Did you know that dressage is a language developed between the rider and horse through the effective use and timing of rein, leg, seat and weight aids? Did you know each time you ride, you are training your horse? Did you know dressage means training of the horse AND rider? Dressage for the rider teaches you how to train your horse. That’s why dressage for the rider is dressage for the horse. Here’s my story…
Just after purchasing my first horse in 1988, a fellow boarder gently asked me, “Who are you going to take lessons from?”
In ignorance I replied, “Why take lessons when I own a horse!?” Back then, I thought lessons were for horseless people looking for an opportunity to ride—not for people who own a horse. Then my kindhearted boarder friend invited me to watch a nearby dressage show. “Dressage? What is dressage?” I asked. We arrived at Brightonwood Farm just in time to see Kathy Theisen riding a horse named Bullwinkle in a dressage performance to music. Kathy and Bullwinkle danced as one to the rhythm of a waltz, skipping along the diagonal in flying lead canter changes and soaring across the arena at an extended trot. Smiling the entire time, she rode with effortless finesse. Her rein, leg, seat and weight aids were so seamless, I couldn’t understand how Bullwinkle knew what to do, as if he read her mind. I get goosebumps every time I tell this story. This was my introduction to dressage. I wanted a relationship with my horse like Kathy had with Bullwinkle and I wanted to learn how to communicate with my horse as one. That moment I realized the importance of lessons: the importance of consistent communication with my horse through my reins, legs, seat and weight to the degree it becomes barely noticeable. There was clearly a better way to interact with my horse than “kick to go” and “pull to stop.” No wonder my boarder friend asked me about lessons—no joke, I needed them!Dressage is a French term for the training of the horse AND rider
Dressage teaches the rider how to lead the horse into:
- Relaxation (of mind and body) for the horse and rider; a relaxed rider leads a horse into relaxation of mind (more focus and less anxiousness) and directs the horse into relaxation of body (reducing tension leading to pace and hard trot)
- Balance (more evenly over all four legs); the rider learns a balanced ear, shoulder, hip, and heel riding position over the horse’s center of gravity and leads the horse into a position of balance where the horse is light to the hand, stepping under the belly more than disengaging behind the tail with the hind leg steps; and developing the chest and shoulder muscles to lift the wither, head and neck
- Rhythm (steady, even tempo, stride length, and consistent head nod)
- Connection (acceptance of a light snaffle bit contact as the rider learns to follow the horse’s natural head and neck motion)
- Forward movement without rushing
- Symmetry (even flexibility and strength to develop an ambidextrous horse)
- Collection (developing more carrying power from the hind quarters while engaging the chest, shoulder and abdominal muscles to lift the wither and back)
- Quality smooth gaits: A consistent dressage program develops the horse’s full range of motion for quality smooth gaits on cue and long-term soundness