From: "Wendy A. Scepanski"
Hi there! I have a question for you. My horse and I are learning dressage at a local training center. Previously we had ridden only in Arabian and open shows and I was taught all wrong from the beginning. I was taught to pull and maneuver the horse's head into position and ride with mainly my knees and thighs in contact with the horse, among other things. Duke and I showed successfully together since he was 6 mo. old and he is now 6 years.
When I started college, I just wanted to ride him for fun and not have to work so hard at getting the right look. Dressage is helping us really enjoy each other more and makes what I had been doing seem ridiculous. I have been the only one to ride my horse, except for when someone occasionally gets on for a little bit. I can't afford to have someone else train him, and I can't ride more than 2-3 days in a week (which isn't much of a problem for either of us) and so getting lessons on him every 2 weeks is the only possible option.
Anyway, I'm having trouble with getting him to yield to leg pressure. Until we started these lessons, he was not used to having my lower legs on at all unless I was asking him to move in a specific direction. Now when I try to put the appropriate amount of pressure on with my upper calf as my instructor tells me to do, he becomes less soft, I apply more pressure, he becomes less soft...You get the idea. This goes on until we drift completely off course or until I give up because my leg is so tired. All the bend in his body disappears. I know that this is totally wrong. My instructor says she has 5-year-old kids who can do it, so not that much pressure is needed. She suggested nudging him rather than using steady pressure until he gets the right idea. This works better, but not good enough. I'm so tired of arguing with Duke over this, and I know he is trying to tell me something by stiffening up, but I just can't get it. Maybe you have some suggestions. Wendy.
I think that the best way for you to work with Duke is to start by taking a moment to think about his history. What you are asking him to do is new to him, and not entirely comfortable. He has to learn new cues, and what they mean. He has to develop a different way of going -- and that is phsyically VERY demanding! In his previous life, he was not asked to bend or stretch or yield to the rider's leg. The rider's leg, from the knee down, probably never touched him at all. You're asking him to make a bit effort, and to stretch his old muscles in new ways, and develop new muscling from correct work.
Ask your instructor if you can take a few lessons on a horse that's been correctly schooled, so that you will KNOW when you are applying your aids correctly. It's not so easy for you to learn a new way of riding if you have to teach your horse at the same time. ONE of you should know what is going on! A few sessions with a horse that responds well to the leg will teach you to recognize the response that you'llk be able to expect from Duke -- once he knows what response you want and can give it to you.
Horses become stiff when they hurt, and when they don't understand. You can make it easier for Duke by taking some precautions:
1) Before you ride, do a very thorough job of grooming him -- this is good for his circulation and muscle tone, AND it's a great way for you to notice any sore muscles or injuries that could interfere with the ride.
2) Always give him a long slow warm-up before you start real work -- you can't ask him to stretch any muscle that hasn't been warmed up first, or what you will get is not a stretched muscle, but a TORN one.
3) Give him lots of breaks, so that he isn't being forced to hold a particular position for more than a couple of minutes at one time. Tired, stiff muscles (muscles being used in unaccustomed ways will get tired and stiff very quickly) will CRAMP if you don't let them relax and stretch at their ease very regularly.
4) After the ride, cool him down slowly, and then groom him again.
When you put your leg on a horse and he moves away from it, there are a lot of different factors involved. The horse has to feel your leg, know what the leg pressure means, understand what you want him to do, and respond by doing it. YOU have to ask, then relax, and give the horse a chance to do what you asked him to do. If he doesn't get it right, be sure that he knows what you are asking, that he is in a position to do what you want, and that he CAN do what you want -- then ask again, quietly.
Duke FEELS your leg -- he just doesn't know what it MEANS. Kicking won't help, and neither will grinding the leg into his side. You can help him before you ever get on, by showing him what you expect while you're on the ground.
When he is standing still, put a hand on his rump and say "over". Most horses have been taught to move away from this combination of pressure and voice. If he does it, praise him, give him a moment to think, then ask him again, praise him, give him a moment, etc. Each time, move your hand a little closer to the place where your leg will lie against his side when you are in the saddle. Do this from both sides. When he understands that pressure and "over" mean that he should move over, even when the pressure is on his ribcage instead of on his rump, that's the end of the first lesson.
Repeat the lesson for a few days, then do it while you are grooming and do it again in the arena, but this time at a walk. Again, do it from both sides. When he understands and responds well, you can mount and do the same thing, at a standstill, but this time using your leg. Your voice is a useful aid -- if you sit very straight and still, so that only ONE leg is pushing him, and that leg gives a quick squeeze while you say "over", he will figure it out eventually. When he does, make a big fuss over him, and let him walk on. After a few minutes, stop and do it again.
Always praise him for trying, take breaks -- don't do too much at once -- and ask him to do it just at the end of your session, then GET OFF AT ONCE. He'll remember it very well the next day.
When you take lessons on a school horse, ask your instructor to teach you the most basic form of leg-yielding: the turn on the forehand. When you understand how this works, you'll be able to help Duke learn it, and once he has the idea, it will get easier and easier.
There is another reason that horses can get stiff -- a stiff RIDER. Your horse is your mirror, and if the rider's body becomes stiff, so will the horse's. You need to stay relaxed while you give your aids.
When you are in the correct position to ask your horse to move away from your leg, use your leg, but BRIEFLY -- and then relax it again and give Duke a chance to respond. Any aids that you give a horse are going to be quiet and BRIEF -- if you need to ask him again, you'll just REPEAT the aids. A leg-squeeze lasts only a second -- don't try to prolong it.
When you try to prolong an aid instead of repeating it, here's what happens:
1) your aid becomes hard, and your body becomes rigid 2) your horse doesn't get a chance to respond 3) your horse becomes stiff because YOU are stiff 4) eventually, you get tired and stop pushing
When this happens, the horse learns nothing useful: as far as he knows, you just stiffened and started clamping down on him for no apparent reason, then stopped, also for no apparent reason!
When you try to push continuously with your calf, your knee and hip become rigid, and then your opposite hip becomes rigid, and you can't feel the horse or follow his movements. This kind of prolonged pushing also causes you to collapse your upper body over your hip on the side of the pushing leg.
Try this: sit straight, talll and relaxed. Tip your horse's nose very slightly away from the direction in which you want him to yield -- left for a leg-yield right, right for a leg-yield left. Bring one leg back slightly (FROM THE HIP) and give him a soft squeeze with it. Stay tall, keep your weight balanced, and keep your other leg relaxed, just barely touching his side, so that you give him someplace to go. Tell him "over" and squeeze, then relax, wait for him to respond, and try again. If you've done your work on the ground, and you sit correctly in your saddle, he WILL figure it out. Then, when he does figure it out, pat him, praise him, and do something else. You can come back to this later. If you try to do too much at once, he won't know that you LIKE what he did, he'll never understand that he DID figure it out, and he'll try something else the next time you use your leg!
One more tip: Keep breathing -- you'll stiffen if you stop, and then your horse will stiffen too!
Jessica
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