{"id":3439,"date":"2010-11-12T00:14:43","date_gmt":"2010-11-12T00:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.89.31.130\/~thehors5\/thm\/?p=3439"},"modified":"2015-01-22T07:38:57","modified_gmt":"2015-01-21T20:38:57","slug":"eventing-with-emma-mason-part-2-are-you-ready-for-a-young-horse-dressage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/2010\/11\/eventing-with-emma-mason-part-2-are-you-ready-for-a-young-horse-dressage\/","title":{"rendered":"Eventing with Emma Mason – Are you ready for a young horse? Part 2 – Dressage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even if the plans for your young horse are more along the lines of coloured poles, red and white flags, starting boxes and angled ducks, the importance of good dressage training cannot be over-emphasised.\u00a0 I love dressage – but I think it\u2019s safe to say that for every person who enjoys this phase, there are another 2 or 3 (I\u2019ll leave the concocting of outlandish, 3-decimal-place statistics to HK Ryan) who despise it.\u00a0 This month\u2019s article aims to simplify what can be a bewildering part of eventing, so that you and your young horse can enjoy, rather than endure, the dressage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

My dressage trainer is Nicholas Fyffe.\u00a0 Nick and I are very close, having formed a solid friendship back in 2001 when we were both working pupils at the renowned Lochinvar equestrian centre, and sharing a somewhat tortured background in elite gymnastics.\u00a0 Nick has had the benefit of training under some of the most influential coaches both in Australia and overseas, and his approach is classical, beautiful and refreshingly straightforward.<\/p>\n

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With a recent training session aboard my 5yo WB\/TB gelding, \u201cPoker Face\u201d, aka Harley, still fresh in my mind, this month\u2019s article aims to give readers some ideas for the schooling of a young, green horse.<\/p>\n

When I\u2019m coaching, I like to \u201chave a sit\u201d on the horse, to get a feel for where his training is at and his level of confidence.\u00a0 This will shape my approach to the lesson, and determine what areas I\u2019ll primarily focus on.\u00a0 Not surprisingly, therefore, it\u2019s difficult \u2013 for both coach and student \u2013 to capture every aspect of a lesson in writing.\u00a0 Many of you will have your own trainers to guide you.\u00a0 But sometimes an idea or a thought, expressed slightly differently, can suddenly make sense, or perhaps an exercise you weren\u2019t previously aware of will prove beneficial to your youngster.<\/p>\n

The Walk<\/strong><\/p>\n

I try to keep the walk as uncomplicated as possible in the young horse.\u00a0 He must MARCH \u2013 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4 \u2013 without hurrying.\u00a0 Most importantly, he has to take responsibility for going forward, rather than having you leg, leg, leg him every stride.\u00a0 I sometimes liken it to having a parent constantly nagging you to tidy your room, do your homework or empty the dishwasher \u2013 eventually, you just \u201cswitch off\u201d (or was I a particularly insolent child?).\u00a0 The horse is no different \u2013 he\u2019ll come to ignore repetitive aids.\u00a0 Every time you give the horse an aid SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN.\u00a0 I love Nick\u2019s line \u201cNo aid can go unnoticed\u201d.\u00a0 Harley can be a bit \u2018warmblood-like\u2019, in that he tends to get a little behind the leg and lethargic at the walk.\u00a0 If it were left up to him, he\u2019d wander aimlessly in a dream-like state.\u00a0 Rather than using my leg every stride, I\u2019ll keep my legs still, and let<\/span> him make the mistake of slowing down.\u00a0 Let <\/span>him make a mistake so I can touch him, a bit sharply, with my leg and send him forward again.\u00a0 That is how he learns.<\/p>\n

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He has <\/em>to react \u2013 an overreaction is better than no reaction.\u00a0 I\u2019d prefer that he breaks into a trot than ignore me.\u00a0 In fact, I\u2019d give him a quick pat on the neck, to reassure him and let him know that he\u2019s on the right track.\u00a0 When he\u2019s in front of you and forward, he\u2019ll give you the nice feeling that he\u2019s politely \u2018pulling\u2019 the reins forward.\u00a0 That is, if you relaxed your elbows, the movement of his neck would gently take your hands forward and back.<\/p>\n

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The Trot<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as in the walk, the horse must be respectful of your aids.\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t mean giving him an almighty boot if he doesn\u2019t bound forward at your first request like a sprinter out of the blocks.\u00a0 Besides the possibility of the unsettled or irritable youngster offering an indignant buck in reply, keep in mind that the horse, too, is an athlete and will need a little time to warm up.\u00a0 I tend to ask for the transition to trot at the start of the long side, giving the horse the feeling of having an open, inviting space in front of him.\u00a0 And when I first begin trotting, I\u2019m not so concerned with the \u201cexuberance\u201d as with the rhythm and straightness.<\/p>\n

I like to ask for transitions \u2018within\u2019 the pace, and it is here that I can check that the young horse is listening to my aids, and find a rhythm.\u00a0 I want a few bigger steps, and then I\u2019ll bring him back again, then a few bigger steps, then back again.\u00a0 I\u2019m interested in whether he moves forward from my leg (if he doesn\u2019t, he\u2019ll get a quick reminder from my leg and possibly a touch with the spur), and whether he responds to pressure from the reins for the \u2018downward\u2019 transition.\u00a0 Keep in mind that the young horse will find it difficult at first to balance for this transition.\u00a0 Be patient, and be prepared to repeat the exercise until it starts to \u2018sink in\u2019.<\/p>\n

