Dark Horse Dressage

09/19/2026

09/05/2026

❤️ Dressage ❤️
The sport where ……
A halt must be direct transition but it can’t be abrupt. It should look like a bird landing on a branch, but cannot be so soft it’s progressive. It must be on the hind leg and has to be square and immobile, but not too short or too long. If the entry is too collected it doesn’t have enough quality, if the stride is longer the horse is too long and makes the halt neigh on impossible to execute like a bird. If the horse lifts it foot too quickly … it will be deemed not immobile and you’ll get a 4.
The trot must be expressive and powerful but must be relaxed. It must be short and compressed in the body with true collection and on the hind leg but it must also swing and be loose. There must be relaxation and rythm but also contained energy springing off the ground.
Collection is important but so is quality, expression, frame and ground cover.
The canter must jump off the ground and above all, be uphill…. But it cannot be too long in stride or frame because it must show collection at all times. Be careful to not allow the stride to become too collected and get small though.
You must have flexion and bend but you have to be straight at all times. You must use a lot of exercises to create bend and flexion to achieve the suppleness, collection and balance required but remember to always ride your horse straight.
The Germans always like to say the horse should sweep the cobwebs out of the corners with their tails when they turn a corner (meaning the horse should turn without bringing the quarters in) but you also have to create bend in the corners.

You might get told for years to extend the trot from marker to marker, then you’ll go to Europe and be told to quietly build the extended trot as you go.
You must have enough bend in the half pass but if you have too much you’ll lose the shoulder. Don’t forget to be upright.

If you’re in one country you have to start your half pass turning into the diagonal line first then catching the quarters, if you’re in another country you’ll spend hours being told this is not correct and you have to leave from shoulder in. Both are correct depending on where you are.

You can ride a Volte inside leg to outside hand and turn your body or you can create the bend and use your outside aids. Both are acceptable.

If you’re in Holland you ride with two legs and two hands with the horse in between. Hand to stop, leg to go. In Germany you ride from the leg into the contact, inside leg to outside hand, and use your seat more. Both are correct.

In piaffe you want the horse to sit, but not too much! You want active hind legs but not so much they balance on the front legs and not moving faster or more active than the front legs. You want them thinking forward but not actually moving too forward but if they think even an inch backwards you forget all of that and ride them forwards.

The passage must be elevated and rhythmical, not too quick but it has to active. Active but relaxed, but big.

Pirouettes must be collected and balanced, between 6-8 strides, but not too quick and not too laboured. They must be uphill but not climbing. Not too high in frame but not too low either. Not too big and not too small.

Finally … If a horse wants to be high you must ride him down and if he wants to be down you must ride him high.

See it’s simple really. 🤷‍♀️😆

JK

08/22/2026

When a Dressage Horse Is Behind the Leg — Especially With an Adult Amateur (AA) Rider

One of the most frustrating situations in dressage is a horse who is wonderfully forward and willing for the professional, but becomes behind the leg, pins his ears, bucks, or doesn't want to move forward for his AA rider.

The important thing to understand is that this isn't necessarily a “lazy horse.”

Often, the horse has learned that there are two different systems:

**Trainer:**
Leg → immediate response → release.

**AA:**
Leg → no response → stronger leg → more pressure → horse braces → resistance.

The horse learns that the AA's leg is negotiable.
But what is actually happening in the horse's body?

When the rider is asking the horse to go forward while simultaneously restricting him through the hand, seat, or body, the horse can develop an energy conflict.

The rider says:

“Go forward.”

But the horse simultaneously feels:

“Don't actually go anywhere.”

Instead of energy traveling:

**Hindquarters → back → neck → contact**

the horse can become:

**Restricted → braced → shortened stride → more leg → more resistance.**

The hind legs become less effective at stepping underneath the body and contributing to propulsion. The back can become tense rather than swinging. More weight stays on the forehand, and the horse can become heavy in the rider's hand.

This is why a horse can look “round” while still being completely behind the leg.

Round is not necessarily connected.
A short neck is not necessarily collection.
More leg is not necessarily more impulsion.

If the horse is constantly being squeezed, he can also become desensitized to the leg.

Instead of:

leg → response

the horse learns:

leg → background noise.

The rider then uses more leg, which can create even more tension.

Eventually the horse may anticipate the interaction. Ear pinning, tail swishing, bracing, rushing, kicking, or bucking can become part of the cycle.

That doesn't mean every buck is training-related—pain and discomfort should always be ruled out—but the physical and mental pattern is important to recognize.

So what's the answer?

It isn't to kick harder.

The goal is to make the aid clearer and more meaningful.

The rider should be able to say:

Light leg = GO.

If there is no response, reinforce promptly.

The instant the horse goes forward:

RELEASE.

The horse learns that responding to the first aid is the easiest option.

For these horses, I often like to temporarily take the emphasis away from the perfect dressage picture and go back to:

Forward → Straight → Rhythm → Connection → Engagement → Collection

A horse cannot truly be collected if he isn't genuinely forward.

Let the AA ride the horse in a more open, forward frame. Work on transitions, changes of direction, bigger and smaller steps, and simple forward exercises without constantly worrying about where the horse's head is.

One of my favorite exercises:

GO → COME BACK → GO

At the trot, ask for a few strides of a bigger, more powerful trot. Return to working trot. Then ask again.

The goal isn't to make the horse run.

QUICK TRANSITIONS

TROT → 4 STEPS WALK → TROT
TROT → CANTER → TROT

The goal is to teach:

My rider's leg means bigger steps.

And equally important:

When my rider stops asking, I maintain the gait.

The rider's position matters, too.

When the AA asks the horse to go, are they accidentally:

• Leaning backward?
• Gripping with the knee?
• Bracing through the stirrups?
• Tightening the reins?
• Locking the hip?
• Driving continuously?
• Holding the horse in the front while asking him to move forward?

That creates the classic:

“Go, but don't actually go” feeling.

The horse needs to feel that the rider's leg opens the door rather than pushes him into a closed front end.

The ultimate goal isn't to make the horse “behave” for the amateur.

It's to teach the horse that the AA's aids mean exactly the same thing as the trainer's aids.

When that communication becomes clear, consistent, and predictable, the horse no longer has to spend his energy figuring out how to respond to conflicting signals.

Instead, the energy can go where we actually want it:

Hind legs → swinging back → forward movement → elastic contact → connection.

That's when First Level starts to feel completely different.

Forward isn't created by more leg.
Forward is created by a leg that actually means something.