Sit in the Direction of Movement in Half Pass

Many riders lean to the outside in half pass because they use too much outside leg to push their horses sideways. Use your outside leg mainly to help bend your horse around your inside leg and secondarily to ask him to go sideways.

Keep in mind that the predominant aids in half pass need to be inside leg and outside rein…not outside leg pushing sideways and inside hand pulling the neck around in a fake a bend.

Here are 3 quick tips to help you sit in the direction of movement. Let’s say you’re tracking to the right and want to do a right half pass.

1. Think about actually “stepping down into the right iron” as you start the half pass.

2. Pretend there’s a seam running down the middle of your saddle from pommel to cantle. Then visualize yourself moving your outside seatbone to the right onto that center seam so you don’t get left behind.

3. Use the following exercise to help you develop some good muscle memory for using the inside leg and outside rein as the predominant aids in half pass:

• Turn down the quarterline and leg yield over to the left with a bend (from nose to tail!) toward the wall for a couple of steps.
• Then start the half pass to the right by stepping down into the inside iron and bringing the outside rein to the right as if you’re going to push your left fist into your horse’s left shoulder.
• Only do the half pass for a couple of steps and then return to the leg yield with bend to the left. (So you end up doing more leg yield with bend steps than half pass steps)
• The leg yield to the left with a bend helps you put your inside leg on and also you get to feel the horse stepping from inside leg to outside rein.

Click here for more info on dressage lateral movements.

How You Can Tell If Your Dressage Horse Bends in the Lateral Movement Shoulder-in?

I just posted a new video on my Youtube channel,  which explains how you can tell if your dressage horse is bending in the lateral movement shoulder-in. It’s at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPmTqSBM8k0

So many people draw their inside leg back in this movement, and the shoulder-in becomes a leg yield. Keep your inside leg on the girth in a bending position and your outside leg a couple of inches back where it would be if you were on a 10-meter circle. Then lead the shoulders to the inside by bringing both of your hands in.

Then, have someone check that you have bend by looking to see if the hindquarters stay parallel to the wall. They should stay in exactly the same position that they’re in when you are just going straight down the track. if they’re at an angle to the rail, you’re just doing a leg yield.

In order for your dressage horse to reap all the benefits of the lateral movement, shoulder-in, he must bend. When done correctly, shoulder-in straightens him, strengthens his inside hind, and collects him.

Click here for more info on lateral dressage movements like shoulder-in.

Use the Dressage Tests and Dressage Competition As A Guide For Moving Up through the Levels

I want to talk about using dressage competition and the dressage tests themselves to help you decide when it’s time to move your horse up to a higher level.

One thing to consider is your scores. If you’re consistently getting scores in the mid 60% to 70% range in your dressage tests, you’re probably ready to move up.

If your scores are consistently in the 50% range or lower, then you know you still have homework to do at that level. I’m not talking about the occasional bad show or class. We all have those. But if your scores are consistently in the 50% range or lower, you need to get some outside help.

Another thing to consider is the differences between the levels. For example, let’s talk about moving up from the Training Level to First Level at dressage competitions.

For me, there are two big differences between Training Level and First Level. The first major difference is that you need to be able to ride your horse consistently on the bit.

At Training Level your horse just has to accept the bit. By that I mean he has to accept a contact from your hand to the bit, and you can direct, turn, and guide him with the reins. But he doesn’t have to be “on the bit”. That is, he doesn’t have to be “round”.

At First Level dressage, he must be on the bit. Ask yourself if you can use your connecting aids to put your horse on the bit. Also, does he stay on the bit consistently?

If you want your horse to stay on the bit consistently, you can’t just give one set of connecting aids and expect him to stay there. You need to layer those connecting aids one on top of another, like coats of paint.

Throughout your dressage test or ride, you’ll give many connecting aids. The first one puts your horse on the bit and the succeeding ones say to him, “Now stay there; stay on the bit.”

