One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “Can you give me some tips to help me sit the trot better?”
So here are some quick tips to help you with this all too common challenge.
1. First and foremost, your horse needs to be on the bit. If his back is hollow, stiff, or tight, you’ll find it impossible to sit comfortably. (And, in turn, you’ll make your horse uncomfortable too!)
To put him on the bit, use the “connecting aids”. Start in the posting trot on a circle and do the following:
–Close both legs as if you’re asking for a lengthening.
==As your horse starts to surge forward toward a lengthening, close your outside hand in a fist to capture, contain and recycle the power back to the hind legs.
–Keep giving those aids for about 3 seconds.
==If your horse starts to bend his neck to the outside, give some squeezes and releases with your inside hand to keep his neck straight.
–After 3 seconds, soften back to maintenance contact with your legs and hands.
2. Slow the trot down. Ride “sub-power” and when you can sit easily, increase the impulsion for just a few strides at a time. Then slow down again.
3. Put your horse on the bit in posting trot. Once he’s round, sit for just a couple of strides. Start posting again before you feel like you need to grip with your legs. Reorganize your body, relax your legs, and sit again for just a couple of strides.
4. Cross your stirrups over the front of the saddle. Post without your irons until your legs are tired. If they’re tired, you can’t grip so you’ll sit deeper.
5. Focus on your hips. Notice how they open and close in the walk. Mimic that motion when you’re in sitting trot. You can even exaggerate the motion by pretending you’re sitting on a swing and you’re moving your hips to make the swing go higher.
6. Pretend you’re a belly dancer. As you swing your loose hips, use a buzz phrase like, “Do the hootchie kootchie” or “Swing, swing, swing”.
7. Hold the front of the saddle with your inside hand. (Or use a “grab strap”.) Use that hand to pull you deeper into the saddle so you can learn the feeling of sitting close to your horse and moving “with” him in sitting trot.
8. Attach a small strap (like the bottom strap from a flash noseband) to the outside D ring on the saddle. Pull straight up to pull yourself down deeper into the saddle. This also helps to keep your hands forward in the “work area” so you don’t pull back.
9. Relax your knees and thighs by taking then an inch or so off the saddle for a moment, letting them drop, and then placing them on lightly again.
10. Take longe lessons. This is the best way to develop an independent seat so you can sit the trot easily. Don’t use any reins or stirrups. Let the person longing you handle steering and controlling the speed. Do exercises where you move one part of your body while you keep the rest of your body still. (Arm circles, scissor kicks etc.) Also, just practice sitting deeply on your horse in his traveling gaits as well as through upward and downward transitions.
To learn more about sitting the trot, check out: www.programyourposition.com
Some dressage horses are very quick to alternate between coming above the bit and dropping behind the bit. If that sounds like your horse, you need to be quick to switch your aids as follows:
When your horse comes above the bit, use your “connecting aids”.
1. Close both legs to send him forward toward a lengthening.
2. When you feel the “surge” of power coming from behind, close your outside hand in a fist to capture, contain, and recycle that power back to the hind legs.
3. If your horse starts to bend his neck to the outside, vibrate the inside rein to keep his neck straight.
As soon as he ducks behind the bit, send him “forward through his body”.
Here’s what I mean by that. Go on a circle in rising trot, close both legs and ask for a trot lengthening for 6 or 7 strides. Do this several times until it becomes a knee jerk reaction for him to go “forward over the ground” when you close your calves.
Then close your legs as if you’re going to lengthen, but don’t let him lengthen. This time you want your horse to go “ through his body” rather than “forward over the ground”. As you feel him go forward though his body and start to take a contact with your hand rather than curling behind the bit, praise him.
You might have to alternate a trot lengthening with asking him to take a contact with your hand several times. But once he understands, you’ll have a tool to use when he curls behind the bit.
If he’s curled behind the bit really badly (not just going with the poll too low), in addition to sending him forward through his body, you might have to raise your hands to place the bit out in front of him so he can step toward it.
The feeling is like putting a sheet on your bed. You lift the sheet up, and then let if softly drift onto the bed.
You can also think of it like doing “the wave” at a football game.
