How do I teach my horse dressage movements?
Hi. I was just wondering how to teach my horse Cappy dressage movements ssuch as:
Flying Change
Piaffe
Leg Yeilding
Seat Aids
And More
He is pretty well trained, he ggoes round and straight, and has already learned the basics of leg yeilding. He is 8 years old and has strong muscles, so strength isn’t really a problem.
Get an instructor or go to some clinics! Or at least buy a dressage training book for the more advanced movements (the flying changes and the piaffes). Training leg yielding is fairly simple, but your horse needs to be able to yield laterally to leg pressure. You can start teaching this on the ground, simply by applying pressure to the horse’s side where you would apply leg pressure if you were riding. A dressage whip can be helpful for this, using it to provide a gentle reminder of what you are asking. Once you get the horse yielding to pressure on the ground, practice it under saddle. The main thing is that the horse has to learn to move sideways but keep his body straight and parallel to the wall, crossing his legs over one another to move correctly. Seat aids, as you put it, are not a "movement", but a necessary method of communication between you and your horse in order to perform any movement of dressage, along with leg and hand aids. Piaffes require far more detailed ground training, so you would definitely need an instructor for this.
Good luck!
Find a great Certified Dressage Instructor. Leg yielding is pretty basic and hard to mess up. Flying changes are not hard to do…but if you want them clean, straight, and to someday do tempi’s then that is a whole different kettle of fish. Piaffe is very advanced and your horse (and you!) must have the correct basics, strength, and suppleness to do it correctly and not hurt your horse. Seat aids are learned by instruction and feedback from a great teacher. Even the best dressage riders have someone on the ground that gives them feedback on their training.
It’s good that your horse is strong but he must also be laterally and longitudinally supple in order for the work of upper level dressage not to harm him.
So find an instructor and have fun!
References :
FEI Trainer and Competitor
Get an instructor or go to some clinics! Or at least buy a dressage training book for the more advanced movements (the flying changes and the piaffes). Training leg yielding is fairly simple, but your horse needs to be able to yield laterally to leg pressure. You can start teaching this on the ground, simply by applying pressure to the horse’s side where you would apply leg pressure if you were riding. A dressage whip can be helpful for this, using it to provide a gentle reminder of what you are asking. Once you get the horse yielding to pressure on the ground, practice it under saddle. The main thing is that the horse has to learn to move sideways but keep his body straight and parallel to the wall, crossing his legs over one another to move correctly. Seat aids, as you put it, are not a "movement", but a necessary method of communication between you and your horse in order to perform any movement of dressage, along with leg and hand aids. Piaffes require far more detailed ground training, so you would definitely need an instructor for this.
Good luck!
References :