Saturday Symposium Demonstrations Courtesy of German Dressage

Symposium: Developing the Dressage Horse
Saturday, December 4, 2004
Demonstration at the Kentucky Horse Park

For more information on the credentials of the presenters, please look at Friday's lecture.

(Brief notetaker's statement: Scott, Christoph and Steffen showed over the course of the 3 days how a horse had to grow and mature, and how you built, FROM A SOLID FOUNDATION THAT HAD TO BE LAID IN THE YOUNGSTER, a good horse with a good mind. It was extremely well done. And they never ever veered from the basic principles of riding or from the training scale, and in fact returned to it whenever a horse showed resistance or difficulty in executing a movement, even at the FEI level. They worked seamlessly together, always present at each other's presentations, and often stepping in and adding something (at the other's invitation) to show how the principles that one was teaching completely meshed with what the other was doing. It was a Symposium that should have been mandatory for every USDF member, in my humble opinion, it was that good. I apologize if it isn't always clear in my notes exactly who was doing the teaching, but my focus was getting down the information rather than the source of the information...)

Scott Hassler:

Evaluating the Mare

The mares used for the evaluations were all provided by Hilltop Farm. Scott said that he felt most comfortable in discussing his own mares, because he felt able to discuss both their strengths and weaknesses without fear of hurting anybody’s feelings.

Rivita: Hilltop Farm, by Riverman

Rivita by Riverman

This 8 year-old mare is overall of nice quality, but not without faults. First of all we notice that she has a nice long neck, and that she appears intelligent. She is handling this environment well. She has a good front end, but she has a slightly long back, and could have greater depth in the croup. She also toes out a bit on the left, and is short below the knee. These negatives are not enough that you wouldn’t breed her—but they would affect your choice of stallion.

When you evaluate her movement, you notice that she moves slightly downhill at the start, but she has a lovely rhythm to the walk—average, to slightly above average—but loses the rhythm if she gets worried or hurries. In trot, her rhythm, even when she’s worried, is exceptional.

Rivita

She also calms immediately. Her transitions between trot and canter are responsive, both in hand and on the lunge—that tells you a lot

as a riding horse. She has lovely push—she’s nicely uphill, and comes under, with fabulous rhythm. This is important information when evaluating as a riding horse. It is not 100%, but it is often the best that you can do as a breeder for a horse that is not yet under saddle.Her oldest offspring under saddle is being ridden by an amateur who started the horse herself—this says a lot for rideability and trainability.

In summary: we have a strong trot, but we would like some improvement in the walk and a shorter back. Her contact in the mouth is not the best (we know this, but it wasn’t demonstrated) and this affects trainability. She has wonderful activity in the hindleg and shoulder. She is complicated to ride, but she is a very interesting mare. For her, we’d choose a stallion that has a shorter back, and that is built very uphill. We also want a good walk. We already know that this mare produces offspring with excellent rideability, so we’re not worried about that.

3 year-old by Contucci, Courtesy of Hilltop Farm

My apologies to Scott Hassler and Hilltop Farm, in that none of the photographs that I took of this lovely young mare turned out to be of acceptable quality for use in this article. If any readers of these notes have a photo they'd like to contribute, please e-mail it to webmaster@germandressage.com.

This is a 3 year-old (Contucci x Cor Noir), less experienced with handling work and with limited experience off the farm. She is less calm, but this is not unexpected and the tension she is showing is fair given the change in the environment. She has a better croup and tailset than the first mare, and a powerful hind-end. Her shoulder is very good. She is already tall, and we know she’ll grow more. In handling her, it is important that we don’t yank on her mouth because her mouth is NOT the problem and we want her to like the bit in the future. Her problem is that she’s running through the handler. The handler is controlling her behavior by using the whip as a barrier instead, holding in front of her for attention. He pets her as a reward, rather than giving her treats, since treats tends to invite horses to be mouthy and to into enter to the handlers space. The handler is keeping her busy until she settles, leading her forward, stopping her, backing her up, and changing speed—keeping the mare’s attention and making her think. This mare’s biggest fault is that she is wide at the hips, comes close at the hocks, and then wide at the fetlocks.

