Intro B test - help please!

Rubic

Rubic

Equine Karaoke Queen
Apr 15, 2012
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Hi all, I'm going to do intro B on the 9th March. It's our first dressage test in quite a while. I'vedone Intro A and one prelim about a year and a half ago, I don't really remember them. Our canter is really awful just now - so rushed and unbalanced - so I thought I'd stick with the intro this time while we work on canter! Anyway, get to the point...

"Circle right 20 metres and allow the horse to stretch taking up the reins before returning to A"

For this move would you make the reins longer or give your hands forward or a bit of both? And by how much - it's not a long rein like the free walk but would a couple of inches do? I should do it gradually so Rubic doesn't just fall on her nose shouldn't I?! I'm going to practice bits of it today. I've got a lot to work on - straightness and a halt where we stand still for a start!!!:giggle:
 
Is this in the walk or trot I can't remember?

If it is in walk then yes you have to give the reins and allow Rubic to stretch out his neck then pick the reins back up before A so only a couple of strides and the rythem should stay the same.

A free walk on a long rein the horse should over track and stretch over his back with his back end moving freely you are just showing that you are not holding the head in and that the horse is relax.

Good luck
 
OwnedbyChanter said:
Is this in the walk or trot I can't remember?

If it is in walk then yes you have to give the reins and allow Rubic to stretch out his neck then pick the reins back up before A so only a couple of strides and the rythem should stay the same.

A free walk on a long rein the horse should over track and stretch over his back with his back end moving freely you are just showing that you are not holding the head in and that the horse is relax.

Good luck
Click to expand...

It is in trot sorry, there is a free walk across the diagonal but that states on a long rein - I was just wondering to what extent you should give the reins in this move since it doesn't state. I've never seen a trot on a long rein before (but my dressage experience is minimal!), only a give & retake the reins over a few strides. So if I slip my reins 2-3 inches so they are loose but not long do you think that will be what tgey are looking for?
 
I have done this test two or three times and my RI told me to lengthen the reins the same as you would for free walk on a long rein to allow the horse to stretch and lower his neck while keeping the rhythm and balance of the trot.

Have fun and good luck.
 
MAC66 said:
I have done this test two or three times and my RI told me to lengthen the reins the same as you would for free walk on a long rein to allow the horse to stretch and lower his neck while keeping the rhythm and balance of the trot.

Have fun and good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will work on that then! I quite often have a trot on a long rein to cool down so hopefully this shouldn't cause much of a problem!
 
As Rubic said!! However beware we did this same movement in a Prelim test once and the judge commented horse stretched too far, certainly more than 2-3 inches but not as far as nose virtually on ground!! Be aware as well of falling into the loose rein trap.
 
The loose rein trap?!

I can feel my competitive side coming out now, I'm determined to do well in this even though it is a test and teach session. We get to ride the test, get feedback and then ride it properly for marks. I just want to do better than our last Intro test. We came 3rd with a mark in the low 60s so I'd quite like 65% or more... Lets hope the judge is generous lol! If you are placed you get points and after the dressage series is finished the person with the most points wins lol

I have been practicing bits of the test every day. And I have been practicing trotting circles with slightly loose and long reins so which ever one turns out to be correct we will be able to manage it! I am just going to lengthen them about 3 inches to start with and see what the judge says in the feedback. I can do this and Rubic stretches nicely (mostly) and still stays in a nice balanced trot but when I give her a long rein she snatches forwards and thinks she is done (is this the loose rein trap:giggle:).

How can I get her to take a long rein but not go all snatchy-snatchy and into finish mode. Is it all about just doing little bits at a time in the hope she will eventually walk across the diagonal on a long rein (or trot a circle if need be) without thinking she is done!?
 
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Since this thread started I have acquired a second hand copy of Carl Hester's book Down to Earth Dressage. 1999.
This is not a long book and the explanations it offers are so clear that for the first time I understand the names of movements and also what their purpose is.

In particular I understand the definition of giving and taking the reins, something I have done in lessons without the faintest idea of why and for what purpose. You are definitely not being asked to do this, as the giving of the reins (Hester says) will demonstrate that the horse is able to support itself, i.e. the head position isnt meant to change.
Whereas here the horse is to be allowed to stretch. As Hester describes it, free walk on a long rein when cooling down is not (as I have imagined till now) a breather for the horse - but is meant to be an active walk.
The loose rein is only to enable the horse to stretch forward with both head and feet, which,if you didnt lengthen the reins, would involve him pulling against your hands.
And the emphasis in trot would still seem to be the same - getting forward motion - and not blocking that forward motion. In other words this is preparation not for gaining marks, but teaching the horse to do a more extended trot. Lengthening for a few strides while keeping his impulsion, balance and rhythm. And the purpose of the front legs going more forward is to make room for the back legs which should be doing the same.
My share mare would sometimes ask for a longer rein and I would give it but my RI told me to make the mare work harder then, stretching forward with longer strides to take up the slack. But the extra movement had to come from behind.
My conclusion is that any good marking will be concentrating on the quality of the trot and whether the rein length is allowing that forward trot to take place. It is not technically marking what you are doing with the reins.
And it is the moment of lengthening and shortening that you might need to practise, as your reins and leg together are at that moment cueing the horse to change the length of his body and the length of his stride.
It doesnt even say you need to lengthen the reins - it says allow the horse to stretch - which some riders may be taught to do just relaxing their fingers.

This thread makes me realise why I dont do competition.
 
Don't get me wrong, I know and understand the purpose of giving and retaking the reins, riding on a loose rein and a long rein, it was more what they were asking you to do with this particular phrase since a horse will (usually) naturally stretch out with a longer rein but how long and how much stretch is required for you to be classed as doing the move "correctly"? When I work on a slightly longer rein Rubic does stretch nicely, unfortunately we can occasionally lose balance and rhythm on a very long rein because she will begin to rush if I use my leg or turn to a slob if I don't - that still requires some fine-tuning.

I would assume since it says "taking up the reins before returning to A" that you are required to give them as you can't exactly take them back if you haven't loosened them in the first place.

They do mark on the effectiveness of the rider in dressage so I do like to try my best and get my horse going to the best of her ability - it is pointless riding if you expect the horse to do it all without the rider trying. Each to their own I suppose but for me competition gives me some motivation, something to aim for and personally I think it is a good marker to show me how we are progressing as a partnership. I don't get nasty, greedy or big-headed because of it but, most importantly, me and my horse enjoy it!
 
Reins need to be lengthened but the contact kept just putting the horse in a lower frame, not to be loosened although you frequently see people doing this. The horse should not change stride length or rhythm. The purpose of this exercise at these levels is to demonstrate that the horse is working towards a true contact throughout its back. Looking at the marks we have had for these in tests you need to give enough rein so that the horses head and neck are roughly lower than the withers ( depends on your horse but certainly a lot more than 3"...virtually as much as you do for a free walk ) In Intro B you should do the whole 20m circle on the long rein, retaking them just before returning to A..Is that what you weren't sure??

The exercise of give and retake is all together different and used to show the horse is in self carriage
 
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