Watching a Dressage Master at Work, Seminar #3

(This blog was originally posted on October 27, 2015)

Photo by Sara Fogan

On the final day of his 2010 clinic, Olympian Jan Ebeling demonstrated why dressage riders

must master all of the elements on the Training Scale to achieve collection.

                In 2010, I had an opportunity to watch several dressage clinics that were conducted by one of my favorite competitors, Olympian Jan Ebeling. The workshop was held during the 2010 Equine Affaire in Pomona, California, during which time he worked with several riders and their horses to fine-tune their communication and technique with their equine partners. There is no better way to understand how the dressage Training Scale “looks” than by watching a dressage master ride advanced movements such as the piaffe, passage, canter pirouette and single tempi changes. These are some highlights of what I learned and observed during the third (and final) dressage clinic he conducted during that weekend.

Seminar #3, February 6, 2010

Theme of clinic: Structuring your dressage training sessions.

Dressage is a team sport: horse+rider+trainer.

Everyone can do dressage. It’s good training for everyone! Dressage improves the horse’s natural abilities by gymnasticizing its body.

Sandrina: Jan Eberling’s horse for the demo. Oldenberg mare with a lot of TB.

It takes 8-10 years to create a Grand Prix horse. Not every horse can do it.

“Principles of Dressage” guidelines for the professional trainer.

We are often our own best critic. Get video of key moments of your ride to analyze, evaluate the ride.

Goals we must achieve when training dressage: Rhythm. Relaxation. Contact. Impulsion. Straightness. Collection. You can’t have collection without establishing every other element, first.

Typically start out on the horse’s easier/better side to make it easier/more enjoyable for the horse.

Purity of the gaits is very important in dressage. Trot: a diagonal two-beat.

Change tempo of pushing poweràcarrying power. Combination of legs and hands puts the horse in frame.

Legs, seat and hands make the horse respond in a particular way. Get the horse to step actively under her legs.

In dressage, we want the horse to become more even.

When the horse gets scared, it’s important to earn their trust, to trust and listen to the aids. If the horse doesn’t trust you and spooks or something, if you punish the horse for geing scared, it will spook worse.

Shoulder-in and leg-yield helps the horse maneuver.

Balance, no resistance=good canter transition. Even a Grand Prix horse has to work on these things.

Practice sending the horse forward and bring him back.

“Leg” refers to knee on down (lower leg)

You must do the basics and know how to speak “the basics” to your horse so they understand.

In order to get good (become a good rider) it takes a lot of input.

Legs forward, hands restricting, seat assist forward drive.

In a test, the poll must be at the highest point.

Gradually work your way to the fancy transitions.

If you see that the horse is relaxed and wants to go forward, that’s good!

Profession in training, exposure to see where we are with the horse.

After movements of collection, always go forward again right away.

How pretty you sit, effectiveness of you aids, elasticity of horse and desire of horse to go forward …(?)

Backing up is an obedience exercise.

Make horse more compact and release. It should take very little aid (?)

Straight trotàput both legs on. Keep contact on outside rein so the horse turns.

One tempis: it’s like the horse is “skipping.” Keep horse straight, balanced. To train, go back to the basics, work on relieving stiffness.

Whwen horse is on a long rein, you want it to have energy. For a very eager horse, repeat stop-go.

Rhythm of the walk is easily destroyed if you mess with the hands a lot.

Get into the horse’s head to understand how it thinks/get into the horse’s psyche.

Separation of hind feet is a common mistake in canter pirouette. If frame isn’t right, the horse is too weak, back is tight, too much hand.in the canter pirouette, there’s not much to repair if it starts to go wrong.

Training is about compromise and confrontation.

JE keeps horse in a fairly round frame.

Always use positive reinforcement. Someone needs to explain what to do.

You always want to keep the horse happy: “I don’t want a slave. I want a buddy.” (Jan Ebeling)

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

(2015)

 

Watching a Dressage Master at Work, Seminar #2

(This blog was originally posted on October 26, 2014)

Photo by Sara Fogan

During the second clinic, Olympic equestrian Jan Ebeling explained how to

build and increase strength in a dressage horse.

 

      In 2010, I had an opportunity to watch several dressage clinics that were conducted by one of my favorite competitors, Olympian Jan Ebeling. The workshop was held during the 2010 Equine Affaire in Pomona, California, during which time he worked with several riders and their horses to fine-tune their communication and technique with their equine partners. In addition to teaching the participants and auditors how to execute a movement, he also demonstrated how to achieve each of the elements on dressage Training Scale while riding his Grand Prix Oldenburg/Thoroughbred mare, Sandrina. Here are some highlights of what I learned and observed during the second of three clinics he conducted during that weekend.

Seminar #2, February 5, 2010

Reflex, push at the girth produces tendency to go forward. Behind the girth prevents the haunches from falling out of pushing sideways in another direction.

Position of the rider is very important! Flex the wrist and squeeze the reins with finger like a wet sponge. Outside leg supports the haunches, inner leg sends direction forward.

Backing off is as important as pushing forward. Remember your half halts. Driving and restricting=half-halt. End in a release.

Low cross-poles, trot poles, good for gymnasticizing the horse.

Voice has a soothing effect on the horse, but don’t use voice aids in a test!

School the horse in both directions to keep him equally pliable. Start schooling the horse on his easier direction to get him looser.

Bend should always be equal. Use light pressure: “Less is more.”

Know your horse re: what type of warm-up works best.

Praising is VERY important!

People are very fast to notice/punish a mistake. We need to notice and reward efforts!

You want energy, praise horse when he bursts forward. It’s better to have natural energy than to have to use spurs.

Use as little hand as necessary to propel the horse.

Half-pass is designed to help force the horse to loosen up and bend at the hips.

Leg intensity must match on both sides of the horse’s body

The more active you can make him, the easier the transition will be.

To push forward, activate the inside leg at the girth to go forward. The outside leg goes back to support the forward motion. Come back to the outside leg.

Simple walk-canter transitions are good to make the horse listen to you.

How you combine the various aids you use, determines the outcome of the movement. Make sure the horse understands the nuances of the language you are speaking to him.

When you have problems doing a technique, “pick it apart” in elements to fix it.

Make sure the horse understands cues for walk-canter and trot-canter, right away. Inner leg, outer leg, weight, what we do with our hands.

Use driving aids to push the horse back. Get active behind carries weight in the hind.

Piaffe-diagonal-equal two beats. Save areas as forward trot.

Strength takes a long time to build in dressage horses.

Aids are very simple to give if you know how to give them.

More engagement/less engagement is achieved through half-halts; you need to ride a lot of transitions.

Goal is to have a relaxed, steady rhythm (trot)

Push horse forward into the contact and then release (less than 0.5 seconds.)

Always end movement in relief; get out of the horse’s face.

If horse has problem with his tongue, there’s a submission problem: Horse isn’t accepting the bit. Make sure the tack is correct to communicate with him.

You always want to keep the training interesting for the horse.

Make sure the horse uses muscle on top of his neck, stays in frame.

Full seat-bones are straight

Everything in dressage is very minute. These kinds of adjustments can be difficult to make.

Part of riding is understanding how horses “talk” to us.

Principles of riding…. Sometimes you have to be tough, not rough.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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