So give “connecting aids” by lightly closing your legs and outside hand for three seconds. (Your driving aids create power and your closed outside hand recycles that power back to the hind legs.) Then soften for a few strides. Then repeat.

Another big difference between Training and First Level dressage tests is that you need to be able to sit the trot. At Training Level, you have a choice. You can either sit the trot or post. In the First Level dressage tests, you must sit the trot except in some of the lengthenings.

Then start to look at some of the new movements and exercises you’re asked to do at First Level. Here are three new things you’ll need to show at First Level:

1. To begin, you’ll need to be able to show lengthenings in both trot and canter. As I said in a previous article, if you can maintain the rhythm and tempo of the gait, start incorporating rubber band exercises into your work. Go more forward for a few strides, and then come back for a few strides. Then gradually increase the number of strides so that you can eventually do a trot lengthening across a whole diagonal or a canter lengthening down the whole long side.

2. Also, in the First Level dressage tests, your horse needs to leg yield. One of the questions you should ask yourself is “Can my horse do a turn on the forehand?” In other words does he understand to move away from the leg that is placed behind the girth?

For leg yields, he needs to understand the difference between a leg that is placed on the girth that says, “go forward” as opposed to a leg that is placed behind the girth that says, “go sideways”.

3. You’ll also need to be able to show a few counter canter strides. Can your horse maintain the balance and the quality of his canter as he arcs off of and back onto the long side?

To sum up, use your scores at dressage competitions and the dressage tests themselves as guidelines to help you decide if it’s time to move up. If your scores are consistently good and your horse is adept and confident at doing the work at the next level, you’re probably ready. Give it a shot!

Click here for more tips on dressage tests and competition.

Jane Savoie’s Youtube Shows Leg Yielding Exercise for Dressage Horse Suppleness

I just posted a quick leg yielding video on my Youtube channel at janesavoie. It shows a simple zig-zag exercise both for dressage horse suppleness and for rider coordination.

Does Your Dressage Horse Cross His Legs Enough In Leg Yields?

When you do leg yields from the centerline to the long side as  you do in the First Level dressage tests, it’s not always easy to make sure that your horse is crossing his legs enough. That’s because as long as you manage to get from Point A to Point B, you can fake yourself out into thinking you’re really going sideways.

But if your dressage horse isn’t crossing his legs enough, you’re losing most of the suppling, loosening, toe-touching benefits of leg yields.

So here are some easy tips to help you ride better leg yields.

When you do this exercise, do it in the head-to-the wall position. Your horse’s front legs stay in the track, and his
hindquarters come toward the middle of the ring. We’ll start by tracking to the left.   Also, start the exercise in the walk so you can coordinate your aids and really feel what you’re doing.

1. Use your outside rein to make sure your horse’s neck is straight. (If you’re tracking to the left, the left rein becomes the outside rein in the leg yield because your horse should be flexed at the poll to the right.) If your horse’s neck is bent, he won’t be crossing his legs.

2. Ask the hindquarters to come in at a 35-degree angle to the rail (slightly less than half of a right angle). If you settle for less angle, your horse won’t be crossing enough.

3.  If your horse isn’t crossing enough, use an opening rein to help you. DON’T push harder with your leg that’s behind the girth (the right leg). If you push harder, you’ll lean to the right. Your body and your right leg will be giving contradictory signals. Your leg says, “Move over”, but your body says, “I won’t let you move over.”

Instead, support with your left rein and use a quick opening right rein. Bring your right hand to the right and then immediately put it back in riding position. Then, if necessary, repeat the opening rein. If you coordinate the two reins correctly, the action of the right rein will go back to your horse’s hind legs and he’ll swing them to the left.

By using your opening right rein and your supporting left rein, you can transfer some of the responsibility for going sideways away from your leg and into your reins.

4. Give a small squeeze with your right leg at the same time you use your right leg. It’s important to time the use of your right rein and leg. Open the rein and use your leg when his right hind leg is on the ground.

