FROM WALK TO PIAFFE: RELAXING THE WALK We will guide you through the process of teaching a horse a beautiful piaffe. The first step is to ensure that the horse is relaxed and has an active pelvis. Throughout the exercises, it’s vital that the horse remains relaxed, even when using a whip to add energy.
As a horse trainer, you may wonder when to teach your horse the piaffe exercise. Some trainers believe that piaffe should only be taught towards the end of a horse’s training when they know all the Grand Prix elements. However, others suggest teaching piaffe early on during the horse’s dressage training as it is a
It is crucial for every rider and horse trainer to understand the movement based on tendons. This occurs when a horse uses the energy stored in the elastic tendons, similar to rubber band but harder, instead of the energy produced by the muscles. Movement based on tendons is similar to throwing a ball on the
When teaching and giving clinics around the world I have noticed something quite remarkable. When a skilled rider with passive, relaxed hands mounts a horse, the horse’s movement improves drastically. This phenomenon occurs without any specific training or preparation. It’s fascinating to witness how a simple change in the rider’s hand position can alter the
It’s important to recognise common mistakes and misconceptions related to using hands during horse riding. Let’s take a look at a few of these errors that you may encounter during your riding career. Firstly, pulling on the reins with excessive force is a common mistake. This practice is not a proper technique in horse riding
Let’s discuss exercises that can help you to maintain relaxed hands during riding. Most of these exercises can be done when standing in place. It’s important to avoid riding for extended periods and keep your hands from tensing up. You should frequently stop, stand still, and repeat the exercises to correct your hands and keep
As a rider, you know that having a relaxed upper body while riding is crucial to having good contact and a shared movement with the horse. To achieve this, you need to start by looking at the whole construction, which includes the bit inserted into the horse’s mouth and the reins attached to it that
Now let’s talk about how to have relaxed hands while horse riding. It may seem easy at first. Of course, it’s not complicated because there are no complicated elements here. But it’s not super easy either, because riders have many different habits and tendencies, and these habits and tendencies will need to be changed. You
Now we will discuss the first technical detail related to contact and the use of hands during horse riding. It is about how to hold the reins and how to use your fingers to hold them. This may seem commonly known and unimportant, but it is absolutely the most important element when it comes to
Let’s now talk directly about what hands are used for in Anna’s Riding Method. If you have read carefully the previous two chapters of this module, you already know the answer. Hands are only used to create contact between the rider’s body and the horse’s mouth. Therefore, hands are passive in the sense that we