9 DRESSAGE QUESTIONS ANSWERED

9 DRESSAGE QUESTIONS ANSWERED

At the start of the week I asked for page and group member’s questions about dressage, here are my responses.

1. “I love dressage, I just don’t like where competition dressage has gone, if the rules were followed, it would be so different. So, can we go back to where dressage began, and what the real benefits of it are when it is done correctly?”

Great question. I have a lot to say about this. If you type into google “dressage definition” you get 3 definitions….here they are:

a) Google dictionary states dressage is “the art of riding and training a horse in a manner that develops obedience, flexibility, and balance”

b) Wikipedia states “Dressage; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training" is a highly skilled form of riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an "art" sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined by the International Equestrian Federation, dressage is described as "the highest expression of horse training" where "horse and rider are expected to perform from memory a series of predetermined movements."

c) Merriam-Webster dictionary states dressage is “the execution by a trained horse of precision movements in response to barely perceptible signals from its rider”.

So, what is it? Training that develops gymnastic ability, a sport or highly trained precisions movements?

What it really is, is a way of riding and training a horse that develops gymnastic ability and strength for long term riding soundness. If the training is done well the movements should be precise from barely perceptible signals from a rider. There are also competitions that you can enter to demonstrate your dressage training results.

Many years ago, when we had to rely on horses for transport long term soundness was really important. For the cavalry, a horse that could withstand the rigors of carrying or hauling you and your supplies to and from battle and remain obedient in battle was a big factor in determining whether you lived or died. For everyday use of horses, it determined whether you could plow your fields, transport your produce or get people around. Their soundness was important. It was a no-brainer. Then the car came along in the 1920’s and the horse’s life changed forever. Over a few decades they went from being the heart of life, trade, transport and connecting the community and facilitating progress to animals people owned mainly for their enjoyment or entertainment. The importance and understanding of horse soundness, that was more commonsense, started to fade as the people that grew up in the times that needed the horse for their transportation purpose, past away. Other things started to become more important than horse soundness – attraction and most importantly, winning stuff (racing, jumping etc.). Basically, the focus changed. And that is why we now have these different perspectives on what “dressage” is. There is a disconnect between soundness and the sport. Horses can be trained to perform the traditional, historically based movements still found in dressage tests without the care for soundness. They can be performed incorrectly or before they are ready and then they become damaging instead of strengthening.

Besides this disconnect because of time, there is also another problem. That is translations between different languages. The classical schools of dressage all have writings they refer to from their favored classical master. The problem is that, when these writings are translated to English, much of the meaning is lost or screwed. For instance, I read an interview of Steffen Peters and how he discussed the problems that the term “on the bit” had caused in dressage. It was a translation from German to English and it had unfortunately taken a postural description involving the whole horse and its musculature and simplified it incorrectly to a focus on the “bit” and the horse’s neck. In the interview he said, in his opinion, a better translation would be “to muscle the horse up”.

So, we have a “time” issue that disconnects us from the historical purpose of dressage and the importance of soundness, plus we have a translation problem when we do delve into historical writings to delve back into the past and its rich knowledge.

So, can we go back to where dressage began, and what the real benefits of it are when it is done correctly?

I think we can, but it is going to need a lot of positive social influence as the information is out there, but it is just being badly conveyed in way that does not inspire change. We need the concept of “soundness” to return to the sport and ways to identify if movements are performed correctly. Then judges need to reward evidence of good training and not flashy flamboyance. We also need to take seriously issues such as hypermobility and congenital malformations such as C6-7 deformities and make changes to ensure we are not breeding horses that are predisposed to soundness and welfare issues.

But we are not going to create this change if people continue to put up videos and photographs up on the internet and ridicule and criticise. That just shuts people down. That does not inspire change. That is just being an arsehole. You get out there and you be the change. You join the community and you help. If you don’t force beliefs down people’s throats and make them feel criticised, they will start asking you about your well-trained lovely horse that is progressing up the grades. You will have to get over the fact you will probably not win. In fact, you will lose to tense, unhappy poorly trained, flash horses in tight nosebands ridden with whips and spurs in novice classes. But if you feel ripped off and cheated then you have to go have a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself WHY you are there. You should not be there for the ribbons. You must be there for the horse. You must choose the horse first, the sport second. You will be doing your bit to create positive influence and instigate change, not to mention testing your own training to improve it.

I have written more on these topics. First, about the problems with dressage: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.10251.../1357781567614877/...

