Most dressage riders who’ve read any of the training manuals used by competition organizations (like USDF, FEI, or the German Federation) are familiar with the training pyramid. Rhythm, suppleness (formerly rhythm), contact, impulsion, straightness, and collection make up the six levels of the pyramid. But why are these in the order they are? What’s the [...]
Balance is a frequently discussed topic in dressage (and even much of riding in general), but a lot of people struggle with what it actually means for everyday riding. After all, a horse has four legs; they should be naturally better balanced than humans, right? However, horses can struggle with their balance and develop a [...]
We need air to breathe, and yet, when we get on a horse, we often forget to breathe. Whether this comes from nerves, concentration, or muscular effort, it can cause a lot of problems. At best, we can become tense, at worst, we can risk getting dizzy. But how we breathe makes a difference. Shallow breaths [...]
Classical riding scholars and masters frequently repeat that the art is based on only natural movements, but is that true? Where do we see horses perform a half-pass or shoulder-in in nature? Or airs above the ground? Surely these are just things that humans have fabricated? The fascinating thing is all of the classical exercises [...]
Dressage tends to attract a certain kind of person: detail-oriented, introspective, and always pursuing a certain ideal. Thanks to this nature, dressage as an art can reach incredible highs. However, it can also be a downfall. It is all too easy to forget the silent partner's feelings and try to pick at them until they [...]
Head tossing is one of the most frustrating challenges we encounter, not just in dressage but in any discipline, and unfortunately, the actual root of the issue is not even near where we see the problem. For many people, that can be frustrating at the least to try to work with. However, once you understand [...]
Last post's topic focused on lightness, which is a feeling we get as well as a goal we aim for in our training. Most people equate this to self-carriage as well, but I like to think that lightness is the response to the rider while self-carriage is what the horse does to maintain its posture [...]
The classical riding community loves the term "lightness," and the term is used often when talking about a horse that has been well trained or as part of the pursuit within training. Others scoff at the term as being a misnomer or even being deceptive, as horses "should have" contact when truly on the bit, [...]
Compassion in riding can be challenging to cultivate. After all, the horse is an entirely different species with a different way of thinking. When is the horse misbehaving, and when is there something blocking the horse? This is why it is important to learn about muscle physiology and to use those ideas to help guide [...]