Timing is important because the only time your horse can respond to your aid is when his hind leg is on the ground— specifically just before it pushes off.

You can learn to feel when a hind leg is on the ground because your corresponding seatbone feels like it’s being
pushed “up” or “forward”. Each time you feel your seatbone pushed up, say out loud, “Now, now, now” so you get into the rhythm of when that hind leg is on the ground.

Then keep saying, “Now, now, now” aloud, and time your opening rein and squeeze of your leg with the word “now”.

Once you learn what it feels like when your horse crosses his legs well in the head to the wall position, go back to your “center line over to the long side” leg yield as asked for in the dressage tests. Check that it feels the same under your seat when you do it in this pattern as it does in the head to the wall position.

Click here for more help with dressage horse leg yields.

Canter On The Correct Lead Everytime!

It’s not uncommon for riders to struggle getting their
horses to pick up one of their canter leads. The
following are some simple exercises to help you pick up
the right lead every time!

The first exercise is done completely in the walk. You
will practice positioning your horse alternately for
the left lead and then switch to the right lead after a
few strides.

Let’s say you decided to pick up left lead:

–Put your weight on your left seat bone.

–Flex your horse to the left by turning your left
wrist as if you’re unlocking a door. That is, start
with your thumb as the highest point of the hand, Turn
your thumb to the left, and bring your baby finger very
close to the withers but don’t cross over the withers.
In this moment, your knuckles or fingernails will be
pointing up toward your face. Then put your hand back
in the original position with your thumb as the highest
point of the hand.

–Support with your right rein so your horse doesn’t
over bend his neck to the left. His face should be one
inch to the inside of a neutral position. (Neutral
means his head and neck are straight in front of his
body so that his chin is directly in front of his
“cleavage”.)

–Your left leg is on the girth to say, “Go forward to
the canter.”

–Your right leg is a couple of inches behind the girth
because it will signal his right hind leg to strike off
into left lead canter. (He has to start cantering with
the outside hind leg in order to end up on the correct
lead.)

Stay in this “left lead canter” position for a few
strides in the walk, and then switch your aids as if
asking for right lead canter (Remember, you’re doing
all of this in the walk). That is:

–Weight on the right seat bone.

–Right rein flexes the horse’s head one inch to the
right.

–Left rein is like a siderein that prevents too much
bend in the neck.

–Right leg on the girth.

–Left leg behind the girth.

When you get ready to ask for the depart, do the
following things:

1. Keep the horse positioned to the inside as you did
above.

2. When you ask for the canter depart, push your inside
seat bone forward toward your horse’s inside ear.

3. Give a little squeeze with your inside leg on the
girth to tell your horse to go “forward into the
canter”

4. Use your outside leg in a windshield wiper-like
action to signal the outside hind to strike-off into
the canter.

Check that you’re on the correct lead by:

–Keeping your head erect, but peak down at his front
legs. If you’re on the correct lead, the inside front
leg should reach further forward than the outside front
leg.

–Make a circle. If you’re on the correct lead, the
canter will feel balanced. If you’re on the wrong lead,
the canter will feel unbalanced.

If you end up of the wrong lead, chances are you didn’t
keep your horse bent through his body and flexed to the
inside at his poll during the transition. Your horse
will pick up whatever lead he’s bent and flexed toward.

Here are 2 things you can do to help with the bend:

1. Walk on a small circle to bend your horse. Just
before you finish the small circle, keep the bend and
apply the aids for the canter. Once he canters, arc out
onto a larger circle.

2. Walk or trot on a small circle. Leg yield (That is,
push your horse sideways.) with a bend out to the
larger circle. Keep your inside leg on the girth as you
leg yield to help with the bend. If you’re circling to
the right, imagine you’re pushing his rib cage to the
left while his neck and hindquarters stay to the right.

Click here for more help with cantering on the correct lead.