It's Only Medium!

Ask any rider what they practice most for a dressage test and they’ll probably tell you medium trot. Ask the same number of judges what they consistently give the lowest scores to and they’ll probably say the same! Why?

You’re probably trying too hard. Think about what you actually want your horse to do. You want him to relax his topline and take longer steps. Take a look at some common methods of asking for medium trot and you’ll see why they have the opposite effect.

The ‘pull and kick’. It’s basically a tight contact to ‘hold’ your horse and lots of leg to ‘kick him through’. Imagine what he must feel. If you suddenly got a pull in the mouth and a kick in the sides would you relax your back? The problem with this one is as he tightens his back against the pressure his strides may seem longer. You may see his toes flicking out in front of him but his back has shortened his strides haven’t lengthened. To a judge it’s a 4.

The ‘aim and fire’. This involves getting your horse round the corner and straightening him up before you kick once with both legs and throw your hand forward. He throws himself dutifully (not beautifully!) forward and within two strides he’s down on his shoulders and daisy cutting across the arena. His strides are longer because he’s running. Another 4.

The ‘scrubber’. After months of schooling without your seat you start scrubbing your hips forward and back because you think it will encourage your horse to lengthen. All it really does is make him hollow away from the uncomfortable feeling he suddenly has on his back. Can you blame him? When he hollows his back his hocks can’t step under his body. He couldn’t lengthen if his life depended on it. A 4.

Finally the ‘shorten and release’. This involves shortening your horse in the corner before the medium like a coiled spring. You turn onto the diagonal and release the pressure. He powers forward, looking for the contact, can’t find it and hits the ground running. Again it’s a 4. What’s worse about this one is you’ve just ruined the box beforehand by screwing him into a ball. You’ve probably got a 4 for tension in that box too!

So what should you do? You need to think of medium as a pace and a movement. A pace should be used for more strides than a quick flash across the school. A movement requires more energy than a working pace and so you need to use your legs every stride not just the first two. Try this -

Ride a 10m circle at M in working trot. At M go large in medium trot and ride one circle at B. Get back to B and go large (still in medium trot). At F bring him back to working trot and circle 10m.

Did you raise your eyebrows at the thought of so much medium trot or because you had to ride a circle too? Many riders avoid circling in medium because it doesn’t come up in a test and also because it means you have to ride every stride and move your body. If you don’t your horse flattens.

Get your trot balanced on the 10m circle. Keep your hands up and together to keep your horse’s shoulders up and together. Use your leg every stride to create energy.  Keep your fingers closed around your reins to contain that energy and create impulsion. Look up and sit back to keep his weight on his hocks. Whatever you do don’t pull back!

To ask your horse for medium use your heels every stride. Every time you do he’ll push his hocks further under his body, rounding and stretching his topline. If you don’t ride every stride he won’t make that extra effort. You’ll have a working pace.

To allow your horse to go into medium keep the reins between your thumb and first finger but relax the other three. You’ll feel him push against your hand. Keep the weight even in both reins. Think of an L shape. Lift your hands up an inch and forward a few inches. He’ll follow your hand and lengthen his back and his strides. 

When you circle turn your body round in line with the curve. Freezing because you think you’ll spoil things will have the opposite effect. Ride forwards and relax. That is, after all, what you’re expecting him to do!

When you bring your horse back close your fingers around your rein and hold your contact. Squeeze your thigh and knee against his sides (see The Other Way of Stopping) and start to use your calf muscle not your heel. This reduces the energy you’re asking for but keeps him going forward. His hocks won’t stretch as far forward and he’ll come back to a working pace without tightening his back.

The 10m circle at the end is to stop you collapsing in a heap at the end of your medium. Transitions are as important as the paces.

It’s a fine balancing act between leg and hand to achieve transitions between working and medium paces. That is something to practice. The only way to improve is to do more of it. Short, tense bursts are not the answer. Think less about the flicky toes and more about the softness and stretch of your horse’s back. Go large, ride circles and use your medium paces. Think about what you want him to do and make sure you’re doing everything you can to help him. That’s got to be worth more than a 4.

