Gymnastic Dressage Training Exercise #1
I have just received my Dressage Today magazine. And in it there is an article on gymnastic exercises for the dressage horse. I believe there are three exercises described.
Today I picked the first one and have started working on it. It is rather simple but requires a little skill. This exercise has you in a working trot, at A or C start a serpentine. The first step is to get a nice balanced trot and suppleness. Then after your three or so loops do a medium trot down the long side back to your starting point. Once this becomes a bit easier and each movement flows then add a walk transition as you cross the center line. So start your serpentine, make your first loop, as you approach the centerline, come down to a nice marching walk for one to two steps and then right back into the trot. Do this through all loops. Again at the end do a good medium trot on the long side and half halt and get a good collected trot to start the serpentines again. Or you can do a medium trot across the diagonal in order to switch sides.
According to the article this will really encourage the horse to step under himself, be supple and learn to push off for the medium. Dublin took to it immediately. We did not attempt the walk transition as we crossed the centerline today. We'll add that later in the week.
The most interesting thing about the article was the "before and after" picture of the horse. This horse had been a nice body but slender before starting these exercises. But after 18 months he had really beefed up. My horse is a long and lean guy, so I am going to diligently work on the three exercises (the others will be described later as I learn them) and see what happens.
Today I picked the first one and have started working on it. It is rather simple but requires a little skill. This exercise has you in a working trot, at A or C start a serpentine. The first step is to get a nice balanced trot and suppleness. Then after your three or so loops do a medium trot down the long side back to your starting point. Once this becomes a bit easier and each movement flows then add a walk transition as you cross the center line. So start your serpentine, make your first loop, as you approach the centerline, come down to a nice marching walk for one to two steps and then right back into the trot. Do this through all loops. Again at the end do a good medium trot on the long side and half halt and get a good collected trot to start the serpentines again. Or you can do a medium trot across the diagonal in order to switch sides.
According to the article this will really encourage the horse to step under himself, be supple and learn to push off for the medium. Dublin took to it immediately. We did not attempt the walk transition as we crossed the centerline today. We'll add that later in the week.
The most interesting thing about the article was the "before and after" picture of the horse. This horse had been a nice body but slender before starting these exercises. But after 18 months he had really beefed up. My horse is a long and lean guy, so I am going to diligently work on the three exercises (the others will be described later as I learn them) and see what happens.
posted by Dressage Princess @ 9:58 AM
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