Why the Correct Basics Are Important

Cruising around the internet this morning and found this wonderful article. It's re-iterated what I have said to my clients and have proven with my horses over the years.
One cannot train a horse to do the 'tricks' without setting down the basic foundation. Think about it like a house. You want a pretty house, you go nuts with the trim, the decorating, and the paint, but you forget that the cement pillars that you just built your house on are in dis-repair. Before you know it, your house is falling apart and will eventually collapse.
The horse is no different.
While people are gung-ho to learn the advanced movements, we should be taking due care in the training of our horses. That lateral and collected work that you are yearning for is going to take time. It's plain and simple. As much as the physical harm can be done with a young or inexperienced horse, the mental damage is just as important to be avoided. Improvement is based on millimeters. It's never based on leaps and bounds. If you improve a millimeter a day, you are soon a mile ahead.

                                Here is the article to check out on this very subject.
         http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2012/09/the-veterinary-basis-of-correct-training/

I have been involved in dressage since 1973. Since a young child, I have eaten, breathed and ridden  horses. I can't ever remember a day where I my brain has stopped thinking about it.

Yes, that's me on my first Palomino!

While most people have come and gone in the horse industry, my entire life has been dedicated to horses and the art of riding and learning the best way to put the horse first without stress and abuse. Whether it's my Western or English clients, good training is good training.
When you have repeated horses working into their mid to late twenties, still sound and happy, I must be doing something right!
Below is just a small example of the horses that I have had the honor to work with. I wish I had more photos from back in the early days.

                       Lucky lived to 26 and was still a schoolmaster. Pictured here at age 19.

                             Annaconda 1984-2010.  Was still ridden into her mid 20's.

                                Maverick. 19 years young. Still teaching riders the ropes!

Journeys are made better with friends

Journeys are Made Better with Friends

After a trip to the Canadian Nationals in Brandon Manitoba, I drove down to meet up with Karen Meyers. We had met through the Western Dressage Association of America in 2011, and have kept in touch, meeting at least once a year; 2011 at Denver, 2012 in NewYork, and now this year at her house in Tyler, Minnesota. 

The 10 hour drive was not so bad with my mare, and I forgot my geography, and thought it's only a couple of hours south of Fargo, North Dakota. I soon realized after looking at my 18 year old Rand McNally Truckers' atlas, that I had to go into South Dakota, and then head due east at Brookings. 

Some pretty nice range land out that way, and drove 40 miles across the State line into Minnesota, and I was soon at Tyler. 

After dropping Allie off at Karen's stable where she keeps Brannigan and Snazzy we tucked into some well deserved dinner and great conversation.

The next morning we went to the stable to see the horses, and worked with Karen and her horses. 

Brannigan is a HUGE 16.1 hand Gypsy Vanner gelding. Sweet as pie, and quite the personality. 

As luck would have it (I swear this was not planned), Karen had her first show in South Dakota on Saturday. Even if I needed to get home, it could wait. I did not want to miss it, and give her some extra confidence and some friendly advice on how to ride at her first show. 

I ended up driving her rig to South Dakota (only 70 miles away). This would have been Karens first trip driving the new truck and trailer and it was mutually agreed that she did not need the extra stress of driving to the show. 

We arrived at the show, and were met by Karen's regular coach Jim Hatch. We hit it off immediately sharing our views and concepts. It's so refreshing to find other coaches out there that share the kindred spirit of dressage in the same way. He even brought me some Mint Oreo Cookies. My favorites! You can't get them in Canada! 

Karen was soon mounted on Brannigan and schooling in the warm up ring. A few panicked comments like "He's not stopping" from Karen were soon solved by my "Just wait, get his attention, then you will get relaxation" Sure enough, Bran was soon focused on the task at hand. A few other relaxing comments and Karen was beginning to think about what needed to be achieved in the schooling warm-up and they were back to looking like they were schooling at home. 

A few more nudges and pieces of advice got Karen down the center line into her first ride. "You have time", "Think about your balance line"I said to keep her mind active to the task at hand. 

Well, to even my surprise, Karen nailed it! What a great ride. They were poetry in motion. Bran went into that arena relaxed, forward and happy. She received a resounding applause from the crowd standing around purposely watching her ride on Brannigan. 

The judge for the show was a Dutch rider who had ridden FEI level. He loved her ride, and was rewarded with a 66% and placed her first in her class. It was not about the scores or the placings. It was about the partnership and the journey with Brannigan. It was Karen's first show ever with her horse, and a personal victory. 

Karen, a very jubilant rider coming out to the ring.  A journey with Brannigan that had started in 2011 with some not--so  great instruction and training. A fearful horse that has risen to the whole purpose of Western Dressage and has become a partner with his rider.

The second ride was just as good.  And even though Karen and Bran have lots to learn, the journey has begun. 

Karen by the way, drove her truck and trailer home like a pro and even backed it up into the parking spot. She passes the truck/trailer driving test in my opinion. :)

We spent the next couple of days hanging out, and visited with some wonderful people near Minneapolis, but I'll leave that story for another day.

Jim Hatch, Karen and Brannigan

Some extra pats and attention after the rides.

Acceptable Outlines for Basic Level Western Dressage Horses

                            Acceptable Outlines for Basic Level Western Dressage Horses

What is a Western Dressage horse supposed to look like? Does it look like a dressage horse? How about Western Pleasure?
Well, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a collection of photos that were taken with in the past two years. What you will see is relaxed horses, with energy and impulsion working with willing attitudes.
Draw reins, martingales, training forks and the like have NO place in Western Dressage. Western Dressage is about teaching the rider correct communication with the horse. There is NO reason for gadgetry in correct riding. If you see a trainer appear with the "paraphernalia", please seek someone else. Your horse will thank you.
Here we go with the photos.......

