Cari Swanson

Transitions

The purpose of transitions are to increase the horse’s obedience, engagement and throughness. The horse must show a clear rhythm before, during and after a transition. The transition should be seamless, prompt but calm and smooth with no intermediate steps of any other gait or pace not asked for in the transition. They should be well-balanced and engaged relative to the level ridden. Transitions are a very important element of the horses training program and should be practiced frequently. Take care that the horse is not rushed or hurried and that the departure is straight. Remember if you are in perfect balance and your horse is obedient to your aids, the transitions will be successful.

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Turn on the Haunches

The purpose of the turn on the haunches is to improve the horse’s obedience to the aids and to improve balance and collection. This movement is introduced at second level when collection becomes important. The proper execution of this movement is the horse’s forehand moves in even, quiet, regular steps around the horse’s inner hind leg while maintaining the rhythm of the walk. The horse is slightly bent in the direction in which he is turning. In the half turn on the haunches, the horse is not required to step with its inside hind leg in the same spot each time it leaves the ground but may move slightly forward. Backing or loss of rhythm are serious faults. Other common faults include the horse getting stuck, lack of energy, the horse is not obedient to the aids, the horse comes above the bit or steps out. Take care to maintain the rhythm and energy for a successful turn on the haunches.

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Impove your Dressage Scores with Geometry

Many students find it very difficult to ride a circle, they create eggs, squares, and other strange configurations in an effort to perform the requisite 20 meter or 10 meter figure in a test. One of the easiest ways to raise your dressage scores it to ride the correct geometry and perform each movement accurately at the specified letter. A simple way to learn the feeling of the correct circles is to draw a 10 and 20 meter circle in your arena with lime. Next, count the strides it takes to ride each quarter and you will determine if you are symmetrical. This is a fun and easy exercise to work on perfecting. Once you know your horses number of strides you can count and know if you are on a perfect circle. The end result will be a more supple, relaxed and balanced horse which will translate into higher scores.

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Travers

Travers is a movement used to perfect and manivest the results of the shoulder-in; engagement of the quarters, collection, as well as lateral bend, and suppleness of the quarters. It is the increased engagement of the inside hind leg, which has to bend more to carry the increased weight. The execution is that the horse is slightly bent around the inside leg of the rider. The horse’s outside hind leg passes and crosses in front of the inside leg. the outside foreleg is placed in front of the inside foreleg. The horse is looking in the direction in which he is moving. The rider should feel the increased engagement of the hindquarters, in other words the inside hind leg taking up more weight. The horse should maintain the rhythm and balance without losing impulsion. The most common faults in this movement is too much or too little angle, lack of bend or even counter bent, and loss of rhythm. This is an important movement in the training scale which prepares the horse for half pass and eventually pirouettes.