Sneeze Atkinson dressage training

12/06/2025

This an exercise I like to use….as some of you will know!

Training Tip Tuesday. Shoulder ins with a figure 8. This challenging little exercise really tests the rider's ability to be accurate. As always, the shoulder in really helps the horse to bend around the inside leg and increase the carrying capacity of the inside hind, while improve the shoulder mobility of the inside front leg.

When ridden correctly, the horse will be properly connected to the outside rein. The use of the Figure 8 in the middle helps the rider to prepare the horse for the new shoulder in because the bend of the horse should remain the same when riding the volte and the shoulder in. The rider can add the volte in the corner prior to beginning the shoulder in if needed to help prepare the horse for the appropriate bend to initiate the shoulder in.

Be careful not to allow the horse to deviate from the line of travel or merely fall through the outside shoulder. Remember, your head and shoulders should be in alignment with the horse's head and shoulders - otherwise you may cause the horse to become unbalanced. The inside rein does not bring the shoulders off the track. If you overuse the inside rein in this exercise, you will block the inside hind leg, cause the horse to fall through the outside shoulder and create tension in the neck and back.

If you want to add variety and see the result of the inside hindleg engagement, you can also add a lengthening down the long side. This will help you to see how the shoulder in helps increase the horse's impulsion and carrying capacity. You may also find that the horse lifts the shoulders more willingly in this lengthening because of the engagement created in the shoulder in.

For those with horses that are not quite doing shoulder in yet, you might thinking about riding a 10 meter volte in the corner and riding a little shoulder fore out of the volte. You will ride a full 10 meter of the rail and the continue the 10 meter on to the centerline. Think that you are going to continue the circle back to the rail, but instead apply the inside leg and outside rein to encourage the horse to travel down the centerline for a few strides. Then straighten the horse and begin the figure 8 sequence at X before trying a few steps of shoulder fore in the new direction.

08/05/2025

Dressage is not a sport of spectators.
It’s a discipline of solitude.

You can be surrounded by trainers, riders, judges, and still, you're alone.
Alone with your thoughts.
Alone with your horse.
Alone with every choice you've ever made in the saddle.

Most people quit dressage because they expect progress to feel like applause.
But here, progress feels like stillness.
Like tension giving way.
Like a breath you didn’t realize you were holding… finally let go.

The horse doesn’t care who’s watching.
And eventually, neither do you.

09/04/2025

Haha! Love Emily Cole Illustrations.

More snacks please!

©️Emily Cole Illustrations

07/12/2024

Keep safe everyone. Take care with your horses 🪁🪁🫣💨

29/11/2024

Another stretchy flexi cob. Meet Bendy Brian showing his Pilates moves after his lesson today! 🥰

19/10/2024

The days coaching started like this. Thank you to those who still had their lesson! 💧

09/09/2024

🐴 DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS: To maintain your balance ... 🐴

Imagine that your upper body is like a broomstick and your horse is a hand trying to balance it. If your body (the broomstick) starts to tip, your hand (horse) will automatically move underneath to keep it up. You cannot lean right and expect your horse to go left.
~ Great Britain Olympic gold and silver medalist Laura Tomlinson

18/08/2024

Carl Hester tells us:
“Self-carriage is really easy to see. It’s that tension into the hand that we were talking about with Valegro, the first place you see it is through the whole of the top line of the horse. The best thing you can do for self-carriage is the give and re-take of the reins. It is amazing how you forget to do that when you ride on your own. That constant giving the hand, taking, giving, taking, making sure that the outline is stable, the mouth is soft. You only have to look at the mouth to know how it is working, the horse is carrying its own head and neck. People that ride on their own, it can be something that they forget they are doing, people put in too much power and that’s why they find self-carriage difficult, and I always think you’ve got to create balance and then put power in, that way around.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/02/balance-self-carriage-and-the-importance-of-rider-position/

26/07/2024

I’m a lucky coach. Not only do I get to spend all day in the beautiful countryside and interact with my favourite animal 🐴🐎 - I get to coach lovely people. All my clients are dedicated and have time and patience for their horses but particularly two clients this morning, (you know who you are) really have listened to their horses and reaped the rewards today. Then I got to ride the lovely Ceilo this afternoon. 😊🐴Thanks to you all! 👏

25/06/2024

Made me laugh! 😂

Never 👎 😂

29/01/2024

Ceillo and Lorain nailing the very useful, turn about the forehand to leg yield exercise.

23/01/2024

Take care today folks, it’s a bit windy🌪but on the plus side it’s getting lighter! Yay! 😃