The rider’s hands are holding the other end. That way the rider begins to understand the elastic feel the horse needs for inviting contact. You also hold the reins as backup in case one or both of the bungees, slip off the bit.
Yes, using side reins gives the horse the chance to find his balance with contact on, on his own without your weight and without your inconsistencies. It gives him a chance to develop the strength to hold contact, and get strong. Its very like yoga. 10 minues each way to start, not too much.
And yes, you need to ride.every.stride in the begining. Your horse will translate what he learns on the longe in side reins to you on his back, so you will really move forward incorporating the correct ground work.
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I had a student try this method a few days ago and it worked so well! I hooked some rubber bungees to a second set of reins; had her knot the original reins on the neck and leave them there (for safety). She rode with the second set of reins, bungees “s” clipped to the bit rings…if she let her reins flop, the bungee would slip off. Even if it didn’t slip off, the rein-end of the bungee would bounce up and down very noticeably (slight annoyance to the horse, but probably the same as loopy-tight-loopy-tight contact!) and it reminded her to shorten the reins and pick up connection with her elbows.
The bungees taught her that what she “thought” was contact was too light an ineffective, and though this bungee contact felt “too strong” to her initially, her sensitive horse was really happy to have a consistent feel. He was much more relaxed and accepting with her aids, that could happen with a squeeze of the fist, instead of “pick up the rein, gather slack, bump the bit” which makes the timing of the rein aid less effective and actually more harsh than a simple closing her fingers with a steady feel.
I had never heard of this bungee trick, but I’m a big fan! The rubber bungees I used (meant for tarps) are not super stretchy, unlike the colorful elastic cord bungees, so the rubber did not create unintentional excessive pulling force. The S-hooks are a little unsafe (I could see it clipping a lip, or an eye if it popped loose) but for a short session with supervision I felt it was worth the risk. I would not use it every day, or for a whole ride, but 5-10 minutes with it is quite effective to give a novice rider the right idea.
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Watching videos of world cup 2023 has been a sad and cringy experience for me. Horses braced in their curb rein, hollow in the back. front legs flopping out front like a hackney…
I love dressage when it involves a self expressive horse, and a beautiful connection between horse and rider. But geeze, so much of the upper level competition is not my ideal for me or for my horses, and i aspire not to what i see. Sadly, when big money and big egos become involved in animal sports, it’s the animals who draw the short straw.
So, yeah…heads cranked in. i realize it’s just a snapshot in time, but i could take probably a hundred of this horse/this rider and show something similar. And this team, unfortunately is not the only…not the only by far.
Poll is the highest point. Nose is slightly above the vertical. You can see that the withers are lifted.
Is this photo supposed to illustrate what you see as a problem?
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The hollow back, dropped abs, and hind legs out behind is a problem for me in this photo, but it’s impossible to judge what’s actually happening in a photo frame that is likely 1/16 of a second or less. If the back momentarily hollows for a fraction of a second on the downbeat, we wouldn’t see it with the naked eye. Much better to critique from video IMO for something like this.
And I agree with you that this photo doesn’t show a horse with the “neck cranked.”
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yes. and poll is not the highest point. Curb rein is tight. He’s cranked so tight in the throatlatch i can almost hear him rasp his breath. Back is hollow and hind lags behind. Front leg action is not graceful, but exaggerated and like a saddleseat show horse. And unfortunately, this style of dressage is more the norm than not.
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That’s a closed throatlatch to you?
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is that poll higher than the neck’s crest to you?
The poll is assessed with respect to the cervical vertebrae not the crest.
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Agreed. Particularly with a stallion.
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still looks like poll is below
and overall, this looks like an uncomfortable horse. It makes me sad to see.
I’m sorry but I think most of this is in your imagination.
There are things that I could find fault with here, as @BigMama1 pointed out, but it’s not with the horse’s head and neck.
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hollow back? out behind? those are also problems i mentioned. How about that front hackney knee action… How is that graceful and elegant? I got out of saddle seat because of the unnaturalness of it all, and the training methods behind that action. In theory i do find dressage elegant and a great vehicle to gain a partnership with a horse, but this?.. THIS is not lovely. And the higher up the rungs the class is, the more i see this fashionable look, this presentation.
Sounds like dressage is not your discipline. I’ve watched some videos from the World Cup 2023 and saw some lovely rides.
De gustibus non est disputandum, as they say.
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Not a lot of the styles of riding i am seeing in competitive dressage, that’s for sure! There is more than one route to take you know. Real dressage seems very valuable to me, for me and my horses, though. I believe in a beautiful connection and cooperation and conversation between horse and rider. A two-way street.
i can’t find it now, but i’ll keep looking… at FEI, i think it was Amelia Newcomb…a demo ride. Quite an ugly thing to me when a horse isn’t given respect. And isn’t she a big deal to dressage riders? Humane treatment should be first and foremost…and i just don’t think it is when huge money and huge egos are involved.
There is cowboy-type person locally who specializes in starting young horses. I attended a clinic with him that was enlightening, mostly because I tend to be skeptical of cowboying. His approach was very gentle and the horses responded accordingly.
Regarding contact, one of the participants was riding a lovely moving horse and struggling with contact. The horse was quite fussy and going head-high. The cowboy got on and used the inside rein like a side rein, holding the rein low and toward his knee. The outside rein stayed at the withers with a steady contact. The horse accepted the contact and went forward with his back engaged. It was lovely. I’ve used this technique from time to time on my horse, who is really fussy with the contact. It’s a nice tool to have.
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where was that? Not Omaha
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The CREST is not the VERTEBRA. Poll highest point should disregard a stallions cresty neck.
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Amelia was not a competitor at Omaha.
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