The Art of Natural Dressage

Hello,

Today I went riding with Ruphina again... but she seems to have a very hard time doing sideways... something she normally loves (she wouldn't stop when I was riding without a bit, won't stop when groundworking and loves them in longreining... though only in walk... riding with bridle(sidepull) she did them even happier in trot).

She'll go faster which means she is sort of panicking I thought, will go straight ahead but with pure flexion in her neck, which is her biggest try for now, I suppose. Is this just one step to far for her right now? She did it with a bridle... was that too pushy? But I hardly used any reins I thought, I could be wrong.

Everytime I ask and she speeds up flexes her neck, I get off and do it again in hand, I try to give my cues the same as when riding so I lift my arm and cue with cordeo for flexion and to tell her not to go forward to much (though she is still does a bit, because it's still in 'on our way to perfection' state) and I put my hand where my leg would be. Even the smallest sign for sideways (which is now only her front legs) I reward from the saddle. I've been doing this several times but she seems to only have a 'lucky guess' of what to do.

And maybe it's just waiting for her to grow stronger and more confident to do it... but to be sure I'm not doing anything wrong (which is something I suppose is the solution)... "what do you do for a sideways".

Her stepping under is getting quite well, though even here she speeds up a bit... I decided already to work on this before going further... but in case it comes up... what 'cues' do you give for "shall we do sideways?"
Probaly it's a thing about patience, and not trying to achieve but being happy with what you got. But I want to make sure I'm not doing anything wrong either... just to know for sure I'm not the one being in her way...

Thank you all

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kirsten
time is what you make of it

Hi KDS
If she's doing it nicely in hand without pressure but not when you ride her then I would guess that there is something about your body position or balance or weight shift that is conflicting with what you are asking her and making it a little difficult or confusing.

I found myself always trying to do too much at first when riding.. pushing my horse over sideway.. and it just didn't work. What worked better for me was to prime her up with the ground work as you do and then sit on her VERY VERY quietly and ask for what I want with very very light delicate and minimal cues sitting very straight and balanced.. and then just wait there for even the slightest muscle movement in the right direction to mark and reward. If she walked forward I would just gentle relax everything and stop her before beginning again.

A trick that really helps is to use the same spot in the arena each time.. that way she'll associate the exercise with the place. When I wanted Sunrise to learn a full sidepass I positioned her over a pipe on the ground and just kept rewarding as long as she didn't put any foot over the pipe.. gradually asking for sideways movement. Then it was easy for her to understand it from the saddle as well and after a few sessions she didn't need the pipe. We always did shoulder in in hand along the same side of the arena so that's where I began asking for it under saddle each time we got to that spot. Easy!

Are you just wanting her to move her front feet around her hind at the moment? Which way do you want her to bend?

If you are wanting her to bend to the right and take a step with her front feet to the right then I would just start by marking for a slight turn of her head until she gains her confidence. So lift the cordeo as you look right and touch your leg on her side at the girth where you would put your hand if doing it from the ground. Wait very quietly and she'lll probably start trying things and looking around to work out what you want. The millisecond that she turns her head to the right mark and reward. After a few tries she should be able to reliably differentiate whether you want her to turn left or right. When she's really confident you can start to wait and hold your leg on..tell her good good good if that helps her as she's turning her head right but not getting the reward.. and encourage her till she makes a weight shift or moves a front foot over to the right.. voila! My horse LOVES this game.. the left right game.. to an onlooker it seems as if all I do is turn my head and my horse turns in time! Important not to pull them sideways with cordeo.. must LIFT the cordeo.. lift the horse gently with your cordeo and your inside leg so that they can lift their inside shoulder to move their inside foot over.. See lots of people making that mistake.

From that we've gone on to develop a shoulder in; walk pirrouhette; turn on the forehand; sidepass; and now a half pass.

I'm sure you'll get there soon!

Sue

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I have not sought the horse of bits, bridles, saddles and shackles,
But the horse of the wind, the horse of freedom, the horse of the dream. [Robert Vavra]

Here is a very good series of videos on doing a half pass. I know that you aren't doing half pass, but there is alot of good information in this video about how a horse bends and which way the ribcage moves in both shoulder in and half pass. It also discusses the rider's positioning to aid the horse in bending the right way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkGcT1xh73M

It's in six part, and it's worth watching every single moment!

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

Some tips from me too.

