Right Start Dressage LLC

12/09/2024

Wonderful diagram

12/08/2024

Read This!

Do you try too hard as a rider?

Common issue in lateral work is "over-aiding" which surprisingly often leads to the horse not doing what the rider is asking for.

The rider tenses up because they are about to do something their perceive as difficult, so their seat immediately stops moving as fluently. The horse stutters.

The rider asks for the lateral step with a big, heavy, lumpy leg aid because, well you know, this is going to be difficult. But their hand has turned to a block of wood because they don't want to speed up. The horse feels convicted in the aids and blocked, so he stutters.

The rider tries to drive the aid home by pushing into it harder. Their weight slips to the outside as the muscles they are pushing with contract. The horse steps under their weight even though its the wrong direction according to the leg aids because their priority is keeping the pair of you upright. The horse "ignores" the rider's aid.

The rider turns their heel and grips the spur into their horse's side. The horse tenses, wringing his tail but stoically does nothing because the aids aren't making any sense. He feels the rider's frustration but what can he do? He has to keep himself under their weight.

The rider tells the coach their horse is stupid/ stubborn/ lazy (delete as appropriate) The coach says you're asking too strongly and you need to sit towards the movement not against it, ie weight aids 101. The rider is sceptical because their (limited) experience and lack of body awareness doesn't match what the coach is saying.

The coach shrugs.
The horse shrugs.
The rider knows they are right.
The rider goes on FB to find another coach, one that's not so stupid.
A year later the rider realises there is more to this than they first thought.

PS. Quick 2 ways to know where the weight is, from the floor:

The higher shoulder of the rider is the side with the weight if the heel is down.
The "pretty leg" has the tighter hip so the weight is pulled that way.

Beautiful photo by Jon Stroud of Fairuza and me in the warm up at Paris 2024. You can see how light my aids are as my lower legs are barely brushing the hair. The movement is led by my seat.

11/22/2024

Excellent analogy.

DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS: To help you stay stable in the saddle while still allowing for your horse’s movement …

When you sit on your horse, imagine that you are the center tower of a suspension bridge. You have cables that stretch both forward and backward to various points on your horse’s topline that allow for movement between you and the cables. This helps to create balance, self-carriage and collection in your horse while you remain stable in the saddle.
~ Stephany Fish Crossman

Crossman is a USDF bronze and silver medalist as well as one of only nine accredited coaches for Mary Wanless’ Ride With Your Mind Biomechanics System in the U.S. Currently is based in Okeechobee, Florida, Crossman also cohosts our Dressage Today Podcast.

🎨 Sandy Rabinowitz

11/18/2024

I consciously think about this.

11/01/2024

Love Ingrid.

German Olympian Ingrid Klimke shares her “freely forward” mentality for better hind-end engagement. Plus, learn how to recognize the early signs of sacroiliac joint issues to keep your horse performing his best.

10/22/2024

Excellent explanation.

Please look at the circle on the lower right. Inside it is an eight sided series of straight lines, an octagon. Most riders who believe they are riding a circle are actually riding a polygon like this series of straight lines in the circle. This is because they do not bend their horses. They either don't know how or they lack the core and leg strength to do it correctly, or both.

Bending your horse and holding a bend happens when a rider applies physical strength at the center where the red arrow in the top image is pointing. Additionally, the rider holds their horse between the forehand with the inside hand and rein, and the hind with the outside leg slightly behind the girth.

The point of the red arrow acts like the point on a compass drawing the circle. The inside leg is the compass point at the red arrow defining the center of the arc of the bend. The right hand in the top picture is like the inside rein, and the rider's left leg acts like the pictured left hand. The rider in the picture holds their horse between the right rein and left leg and the "point of the compass" determines the center of the bend.

The process of riding an entire 20 meter circle in a bend might start as an octagon with many straight lines connected by quick turns. At the beginning an accomplished rider might hold a bend in their horse for the length of two of the straight lines, then three, then four and so on.

When the horse holds the bend longer, it requires more strength and stamina from both the horse and rider. Because of the strength required riders must be patient with the muscle development of their horse. To hold a bend throughout a complete circle is much more difficult than most riders believe.

10/19/2024

Nicolai and I were one of the first pairs to ride in a snaffle in Region 9 when the USEF made it legal to ride in a snaffle at National Competitions.

The FEI dressage committee will 'encourage' organisers to run special classes up to CDI3* for athletes who wish to use a snaffle instead of a double bridle.

10/16/2024

Take this in.

I've posted this quote previously from Manuel Jorge de Oliveira. I think it is a great indicator to w**d out the 'false prophets' on social media. When you read something on social media that strikes you and draws you to a trainers work, scroll through their timeline and look at the photos. We all like pictures and they truly do speak a thousand words. It's a habit I've gotten into whenever the trolls strike. It's amazing what a person or business's timeline tells you about their knowledge or lack thereof, and whether I need to take their comment seriously.

If you want to ride well, take clinics and advice from people who's riding you admire and who can explain things in a way that isn't so ethereal in nature that you're left wondering what the heck they mean. As someone who loves to write, it's easy to throw words around that don't result in any meaningful change in a horse or rider.

Relationship is the basis of all work with our horses. Relationship can be developed within the work. I see many riders get stuck between the ethereal and reality and then they are hesitant to actually ride their horses.

