jessplum
Yeah, after I've learned him some "commands" he'd start to be such a pleasure to ride!
e.g. with the parades/stop.. "before" (when riding the traditional dressage) I couldn't stop him, it was impossible! And when I wanted him to get down to the walk, he got really tense, "loosing" his back and so on. So in march I think, I learned him, firstly from the ground, to get down to the walk when I said "wooooho" and then I started using it under saddle which even worked from galop!
It was the "woooho" that learned him, that a deep breath ment down to walk
if you think about it, when saying "wooho" you're actually taking a deep breath
I've also learned him to trot, when I say "trav" (trot) but it isn't so effective anymore
so I have to train it with him alot
also the parades (stop) is working perfectly by command.
So I hope that I could, once in the furture, use the commands when I want to learn him, to be riddin 100% from the seat