Secondly, about competing and its role in training: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.10251.../2503889443004078/...

2. “I'd like to find a way to make nosebands in dressage comp optional.

There is so much research now showing the restrictive effect they have.”

The more I have learnt about training horses and understanding how to train “contact” that is beneficial for improving gymnastic ability, straightness, balance and strength, the more my bridle set ups changed. First, the flash noseband loosened, then was removed and then the caversson loosened and then removed. So, I see change to this rule will only occur if knowledge of training horses improves in the equestrian community. Until this time, you have people that were no different from me a few years ago that saw nosebands and bits as necessary controlling device. These people need to go on the same journey I did. This is why I am out there doing my thing, coaching, writing, helping people…..education will change the world.

Personally, I would love to instigate a penalty system to inspire change. People can use nosebands, spurs and whips (as per the current rules), but if you do, you incur a penalty on your test. I think this would be a cool way to challenge people to learn how to perform the test without them and in doing so inspire learning!

3. “How do you pick the tests? Should a horse start at prep level and go through all the test before going into preliminary level etc.”

Great questions. I encourage people to go to dressage competitions. You must make sure you go with the right mindset, but they can be a fantastic way of building the training and connection to your horse. This is because they are fantastic training challenges! They give you a goal to work towards that motivates you to get out there and ride your horse. And the experience gives you honest feedback about the quality of your training and how good the decisions you are making regarding your horse!

So, which test do you pick? The one that is easiest for your horse. The one you think you horse will have the highest chance of success. The last thing you want is to go into a test, in a competition environment and have them distracted and tense and insist they do hard things and you end up having to fight with them. That will give them one massively bad experience that can mean they will form a negative association with and that can be hard to overcome.

My advice is to start by just taking your horse out to venues with no competitions or events. Just get them working well at the venue. Then go along with something small is on. Just let them hang out, do ground-work or if they are coping well you can introduce them to the warm up. When they have show confidence and connection with you in these situations then they are ready to compete. But you make it a simple test. A simple outing. Set them up for success. Once they have shown they can consistently do the simple test and the simple outing, then you can considering doing two tests or going to the next level. At any time at any competition I have a rule, if at any time your horse is not coping – abort. It means your horse is struggling. If they are stop and HELP them. Their experience of the event is paramount. Forcing a horse through an event can be damaging in terms of your relationship with them and their association with competing. Time and experience might be all they need to get confidence at a venue, in a certain environment or at a certain level.

This blog I wrote also contains some ideas: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.10251.../2503889443004078/...

4. "How do you deal with rider anxiety (and in turn horse anxiety) when doing tests"? "How do you get to the point where your test is proactive not reactive (i.e. I can only think about current movement, rather than think ahead and prepare properly for next movement)"?

People experience competition anxiety for two main reasons. Firstly, their horse is tense in the competition environment or arena. Navigating a horse around a test whilst trying not to die in front of people is not fun! Secondly, people get anxious being judged and potentially criticized by the judges or people watching.

Therefore, my advice is to consider the horse first and follow my advice in question 3). Get the horse confident and relaxed in the environment. This will reduce the stress you are experiencing. The less stressed you are, the less reactive you will be. Then you can deal with the worry of being judged and criticized by others. You can do this a number of ways. Firstly, be the supportive positive person at the event. Encourage and congratulate others. Tell people what they did well. Humans are wired to connect. We are wired to do good, be good. Being positive is contagious just as much as being negative and critical. So, choose to be positive and friendly and you will inspire others. Secondly, have a clear purpose of why you are doing what you are doing. Be doing it for your horse and its training, not for ribbons. Learn to see the performance as feedback on your training. Heck, it is only a moment in time, it is certainly not a final report card that determines whether you can ride or train a horse, it is just a 6-7 snapshot. Finally, practice. Practice riding tests, go to training days and small events. The more you do and experience the better you will get.

This blog also helps with this: https://www.facebook.com/.../a.10251.../2503889443004078/...

5. "I was at my little show on the weekend and I got my test back and it said she's tilting her head a little to the left. She's had her teeth done, chiro and massage and gets stretched before every ride, why do you think she's doing that"? "I sat with the judge and saw a lot of it happening too. Just wondering what I can do to correct it or help her stay straight."?

Great questions. Head tilting means that instead of responding to flexion through the poll and vertebra of the neck/spine etc. They are bracing and tilting their head or twisting the neck as a response. Therefore, the horse is not flexing and bending correctly, hence the judges will report it and it will impact your scores.

