you don’t you could end up with a lateral walk and a 4 beat canter.
Take a pair of reins and give them to someone, they are the horse, you are the rider. The horse tries to pull and pull and pull, up, down, sideways and they are to pull hard. Really hard. Then they must suddenly give.
You, the rider, you must stand still, use your stomach muscles, hold that rein. Don’t let the horse pull your hand forward or out of position. When the horse suddenly gives, your hands should stay still and the rein should slacken. Not have the rider go backwards 4 steps. This is a skill. It has to be learned, it is not natural.
… and also remember
The art of learning how to use the reins is to learn how not to use the reins.
Thank you for this very thoughtful explanation. I will really take note of it, and I appreciate the warning about not using the reins in such a way that might lead to rearing.
Riding a circle isn’t quite the same as riding a corner. I agree that riding a four point shape makes for a better circle but the number of people who habitually cut off corners and don’t use them is surprising to me. If I’m riding a 20 m circle I’m riding A to V to X to P to A. I have to ride into the corner to reach K. At least, I think I’ve got my points right… Who invented these damned letters? Let’s just go out for a hack and a hoon around.
