What to expect from a dressage lesson?

[RockingJ]

I am sure the answer is: it depends. But, looking for a bit of perspective.

I don’t have a horse. I’ve ridden off and on most of my life, and I’ve been riding regularly (1-2x/week) for the past several months. Dressage is not my main thing. I take dressage lessons occasionally (2x/month) for a variety of reasons, but I’m beginning to wonder if it’s worth it for me, if I am really benefiting in any way. I pay 3x as much for dressage lessons, which it’s not really about the money, but do I feel like what I’m getting actually is that valuable? Since the beginning, I’ve never felt like, OMG, dressage is the best ever! However, I’ve tried to stick with it in the hopes that something would click.

My struggle is that dressage lessons are about an hour of doing the same thing, over and over again. I get off the horse feeling frustrated. Admittedly, there is a small level of satisfaction, like I finally accomplished a difficult thing (for me) for two minutes!

On the one hand, I get it. I understand if I don’t have a good foundation, there’s no point. But in my non-dressage world, I ride interesting and challenging horses. I have fun.

I get miles in the saddle, but they aren’t necessarily “dressage” miles. Every lesson, I feel like I’m starting over at square one. I hope that I’m going to work on something different, but, nope. My instructor is fabulous…just maybe not for me.

I know there is no “typical” lesson, but what is supposed to be happening? What do you expect for $100 lesson?

[piedmontfields]

Without knowing more, my sense is that this is more a question about whether this instructor/trainer dressage experience is worth it for you. Even fabulous instructors are sometimes just not a match for everyone.

However, you may simply just prefer other disciplines and activities with horses. To make a crass generalization, I would say that dressage learning is more appealing to analytic, detailed oriented people. People who like excitement, changing conditions, and rolling with the punches of changes often prefer another discipline. Dressage progress tends to be much more subtle for riders to recognize than say jumping progress.

[Willesdon]

Doing the same thing for hours and getting nowhere just says “trainer is ignorant”. Try somewhere else.

Dressage has light bulb moments when suddenly you and horse are flying together in a few moments of complete harmony - that is when dressage is completely worth it and why one puts up with the hard slog to get there.

[MissAriel]

For $100 - or even $20 - you should be feeling like you are making progress, or at least having fun. You really never should be getting off feeling frustrated. You may be right - this instructor may not be the right fit for you.

Are you riding with another instructor? Maybe s/he can recommend a different dressage instructor, who may be a better fit for you, teaching style-wise. It may be tough to go back and forth between two instructors with different approaches.

Otherwise, I recommend seeing what other options are out there. Watch a lesson if possible with each prospective instructor to get a feel for how they teach. Look for someone with success teaching students at your level. Talk to some students if possible.

If you are riding on your own in between lessons, are you working on the concepts you practice in your lessons? Can you ask your instructor for “homework” to practice?

If you can give us a bit more information about your riding - are your other rides hunter/jumper/western/… what level you are riding…what types of things you are working on during your dressage lessons… it may elicit more helpful replies.

[scruffy_the_cat]

Some of it depends on what you are hoping to get out of your dressage lessons. Better jump rounds? Better scores at horse trials? Or are you just doing the lessons because you feel like you need to “eat your Wheaties”? If you are doing the lessons because you think it’s the riding equivalent of health food, you might as well stop now because there’s no point- your head isn’t in the right place and why waste your money?

If you are doing the lessons to improve some other aspect of your riding, then better communication needs to happen. If your instructor isn’t explaining how the things you are doing during your lessons are relevant to your riding goals, then it’s time for a serious conversation or another instructor.

[RockingJ]

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry, I should have included a few more details. I don’t consider myself an advanced rider, but I think solid intermediate equestrian skills. I mainly ride Saddlebreds, so there’s some things I can’t practice (like the whole on-the-bit thing because that’s just too different).

In the dressage lessons, I haven’t progressed past trotting 20m circles and putting the horse on the bit. I am feeling like I either need to commit more fully to dressage, or make the decision that I’m just not going to get there and be okay with that.

What I’ve liked is gaining a better understanding of how a horse moves and why and how what I do affects that. My horsemanship has benefited.

[scruffy_the_cat]

I think if you’re in the saddleseat world you might as well come to terms with the fact that dressage is the polar opposite to that and save your money. You can always change your mind later!

[Rerider54]

It depends… you know that.

I started with with my current instructor before I had my own horse. She had(at that time) several horses that she was able to use for lessons. Each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Each lesson we worked on me and then did a couple ‘fun’ things. One horse had OBVIOUS collection as a strength, especially in trot all the way to piaffe. Another had her flying changes, another was a gem at lateral work in trot. I even got to ride my instructors personal horse who was the most sensitive and well trained horse I have ever sat on. Now that I have my own horse we can harken back to those lessons and I can apply what those horses taught me.

