Attention Flatwork and dressage peeps. Your help needed please!!!

[Black Beastie]

Hi!!!

Right I'll give you some back round info to start with.

• Kiarone 15.2hh Welsh D.
• Back into work hopefully on the 3rd of sept after not being ridden since june 19th due to leg injury and other problems.
• I will be taking him right back as he will be unbalanced and stiff but I want to kinda change how we ride and be more dressage and flatwork minded.
• He has done showing and showjumping, endurance and rideouts.

Could anyone suggest how I start.

Well to let you know what I can do, I have been riding since I was 4 or 5 I have evented, done showjumping and showing, dressage is my weak spot I can build a horse up to an outline but it has been soo long since I had to do it as Kia three years ago was the last one and I imagine that the techniques have improved somewhat.

When I evented I had an RI and the YO helping me school megan in the dressage element. I cannot at the mo afford an RI as I have been out of work for 4/5 weeks and will not start my new job til sept and I am my own YO kinda as I am the only horsey person on the farm lol.

Sorry that this turned into an essay. I will not post piccies but if you need them I can provide them for you if you tell me what you need.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I have a rough idea but a rough idea isnt good enough I'm afraid as I want to do this right.!!!

Nikki xxxxxx

 

[Black Beastie]

Doesnt anyone have any helpful tips for me and my wee black monster???



Nikki xxxxx

 

[never again]

im thinking it would be useful to lunge kia first of all, building up strength and balance, and begin to introduce side reins etc to build the outline up. This will help kia then become on the bit and work in an outline when riding more readily.

 

[Bay Mare]

Why not start doing some long reining and in hand work initially?

You can work on basic paces but also the lateral work too which will help a lot and then it's easy to transfer it to under saddle.

With Saff we're doing mostly walk and trot with a bit of canter and then lateral work in walk and trot including leg yield, shoulder in, travers and the beginnings of half pass. We're using clicker in conjunction with this which has been really useful

 

[coss]

as he has had so long off after that nasty injury also you need to build things slowly and do a lot of slow suppling work. this will help fitness and suppleness so that "dressage" work is easier.

what are his best paces? most horses are normally good at walk and canter or are good at trot (walk and canter seem to go together). if he has a naturally good canter you can use that, if not it is probably best to do suppling work for a while first with the odd canter to keep interest.

I would do a lot of spirals for warmups and cool downs - they have helped both of my horses with suppleness and can easily be done on the ground. start on a 15m circle and spiral in until he starts to think its hard, hold the small circle for a few steps and then leg yield out. over time you will find the small circle will be smaller and if he gets really supple over a couple of weeks you may be able to see the inside of the outside hind by glancing down.
turn about the forehand and turn about the haunches (just quarter turns to start) will help the hind leg step under more and get him sitting on his bum more - all of which will make him carry himself better.
leg yield to varying degrees. do you work in a school or in a field? if in a school there are three ways you leg yield, if not, just leg yield (thats what i do )
after a while (days/weeks riding) i would try some shoulder in and haunches in to aid suppleness and help collection without slowing the pace - its a more natural collection.
Tear drop exercises can be used and are good as you can vary difficult so much.
hope that helps

 

[Bay Mare]

I've shown these before but this is the difference in Saff between March of this year and August combining long reining, in hand, groundwork and under saddle:

March

May

August


You can even do the long reining on a hack

 

[Black Beastie]

Wow BM those piccies are

What a great change!!!

Well I have started the longreigning and lunging a little bit I was unsure of trying sidereins but if the are reccommended them I will buy a pair and give them a go.

I used them for megan but I had to leave alot of my stuff behind when I left my last yard as I had to leave as the place was a nightmare!!!

Coss your post sounds really good and I have pen and paper jotting down all these ideas too as I want to get this right and I will take as many different views on this as I can as ling as the are really sensible ons and all that have been posted are!!!

Keep them coming as this is a real help!!!

Nikki xxxxx

 

[Daffy Dilly]

I think it depends on your particular school of training tbh. I'm moving down the same one as Bay Mare - classical (but the good stuff!) alongside EE which I've yet to actually start.

When we brought Daffy into work last year after his physio, and bringing him back into work now, we started off just walking inhand, building to corners, circles and ground poles, to a bit of trot, and then to long reining. This time round, the problem is in his front end, so his back end is working correctly, and I'm going to focus on pole work to get his front end working again.

Once he's back under saddle, last time we started in the school teaching him to flex, and lots of small circles (in walk mostly) to get his back end under him. This time I'll be starting off with short hacks, and building them up, along side lots of work over poles, before cracking on with the lessons again.

I've never needed side reins for lunging, infact I've never used sidereins in my life. If he's working correctly it should happen anyway, which is why I used to prefer longreining to lunging, until he started working in self carriage whilst lunged.

If you can put books into practise, i'd recommend hunting down a copy of the Enlightened Equitation book, I can't, so I've leant it to my instructor.

 

[coss]

Wow BM those piccies are

What a great change!!!

Well I have started the longreigning and lunging a little bit I was unsure of trying sidereins but if the are reccommended them I will buy a pair and give them a go.

I used them for megan but I had to leave alot of my stuff behind when I left my last yard as I had to leave as the place was a nightmare!!!

Coss your post sounds really good and I have pen and paper jotting down all these ideas too as I want to get this right and I will take as many different views on this as I can as ling as the are really sensible ons and all that have been posted are!!!

Keep them coming as this is a real help!!!

Nikki xxxxx

i think lunging is very useful but i don't think you need side reins. i lunge harry about two weeks before starting to ride him if he's had a long break. i don't put side reins on, i start of with a lunge cavesson and when he's a bit fitter tack him up and lunge of the bridle. when they relax on the lunge and you get them doing transitions the self carriage comes. i use lunging to get them to stretch over their back and chilled about working again (with harry, dawn refuses to do anything on the lunge )

 

[Black Beastie]

Ok I am taking him longlining at the mo as circles are too hard for him at the mo even big ones so I think that we are going to be going on hacks with the longlines and going in the school with them.

I will get some picces and post them to let you see how he goes and so that you can tell me what to improve or work on.

Thanks peeps

Nikki xxxx

 

[Bay Mare]

We've not used side reins either though I do know people who use them successfully and who swear by them. As long as they're used correctly I can't see a problem tbh.