Cynthia Spalding Dressage

12/27/2023

So I was thinking about writing about dressage. So many books with so much info out there...
but it all boils down to:

You don't know till you know.
Then you know again. Only better.
Then you find out you don't know at all.

Possibly the only one page dressage book.

11/26/2023

https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2017/08/conformation-and-its-implications-for-dressage-training/?fbclid=IwAR2DcRmnufkpclN6TVo6tiLYxDm0h5PdVzTliXNq_aRMc2LFLZUwjZ0fdgM

Conformation and Its Implications for Dressage Training Posted on August 31, 2017 by horsemagazine by Angela McLeod – http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/whos-who/mcleod-angela/ Just like people, horses come in all shapes and sizes and some are more naturally athletic than others. Pictures in this ar...

11/15/2023

When asked to describe dressage to non riders, I always say that it is a combination of martial arts and ballet between two difference species, which requires a truth and intimacy of thought and action.

09/30/2023

I came across this in my file of my camp handouts..I still think of it this way after 35 years! There are five pages to this . This is the first page.

07/05/2023

https://dressagetoday.com/instruction/goodbye-pyramid-hello-spiral/?fbclid=IwAR3EnpPsHKUb9WiWY7yPq4sxhx9aE0KeOIAAL_pL1vHSCnqVX40TpHuplTA

An Excerpt from "The Training Spiral" by Sue Grice.

02/10/2023

Copied from facebook

My Kyra clinic notes any mistakes/typos/misinterpretations are my own

How the basics relate to grand prix and how grand prix relates to the basics

Everything is basics

The horse goes as the rider rides

Topline and underline

Topline longer underline shorter

Don't focus too much inside leg outside rein needs to be even on both sides

Up on the right if you lose contact on left

Flexion only in poll bending in whole body

Don't let the outside get longer and longer all the time

If you pet the horse you can't pull

More fwd in canter use outside leg inside leg for the change

Dare to give on the rein and lose it rather than try to carry the horse all the time

Keep the same length of step but change the rhythm or change the length but keep the rhythm

When you stretch down the underneck should stay up

Canter trot canter trot a favorite exercise

Thinking about a complicated movement don't spend time doing bad pirouettes break it down to the individual components and improve them

Aids are small medium large, start with small

On a curve line should equally bend the neck and the back

Needs to be alive in the outside rein

Give change aid step before you need it so it doesn't change late behind

Counter canter on the wall for straightness in changes

Right leg to push left shoulder

You can only change one thing at a time

As long as they do mistakes at least they're reacting

Don't go on and on practicing a movement at some point in a dressage test it has to happen the first time you ask

Think about the specific trot or canter you need in preparation for the movement

Hand goes down the weight in your body goes down

Your weight is the one thing that's influencing the horse all the time

Look to the outside strech the riders inside

Too much leg too much rein gives too much information to the horse

When you try to sit against the more you squeeze with the leg and the deader to the aid the horse becomes

Weight of the upper body keeps you down in the saddle

When you want to turn you can't pull more on the outside rein because then he can't bend

Posting trot come down softly exercise rise for two steps down for one

Don't press yourself down into the saddle because then you can't use your weight

Keep his rhythm with your weight

Turn the front leg not the head and neck

Leg means react don't keep doing the same thing if there's no reaction

Leg for canter aid back should only be 5cm back any further back you throw the horse off balance

Slow horse leg off hot horse leg in contact but not gripping

Even if you have short arms you have to have bend in the elbow

Carry your leg from hip and knee don't brace

Shorter in the underline to open up the back

Leg yield horse needs to be steeping across behind

Excercise leg yield to turn on forehand

Use turn on the forehand to bend the hindleg with out running away

When you feel the horse is not going sideways don't go faster go slower

If they don't bend the hindleg they can't collect

To do a half pass has to first listen to the outside leg

Pirouette not bending hindleg enough

Piro have to stay straight in collection be able to change outline in piro

Piro and piaffe belong together if one is good the other has the ability to be good

Walk piro turn with inside rein half halt outside rein.

If you can't do a good walk piro you're going to have a bad time trying to a good canter piro

Move shoulders not head a neck

In piro overuse of outside leg pushes hindleg to the side and puts horse off balance and blocks shoulder

Exercise canter piro into walk piro into canter piro

When you bring the horse back you also have to be able to release the rein

If horse collects too much get the neck down

You can't make all movements a 10 but you can make every movement a half a point more

Leg yield for calming a tense walk

Using posting and half seat to find passage rhythm

Centerline falling to right use right leg

Turn on the forehand with whip on the ground to pick on her bending specific hindleg and not getting strong in the hand then start asking for piaffe

If horse is pushing to the right needs to listen to the left leg

One time changes just swing the leg
Decide how many you want in advance don't end on a mistake

If you want to stop one times use outside leg only

If you feel the changes get sticky stop them and go fwd

Traver to renver on cl in walk back to canter fwd cl and same again then do cl traver to renver in canter making horse adjustable in the hindleg

To do a zig zag you have to be able to bend the horse in the change

Exercise half pass from corner to x then renver on cl

Exercise 6 strides half pass 6 strides straight with little counter flexion then continue 6 strides halfpass then shorten it to three strides

If you sit down too heavy you stop the horses bounce

12/31/2022

My answer to a students question as to the difference between energy and tension.

Think of response as how you swat a mosquito...to remove the annoyance..vs how you would swat at a bee..to avoid a nasty sting. To me that is the difference between a response (mosquito)..vs a panic reflex (bee) . One is calm action. The other is fear.
In all training there is the balancing act between actions that give a response vs actions that cause a fear reflex.
When tension slips in, you have to give the horse something to respond to...otherwise tension builds.
There is calm energy and there is tense energy. Teaching the horse to be comfortable in high energy is what upper level dressage is about. Teaching the rider to rechannel that energy is just as difficult.
For instance. You are riding piaffe and the horse starts snorting and shaking his head..a novice won't even notice the tension building.. the intermediate rider will notice and want to stop the session. The advanced rider will take that moment to bend the horse or lower the neck, or move forward a foot or so to diffuse the tension and keep the energy.