Supple your Horse
Every training session should focus on suppling your horse in each gait to maximize his performance. There are many excercises to accomplish this goal. I teach my students to work with their horses flat work based on the dressage training scale.
First the horse must be relaxed. This only happens when the rider is relaxed and riding in balance. Thus I always focus on the rider position to make certain that she is riding in balance with her horse. Nearly all problems arise from the riders incorrect position.
Plan your warm up for 15 minutes of walk, rising trot and canter, changing direction with deliberation. I mean that the rider should ride from circle to circle or ride a serpentine, always taking care to establish the correct bend in the direction they are travelling. One of the most common mistakes is when the rider uses too much inside rein to change direction, pulling the neck out of the shoulder so that the horse is out of balance. His inside muscles are also blocked, preventing him from stepping under himself. From a simple biomechanics point of view, it is obvious why the horse is not in balance. Once the rider understands this basic concept, she is on the way to being able to supple her horse correctly.
After the warm up, work the horse through known excercises to confirm the execution. Take care to pay attention to the quality of the gait, the rhythm, and the balance. Fix any problems. If successful, the rider can move on to introducing something new. Finally finish with a rewarding stretch down at the trot and canter, again changing direction often to confirm equal balance on both sides.