If you do have to raise your hands because your horse has dropped behind the bit, keep the following things in mind:
1. Always use your legs BEFORE you raise your hands.
2. Raise both hands evenly.
3. To the degree that you raise your hands, ALSO put them forward toward his mouth without losing contact. That is, if you lift your hands 2 inches, they must go forward 2 inches. If you lift them 4 inches, they must go forward 4 inches.
4. As soon as you’ve placed the bit out in front of your horse, put your hands back down. If you keep them up, he’ll curl behind the bit even more.
5. Keep a smooth, steady contact with his mouth throughout this whole process. Don’t let the reins get loose, drop contact with his mouth, and then snatch him up. That will discourage him from stepping toward the bit.
To sum up, for the dressage horse that alternates between coming above the bit and dropping behind the bit, smoothly switch from connecting aids to sending him forward through his body as needed until you’ve clearly explained the right connection to him. Click here for more info to put a horse on the bit.
Are you sick and tired of doing all the work while your lazy horse plods along without energy? Remember that a horse can feel a fly on his side, so logically there’s no reason for him to be dull to your legs.
Here are the steps to put the lazy horse in front of your legs:
1. Give a light leg aid
2. No response, half-hearted response, or delayed response
3. Correct him by sending him forward
4. RETEST
5. 100% response (99.9% isn’t good enough!)
6. Praise
Let me explain those steps in a little more detail.
1. Give one feather light squeeze with both calves. A horse can feel a fly on his side so it’s logical that he can feel a light aid.
2. Your horse must react instantly and eagerly. If he doesn’t, DON’T adjust your aid by repeating it or making it stronger. If you do, you’re letting your horse train you!
3. Instead, correct him by chasing him forward. Before you actually correct your horse for a dull or non-existent reaction to your leg, consider his temperament. The easy-going, lazy horse might need a few taps with the whip or a few bumps from your legs to send him forward.
But the sensitive soul might only need a brush with the whip to get the same reaction. The point is to get a clearly forward, “hot-off-the-leg” answer– not to terrorize him.
Also, if your horse is the type that bucks when you use the whip, it’s better to bump him with your legs instead. First of all, you don’t want to get bucked off!
In addition, if he’s bucking, he’s obviously not going forward, so he’s missed the whole point of why you corrected him.
So, close both of your legs very lightly on his sides to ask for his version of a lengthening. If your lazy horse doesn’t respond (and he probably won’t if you’re used to giving him strong leg aids), send him forward for eight or ten strides by tapping with the whip or giving him a couple of bumps with your legs.
Keep in mind that at this point, all you’re looking for is some type of forward reaction. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a “pretty” answer. It’s fine if he puts his head up in the air and rushes off. None of those reactions matter in the beginning.
Your only goal when you start this process is to get some kind of enthusiastic answer that shows your horse is paying attention to you.
While you’re sending him forward, maintain a light contact with his mouth, but don’t give any rein aids. There’s no point in using the reins to put him on the bit if he’s not “thinking” forward.
4. Once you’ve chased him forward, go back to a normal working trot. Ask for the lengthening again by RETESTING with a light leg aid.
Retesting by closing both calves lightly is the most important step in the entire process. If you don’t retest, your horse only becomes duller. That’s because you’ve only taught him to go forward when he feels the whip or kicking. You haven’t taught him anything about reacting to a light leg aid unless you retest.
5. Accept nothing less than a 100% response. If his reaction to your legs is “better” or “pretty good” but not wholeheartedly forward, repeat the whole process from the beginning until he makes a 100% effort.
6. When you RETEST, if your lazy horse responds by immediately going forward energetically, praise generously. At this point it’s still okay if he breaks into the canter when you do the retest–later on, through repetition and reward, you can explain to him that you just want a lengthening in the trot. But for the moment, ANY forward reaction deserves to be rewarded.
Click here for more on making a lazy horse more energetic.
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.
Tags: dressage competition, dressage horse, dressage tests, Dressage tips, dressage training, First Level, Jane Savoie, leg yield, lengthening, on the bit, sit the trot, Training Level
A lot of riders are confused by the dressage terms behind the bit and behind the vertical.
When a horse is behind the bit, he’s not connected. That’s never acceptable. It means he’s dropped the contact with your hands, and there are loops in the reins.
