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Dressage

Dressage is a french word meaning "training". This style of riding is very old and is the basis for all other riding styles we know today in the show ring. A horse and rider trained in the discipline of Dressage are able to perform easily in most other disciplines. Of course, some additional training in the particulars of each would be required. Another term for Dressage is Classical Riding.

The main purpose of Dressage is to enable the horse to move in a manner most like it's natural state. That is, to allow natural freedom of movement in all gaits. This requires the horse and rider to move in harmony and perfect balance. Dressage is not easy. It takes years of training for both the horse and rider. Balance is one of the most important aspects of this training. Additionally, getting the horse to move forward with a rounded topline and work "on the bit" are also goals.

5 characteristics of a good Dressage horse are:

• Balance

• Straightness

• Collection

• Suspension

• Extension

This doesn't mean that if your horse has imperfections in any or all of these areas you can't ride Dressage. On the contrary, Dressage will improve your horse's way of moving, balance, cadence and other characteristics.

Dressage tests are not like other horse shows. Each rider must complete the test, individually, in a certain amount of time. The test is scored on how perfectly the horse and rider complete the pattern. Going from one gait to another, extending a gait or slowing it down, halting and other movements are called transitions. Each transition must be executed perfectly.

There are various levels the horse and rider must progress through:

• Introductory Level

• Training Level

• Novice or First Level

• Elementary or Second Level

• Medium or Third Level

• Advanced or Fourth Level

• Grand Prix

• Prix St. Georges

• Free Style Tests

You may have heard the patterns executed by the Dressage rider referred to as menage. Menage means arena or training area. It is also used to describe the exercises done in the arena. Often the exercises are called menage patterns.

The Dressage saddle is designed differently than other English saddles. It has a deeper seat for close contact. The billets on a Dressage saddle are longer, usually, than on other English saddle. This keeps the buckles out of the way of the rider's leg for better contact with the horse when using leg aids. The appropriate stirrups are called Fillis Irons. They are heavier than most other irons. The stirrup pads are white, as is the pad (other colors are not usually used in upper levels). The thin, quilted cotton pad used under the Dressage saddle is called a numnah, it is traditionally square with rounded corners and shaped to fit the horse's back. The idea is to eliminate bulk.

Below is a short discussion of the half-halt, one of the most basic and most important of all dressage movements.

HALF-HALT

"The aids for the half-halt are to correct position, making sure the lower leg is in good contact and able to create sufficient energy to activate the hind legs and to restrain forward movement carefully, so that the horse shortens his steps as he obeys the demand to slow down but still thinks forward and stays active. The rider's seat must allow for the shorter steps and, as soon as a suspicion of this has been felt, the rein must allow the forward movement once more. If the horse has been lying on the hand or pulling against the rein, the contact, having first been lightened momentarily, should now be offered to him at the required weight. It is easier for the horse to adjust his weight onto his  hind legs on a circle before he can manage this on a straight line and he must learn to respond to the forward aids from a predominantly inside leg as the rein allows him forward. As the horse shows he understands what is wanted, he must be rewarded for his efforts."

"The half-halt is best thought of as a downward transition, used to rebalance, and later on collect, the horse. It can be, and at the beginning of the training, should be, executed in a slow and calm manner as often as necessary. Use trot to walk transitions repeatedly to make the horse think of slowing down the trot, then graduate to transitions from working trot to very slow trot. When the horse can decrease his speed over approximately six steps of trot and then move forward again to working trot speed, he has accomplished a half-halt. As this exercise progresses, the number of steps taken during the slowing down phase will decrease and the moving-forward phase will increase in balance and activity, but only if ridden with feel for the quality of rein contact so that the horse does not set his jaw and stiffen through the back. "

"As training progresses, the half-halts will become more refined and will be beneficial in bringing the horses's weight more onto the hindquarters and so lightening the forehand."

From Training the Dressage Horse: Novice to Medium Level, by Tricia Gardiner, Photos by Bob Langrish. Pages 114-115. 1998, Ward Lock.

DRESSAGE LINKS

Please submit your links in our FFA Links. Thank you, Pam Hunter

• Hunter's Pony Farm Dressage Merit Award Test: Can you do it?

• United States Dressage Federation

• Dressage Daily

• Lipizzaners of South Africa - A beautiful web site with abundant photos and detailed text about this breed in S. Africa

• McFarm/McKnight Enterprises - Sport horses for sale. Equine Therapy, nutritional supplements.

• United States Combined Training Association

• United States Equestrian Team

• All About Dressage

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