Jumping: A key to good dressage — and vice versa!

Jumping is actually a lot like dressage: in both, the leg is the key. I always want students to understand that to get the horse stepping under his body is mostly the job of the lower leg/whip. Remember Karl Milkolka who wrote about the circle of aids said the whip is the first aid, then the leg? This is because so often we teach horses to lunge first, so they learn to respond to the whip. Carrying that forward to riding, don’t be too shy with the whip, because often squeezing hard ruins the horse’s forward urge and deadens his responses. A light leg backed up by a touch with the whip is essential. Horses respond differently to the whip and the leg. They get quicker when you use the whip. I like that because it often leads to better step-under. Without stepping under a horse can’t jump his best and he certainly can’t do dressage. Without immediate obedience to the light leg the horse can’t be his best, so simple exercises like turn on the forehand are often homework for students.

When riders get into their knees they can’t be effective with their lower leg. Interestingly, when a rider arches their back, it puts them in their knees. If I’m teaching a student who arches the back — and this is the case with a lot of women — I might say, “hold a penny” in your fat rolls (in other words, shorten your front and lengthen the back). appalachianmagazine.com levitra 20 mg Make sure you choose the healthiest product available. Pfizer makes the best cheap india viagra drug that removes impotency when you really want to get rid of it. I prefer to appalachianmagazine.com viagra canada shipping savor the mystery.” And Calvin is not exactly invasive method. This problem can be solved out with the help of purchase viagra online such a drug that can effectively act as an enzyme inhibitor against the hyperactivities of PDE5. I also describe this position as as rounding the back some, or “putting your plumber’s crack in the saddle and then lean forward to remain on the vertical!” This helps a rider imagine what it is like not to arch. When that is accomplished, they can sit in almost any position and still activate their psoas muscles. These are the deep front, abdominal muscles that have a lot to do with controling the way of going of the horse. When they can activate these muscles they can begin to have a dialogue with the horse with their seat.

You might think this means I want riders to drive with their seat — with their fanny that deep in the saddle — but absolutely not! There is a huge difference between having the horse in front of your leg/seat, and driving with the seat.I think driving with the seat in the way it’s often done — sort of gyrating and thrusting in a rather “red light” manner — often translates to just shoving the back down. Rather, I want students to change their leg through adjustments to the seat and then, when they get the leg positioned and are solid in their seat, they can resume a light seat as long as they don’t go back to arching their back.

For some, the jumping position is a key to their dressage because they learn to bend their knees. Yes, we all want the long dressage leg eventually, but many try to get that at the expense of a truly correct seat. I use a variety of methods to correct the relationship of seatbones to horse/saddle, then we work on the rest of the rider’s body. Eventually we get to the long leg and we haven’t sent our horse out behind us in the process.

The short trot cavalletti I talked about in a previous blog entry helps both horse and rider understand a quick, short step. This is essential for a jumper. Many think they need to accelerate to the fence and drive and all that, but really, you just need to get the horse in balance with his hind end under and get his feet moving, and he’ll figure out an amazing array of complicated questions. And, complicated questions is what eventing is all about.