Rein Contact for the 2nd time. Staying connected. S4 Riding instructor

"Taking up the contact with the reins at the canter for the 2nd time! This is what happens with most riders who are working on the next level of connection and balance. It might be exactly what you need to see"

Trudy and Ani are moving up the training scale. Now Trudy is ready to pick up the reins and ask Ani to connect with her from her leg aids. This is not as easy as it sounds, especially at the canter.  Trudy had been riding Ani on a loose rein like a green horse.  Now, she is learning how to balance Ani in a new way.  

Is your horse balanced at the canter yet?  What did you learn from watching this video?

https://youtu.be/QeSmJdd8DFo  

Rein contact at the trot. 4th time! What to expect. S4 Riding instructor

Are your ready to take up the contact with the reins? What if it is new to you or to your horse? What can you expect? 


In this session you will see how Trudy is training Ani to except the contact of the reins. To do this we are using walk trot transitions and have Trudy focus on when she feels Ani disconnect from the contact between her leg aids and the rein. This is only the 4th session we have worked on this and you can see what happens to most horses and riders as they learn how rein contact can be used to connect a horse in a better balance mentally and physically. 

It's time to stretch into the contact for the 4th time. S4 Riding instr...

"Are you finally... ready to ask your horse to allow you take up contact from the reins?  Now you can watch what this rider is doing to show her horse what that means with the stretch at the walk"

Many riders are not sure what that "stretchy" thing is that dressage riders do.  When done correctly, the horses back will lift up as horse stretches into the riders rein contact as a result of rider asking them to step up more from their hind feet. 

Now you can watch as Trudy teaches Ani how to stretch into the contact. This is the 4th session that we have focused on this and you will see what happens to most horses and riders as they go through that process.

It's time to Connect this horse from the leg to the rein. Getting on the...

"What if... you have finally come to the point in your horses training where you are ready to ask them to stay on the bit.. What should you expect and what should you do?"

When a horse is learning how to stay connected they are not sure what is going on. Especially if this is also new for the rider. Now you can watch what happens with a Trudy and Ani as they focus on staying connected at the walk halt transitions for the 4th time. This is still very new to both of them. 

Today was another great ride. It was raining and Ani was a little fussy when Trudy started asking her to stay connected in the transitions. 

Half Halts and Mini Stretches to connect with a hot or nervous horse. S4...

"Is your horse a little hot blooded or seems nervous most of the time? You are not alone. Melody has a history of being complicated. Now you can see what Trudy does to keep Melody more connected"


We were not sure how this day would go as Trudy has not been able to ride for 6 weeks or so. As most of our fans know, Melody is a complicated horse and it is hard to keep her attention so we were not sure what would happen. So back to basics we went. Before this winter came we had finally reached the point where Melody was allowing Trudy to keep her somewhat balanced and on the aids. We were thrilled when we were able to go back to where we left off and build up on that foundation. Now you can see what Trudy is doing with half halts and mini stretches at the walk and walk trot transitions to keep Melody focused.

Of course, this will work with any horse. Try this with yours this week and tell us how it works with your horse.

Half Halts and Turn Around the Haunches. Staying connected! S4 Dressage...

"Would you like to see what happens when a half halt is added to the turn on the haunches for the first time? 

Susan and Beau are becoming such a great team to watch. Beau is now more willing and we are asking him to stay connected and balanced at 2nd level. To do this we have become very focused on the correctness of the half halts in any of the movements he is doing. Now you can watch the progress we are using to refine the turn on the haunches with the half halt. During this session Susan also become aware of when Beau was "dropping to the inside" This is when he was not between her lateral aids. To isolate what needed to be done Susan practices riding Beau's shoulders. 

Are you riding the turn on the haunches yet? How does this video help you to understand them better?

Connecting a hot/nervous horse with half halts. Final trot. S4. riding i...

Sometimes... even with a hot or nervous horse, you have a good day. We never know what might happen with Melody, but this was the best day she has given to us yet"

This is our final session for the day. Melody has never been this responsive and is listening to both Trudy's half halts and the Steps to Connection. Since Melody has not been ridden for at least 6 weeks we did not expect this at all. In fact, we had only worked with connecting Melody two times before this session and we were thrilled that she seemed to remember what we did. It will be interested to see if this is a new phase in Melody's training. We decided not to canter this day as this was enough of a mental and physical challenge for both of them.

How does it make you feel when your horse goes to a new level? Do you wonder if it will stay there? Personally I have found that the horse and rider will "bounce" back and forth between the new level and where they were for a bit. With correct riding and patience they both get comfortable at the new level and it becomes more consistent.