Developing Engaged Walk: Adding Energy to the Walk

FROM WALK TO PIAFFE: Developing Engaged Walk The next step in teaching the piaffe is to add energy to the walk. Just like in the exercises from previous chapter, you will continue to activate the horse’s pelvis. The main driving force of the horse’s forward movement should come from the rotation of the pelvis, which

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Teaching Relaxed Walk & Relaxing the Pelvis

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.

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MODULE 1: Biomechanics of Piaffe

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

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CHAPTER 10: How Good Technique of Using Hands opens Collection and Advanced Movements

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

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CHAPTER 9: How and Why a Good Rider’s Hands Immediately Improve the Movement of the Horse

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

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CHAPTER 8: Using of the Hands: Misconceptions

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

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CHAPTER 7: Relaxed Hands: Practical Exercises + VIDEOS

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

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CHAPTER 6: How to Have Relaxed Upper Body During Riding

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

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CHAPTER 5: How to Have Relaxed Hands

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

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CHAPTER 4: Technicality of the Contact: How to Hold the Reins

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

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