[drivingpairs] Re: Thinking of Dressage (long)

This is very fascinating info.  I mentioned Doc Hammill in a previous post.
He uses an alternative feel using the slightest rein contact with his 
horses.  You can control the speed of the gaits with this feel. It is in 
time with the natural movement of the horses head.  It relaxes them and 
reassures them and gets you in synch with your horses. 

Your tandem exercise:  Did you sustain this leader in extended trot and 
the wheeler collected for just a short time?  It is hard to picture this?
Thanks for taking the time to post this.  

I love the inspiration that I get from reading this list.
Theresa Burns





> Okay,
> 
> This might seem a bit over the top, but I had to share, I have been
> takeing monthly dressage lessons from a grand prix dressage rider and
> trainer.  I say dressage lessons because that is what they are even
> though I am driving my horses in a carriage.  She always has something
> new to teach me or work on.  Usually I drive each of my horses single. 
> But this last time I drove 1 lesson single and the other lesson with
> the tandem.
> 
> Alot of what we worked on applied to when I drive them as a pair. 
> First we worked at a walk,  And she said okay they are not in stride
> lets get them walking in stride.  Now as Hardy has often said " Horses
> want to be in stride together and with enough work they will learn to
> move together one of them will lenghten or shorten their stride to
> match the other".  So understanding that the horses want to walk
> together how do we help them walk together and get each of them
> placeing the same foot together (not opposite feet as is often seen)
> but both right hinds, both right fronts....  you get it:-)   So the
> exersise was to pick the horse with the best Rhytmic walk say it is
> your right hand horse,  Count 1,2,3,4 with each foot fall starting with
> the right hind.  You should be counting in a steady Rhthym  Not
> (12..34) .  As you count, starting with the right hind squeeze your
> right rein, with every count of 1, you are creating a Rhythm with one
> horse that the other horse will want to match,  You will be suprised at
> how soon they come in stride (I was amazed) you might have to have
> someone on the ground to encourage you and say Yes , you have it now. 
> If the better rhythmic horse is your left horse do the same thing but
> use the left hind leg of the left horse.  Squeeze the left rein with
> every count of 1 on the left hind leg.  Mix it up and use the Right
> front on the right horse Squeeze right rein on the count of 1 every
> time the right front hits the ground.
> 
> So now that you are throughly confused.  Move to the trot.  Now it is a
> count of 1 and 2 and 1 and 2  (the 'and' comes when the horse is
> suspended in air)  Start again with the most rhythmic horse and squeeze
> on every 1 with say the left hind of left horse with left rein. Then
> once in stride squeeze left rein on  count of 1 and right rein on count
> of 2.  The definition on how hard to squeeze depends on your horses:-) 
> This helps keep the horses balanced and in stride.
> 
> Now with the tandem it was more complicated because I had 2 sets of
> reins so I had 8 choices of legs:-)  I could match left or right on
> leader or wheeler.  My arms were a bit tired on Sunday because, she
> decided my Leader needed to have more energy so she had me chase him
> forward into an extended trot and then bring my wheeler down into a
> collected trot to get him regular and keep the leader in an extended
> trot.  She said the leader could have much more expression and
> suspension since he didn't have to pull any weight.  And yes the leader
> did go into draft for these excersices but that is all that they were
> were exercise's.  And she had me actually do downward transistions with
> the wheeler so that he would actually pull the leader down to a stop. 
> This was so that the leader learns to stay forward in downward
> transistions and not do the dreaded step back when you halt.
> 
> Just a few thoughts not sure how helpful or if what I said made any
> sense.  But something that would help the green horse in a pair become
> more solid.  If you and the steady broke horse are in synch, 
> eventually that youngster will get there:-)
> 
> Diane Kastama


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