Dressage Adventures

Finally the parts have all come together and we are ready for PIAFFE... exciting! If you've been following this series, you will have seen how Jack has been developing IN-HAND to improve his flexibility. Let's re-cap on the buttons we've built in so far: - Jack can stay in the invisible box - he can work straight and level - he can get his tail bone down and swing his legs under him - rein back - shoulder in - renvers - travers... these are all exercises that Jack can now tick off as accomplished. Phew! Now it’s time to start putting all the building blocks together. Jenku uses rein back to help Jack shift his weight and bring his hind legs under. Jenku is looking for a good squat before he asks Jack for the piaffe. If Jack is long in his body, then he’s not set up for success. Next Jenku works on developing more bounce and cadence on a circle. This is where the lateral work comes in - start in shoulder in and then move to renvers so that your horse’s legs are stepping wide behind which increases flexibility. Watch out for the bouncy cadence developing - it is pure magic! The feeling in Jenku’s hands is amazing. Jack is light, up in his poll and moving rhythmically in the Piaffe. Well done Jack! Video available here: https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/in-hand Winter Season 02 - 'Piaffe' Follow each season step by step and see for yourself why so many riders are getting AMAZING results with Adventures with Jenku - "it's a complete eye opener!”

Take your partner by the hoof... and go for a dance!! It’s such an amazing feeling training lateral movements IN-HAND with your horse moving with you in beautiful harmony - and it is great exercise for you both! To get started your horse must be light and responsive, so in this video Jenku first explains how to build in the 'go button'. Once the trot is established you will then learn how to progress to HALF PASS. Jenku explains how your horse mirrors your energy and posture. When you want to transition upwards, breathe in and inflate your body, harden your gaze and raise your energy. Your horse will do the same. When you want to transition downwards, you will exhale, deflate your body posture and relax. Soften your gaze and open your peripheral vision. It is important to always use consistent cues; 'you can’t vary your cues and expect your horse to understand what you’re asking for.' Jenku explains how to make sure your horse is set up in a consistent 'frame' by adjusting the rein length resting your arm just behind your horse's scapula in exactly the same way each time. Remember, consistent input results in consistent output. Video available here: https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/in-hand Winter Series 01 - 'Half Pass Trot' Follow each season step by step and watch pure magic unfold. See for yourself why so many riders are getting AMAZING results with Adventures with Jenku - "it's a complete eye opener!” If you don't see results in the first 7 days, simply request a refund for the full purchase price.

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Direct canter transitions, from rein back.... on the lunge!? This exercise is not for beginners, but for those who have watched and learned from the previous seasons and already have built some buttons into their horses! The aids for the direct canter are clear. Herman needs to rein back one deliberate footstep at a time. When his weight has shifted towards his hind quarters, Jenku raises his hand so that Herman lifts his poll, and with one cluck, Herman strikes off. This can’t be done if Herman is heavy on the forehand or slow to respond to the canter cue. Jenku clicks and rewards him as soon as he strikes off. If he makes a mistake – such as striking off disunited, Jenku provides feedback and Herman tries again. This mindset is focussed on success and incremental gains. It assumes you will try, fail, try, improve. Repeat. While food is the most obvious reward, when your horse is working and lactic acid is building up in his muscles, by inviting him in to rest, you’re also rewarding him. He’ll soon realise that being 'with you' is a 'good place to be' and that training is rewarding rather than punishing. If you're lungeing in the 'conventional' way - your horse is missing out! This training series is a complete eye opener. Every video is packed with educational fun, and magical moments that are easy to follow and execute. Enjoy! www.adventureswithjenku.com/pages/lunge

Here's something YOU WON'T have seen before! There’s nothing like this in conventional training that gives you the tools to teach your horse how to come into vertical flexion without gadgets and gizmos. If your horse is food motivated, you can redirect his energy into something useful for dressage, and train a cue for vertical flexion. This is also a really handy exercise for rainy days, as you can train it in the stable - bonus! A horse’s neck acts as a balancing pole. If you can train the neck to go into different positions, then you can influence his body and shift his weight around. In this film Jenku initially lures Herman into the correct position using food. He clicks and rewards when Herman flexes at his poll. As Herman gets more familiar with this shape, Jenku only needs a hand signal to cue vertical flexion, and it doesn’t take Herman long to figure out what he needs to do. The next phase of the exercise is to help Herman tuck his pelvis under so that his abdominals contract. He looks like a ‘sheep on a shoebox’, and helps him redistribute his weight for optimal movement. Add vertical flexion to this and - without reins or other aids - you’re able to condition your horse’s body and get him fit and ready for collected work. Fabulous! If you're lungeing in the 'conventional' way - your horse is missing out! This training series is a complete eye opener. Every video is packed with educational fun, and magical moments that are easy to follow and execute. Enjoy!

