Posted on Sunday, 7th August 2011 by admin
There’s a tendency among dressage riders to ride a test repeatedly in an effort to perfect it for the show ring. There are two problems with this approach that many riders run into at some point in their training.
First, your horse knows what’s coming next and goes on autopilot. Instead of listening to you, he automatically starts doing what he knows is coming next. The problem is that you lose the communication between the two of you that is the essence of dressage. Second, your horse gets bored. He’s tired of doing the same old thing and he acts up to entertain himself.
How can these problems be avoided? Instead of riding the test from start to finish every time you ride, work on a couple of the movements in isolation. You could work on trot-canter transitions for a few minutes and then do some lateral work. Your horse won’t know what’s coming next and he’ll have to tune in to you. To fight boredom, get out of the arena. Hack out every now and then for a change of scenery.
Everyone wants a happy horse who loves his work. Mixing up your training regimen can help achieve this!
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