Your horse can be behind the vertical and still be connected. However, he will be on the forehand. I’ll go into that a little bit more next.
Sometimes, riding a horse behind the vertical can be useful in schooling to give a horse the idea of staying connected during a dressage movement he’s having trouble with such as a canter depart or leg yields.
For a short period of time, you’d ride him connected but “deep” to give him the idea of using his body as a unit during those movements rather than disconnecting and coming hollow.
But riding your dressage horse behind the vertical isn’t acceptable for competition. In competition, you always want your horse on the bit with his poll the highest point and the nose about 5 degrees in front of the vertical.
Think of the horse’s body as a parallelogram. If the nose is behind the vertical and you draw a parallel line with the hind legs, you’d see the hind legs trailing out behind the body. That’s what I mean when I say that the horse can be connected when he’s behind the vertical, but his balance will be on the forehand.
As you bring the hind legs more under, the parallelogram shifts. The hind legs come under, the head comes up, and the nose comes more forward. Eventually the poll will be the highest point and the nose will be where you want it to be in it’s finished product—about 5 degrees in front of the vertical.
Behind the bit, however, is an entirely different story than behind the vertical. If your horse’s neck is round but he doesn’t touch the reins, he’s behind the bit. He’s not connected.
Connection means that you’ve connected your horse’s back end to his front end. Think of your horse’s back like a suspension bridge.
Draw reins or other gadgets won’t help your horse understand how to come on the bit.
When a horse has been ridden in gadgets like draw reins, he’ll often adopt this “behind the bit” position of a round neck with loops in the reins.
Some horses even look like they have what’s called a “broken neck”. This expression refers to the fact that the highest point of the neck is near the third vertebrae rather than at the poll.
Gadgets create a false frame so there’s no real connection. The horse sees the reins as a restriction. Rather than going through them, he sucks back away from them or breaks at the third vertebrae.
You want your horse to come from behind, over his back, through his neck, and into your hand. So, if you just focus on making the neck round by using gadgets, you’ll never really have a horse that is honestly on the bit.
Also, fiddling with the bit and/or seesawing on your horse’s mouth gives you the same false head set that you get with gadgets. Your horse will just arch his neck and bring his face on or behind the vertical. There’s no true connection from back to front.
Click here for more info on riding your horse on the bit.
Many riders don’t realize that the reason they have trouble sitting the trot, is because they haven’t put their dressage horses on the bit. No matter how good a rider you are, it’s nearly impossible to sit on a back that is stiff and hollow.
The key to making both you and your horse more comfortable in sitting trot, is to connect him so his back is round. You do that with what I call “the “connecting aids”.
Before you try to give connecting aids, check that your dressage horse “thinks forward”. That is, When you close both calves, does he surge forward? If he doesn’t, give him a couple of taps with the whip or a couple of bumps with your legs to chase him forward. Then, ask him to surge forward again when you close your calves lightly. If he gives you a good answer this time, praise him.
Next, ask him to surge forward again, and after his first two strides, close your outside hand in a fist, and vibrate the inside rein. Keep all of these aids on for about 3 seconds. You’re asking for the surge FIRST so you can be sure you’re riding from back to front.
Later on, you’ll give the connecting aids almost simultaneously, but you’ll still think of them in this order: Close both legs, close your outside hand in a fist, squeeze and release on the inside rein. Maintain for 3 seconds and then soften.
When you marry those three sets of aids correctly, you’ll be able to put your dressage horse on the bit, and, as a result, it’ll be easier for you to sit the trot.
Click here for more tips on sitting the trot.
Many people don’t like the dressage term “on the bit”. They feel it has a negative connotation because it conjures up pictures of riding a horse from front to back and forcing him into a frame.
This is how I like to think about it so I don’t get bogged down in semantics. I think of “on the bit” as having both a physical and a mental connotation.
Physically, the dressage term “on the bit” refers to the round silhouette you get when you ride your horse from behind, over his back, through his neck, and into your hands. Once you created that energy and it goes “through” the horse’s body, the energy then can be recycled back to the hind legs.
Mentally, I like to think that horse that’s on the bit is “on the aids”. I can tell that that’s the case if I feel like anything is possible within the next step. If I’m not sure if “anything is possible”, I’ll ask for something like a transition from walk to trot, a canter depart, or a trot lengthening.
