Per Col. Alois Podhajsky of The Spanish Riding School = 1. The face must never come behind the vertical, as in this case the horse would be over bent and not go sufficiently forward. 2. The poll, however, must be the highest point of the horse’s head regardless of his conformation. 3. This points to the necessity of sufficient freedom for the head in the extended paces. 4. It must be emphasized that the correct position of the head cannot be obtained by strong action of the reins, which would only shorten the neck. 5. The position of the head is the means, the paces the object, of dressage. The correct position of the head will be the result of contact and balance, both developed by riding briskly forward, and will make it easier for the horse to follow the commands of the rider given through the reins. 6. The rider should aid his horse to understand him; this means that the horse should never be afraid of the aids and that the rider has sufficient patience to be sure his horse understands what is demanded of him. (I would rather rider ask and not demand) The rider must have an exact understanding of his aids and their effect, and must make use of them intelligently; he must not allow himself to be influenced by his feelings. 7. The ultimate objective of training must be to guide the horse with invisible aids. 8. In spite of this, few riders today are sufficiently expert in the art of classical riding to perform the movements with invisible aids. Rather, they may often be seen presenting their horses while working the hands and legs and swinging their bodies. (Words written in 1967 are still true today) 9. When the leg is correctly applied, the heels should be low, and the muscles of the calf tightened. 10. If the rider leans forward while his seat remains in the saddle he will drive the horse’s forelegs into the ground and prevent the hind legs from coming under the body. 11. Experience has taught that the rider should never push more with his legs than he can control with the reins, or hold with his hands more than he can absorb with his legs and seat. This gives the individual measure of the degree of the aids. Most riders will have an inclination to hold more with the reins than they can control with their legs; therefore, the rider must always work from rear to front to ensure that the horse does not take too firm a contact with the bit.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:55:53 +0000
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