Sneeze Atkinson dressage training

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! 😃

22/11/2023

21/11/2023

Interesting article!

22/10/2023

A wet day coaching yesterday. Thanks to all my clients who braved the weather! Melvin learning his half pass yesterday…one of the dry bits! 😂💧

19/09/2023

💨💧With todays weather being not great for horsing around - to remind us, hopefully in a couple of days we can get back to riding in the ☀️ here’s the lovely Barney, who’s 17yrs old, having a schooling session on a calm sunny evening last week ☀️😅

31/08/2023

At some point, if someone rides numerous horses, along will come one who has either been draw-reined or hauled on to the point that the horse curls behind the vertical and pretty much goes there as its default position.

There’s a truism that it is much easier to mess up a horse’s mouth than it is to repair it, so the best way, obviously, is to never create the behind-the-bit situation, but that is not the issue once it has been established.

Sometimes a bitless bridle or a mild hackamore will help, if the tension is in the actual mouth, and the horse has learned to fear the bit. Sometimes lots of walking on a long or loose rein will help reestablish trust. But sometimes that curling under has become so ingrained that it never entirely goes away.

Behind the bit is usually posture created by humans. Many good trainers are super careful about “placing the head” and similar concepts, because they would rather have the horse above the bit than behind the bit.

The idea being that it is so much easier to carefully and gradually get a horse to soften in its head and neck and poll posture than it is to undo the tendency to curl once it has been implanted by bad riding.

And yet, despite that, we see and hear so much “stuff” about head set, and there is so much tack, so many bits designed to “place” the head.

Try to “unplace” an over-flexed horse to understand how much risk strong hands and the wrong equipment can produce, and how hard it is to repair the damage.

22/07/2023

Soggy day coaching today! 💦💦 even soggier riders but thumbs up for their dedication in the pouring rain! 🤩🐎

05/07/2023

Great explanation. 🐎

21/05/2023

Another ‘Black Beauty’ from yesterday. Remember stretchy, flexy, reach along way for your carrot guy - Buddy. His carrot stretches paying off. 🥕🐎

20/05/2023

Lovely day coaching in Herts. Got to school the lovely Mable, who’s getting back to her schooling after an injury. 🐎☀️

07/05/2023

Suppleness through relaxation and trust - spot on! 👇

We cannot make a horse more supple…

A huge majority of new clients want me to assist them in improving the suppleness of their horses. Conversely, most of them actually need help with stability and alignment, but the perception is that their horse lacks suppleness.

The thing is though, I can’t make your horse more supple. Neither can you.

What we can do is foster trust.

The horse must trust that the rider’s hand will not surprise him; that the leg is stable and consistent in how it communicates with the horse and that the rider’s mind is clear and focussed.

Most importantly, the horse must trust that the rider is listening every stride, so that the horse can communicate, “This is a little too difficult, can you make it easier?”, if needed.

You see, no matter what discipline you ride, your horse will always be a horse. A prey animal.

Dressage horse = flashy prey animal
ShowJumper = prey animal that jumps
Reining horse = compact and agile prey animal
All-rounder horse = prey animal with many jobs!

The first question that a prey animal asks itself in any given situation is, “Am I safe?”

If he feels the answer is no, then we have already got a roadblock on our path to ‘suppleness’.

Suppleness starts in the mind. When we stretch our bodies, the first sensation is of mild discomfort which quickly melts into relief, so long as we breathe and relax into it. We do not start to affect change on the soft tissue structures until a short while after.

I believe the same is true of horses. The first barrier we meet will be the horse’s nervous system. Only once we have passed through this ‘barrier’ do we start to affect the body of the horse.
Be aware that the ‘barrier’ can come back down and block you at any given moment. For example, following a change to the environment in the stable or arena.

An exercise cannot make a horse more supple.

A training method cannot make a horse more supple.

Only the horse, flowing through subtle transitions between postures, tempo’s and gaits with a relaxed mind, can make himself more supple.

My advice: start by only doing what you can do well. Gently. With relaxation. Next, build on it. Make subtle changes to it. When you make changes, try not to lose too many of the things you liked about the work. It’s OK to lose a little for a short time, but if you lose too much, go back to doing something that you could do well. Gather all of the components which you liked about your work and start from there.

Work within the comfort zone of the horse, with only moments of working at the edge of the comfort zone.

The nervous system is the first gateway to suppleness. Relaxation and quiet dialogue are the keys.

15/04/2023

Who said cobs aren’t flexible! The lovely Buddy showing how it’s done after his training session 🥰

09/04/2023

Happy Easter 🐰

20/02/2023

18/02/2023

Back to Hertfordshire for a full days coaching, thoroughly enjoyed it, though my voice is a bit hoarse now! No pics I’m afraid, as we were all to busy concentrating! 😂 Thanks to everyone who had a lesson today 😊👍

30/12/2022

You know when you’ve worked your client hard….when they dismount and crumple!! 😂 Great lesson with Jack and Naomi.

27/12/2022

Carl Hester words of Wisdom, for all riders:
“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 a balance and then put power in, that way around.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2019/09/carl-hester-talks-his-horses-his-training-and-more/

01/12/2022

A very foggy evening for coaching! 🌫 Pippa and Burge creating an atmospheric picture! 😮 Well done you two.

04/11/2022

What a lovely day to be coaching ☀️Jack and Naomi nailing a pole exercise to help Jack with suppleness and strength, in turn improving his canter.…and Jack looks fabulously shiny in the sunshine! 😮😎

23/10/2022

Basic lateral work for horses should be at the foundation of any training or schooling plan, no matter which discipline you're looking to succeed in

15/10/2022

Just starting a feel a bit chilly now!

These stretches are ideal for the stable after exercise or after turn out to keep your friend supple and happy! 😀

03/10/2022

The lovely Max enjoyed his schooling session today. Owner Claire is looking forward to getting him fit and strutting his stuff again. The basics were worked on today to help his fitness and suppleness.

02/09/2022

Carl Hester talks about coaching Event Riders- how do you help event riders stabilize the horse’s outline especially for the dressage test? “Basically the riders need to ride the horse to the bit, and not to block from the bit back. The horses have to go in a long neck, but many horses get in a tense, short outline, and that creates the mistakes in the test. By using suppling exercises, lots more stretching exercises, and more work in canter rather than hours of uncomfortable sitting trot.https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2016/05/carl-hester-teaching-eventers-dressage/

26/08/2022

The gorgeous Darcy having some extra schooling sessions, as his owner Becky wants to get him fit and supple and help his waistline! 🐷😁

09/06/2022

Annie, who is 21yrs young, with owner Izzy, learning shoulder in today. Great concentration from both! 🙂

27/05/2022