The Art of Natural Dressage

I have this book full of dressage exercises and in the part about canter they give you an exercise where you have to ride at the canter while standing up in the saddle (forward seat?). It should help your horse round his back and relax easier at a canter and have him use his belly muscles more. So my question now is:
My now 5 year old Quarter also has trouble bending on a circle, going straight is ok though, but should I try this exercise? And if I do, should I use it regularly or do you guys think it has some downsides too? I was wondering whether he could turn better this way too.

I'm very interested to hear some ideas about this

These are two questions in one,

Yes the 'standing' is a good idea for canter as well as trot. Act like you are going over cavaletti but make sure you keep you point of gravity above your feet (like you where standing on rollerscates).

About the seat... there is not much actual sitting involved to start with. I do not call it 'the art of sitting without sitting' for nothing
One must never use the horse's back as a chair to rest one's bottom

Then the circle, if your horse has troubles cantering the circle you should not canter the circle.
You have to do more gymnastics in groundwork and in walk and trot.
Your horse is not straight, strong and flexible enough and therefore has not got the balance to canter you around in a circle so better not ask it, for your horse is only going to loose balance en get to much weight in his inner shoulder.

Keep to the regular gymnastics (circles, 8's, yielding, shoulder in in walk and if possible trot.
When canter, only a few paces, as soon as he looses balance back to walk, preferably on your seat, not your reins for a better transition. Then start over.



Josepha

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just to clarify: I only canter straight lines, only problem in the pasture is after a straight line comes a corner (big one, but it's a bend...) so I should then go to trot, make the bend and then canter again???
I've only cantered on rides out in the fields, because of the straight lines. But you think I should leave cantering for some more time?

Exactly, canter the long side of the paddock, the go back to trot or walk even before the corner.
You then benefit from the transitions, the short canter actually has gymnastic value and you do not put pressure on the inside shoulder by cantering corners your horse can not yet do properly.

Ask canter in ground work and work on that, making the circles smaller and smaller.
Make sure you also do a lot of yielding etc. in walk as a warm up.

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Can I add a question to this? I have seen people posting to a canter - good idea or bad idea?

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Glen Grobler

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon

posting as in rising trot?

I am not familiar with the idea behind it but I see no point in helping the horse with it as canter is a 3 beat pace... How would you post it correcly with losing balance?

Can you enlighten a bit more please?

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Yes, rising canter. They "sit" one 3 beat and "stand" one 3 beat. I have seen it mostly on Polo fields. That's why I ask - perhaps it helps the horse like rising trot can help the horse? Perhaps it is less tiring to the horse? Especially during the "learning to carry" early training? I have never tried to do it, because I think perhaps a rider needs to be careful of doing it the right way?

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Glen Grobler



Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon

I have learned that when I was training polo-horses and they do it a lot because it is less tiring for the rider, I don't know about the horse, but I liked doing this a lot!

just goes to show, I have no experience with it at all so I can not tell you anything about it.

And I do not see it mentioned by De pluvinel nor Xenophon

If it works it works, but still as glen says, rising trots only works when it is done correctly and it is more difficult then it seems.

I would therefore simply enlighten the seat by acting as if going over a cavaletti or very low fence.
Easy and works like a charme for both horse and rider
But then again, maybe that is the posting you mean Glen?

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Normally I do not make light with language at the risk of pettiness, and of embarrassing myself as well as the person I'm point out a language error too, but I confess, this is too good to pass up, given that on another thread we are discussign (someone is anyway) "Bottom hugging," even with a logo now.

But "enlighten the seat?" I am enlightening my seat right off my chair, onto the floor I'm laughing so hard.

(And trust me, I've made far more outrageously funny faux pax in attempting other languages than my native one),



And now to be serious (thank you for your indulgence of my school boy sense of humor, Josepha). I find this idea about rising to the canter fascinating and totally new to me.

Never thought of it before.

I did have new students rise to the walk, of course, to learn to time to the shoulder movement. But never thought of the canter.

And of course a ton of cavaletti work standing in the stirrups in the Forward Seat jumping position.

What a good exercise this might be for the horse. Or might it confuse?

I'll have to think on this.

Donald (schoolboy humor) Redux

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Love is Trust, trust is All
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So say Don, Altea, and Bonnie the Wonder Filly.

Donald - I can so see you in a sweet little uniform with a pudding-bowl haircut and chubby cheeks cracking up in a corner because someone spoke the dreaded word - FART!

Josepha,
enlighten usually means "to explain."
A seat cannot be enlightened as it has no intelligence - only the rider can be enlightened (educated) in how to lighten the seat.

Shame Donald, you didn't explain the usage! Go sit in the corner!

Barbara,

You seem to be the only one who knows about this - teach us, please?

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Glen Grobler



Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled. Anon

Donald wrote:




As the founder (no, not laminitis) of the new school of bottom hugging, I would like to point out that this suggests a VERY enlightened seat! Close to reaching Nirvana, I should think...





Leigh aka "She who is not intimidated by having nothing of value to add to the conversation and instead spreads nonsense"

PS:

Glen wrote:



Oh, indeed!




Off to pretend I'm a grownup for a bit...

Best,
Leigh

On Anja Beran's Elegant Dresage DVD they recommend lifting up? out of the saddle when schooling young horses, until their backs are stronger, probably similar to what Josepha is saying, like the position for cavaletti work? Is that what folks call a 'two point' position????

I am finding cantering on the trails and in the fields great for both Jack (not young but a rehab) and me. He can't balance on a circle/volte yet, or even in my arena space, and cannot collect at all at the canter. This outdoor work is great cuz I can find a rhythm and relax and just think about going with the flow, and not worrying about turning, etc. His frame is better outside too, more forward, stretching through his neck, stronger but relaxed, and I htink htis will help his back get stronger???? And it's FUN!!

Brenda

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Jack04574

Y'all have to sit Tam's little canter. It is SOOOOOO smooth.

I do think that if the groundwork preparation is done diligently, as per the classical tradition (albeit in the AND way), then at least three things are bound to happen before you ride a canter. 1) The horse is mature enough to be ridden. 2) The horse is already familiar with moving in a rounded and collected way that spares his young back and 3)that the canter is so smooth by the time a rider is mounted, that rising is totally unnecessary because it is soft, smooth and the easiest thing you will ever sit.

Honestly, the horse knows so much already by the time you ride them, and so strong, that it is smoother even than a walk...rather like sitting on a rocking horse! It becomes effortless for both the horse and the rider.

Even with an older horse, learning to canter softly in hand, with a cordeo so as not to upset the balance of the horse, will prepare them so dramatically for a ridden canter that you will wonder why you ever thought to do it differently, or why no one told you about this 20 or more years ago. MY seat has been enlightend!