Scott took a moment to demonstrate handling skills. The handler’s shoulders should be parallel with the horse’s shoulders. In this position, the horse gets the message that “everything is fine” and should make no changes, simply keeping up with the handler’s movement. If the handler turns towards the mare (outside shoulder forward) this is the equivalent of a half halt (the whip is in the outside hand and this movement allows the whip hand to move into the barrier position) and the horse should slow. If the handler turns the outside shoulder to the back (the whip moving towards the croup, where a tap could “energize” the horse—a LIGHT tap) the horse should move more quickly forward. Even small movements of the handler’s shoulders should get a response in the properly trained horse, and Scott and his handlers make it a game of Simon Says with their horses, seeing how quickly they can get their horses to respond, and off of how small an aid, sometimes moving forward in slow motion, other times nearly running, sometimes suddenly stopping. The horse is initially taught the “game” with a helper who works the horse as if on the lunge, and the horse gradually weaned from the helper as the horse begins to understand. Scott said he would demonstrate later how this “game” could transfer to FEI work in-hand (piaffe) later.

Other observations on this mare: she looks less supple than the first, but the way she carries her neck suggests that she will have good self-carriage. Her canter is her weakest gait, and she’ll also be large. We could also use suppleness in trot, and some improvement in the conformation of her hind leg. She’ll be bred to a stallion with a good canter, supple trot and a conformationally correct hindleg.

Question and Answer

Scott Hassler

Q: What role, in your opinion, does the pedigree play in rideability and trainability?
A: The pedigree contributes 50% for rideability and trainability. Handling probably contributes the other 50%.

Q: Is there a way to predict the ultimate height of a young horse?
A: There is no test that is 100% accurate for ultimate height, but a string from the fetlock joint to the point of the elbow rotated up is a good estimate of eventual height. Scott related a story wherein he'd purchased a 4 year-old that was 16.1, thinking that it would be a good height for the particular client, and by all indications the horse was essentially done growing. At 6, the horse was well over 17 hands!

Q: What role does the shoulder play in the horse's movement?
A: The shoulder sets up the front end to be supple and expressive.

Q: Is 3 too young to breed a horse? Are there any negatives to breeding a mare that young?
A: There is no problem with breeding a 3 year old, and in fact it is often an advantage because the mare owner is left with more options. The mare can be started under saddle before she foals so that rideability can be assesses, and then her mind can mature while she is bred and foals. When she is 4, there will be a foal to assess for the quality of the offspring she produces, and then the breeder has information needed to make the decision as to whether or not to keep breeding her or to ride her.

Q: What are you referring to when you say "depth of croup"?
A: If a line is drawn from the start of the croup to the head of the tail, the depth is the vertical distance between them. THEORETICALLY, it determines the ability to sit and be engaged, but there have been major and notable exceptions.

8 year-old Donnerhall x Pik Bube Mare, from Hilltop Farms

Dorana, Donnerhall x Pik Bube Mare

The next horse is an 8 year-old mare that is ridden in sport. You can see that she is overall a very nice mare. She is less feminine and thicker in the throatlatch, with a more common head than the others, and she is slightly weak in the loins, however. She has a great mind, but is perhaps too calm in this environment, suggesting that she may not be energetic and sensitive enough as a riding horse. Her eye is alert, however, and she is very friendly. You could ask for a better croup. Her hindleg is OK.

As Scott was going over this, he said that we should be asking ourselves: “What does or will it feel like as a rider?” A horse that is too wide will hurt to sit, and will be difficult for an amateur. They are less desirable because it makes it harder to stretch the leg down. This mare is on the wide side, and her front legs are a bit toed in.

On the lunge, we can see that the horse is more responsive than she was standing there and that she wants to carry herself and move forward. She is also playful—this is good, and shows that she is not as dead as we thought. She has a lovely canter and a very nice trot—her hock is quick, and she has an expressive front leg. She is beautifully free in the shoulder, and you can just picture her doing canter pirouettes and flying changes that are uphill and expressive. When you assess a horse on the lunge, in-hand or at freedom, you want to look at them in the trot and canter that you would ride a test with—that’s the one you want to evaluate and be impressed with. This horse’s character is super. Even when she was playing, you could see that she had nothing bad in her mind at all. Her walk is OK. She wants to carry herself—has a very lovely natural self-carriage.