Good luck and enjoy your schooling.

Are You Lengthening or Rushing?

(You may like to read – The Other Way of Stopping/ More Power Less Speed/Get Those Hocks in Gear/It’s in Your Hands/Keep in Touch)

Don’t you just hate not knowing? It’s the biggest cause of tension in riders. Especially those who ride on their own. It’s amazing how easy things feel when you’re under instruction but the minute you’re on you own everything seems so much harder.

A classic rider confuser is lengthened strides. How many times have you genuinely believed you’ve performed the best medium trot of the day only to find the judge has given you a five? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way of knowing without guessing or relying on what you think feels OK?

Try this –

(This post is explained using trot but you can use any pace.)

The first thing you need to do is work out what’s normal. Ride large and count your strides on each long side between corner markers (K – H or M – F). Ride at least three times round so you know what your regular stride count is.

You can use this method for the long diagonals where you’re often asked to lengthen in a test (count from ¼ to ¾ line). Make sure you work out your normal stride count first and ride it at least three times to make sure.

Before you lengthen you should shorten your horse. This is the easiest way to get him back on his hocks and off his shoulder. If his weight is on his shoulder he can’t lengthen. Try walking leaning forward. To stop yourself falling over you’ll take short, quick, heavier steps. He’ll do the same.

To shorten your horse’s strides use your thigh and knee squeezed into the saddle. (See The Other Way of Stopping) At the same time be firm with your lower leg to keep him stepping under with his hind legs. This ‘slowing down but pushing on’ generates power or impulsion. The strides become shorter but more energetic.

To check if you’ve shortened your strides correctly count down each long side again. Your count should have increased by at least one. Check it three or four times before you move on to lengthening to make sure your horse is engaged.

The most important part of lengthening is keeping your horse on his hocks. When he truly lengthens his stride it should feel as if he’s trotting over poles. He should spring upwards and forwards. To do this you have to contain his energy with a steady rein contact. Lose it or offer your hand forward and you’ll not only allow energy to escape you’ll tip him onto his shoulder. From there he won’t be able to lengthen.

Each time you check on a rein your horse tightens his back. That’s okay for a brief half-halt but if you’re doing it every stride to steady or collect him it will have a negative effect. If his back stays tight he’ll be unable to bring his hocks underneath him. Practice using your thigh and knee as aids for slowing down and collecting. The less you rely on your hands the more relaxed he’ll be.

Ride round the short side with your knees tight on the saddle to shorten the strides. Use your lower leg to keep the trot active. Turn onto the long side and get straight. Relax your knee. As your horse feels you release the pressure from his shoulder he’ll swing forward and lengthen his strides.

As your horse lengthens his stride don’t be tempted to ask for any more. It’s important he finds and maintains his balance. Lengthened strides are often spoiled by over riding. In sitting trot the best thing you can do is sit still. Scrubbing your seat forward and back in an attempt to make him relax his back and stretch unsurprisingly has the opposite effect!

At the end of the long side shorten your horse to put him back on his hocks. Ask again when you’re happy he’s balanced. Initially it’s a good idea to ride one side of lengthened and the next of shortened strides. This makes sure you’ve kept him back on his hocks and you’re not unintentionally allowing him to fall onto his shoulders.

Count your strides when you feel they’re longer. Your count should have decreased. A tense horse takes short, quick steps. If you’ve rushed not lengthened your count will increase. Be happy if you reduce your count by one. It may not feel earth shattering but your horse will be relaxed and balanced. This gives you a solid foundation from which to ask for more.

This exercise is brilliant because it’s foolproof. It removes any doubts you may have. You’ll be able to ride on your own and know if what you’re feeling is right. Without confusion or tension from you your horse has a better chance of understanding what you want.

There is very little in life that improves if you rush it. Your horse is no exception. A dressage judge will give you a higher mark for staying rhythmical, relaxed and in balance than they will if you fire your horse across the diagonal on his shoulder!

Good luck and enjoy your schooling.