Cousyn Dressage

08/17/2024

The trickle of information over some blue tongue 'warnings' in Paris brings the vague disciplinary policy of dressage into focus.

07/26/2024

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1010334644435657&set=a.742158287919962&type=3

07/24/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Y8_ROb0ZUk

CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN sensationally pulled out of the Paris Olympics in disgrace after a video emerged of her allegedly whipping a horse.Britain’s greatest hors...

07/03/2024

How can you tell if your horse is moving well?

Many riders will say they notice it when their horse feels good in their hands.

I'm not saying this is always bad, but a much better signal is how the horse's back feels under you.

Because even a horse that is ridden incorrectly can still feel pleasant in the hands.

But it will NOT move with a nice, relaxed back.

Below are some other signs that your horse is not being ridden correctly.

Do you recognize any of the following characteristics in your horse?

Your horse does not respond forward.
Your horse is quickly tense.
The walk is not always clear, a lateral walk.
Excessive movement of the front leg, while the hind leg lags and slows down (broken diagonal).
Your horse has a four-beat canter.
Your horse is behind the vertical.
Your horse slightly arches its back, the croup comes up, and the hind legs do not come sufficiently under the body.
An elevated, shortened neck with a kink between the 2nd and 3rd cervical vertebrae (false bend).

Then it might be that you are unconsciously making the mistake of not always riding from back to front into your hand.

Many riders think they are riding their horse well from back to front into the hand.

But in practice, I see that this is usually not yet happening sufficiently.

Often, the hand is still unconsciously working back and creating too much of a 'made' posture.

You want to ride your horse's entire body so that you can receive the energy from the hind leg into your hand.

This way, you will feel a connection that works throughout the whole body.

Pay attention in your next training session to whether, and how often, you unintentionally work back with your hand.

I'm curious to see what you find out!

PS. Ideally, you should end up with a count of 0, but don't be too hard on yourself. Awareness is the first step. 🙏


- Rien van der Schaft

RS Riding

05/27/2024

Pat them. Pat them pat them pat them. If your horse even thinks about thinking about how to think about the thing you want him to think about, PAT HIM. Praise every right thing, all of the time.

DO NOT ‘make the right thing easy and make the wrong thing hard’.

JUST MAKE THE RIGHT THING EASY, and forget about any botched efforts or wrong answers. Don’t take it personally if the horse doesn’t get it right first time. He doesn’t speak your language. He doesn’t understand your ambitions. He doesn’t understand conflict through the lens of human interpretation. He just knows how to horse, yet he is willing to learn, adapt and change for YOU. Make sure you do the same for HIM.

Horses are the only animal on the planet willing to try for us and to give us everything they have, for absolutely no return for themselves whatsoever.

If you do not foster the horse’s desire to try, you will lose this most precious gift.

04/20/2024

When you're training your horse, you're essentially focused on one thing.

Influencing the balance positively.

As you probably know, there are different stages of balance.

When you start with a young horse, it likely carries more weight on the forehand (which is natural for horses).

Through proper training, you aim to shift more weight towards the hindquarters.

This way, the hindquarters assume a supportive role rather than merely a pushing one.

An exercise I often use to improve balance is shoulder-in.

It's a commonly practiced exercise but not so easy to execute correctly.

Think for a moment, what do you do with your inside leg when riding shoulder-in?

Many people push their inside leg slightly back, but that's actually cheating.

You're pushing the hindquarters outward instead of having the horse place its forehand slightly inward.

This diminishes the exercise's gymnastic effect.

Because you want to position the shoulders inward, allowing the inside hind leg to bear more weight, resulting in an upward movement.

Next time, pay close attention—are you truly riding shoulder-in, or are you actually pushing the hindquarters out? 🤔

03/18/2024

https://www.eurodressage.com/2024/03/17/dinja-van-liere-streaming-warm-we-are-put-under-magnifying-glass-which-undermining

Dinja van Liere on Streaming the Warm-Up: "We are put under a magnifying glass which is undermining the entire sport"

03/15/2024

You've probably thought this before when you were at a big competition.

'Wow, what a spectacular horse!'

But does this horse also meet the 3 basic principles? Is the horse not tense and does it have a good contact?

Of course, these can certainly go hand in hand, but often these spectacular movements come from tension.

A few weeks ago, we were filming a young horse for the Trainer's Club and I made the following statement:

The less spectacular and less difficult it seems in training now, the better the rider is doing.

This might sound strange because many people want to see those spectacular movements.

Let me explain what I mean by this statement.

When, as a rider, your main focus is on achieving grand, spectacular movements, especially with a younger horse, then your priorities are not in the right order.

Because the more you, as a rider, work to get your horse in a certain position or bring out certain extreme movements, the less relaxation and trust your horse is likely to have.

The main focus should actually be on the basic principles and the correct way of going of the horse.

Because the horse in question is also a very talented horse who will eventually move spectacularly for sure.

But this is very important...

These spectacular movements will not have arisen from tension.

But they will be spectacular because the horse has had the time to develop and has learned to use its body in an optimal way.

And that makes a big difference.

Rien van der Schaft

02/14/2024

https://www.eurodressage.com/2024/02/14/usef-president-thomas-omara-issues-letter-members-concerning-parra-abuse-case

Thomas O'Mara, the president of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), has issued a letters to the members of the federation concerning the Cesar Parra abuse case.