She does, however, need a better croup and a better structure to the hind leg. And Scott said that on a daily basis, she tends to be lazy. She’s new to him, though, and the fact that she had great energy in front of a crowd suggests that she’ll make a good show horse. Her pedigree is Donnerhall x Pik Bube—a cross that has been done many many times before, but not all have worked. A great pedigree does not guarantee a great horse, but in this case, it resulted in a good riding worse, which is why she was purchased.

If she were to be bred, they would pick a lighter-boned, elegant stallion with a better hindleg construction and a better walk. They wouldn’t be picky about the stallion’s canter because the mare’s canter is so nice.

Scott then demonstrated how handling relates to later FEI work in hand. First, he said, you get the energy and then use it. To begin, Scott held the whip and lunge line in opposite hands from what he does when working with the younger horses: his left hand holds the reins, and the right hand holds the whip. There should be a contact with the rein hand that is light so that half halts can be accomplished by a slight increase in contact followed by release—never a “yank.” Just as with the work with the younger horse, when the handler’s shoulders are parallel to the horse’s shoulders, the horse should step well forward at the same pace as the handler. If the handler turns toward the horse, the horse should slow, and if the handler turns toward the horse’s haunches (so that the handler’s left shoulder is closer to the horse) the horse should stop in front and piaffe behind. Scott teaches the horse what he wants with the whip by lightly touching the horse’s fetlocks, first right then left then right then left, as a tap. The whip is used as a cue, not a punishment. Once the horse understands, the tap can be used as needed as a reminder.

Question and Answer

Q: When do you introduce youngsters to the bit?
A: Scott introduces youngsters that will be shown in hand early in the 2 year-old year, approximately 1 month before the first breed show. Scott continues to train using a halter, though, using a bit only after communication is fully established. If no breed shows are scheduled, then Scott delays teaching youngsters about bits until they are ready to be started for riding. Youngsters, however, need to have their teeth floated every 6 months, he says. Like children, their mouths are continually changing and they need regular attention.

Starting Young Horses Under Saddle

This section was taught in almost a seamless fashion together between Christoph Hess and Scott Hassler.

BRITTA JOHNSTON BRAVELY DEMONSTRATED WITH BASTET

The equipment should be very simple—either a D-ring or full-cheek snaffle, but NOT a loose ring. The cheek pieces help young horses to understand turning and giving to the bit because of the face pressure, and they also prevent the bit from pulling through the horse’s mouth. Whether or not to use a single or double joint depends on the horse—some prefer one, and some prefer the other.

Horses should be lunged first. Scott believes that the stirrups should be tied up, since flapping stirrups both annoy the horse, and can also disturb the rhythm and annoy the horse. The reason to lunge the horse is because the aids will not be established yet, and the person on the ground is there to support the rider and provide external aids to back up those of the rider—it helps the horse to associate the two.

Lungeing for 20 minutes like a maniac teaches the horse to run away. Instead, it should have a purpose—to teach the horse to stop and go so that they learn responsiveness to the aids. TRANSITIONS are the key. Lungeing should be for short periods, with bell boots at minimum (and other protective gear if tolerated), in the largest circle possible with frequent changes of direction. Remember that young horses’ bones are still developing and that their growth plates are not closed, and that we don’t want to damage them. While lungeing, remember that you are looking for the speed that you want to be riding later, but give the horse the freedom to relax/settle/express itself.

Once the horse has had a chance to relax, settle and express itself on the lunge, the side reins can be removed and the rider can mount—but the horse remains on the lunge. Rather than just hopping on, the rider leans first, and strokes the horse—perhaps repeating the process several time. The process must not be hurried. Once in the saddle, it is important that the rider be experienced and absolutely balanced with a firm grasp of the 6 points of the Training Scale, particularly the first 3: rhythm, suppleness and steady contact. The young horse must learn to be in front of the driving aids and to accept them, but also to respond to the half halts. There are FUNDAMENTAL steps to the training without which their further career is compromised.

Preparing for the rider: removing the side reins.

Ideally, the horse learns to have the rider mount from both sides, and it’s not a bad idea to have the helper work the horse in hand with the rider mounted, with changes of direction before beginning lungeing work with frequent transitions the first few days the rider is in the saddle.