I can tell you with certainty that if the work is good, not perfect, but your expectations and aids are clear, sound horses do not resent being worked. Case in point, I rode my big mare Gracie twice yesterday. Morning and afternoon. I don't think I've ever seen her so doe-eyed and content with herself after that second ride, even though she clearly was not impressed to be tacked up a second time.

We live in a world that leans towards babying our horses in such an apologetic fashion for all the 'harms' we may cause. Work is good for all living beings. Our horses feel us. If you feel sorry for them for making them work, they feel that. Feel the joy in their movement, let them move and express themselves. Get 'seat' lessons to learn how to control your body during potential extravagant movement. "Show me your horses". It tells me what your words and actions fail to convey.❤️

10/06/2024

The importance of corners.

Riding corners....

I really like this statement from Manuel Jorge de Oliveira about riding corners:

"Concerning the corners: do them well every time… this is helpful for keeping balance and symmetry

Never be satisfied with yourself

Always put yourself in question

Never be dependent what others say or speak ALWAYS go your unique way."

While I've always known that riding corners is important to our riding, until I started riding with Verticality in mind, I didn't fully appreciate the importance of how we ride them.

Unfortunately, many of us store equipment in the corners of our riding arena's so they can't be fully utilized as they should. If possible, clear at least 2 corners of your arena to practice your corners with a true barrier like a wall or fence and set poles to replicate a corner in the others. It is a very interesting experiment to ride your horse directly toward the fence or wall and right up to it. Many horses will veer away or resist going into the corner. This is very telling (and can be a bit humbling), as to whether or not your horse is truly on your aids.

The corners become a very useful gymnastic exercise for your horse. As you turn your horses shoulders in the corner in the 90 degree angle your corner creates, you are given the opportunity to control both the horse's shoulders and hindquarters keeping them completely upright and over all four legs.

***Note the yellow arrow in the graphic below which indicates the inside hind leg stepping up into the midline as the horse makes the turn.

This exercise should be done in a slow and balanced walk. No rushing! As you are parallel to the first wall and as you enter the corner, it is helpful to think of using your outside thigh and rein to turn the shoulders. While there can be slight inside flexion, the goal is to keep the horse straight. If you try to ride the corner by pulling on the inside rein, you will displace the horses weight to their inside shoulder and lose not only the balance, but the gymnastic value of the turn. The inside leg can act as a post or cone that the horse turns around, but the inside leg should not be used to push the horse deeper into the corner. The aim is to have the hindquarters follow the steps of the front feet. The outside leg can be used proactively to ensure the haunches don't swing in the corner but step through. Be sure to work evenly in both directions.

This can be done in hand to start. Even if you think you are proficient at corners, this exercise may just call you out on that thought.

It is helpful to halt after each corner before riding on to the next. Once you are proficient in riding these corners in a balanced walk, you can begin trotting up to the wall, halt and walk in balance through the corner then pick up trot again. The ultimate goal is to be able to do corners like this at all three gaits. Visa, is getting quite proficient at cantering corners and I can tell you it is a feeling of, what I would imagine, being a centaur would feel like. We are truly one.

Keep it slow, keep it balanced, keep it mindful!❤️

10/03/2024

As discussed, infinitum.

10/01/2024

OMG! We all need to do this. I LOVE it.

09/20/2024

Join me.

09/03/2024

Great description.

Stop bouncing in the saddle in the canter. I see a lot of canter videos where riders are bouncing, pounding their horse's back as they bounce along at the canter. There is no need for this to happen.

If you relax your body and let your hips swing on the canter three beat, you can sit the canter without bouncing. As Henry Wynmalen said, "Let the horse move you". At the canter this means move your hips with, not against, the 1-2-3 beats of the canter.

The 3 beat is the easiest canter beat to feel. It is the long beat after the quicker 1-2. On the 3 beat you can feel your hips moving forward, but if you resist you will bounce up instead of moving with the beat. When you brace your body and hips, the bouncing begins, and your horse's back gets pounded in every stride.

Start by feeling the longer forward stretch of the 3 beat. When you can feel this, next you will feel the "reset" back to the 1 beat. On the 1 beat be aware and feel your hips moved by the powerful quick 1 beat. You might feel a little whiplash. The 1 beat thrust is followed by the quick 2 beat, that is the hardest to feel, and finally your horse will swing your hips forward, if you let them, in the 3 beat.

When you can soften your body, particularly your hips, you will be able to move with your horse in the cater. At that point try it without stirrups and eventually ba****ck. Your horse will thank you for stopping the pounding bouncing.

This is fundamental footfall work. If you have been taking lessons for a while and footfalls have not come up during your instruction, ask about them. It is never too soon to begin feeling footfalls.

08/29/2024

LOVE!

08/22/2024

If you are showing you should attend.

Newly scheduled USDF Virtual Education Series session - join us on Monday, September 23 at 8PM ET for “The New Rules for Equipment Checking.” As US Equestrian rules are always evolving, it is helpful to know what is expected of competitors at dressage shows. FEI Steward L3, Registered Technical Delegate, and USDF Technical Delegate Committee Chair Jean Kraus will discuss the newest rules on equipment checking for dressage competitions.

This session is free to USDF Members & is USDF University accredited.

Learn more here: https://usdf.org/education/university/virtual-education-series.asp

And register to attend here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__FPWnyPFQO24Oofacz_C9g