The Old Masters used to say; ‘Train in a walk, establish in a trot, test in the canter’. In this video Jenku encourages Herman to work 'long and low'. Herman has already learned to target a cone on the ground in the previous seasons. Now that he has that figured out, Jenku shows us how to use our body language to train your horse to relax and lower his head. Once Herman is consistently walking with his head lowered, Jenku ups the criteria and asks him to trot. Herman lifts his head, but because he doesn’t get rewarded for this, he quickly realises that the treats only come when his head is lowered. You can now start spacing your rewards and instead of rewarding every time, you can reward when your horse has lowered his head twice in a row. This is called 'variable reinforcement' - it's how you’ll train your horse to stay down for longer periods of time. What’s the point? Muscles work in pairs, so the abdominal muscles can only work properly and get the hind legs swinging when the back is relaxed. The back muscles are only able to relax when the horse has his head lowered. If you're lungeing in the 'conventional' way - your horse is missing out! This training series is a complete eye opener. Every video is packed with educational fun, and magical moments that are easy to follow and execute. Enjoy! www.adventureswithjenku.com/pages/lunge

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I can't help smiling in this video as finally we put all the pieces of the puzzle together for the FLYING CHANGES! Let's recap what we've learned so far in the series: First we learned how to control the shoulders Next we learned how to control our body posture Then we learned to control the hindquarters These are very deliberate steps, so your horse knows what’s coming and isn’t taken by surprise - and so that you don't end up just kicking your horse in the ribs trying to make the change OUCH! Now we put it all together so there is a clear shift of balance, and preparation for the new lead. All the qualities of a good flying change are there, now we just need to add impulsion. We start on a 10 meter circle to the left. As we loop back to the track, I shift my weight, change the bend and 'Hey Presto!' Fleur is able to jump off with the right leg lead and make the change. (Tip: Be careful not to look down (like me!) as this shifts the weight onto the front shoulders which you’re trying to free up.) In the beginning the cues must be obvious so that both the rider and horse understand what’s happening. As you get better at the changes, your cues will be barely observable. Enjoy! Follow the 'Ridden Journey' here: https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/ridden

I had a real LIGHT-BULB moment during this filming, as Fleur and I both began to develop 'conscious control' of our bodies. This is Part 3 in the FLYING CHANGES series! We start working on a figure of 8, circling right in renvers, then as we come across the centre line, maintaining the same bend, and circle left - we are now in travers (or quarters in). By changing rein and practising maintaining the bend, your horse learns to follow your lead and take heed of how your weight shifts. Once you’ve established this in a walk, practise in trot. OK next exercise - now we pick up the canter and do the figure of 8 in travers bringing your horse back to walk as you cross the centre line each time. In this way, you’ll be able to practice your set up and control the hind quarters and shoulders through each transition. The canter needs to be nice and bouncy to allow airtime for the changes in the next step. Make sure you let your horse stretch in between to release the build-up of lactic acid and allow red blood cells and oxygen back into the muscles. Follow the whole season and learn how to ride Flying Changes here: https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/ridde

Ready for step 2 of our FLYING CHANGES series? In step 1 we learned to control the horse's shoulders. In this video we are working on controlling RIDER POSTURE. There are three things that influence the horse: your hand, your seat or balance and your leg. For flying changes these three aids happen in a specific order. Once your horse recognises that you give the cues in the same order then you will be able to compress these to make them happen instantaneously. The key is consistency - you must become very precise with each individual cue. If you are not in control of your POSTURE to start with, then signals will get confused. So let's get to work! We start with a shallow counter canter loop and then gradually make the loop deeper and closer to the centre line. Horses often have anticipatory anxiety during flying changes, so the more Fleur realises that there are lots of breaks, the more she will learn to wait and be calm. This is a great exercise to train the rider to really focus on their posture and develop better ‘feel’ in order to do the flying change later in the season. Buy the 'Ridden Autumn Season' here: https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/ridden https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/ridden

Do you wish you could ride FLYING CHANGES? Follow this series and learn how to break the movement down into simple smaller parts, which EVERYONE can learn! The first step is 'SHOULDER CONTROL'. Flying changes are all about weight shifting so that your horse’s front legs are free to lift in front. Imagine that you’re a puppeteer controlling your horse’s front leg - this is a really fun exercise! Think about following the front leg with your hand. Ask yourself – can I get my horse to step wide with her front foot? Keep asking for a little more each time so that your horse begins to make a clear connection between your hand cue and the shoulder. Jenku explains that once you realise there is a connection with your horse’s mouth corners and the front legs, the better you will be able to communicate what you want your horse to do for the Flying Change. Buy the 'Ridden Autumn Season' here: https://adventureswithjenku.com/pages/ridden

Horses don’t have a language brain, yet we are training them to do complex movements without using words. This is MIND BLOWING stuff! I'm super excited about this video as LEG EXTENSIONS are useful for so much other dressage work. Think of freeing up the shoulder for the EXTENDED TROT and for FLYING CHANGES in the canter. To recap, Jenku makes sure that Jack’s 'static' leg extensions, which he learned in the Summer season, are solid. Once these are consistent, he can progress to 'dynamic' and ask him to take a step forward. The sequence looks like this: 'extend leg, take a step forward, reward'. This exercise is as much about ‘training the trainer’ as it is about training the horse. If the horse is not getting it right, it means that you aren’t getting it right. That is not to discourage you, but rather to encourage you to take it back a step, work on the basic movements until they are really established and then try again. It does not make you less of a trainer. There is wisdom in slowing down and starting again. The secret's out! Top riders train 'In-Hand' to enhance their performance. Now you can learn how to do it yourself! Every video is packed with educational fun, and magical moments that are easy to follow and execute. Enjoy! www.adventureswithjenku.com/pages/in-hand