It can be caused by a few things. Firstly, I get off and inspect the response from the ground so I can see properly. I pick up the rein and I check to see if the horse is flexing at the poll or bracing or pushing the jaw out instead. If the horse is bracing, I break the movement down into small responses until they are responding correctly and ask for more flexion and more following the rein around further (not past the elbow) in a correct flexion with the ears level. If the horse is correctly flexing on the ground, then I could check the response in the saddle at a standstill, then in motion. I would be checking for any bracing and how level the ears are (unlevel ears = head tilting or neck twisting). Also check, if the horse braces or tilts when the reins are shortened into a shorter rein connection. If the bracing/tilting is triggered by this I make sure I work on shortening the reins and the horse relaxing at the poll and following the reins back into a vertical flexion at halt and all gaits.

If the horse is tilting in motion, then after checking saddle fit, feet, teeth etc. (which you have done) you must check your own balance in the saddle. An instructor who specializes in riding position can be extremely helpful with this. This is because it can be rider’s position and balance in the saddle that is triggering the horse to brace and tilt.

6. "Who are the current riders on the competitive scene who are following the ideals"?

Because dressage is not just a sport (I know you know that 😊), go for dressage riders and not necessarily those that compete. Here is my short list: I have got a lot of insight from a classical perspective from Anja Beran, Bent Branderup and Manolo Mendez. Transferring a dressage “soundness perspective” into competition Christoph Hess and Stephen Clarke. Competition riders that make sense to me when they discuss training are Carl Hester and Garth Hughes. All names I have mentioned here all can draw major criticism from the different fractions of the dressage world, but all I have personally found helpful.

7. "There has been a lot of recent discussion about dressage saddle makers creating saddle that allow for a “false deep seat”. They are putting the deepest part of the seat too far back, so the rider isn’t able to ride the shoulders and correctly get collection but seem to have a beautiful riding seat to the naked eye. What are your thoughts"?

Yes, I have read reports on this as well. Not only do they create a false deep seat, but they also create a false security and sense of balance and allow the rider to brace against the saddle instead of engaging their core. So, the rider’s position can look good, but the ramifications of the weight of the rider and where the rider is anchoring for balance can negatively impact the horse and its gymnastic development.

Also, recent discussions of the “type” of horse that is being selectively bred, has pointed out the modern horse can have shoulders and a short back that make correctly fitting a saddle extremely difficult.

8. “So, if I only want to trail ride, or maybe do a bit of team penning, why do I need to know about ‘dressage”? “What about show jumpers who never do flat work”?

Great question. When we sit on the horse’s back, the horse’s spine will go into an extension, in other words it will “hollow”. This means that the rider is being supported on the horse’s spine - on its skeleton. Over time this can be detrimental to the soundness of the horse. Also, horse’s are all born with a natural asymmetry through their body. This means that they do not weight their legs evenly. Over time, this asymmetry will result in certain joints experiencing more wear and tear and can impact the long-term soundness of a horse.

Dressage as a concept of gymnastically developing the horse, is about training and working a horse in the way that teaches it to flex its spine and makes the horse more symmetric. This results in the horse carrying the rider using its musculature and not just its skeleton. This protects the spine. Correcting the symmetry results in an even of wear. Overall, this results in a horse that is sounder for longer. This means the horse is set up to work for many years of enjoyment without experiencing discomfort.

Therefore, whether you are trail riding or show jumping, dressage offers just not control but is protective to the horse.

9. “Why do you need more “gear” the higher you get. I don’t understand double bridles and I don’t get spurs either. If your horse is well trained why!!! Oh, and the theory of the longer your leg sits the better when all I see are riders on tip toes”

The simple answer is that it is the rules of the sport. They are also traditional. However, the curb bit, spurs etc. are tools for refinement, if the horse is trained in a way that basics are well established. They allow certain higher-level movements to be clearer communicated to the horse. So, they can help with clarity, for when a horse is well trained in many movements. Are they necessary, no. You can train a horse to do these things in simple tack set ups. I am also sure there are people out there that can train a horse to do very high-level movements with no tack! There really is no rules in reality! Just the rules in the sport itself. But they are not necessarily evil either and they can help the horse with communication and clarity. Unfortunately, they can also be misused for their ability to apply a lot for force and discomfort to a horse.

The “long leg” issue. Stirrup length is something that is widely debated out there. Personally, I believe there are no rules. It depends on the saddle, the riding skills of the person and the education of the horse.