For me there is a huge difference between yielding and shoulder in concerning the leg aids.
With shoulder in, you ask the horse to bend around your inside leg and for the horse to be able to do that, it’s essential that you keep your inside leg long.
It is then really hard to ask the shoulders to come of the track without the help of the outside rein.
What I do with the cordeo is, I lift and take it to the inside for the bend as if going onto a circle and then lift him straight again, with my upper body in the direction of the track and I sort of continue these two sets of aids which have worked on most horses who are ready to offer shoulder in of course, and it has worked for my students.
Just like with the inside rein we riders often tend to grab hold of it, the same happens with the cordeo, we try to create bend, or at least I did ha ha ! Of course then the horse wants to move off the track and the inside leg will come back to keep him there, but that is not shoulder in but some sort of rigid renvers ha ha !

To prepare shoulder in, first work on proper bend with your inside leg only on the circle, then on the track and then ask for shoulder for with the slight help of the cordeo.

For reacting to the leg yield; indeed as Sue says, in the same place will make it click.
Also, I ask the horse to move towards the fence and then ask a halt. Then I place one leg back a little and ask. To avoid to adding pressure and starting to push like crazy, take your leg off again and again and ask softly every time. When the horse indeed, just yields a tiny bit, reward like crazy.

With every lateral movement it is essential to;
- use your leg when the belly/barrel swings away from your leg (the moment the inside hind leg comes forward)
- release your leg after a few seconds and repeat only if needed.

The video Karen’s placed before by J.P. are so excellent!

Anyway, more and more I see how important it is to release your aids each pace and repeat as needed.
It’s not my invention alas, it is called by master La Gueriniere ‘le descent de main et des jambes’
Which simply means, let your hands and legs ‘hang’ doing nothing anymore.
Works like a charm.

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www.equusuniversalis.com

Thanks you all guys, been riding bitless lately way to much simply because she gets the shoulder in then and it is easier to get her walking with her hindlegs... She is a bit 'overenthusiatic' and doesn't brake that much lately so I actually should start cordeo riding in walk, great way to teach some exercises in walk.

Lately she doesn't want to be ridden, but I'll read again and again to remember all this.
The comment about the cues being not constant, that's a really good one because Ruphina tends to go crazy when you ask her with constant cue, still it's something I forget once in every while. And I suppose it is true I was trying to pull her to much with the cordeo into the shoulderin, and ofcourse she will bend around my insideleg so I don't have to 'hold her head' she is capable of that herself! So I will try what Josepha said with the lifting of the cordeo, feels like this is what is our 'thing'.

I figured it is something with my weightshift, so I've been practising that with a bridle, the bridle for my own confidence (bitless ofcourse) so I could move around a lot. Been practising my hipmovements (really I could take over the show on the dancefloor with my hipmovements, their strong and I know how to use them :P ) and more generally all my bodymovement (now my hipmovement is okay, my armmovement seems to be intervening with it ) on the ground, in the saddle, on the bicycle and in the train :P


so I can't wait to try, but lately it's dark when I start riding... and in the dark... things are out there to get us (Ruphina thinks) so were basically trying to get her more confident even in the dark. One day in the ligth, or one day with her confidence will give it a big try again!

Thank you so much!

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kirsten
time is what you make of it

Maybe Josepha or Sue can say something more about this, but I too was using a weight shift, and I found out that i didn't need to (and Tam doesn't want me to). If he is being really stuck, I will shift my upper body slightly in the direction of travel (say in shoulder in) but it is fleeting and then I center myself again immediately. Also, the tipping of the hip can be so subtle as to barely be anything other than a natural reaction of your body to looking where you want to go. And in fact, all I am really doing is lightening the inside hip which allows Tam the freedom to raise his ribcage up under me.

The less I do, the easier it is for me to do it, and the happier Tam is to move with my suggestion.

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

OKay, well something to think about

I found out while riding that Ruphina is very sensitive for my bodyshiftments. This way she was aesier to steer towards a smaller circle or a larger. It is minimal but it is something that really works for us One important point for me is... I have to know what my bodyshiftments are, in order to not mix things up... sometimes my body can have a whole different idea of what to do then me :P
Maybe all the thinking about it even makes it harder and is 'doing nothing' the way to do it as is natural instead of 'thought through' and tight?

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kirsten
time is what you make of it

I agree completely Karen.

We want our horses to be able to be straight underneath us. How can they if we shift our weight towards one side?
The same as with the circle, one could put weight into the inside stirrup and that would cause the horse to turn yes, but would it be a straight turn? moist likely not.