So, a Training level horse or a hunter, for example, can be “on the aids” but not necessarily on the bit. They just need to accept contact, be attentive, and willing to have a conversation with their riders.
Dressage horses at First level and above are both on the bit (physically) and on the aids (mentally).
Click here for more on riding dressage horse on the bit.
Yesterday I gave you several ways to “see” when a dressage horse is on the bit. Today I’m going to give you some tips on how to “feel” when he’s on the bit.
When your dressage horse is on the bit:
- You can sit the trot because his back is relaxed.
- His body feels like an organized unit that’s easy for you to maneuver rather than a mess of disconnected pieces.
- In trot, he swings.
- In canter, he springs.
- In both trot and canter, he feels like a bouncing beach ball.
- His back doesn’t feel low or tight. The area just behind the saddle is up and oscillating.
- His impulsion is self-perpetuating. The energy comes from behind, over his back and gets recycled back to the hind legs. So you don’t have to constantly add your driving aids to keep him going.
- And if he’s truly on the bit–not just posing with a fake, arched head and neck–you feel like your dressage horse can do anything in the next step. For instance, he can immediately do a transition from the trot into the canter. Or he can easily move from tracking straight ahead into a lateral movement. Or he can promptly go into an extension. If you’re not sure, just ask for one of those transitions. If he can do them easily and willingly, he’s on the bit.
- Click here for more info on putting a horse on the bit.
Tags: Dressage, dressage horse, Dressage tips, dressage training, extension, Jane Savoie, lateral movement, lateral work, on the bit, sit the trot, transition
When a dressage horse is on the bit, this is what he’ll look like:
• His entire outline from back to front looks round.
• His hind legs step actively underneath his body, his back is up and swinging, his neck is long and low enough to be in line with the “power train” of his hindquarters, his poll is the highest point, and his nose is about 5 degrees in front of the vertical
• From the saddle his neck is widest at the base (just in front of the withers) and becomes progressively narrower as you get closer to his ears.
• From the side, his neck looks longish and relatively low rather than up in the air and short.
Click here for more help with riding a horse on the bit.
Putting your dressage horse on the bit is really as simple as patting your head and rubbing your stomach.
As long as you know the ingredients that make up the aid that puts your horse on the bit, you can connect him. And the great news is that aid is as simple, clear, and uncomplicated as closing your legs and asking your horse to go from halt to walk.
For the sake of clarity, I’m going to call the aid that you’ll use to put your horse on the bit the “connecting aids”.
The “connecting aids” are a combination of three ingredients that are maintained for about three seconds—the length of time it takes you to inhale and exhale:
Those three ingredients are the:
• driving aids
• bending aids
• rein of opposition
The driving aids consist of your seat and your two legs because any of those aids will drive the horse forward.
The bending aids consist of your inside rein which asks the horse to look in the direction that he is going, your inside leg on the girth, and your outside leg behind the girth. Each of those aids contributes to bend.
The rein of opposition is the outside rein. It’s called the rein of opposition because it opposes too much speed from the driving aids and too much bend from the bending aids.
When you marry those three ingredients–driving aids, bending aids and rein of opposition for about three seconds, you give the cue to put your horse on the bit—the connecting aids.
Yes, it’s important to time your aids. That’s because your horse can ONLY respond to an aid when a hind leg is on the ground—and specifically just before it pushes off. But by giving the connecting aids for about three seconds, you’ll be overlapping the time when each hind leg is on the ground.
So putting your dressage horse on the bit really is as simple as patting your head and rubbing your stomach. That’s because basically, all you’re doing is closing both calves to drive your horse forward as if you’re going into a lengthening. Then you do something different with each one of your hands. (That’s where the patting the head and rubbing your stomach comes in.) Your outside hand closes in a fist while your vibrating inside hand keeps the neck straight and asks for flexion at the jaw.
Click here for more on putting your dressage horse on the bit.
Tags: connecting aids, connection, Dressage, dressage horse, Dressage tips, dressage training, Jane Savoie, lengthening, on the bit, outside rein, put dressage horse on the bit, rein of opposition
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