So while it is a good idea to ‘try’ dressage and I applaud you for trying, maybe the instructor is not right for you at this time. Not having the right horses that can teach you what it feels like would mean that most instructors would be at a disadvantage. Even when I got my own horse we worked on really boring and basic stuff for a long time. We wanted the basics to be solid. Plus my mare needed to build muscle as she was sort of a rescue horse and then had a pasture accident. Luckily my instructor knew lots of things we could do at the walk, then trot, and finally canter while we worked up to the ‘fun’ stuff. Even so, it seemed like we were doing almost the same thing for months. I had people tell me to find another instructor and I would advance faster. I knew that my instructor had made several GP horses and that when we were ready… now we are working Second Level stuff and when we can explain it to my mare she does stuff with relaxation and energy, always happy, no tension. But I probably wouldn’t be with the same person if I hadn’t seen progress before I had my own horse.

[emipou]

I pay $65 a lesson for instruction from a GP level trainer. And they give me input on many things from position to aids, to training the horse, to ‘new tools for my toolbelt’, etc etc.

If you aren’t taking something useful away from your instructor most of the time (granted, not all lessons will be these great eye-openers, but especially if you don’t ride very consistently, they should be something most of the time), then I would question the instruction. An instructor could be a great rider, or even a great instructor for someone else, but just not for you.

For $100/lesson, I would expect a lot of very useful feedback. ESPECIALLY since you aren’t a regular.

[exploding_pony]

If you are taking 2 lessons a month, but only riding 1-2 times a week, you aren’t going to make a ton of quick progress.

Dressage might just not be a good fit or your trainer might not be a good fit, but if you only ride a couple of times in between lessons and the lessons are fairly infrequent, you probably aren’t going to have a great leap in progress.

[Scribbler]

@scruffy the cat

I think if you’re in the saddleseat world you might as well come to terms with the fact that dressage is the polar opposite to that and save your money. You can always change your mind later!

Worth thinking about this.

If you can’t practice the technique outside of lessons and need to ride in a different style otherwise, especially one that goes counter to dressage, then you won’t make much progress.

[alibi_18]

@emipou

For $100/lesson, I would expect a lot of very useful feedback. ESPECIALLY since you aren’t a regular.

To paraphrase what you said, it also depends on the OP’s ability to understand and convey all the useful feedback as well.

Boring lessons are subjectives.
I wouldn’t let a beginner do a full hour walk lesson because it would be depressing in no time, but I’ve done some walk lessons with my trainer because that’s what I needed to improve my canter pirouettes and tempis.

Lessons must be adapted to be fun, but what is fun?

Dressage is boring, hard and frustrating up until the first building blocks come into place. Then it builds a plateau… and the frustrations and anger start again!!! ahahah

OP, what is it that you want from these lessons?

I would suggest you have a franc discussions about your goals and feelings with your trainer.

It makes no sense to spend 100$/hr for something you don’t enjoy.

Have you tried other disciplines like jumping or reining?

[mvp]

@RockingJ

Thanks for the feedback. Sorry, I should have included a few more details. I don’t consider myself an advanced rider, but I think solid intermediate equestrian skills. I mainly ride Saddlebreds, so there’s some things I can’t practice (like the whole on-the-bit thing because that’s just too different).

In the dressage lessons, I haven’t progressed past trotting 20m circles and putting the horse on the bit. I am feeling like I either need to commit more fully to dressage, or make the decision that I’m just not going to get there and be okay with that.

What I’ve liked is gaining a better understanding of how a horse moves and why and how what I do affects that. My horsemanship has benefited.

You are getting good things from dressage… but that’s like taking lessons at being an electrician. When you have something to re-wire, you’ll be way into it. Without that? Meh, interesting but the finer points of this-n-than on a 20 meter circle for $3+/minute won’t seem like fun or fiscally awesome.

The things one needs to do dressage:

1. It’s got to be a choice. You have to want it because “progress” can feel tiny most of the time.
2. It’s usually seems the most worthwhile to the horseman who has some skills and experience, like you, but who has one horse to ride consistently. IMO, this kind of riding entails a long process of training the those and also refining the relationship between horse and rider.
3. That said, dressage becomes great when you start to see how the biomechanics of horses work and you start to want a better, lighter ride. This happened to me and that’s what keeps me coming back. I have seen Better and now I want more of that.

[RockingJ]

This is helpful!