La Guerinere speaks of shifting the weight of your foot in the stirrups, more to the inside of your toes for instance, or more to the outside, more in your heels etc. but that is it.

I put more weight in my inside heal and outside toes in shoulder in. But it is a slight gesture so I mostly do not speak of it.

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www.equusuniversalis.com

Been thinking about this since I've heard it.
With weightshifting you ofcourse work on her selfbalance, which ofcourse she should keep, you shouldn't get her ou of balance, she shouldn't be working on keeping you balanced on her. So that's understandable and a real good point

I think I've been reading her before about how to work your body with going backwards. Do you want to lean forward or backward. backward would mean the horse is moving to keep your weight balanced on her back (as is told me) and when you move forward (as Hempfling I believe teaches) you 'give a push' backwards. When I want to go backwards I lean forward, because that was clear for us... without pressure on her head.

And combining these points... I got lost

Because, I don't want to 'imbalance' her, I'm happy with the balance she's finding lately, but it's ofcourse more then lifting on her back... you have to stay with her balance. But I steer with my seat, is steering with your seat (and bellybutton) not also based on weightshifting? This might be the point I got lost.
Sorry for all the questions... just trying to get it, because then it will become (hopefully) this big aha moment and I'll be able to 'get it' better...

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kirsten
time is what you make of it

You and me both! I'm still playing with backing and halting. For both, I'm still relying on my verbal cues. I was tipping my pelvis back and that works, which is great as long as I do it softly and almost imperceptibly...but I don't want to be doing it and inadvertantly pushing down on his back. My other way was to simply drop both heels which straightens my legs a bit...trying not to actually lean forward. This latter way, allows Tam the freedom to do hard stops and get under himself as long as my balance is good. But for a nice square halt, softly tipping the pelvis might be ok for he and I.

So I'm still trying to sort out what works best for Tam, that I can do consistently too, that keeps me as neutral as possible and Tam happy.

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

I've been watching the video Karen posted... with some sort of rest in me.. I can actually pick up information now... it's very interesting... should be taking notes! Thank you so much!

He explains so clearly and most be one bom of knowledge... does he have a book of any sort?

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kirsten
time is what you make of it

Kirsten, he doesn't have a book, but I expect there will be more videos as time goes by.

He is opening an online resource called Equus Academy. It will be by subscription so not free, but I think it will be a really wonderful resource for some people like myself who don't have access to real lessons. I can always learn by watching other people get lessons, and the videos that will be posted there will be videos of lessons he gives to students.

He just opened the site for beta testing. He asked for 10 people to test the site and I got to be one . The site should be open soon. There are already numerous videos to watch and he says that two videos will be added each week. There will also be a forum for discussions and asking questions, etc.

the web address is www.equus-academy.com

My primary interest is in learning more about endotapping. He does have some videos for sale about that. I'm quite excited about it all. The little endotapping I've done so far really helps to teach the horse to relax, but also to move more freely. I don't have a way to explain it well enough yet. I bought one endostick (it's a dressage whip with a small ball on the end) and the beginning video. Now he has a couple other videos out on it that I hope to get but my budget is limited, so I have to be careful how I spend it.

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

Yes partly and partly it is really just stirring as in forming the body. It's all math and physics. For correct stirring you need 100% vertical and horizontal lines. You try to keep the pressure on your stirrups and seatbones evenly divided and then you turn straight (your pelvis makes a straight turn like you would turn the top of a pepper mill, your legs and upperbody follow your pelvis), nudging the horse's the rib cage to make a bend and asking the outside hind leg to engage the turn like a natural turn goes without rider.
The inside leg is able to ask the inside hind leg to come under more to engage correct body movement further.

That is completely different from just hanging to the inside (A movement a peppermill could not make, so it is now a movement like a scale) where your horse will turn to try and compensate your weight dragging the inside of the horse to the inside which will injure the horse's shoulders at due course or pulling the inside rein to the same effect. Or worse... both Which seems to be common practise at that...

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www.equusuniversalis.com

Worse yet, I see many riders pull the inside rein out and DOWN (and by doing that they also lean to the inside). I don't know who taught them to do that, but it's so counter to keeping the inside shoulder up and balanced that I can't imagine anyone teaching someone to do that.

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

Indeed, I teach everyone to open the inside rein by taking it forward and lifting the inside hand. That automatically prevents the rider from hanging to the inside

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www.equusuniversalis.com