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As the horse\u2019s training progresses, he\u2019ll reach a stage where I can collect the trot, thinking almost<\/em> walk, before going forward again.\u00a0 It is important, in this exercise, that if the horse <\/em>starts to think walk, and loses impulsion, you direct him forward again.\u00a0 Even when the trot is more collected, the horse has to keep the same activity, the same tempo.<\/p>\n

Having tested whether the horse is responsive to the forward aid, I want to know, also, that he will move sideways from my leg.\u00a0 I turn up the quarter line, and later the centre line, of the arena and ask for leg yield almost<\/em> to the longside. I say almost <\/em>because horses seem to be drawn to the longside like the ground jury to the yellow card, and I want to be sure that he\u2019s moving sideways because of my leg, not his own desire to get over to the track.\u00a0 See if you can reverse the exercise, yielding him from the track to the quarter line\/centre line instead.<\/p>\n

Again, the rhythm and the activity cannot be compromised, and if the horse starts to labour, go forward and straight for a few strides before putting him back in the leg yield.<\/p>\n

We can get very carried away with \u201cbend\u201d and \u201cflexion\u201d but often in a baby, the biggest challenge is being able to hold a straight line!<\/p>\n

I might make the occasional little adjustment, maybe take the bend slightly one way or the other if he\u2019s a little rigid, but basically I want his head and neck at the centre of his chest.\u00a0 It\u2019s not unusual for young horses to fall out through the outside shoulder, and I find a good way to control this is in maintaining a feel on the outside rein (and keeping my outside elbow in<\/span>!) to the point where I can almost <\/em>see the horse\u2019s outside eye.<\/p>\n

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The Canter<\/strong><\/p>\n

A young horse\u2019s canter will inevitably start out long, strung out and on the forehand.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be in too much of a hurry to shorten him, as he will struggle physically to \u2018sit\u2019 on his haunches and carry himself in the beginning.\u00a0 Before I ask for collection of any sort, I make sure the horse is forward, in front of my leg.\u00a0 Initially, I only pressure the horse for shorter steps for a few seconds, just until I get a reaction, feel him \u2018give\u2019 a little, then I take the pressure away again.\u00a0 Always, if the horse begins to get \u2018backward\u2019 thinking, and behind my leg, I\u2019ll immediately go forward again.<\/p>\n

Just as in the trot, collection in the canter must not mean that the horse loses activity, or that the tempo becomes slower, which is why I find it beneficial to always follow a few collected steps with some more forward work.<\/p>\n

Warm down<\/strong><\/p>\n

As mentioned earlier, the horse is an athlete and should be \u2018warmed down\u2019 just as people are.\u00a0 I finish each session by allowing the horse to take the rein forward and down in the trot.\u00a0 I still want him active \u2013 this isn\u2019t an excuse for him to fall on his face – but I\u2019m giving him a chance to stretch his neck and unwind a bit.\u00a0 And I give him a pat \u2013 I appreciate his efforts!<\/p>\n

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Management<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having gone through all of the above, there is little use in having an exquisitely trained youngster that breaks down \u2013 either physically or mentally \u2013 2 years down the track.<\/p>\n

George Morris offered some words of wisdom in a clinic I rode in recently:\u00a0 When the horse is 3 and 4 years old, their work should be a game.\u00a0 When they\u2019re 5, it may be a bit more serious, but still playing a bit.\u00a0 When they\u2019re 6, only then can the intensity go up a bit.\u00a0 That\u2019s hard, as a rider, particularly with a talented horse you have high hopes for!<\/p>\n

The arena surface is an important factor in the long-term soundness of the horse.\u00a0 I\u2019m extremely lucky, as is Harley, to have a Capricorn \u2018Soiltex\u2019 surface on which to train.\u00a0 This surface has a unique way of \u2018springing\u2019 back up, barely leaving a hoof print, which really eases the strain on young joints.\u00a0 It is also virtually non-slip, which is necessary for securing the youngster\u2019s confidence.\u00a0 It definitely pays to give careful consideration to the surface on which the horse will work.<\/p>\n

Whilst I feel we\u2019re entitled to expect a certain level of focus from the horse in the arena (after all, he has some 23 other hours of the day to do pretty much as he pleases!), I don\u2019t expect my young horses to work in the arena every single day.\u00a0 Every 3rd<\/sup> day or so, they\u2019ll go for a walk\/trot on the gallop track, or they might do their flatwork in the big showjumping paddock.\u00a0 I find this helps them become a bit more forward-thinking, and perhaps more \u2018worldly\u2019, as they get out and see a bit more.\u00a0 And they don\u2019t get as stale: \u00a0I can almost graph Harley\u2019s downward spiral after too many consecutive days in the 20 x 60!<\/p>\n

The training session in the young horse shouldn\u2019t be too long \u2013 ideally, I like to work a horse like Harley for 20 \u2013 30 minutes, not much more.\u00a0 If I can get to a point where he\u2019s thinking forward, using his back and happy, I\u2019ll put him away.<\/p>\n

Hope this helps in some way… Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emma Mason takes her young horse to a lesson with dressage trainer, Nick Fyffe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[377,1244,378],"class_list":["post-3439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eventing","tag-emma-mason","tag-eventing","tag-training-young-horses"],"acf":[],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3439"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20793,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3439\/revisions\/20793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.horsemagazine.com\/thm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}