Photos by Les Norris©. All photos copyright and cannot be used without the express permission of the photographer.

Where Should Those Hands Be?

Correct Hand Position Leads to a Correct Riding Position for Both Horse and Rider

A great example of the correct position in the saddle. Even line from the rider's shoulder, through the elbow, hip and heel. The rider is sitting on the center of gravity of the horse. The elbow-wrist-rein line is a perfect line to the contact which is soft but connected. The horse is standing square and attentive waiting for the next command. 

A close up view of the contact reveals a soft connection to the lips of the horse. The top line of the horse is soft, and the nose is slightly in front of the vertical. You can see a softness of the horse's bottom neck muscles. 

Definitely a bad connection and position. The riders' hands are too low, creating pressure on the bars of the horse's mouth. The rider is out of line, leaning forward, therefore putting too much weight into the horse's front end. The horse is badly behind the vertical and is stressed with the mouth open attempting to avoid the rider's hands. 

The horse's mouth is gaping open in avoidance to the rider's hands. You can see the pressure behind exerted to the bars of the horses' mouth. 

I often call this the "Band Conductor" position. The hands of the rider are extremely high breaking the elbow wrist rein line. The rider's back is hollow, and the horse reflects it. The bit is pulled upward in the horses' mouth causing the horse to lift and arch his back. Note the bulge on the bottom side of the horses' neck. Definitely painful and detrimental to the horses' way of going. 

 The horse is very uncomfortable with a tightened jaw and opened mouth. 

No matter what your goals are, correct position is very imperative to learning and advancing through the levels with your horse.

The Epitome of Riding

This is the ultimate result of correct communication and understanding with the horse. Riders should be more aware of their own bodies and how it influences the horse. I have spent many a lesson only working on the riders position to allow the horse to perform correctly.

Western Style Dressage Association of Canada

The Western Style Dressage Association of Canada was formed 2011. Since it's inception WSDAC has focused on the education, promotion and fostering of Western Dressage in Canada. WSDAC is a not for profit association registered with Industry Canada. 

The association is an Gold International Alliance partner with the Western Dressage Association of America. Western Dressage has now been approved as a recognized discipline with the United States Equestrian Federation, and the WDAA is now the official recognized affiliate. 

WSDAC welcomes members and coaches from all over Canada. 

WSDAC's goal is to have Western Dressage recognized as a discipline with Equine Canada. 

For more information please contact: info@westernstyledressage.ca

or check out the website at http://westernstyledressage.ca

A Matter of Contact© Elaine Ward

A Matter of Contact© by  Elaine Ward. 

Since Western Style Dressage has become more popular, I have seen a plethora of comments and complaints about contact. Some people perceive the overly loose reins as an alternative to good solid dressage principles. There are many reasons why our reins are not loose and long.

The contact of the reins serves several purposes:

1. When we have our horse correctly balanced at the basic level of training, with active hindquarters, we allow our horses to become relaxed through the back. The energy of the horse flows from the hindquarters, through the back and eventually the neck and head of the horse. At this point the horse is PUSHING into the contact. The rider does not pull the horse’s mouth toward the riders body. As the physical development and musculature develop, the eventual process is called self-carriage. The horse moves with an uphill tendency, created by the impulsion from the hindquarters, and the lifting of the forehand. The neck is arched and the poll is at the highest point.  This is called the Circle of Energy.
The perception of people (and what has been preached by incorrect instruction) is that we are holding the horses into a “frame”. This is when the draw reins and training forks have been used. A properly ridden horse does not need the gadgetry. It in fact creates a false position.  One of the biggest faults is to see lower level horses be placed into harsh bits. The horse never learns to push through into the contact.  It’s quite apparent to see the incorrect riding as the horse will constantly evade the bit and fail to bring the hind legs under his body. He will be unable to track up (bring the hind feet into the front feet prints) in all 3 gaits.  The walk and working jog will be slow with no engagement of the hindquarters and the working lope will be a 4 beat rhythm instead of 3.  A horses’ head cannot be forced into a position and expected to stay there. That’s just bad training, and not correct dressage training principles.

Pictured above, almost the same sequence of the working jog. Horse on left being forced with the riders' hands for contact. Horse on right ridden with the soft hand and creating the circle of energy. Not the completely different way the horse is engaging the hindquarter on the right with a soft outline. Even the attitude of the horse appears to be completely different. 

2.   Our aids are delayed with reins that are too loose. Think of how much slack you would have to pick up to touch the horse? By the time you have attempted to correct the horse, the reaction has been given too late.  It is actually much kinder to the horse to apply your aid “real time”.  With sensitive horses, the draped reins cause over-reactions, which have to be constantly corrected.

3. The rein too loose causes the rider to frequently adjust their position in the saddle. This includes lifting arms, twisting the body, and moving un-necessarily on the horse affecting proper balance. I call that the “Band Conductor” position.

4. Correct contact is light; although the illusion is that there is little slack in the reins. There should be the feeling of riding the horse with silk threads in the hands. We are not attempting to pull on the horses mouth. The only time that the hand is used it is either employed left, right, and up. But, never down, or backward. 

I hope this gives you an insight to the contact issue. We are applying correct Dressage principles to the Western Style of riding which have been employed for hundreds of years. 

Two Basic Level Horses in Correct contact, light and showing good engagement of the hindquarters, roundness of the back and acceptance of light contact.

Advanced level horse in self-carriage at the collected lope with an uphill outline.

Elaine Ward of Lynden Ontario is a Western Dressage clinician, coach and author. For more information go to http://elainewarddressage.com