Overcoming frustration and collection challenges
I recently had a client, who had started to take dressage lessons. The result was, that she ended up very frustrated with her horse, because it wouldn’t collect. It would carry its head up high or alternatively hyper flex. He also was dull, wouldn’t respond to her aids on cue and on occasions would pigroot into the canter. The first thing I pointed out to her was that her horse had no previous dressage or collection experience. Due to all the changes to the normal routine he was confused, unconfident and stressed. Once the owner understood that her horse was trying really hard to do what she wanted him to, but could not figure out what that was. It reduced her frustration with her horse. We then went on to introducing exercises on the ground, which helped the horse to mentally engage, gain understanding and adjust to the new routine. Afterwards, I helped her with many different riding aspects. We adjusted her seat and body awareness, introduced techniques and exercises to help the horse understand what she wanted and gain confidence in collecting…
The result was, that after only a few sessions she was more patient with her horse and is really enjoying the challenges of collection and dressage now.
In our upcoming Foundation for Collection Clinic you will learn many of the exercises mentioned above as well as gain understanding for why your horse might not do what you want it to. This results in reducing frustration and enjoying the art of collection.
To view the flyer for this event click here.
To book in click here.
We are looking forward to seeing you there!