I want to develop a stronger seat and a better feel, so I can have the ability to get on any horse and have a decent ride, and I was thinking dressage might give me more tools (also, lesson options and finding the right barn to help me achieve the next level of riding without my own horse was a bit of a struggle in my area).

For example, during one lesson, we had side reins on the horse so I could focus on something else, and then the side reins came off. The horse immediately put his head up, and my instructor was like, he knows you don’t know how to do this. I want that sort of thing to happen less! How does the horse know! (Nothing that I could tell changed about my hands or contact, But, I have always struggled with what to do with my hands and generally just throw away the reins…)

After that particular ride, I was frustrated, but I did immediately want ride again and try to figure it out. But then it quickly becomes a slog. If I could ride every day, I think it might be different, but having limited time to ride, I want to feel like I am getting the most out of it.

[Mondo]

What scruffy said, times 2. Had you said you ride western, h/j or just about anything else, my advice to you would have been different. But saddleseat really is the opposite of dressage. You can’t be asking your Saddlebred to come over his topline and onto the bit. They aren’t bad at dressage at all, I’ve trained and ridden a number of saddlers for dressage, but if they start out in saddleseat, it’s a loooong row to hoe to get them to come around to dressage. Also, conformationally, they tend to be long backed, which makes it very difficult for them to really get those hind legs under.

So - while you are not trying to retrain your Saddlebred, you are asking your body and aids to completely retrain themselves every single time you take a dressage lesson. You are used to your horse going in what dressage riders would consider an upside down frame. You are for all intents and purposes behind the horse’s motion in the trot. Your legs are away from the horse’s sides, essentially braced in the stirrups. I think you are being pretty hard on yourself trying to “get” dressage when you are unable to practice outside of lessons, and in fact, your saddle time outside of lessons is reinforcing “incorrect” riding (it’s incorrect for dressage, not saying you ride wrong).

So, while we are fond of saying that dressage is the foundation for all styles of riding, I think saddleseat may actually be the exception. You are most likely not going to improve things with your Saddlebred by taking dressage lessons. I would suggest you do one or the other.

This doesn’t sound as nicely as I intend it, so please don’t take it wrong. I wish you the best of luck, whatever you do.

[joiedevie99]

Learning dressage at the most basic level can be frustrating for people when all the cards are stacked in their favor. You have a few extra challenges: only riding it once every 2 weeks, and riding in an inconsistent style in between.

Might a different trainer be worth a try, definitely. But I think you will continue to feel frustrated unless you can devote a greater amount of time to it (whether that is once or twice a week on an ongoing basis, or 5 days a week for 2 weeks to get over the initial hump and see if you want to continue).

[Airfern]

@RockingJ

This is helpful!
For example, during one lesson, we had side reins on the horse so I could focus on something else, and then the side reins came off. The horse immediately put his head up, and my instructor was like, he knows you don’t know how to do this. I want that sort of thing to happen less! .

If you are lessoning in side reins, your probably working on your seat and leg aids. which are different than the seat and legs used in saddle seat. I wouldn’t worry about the horses head popping up once the side reins are taken off, as your working on your seat, not collection per se. Building your core to half halt , move your hips with the horses movements, using your movements to adjust the horses tempo and using legs as well as seat to move the horse’s shoulder and haunches is what the “endless repetition” is about. Its gonna take a while to get that. You still have to learn the hands and reins because dressage is different than saddle seat as far as where they are placed.

The fact that the trainer was upset that the head popped up makes me think that they are expecting you to learn more than the seat lesson they were teaching. As others said, find a new trainer for a while.

Keep in mind that in dressage we are always learning, once you learn and become competent in one aspect of your riding your asked to learn another. No one gets it right away. It takes years to master.

[alibi_18]

@Airfern

The fact that the trainer was upset the head popped up makes me think that they are expecting you to learn more than the seat lesson they were teaching. As others said, find a new trainer for a while.

?? The trainer wasn’t upset at all.

The OP was.

I want that sort of thing to happen less!
and
I was frustrated
are words from the OP, not her trainer.

[tbchick84]

For $100 dollars, I expect to have a better moving horse than I started with in the lesson. I expect to understand why I used the outside rein to do X, not just be told “more outside rein”. I expect to be able to walk away from the lesson knowing what I need to work on and how to accomplish it without constant eyes on the ground.

[Airfern]

@alibi_18

?? The trainer wasn’t upset at all.

The OP was.

and are words from the OP, not her trainer.

Thanks for the clarification Alibi, perhaps I should have my morning coffee before I respond to posts:)
Sorry for any negative trainer comments.