Dressage in Balance
Dressage Fundamentals: Chapter 1
A common issue that many riders face on a green dressage horse or one that is just starting their dressage career, is rushing in the gates. It is an extremely common problem, but what does it mean? When a horse rushes forward, though it may seem it is in the pursuit of running or bolting off, it is actually caused from the horse loosing his balance.
When a horse isn’t in balance they are moving too much on their forehand. Think of the horse running on the forehand as a runner running down a hill. If the runner doesn’t lean back and transfer their weight backwards they will lose balance and have to run faster to keep from falling. This is essentially what happens to a horse when their balance is on their forehand. In order to keep from stumbling and falling they have to move faster to catch their balance. Just as the runner engages their core for balance, the horse too must engage their core for balance. This is where we as riders have to teach the horse how to use their body in a way that allows them to naturally and easily keep their balance.
The objective of dressage is to teach the horse to balance themselves through transferring their weight onto their hind end. This transfer allows the haunches to lower and the shoulders of the horse to lift. Developing the balance of a horse is a process. Like all things in dressage, balance does not come over night rather it is developed through consistency and patience.
Teaching Balance
Teaching and developing balance in a horse requires two important dressage fundamentals: Connection and half halts. Let’s take a brief look at what both of these mean:
Connection: how the energy from the hind-leg moves through the body of the horse into the mouth. This is the inside leg creating energy and directing it to the outside rein. Learn more about connection in my article, here.
Half Halt: The half halt is a way we (the rider) communicate with the horse. Think of the half halt is an “almost halt” that can be simplified down to the horse giving to pressure. Once inside leg to outside rein or Connection is achieved, the half halt is executed through the rider pulsing their closed hand and the horse giving to the pressure by softening and transferring their weight to the hind leg. Teaching the horse how to respond to the half halt can be done through the execution of transitions. Within these transitions the horse learns to respond to the pulsing of the rider’s hand by softening their mouth and transferring the energy to the hind leg instead of pulling the energy to the forehand. Read more about half halts here.
Going back to the runner analogy, what if there was another runner attached to the first runner by a rope? When the first runner started to loose their balance the second runner would close their hand on the rope and engage their own core rebalancing them. In this analogy the rider is the second runner helping to rebalance the first runner (the horse) with the rope (the rein) through closing their hand on the rope (half halt).
Balance is vital in the development of a dressage horse. When we see a well trained dressage horse they appear as if they float across the ground. Just as a dancer moves with the same grace and power, it is the balance that truly creates and works to develop these qualities.
As stated before, balance doesn’t come overnight rather it is a process that develops the horse and teaches them how to balance and effectively carry their own body. Be patient with the training, with your horse, and with yourself. Before you know it, your horse will start thinking more with his hind legs and the rushing will be in the past. Have fun with the journey; you’ve got this!