The horse needs to find his natural balance, so the rider needs to carry the hands deep so the horse is allowed to stretch the neck and seek the bit, and allowed to go forward—not running, but well forward. The better the stretching, the better the rider is able to use the driving aids. If the neck is short (i.e., the reins are held to short and the horse’s movement is thus restricted), the horse must run and cannot find his balance. This was shown with the demonstration horse and rider—shortening the reins caused the horse’s steps to become choppy and the horse became tense, worried and upset and started to try to run through the bridle. It was evident that this could begin a vicious circle. On a longer rein, the horse was able to stretch into the contact and balance in a natural rhythm, was relaxed, and the transitions between trot and canter became easy. When the rider initially rode the horse off the lunge, they were asked to pretend that the lunge line were still attached, and to wait to make transitions until they could tell “where the offer was”, and then to take it—to wait for the horse’s balance to make the transitions easy. Today’s demonstration was the first time this horse had been ridden without the assistance of the lunge line. The rider had to feel gently/carefully, and plan the turns well in advance.

Canter should begin within a week of starting trot work under saddle, if not on the same day.

Another 3 Year-Old by Laurika (son of Laurie's Crusader XX)

Photos of this lovely young mare didn't turn out well, either, since I didn't want to use a flash because of her age and inexperience under saddle. My apologies.

This was a difficult young horse, a mare, that has had been under saddle for a few months now. She was also ridden by Britta Johnston. She needed time to relax at the walk before beginning work at the trot. She was in front of the leg with a well-stretched neck to allow balance, with a steady tempo, but she was also fresh due to tension. The reins needed to be held absolutely steady as if they were side reins, and the rider did an excellent job of resisting the urge to shorten them—it was CRITICAL not to do so even though the horse was fresh, because shortening them would only have increased the horse’s tension and made it harder for her to balance, and she would have started to run. This is a particular danger when the rider starts to ride a circle—but the rider of this horse took care to guide the horse onto the circle with a leading rein, rather than drawing back on the inside rein. The rider carried a whip in the event that she needed to call attention to the aids.

The horse gained confidence and relaxation as it became more balanced. Many riders think they don’t need or are afraid to use driving aids on TB or TB crosses, but this is EXACTLY WRONG. Once the horse begins to relax, the rider MUST begin to use them for transitions to bring the hindlegs under (both for up and down transitions), and must teach the horse to accept them from an early age. This is critical foundation work from an early age. The horse must accept leg contact at all times, and aids for the transitions. The rider should sit as the horse will accept the rider so that horse learns to balance and take the rider’s weight on its back and carry the weight.

There are two useful exercises:

To gain balance: Turning the horse on the quarter-line and then gradually returning to the track helps to get the shoulder over to the outside naturally when it has fallen in on the turn.
Turning aids: Try/allow, try/allow, try/allow is better than holding. This allows the head to stay in line with the shoulders.

If the horse is ridden too fast (forward beyond its natural rhythm), the horse does not have the opportunity to move over the back and swing. On the other hand, the natural rhythm must not be restricted.

Tvauri, 4 year-old Flemingh son

Reese Koffler and Tvauri

This horse has to be encouraged to go forward as it is not 100% supple and in front of the rider’s driving aids. To get the horse forward, the rider needs to give the horse a few aggressive kicks then go back to a quiet supportive leg. There MUST be a reaction, and the young horse has to learn, or there will be problems down the road. At the end of the day, the horse should be so sensitive that the aids are invisible to the spectators. The experienced rider is needed to train this horse and instill the WILL to go forward and the responsiveness to the aids.

The transition to canter was slow in this horse because the horse was behind the driving aid—and there was a need to school it. The first step in trot and the first step in canter must always be forward steps. The rider must think, “I want to ride big strides uphill in a clear 3 beat canter from behind.” This is the basis for clear flying changes later on. The horse must be encouraged to balance his body and to use his hind end in the right way—and this will only work with a well-stretched neck and if he is in front of the leg. The horse needs to be schooled to be in front of the leg quite a bit more—needs more reminders than are desirable. He is very capable but he has a tendency to be lazy.

Most riders tend to wait into the trot from the canter rather than to ride actively into it with driving aids—but riding actively into the trot from canter with driving aids is the CORRECT way to do it. To keep a lazy horse like this going, the rider must become more creative with the arena and be more playful with the daily work sessions. Scott suggested riding a square with four 1/4 turns. For example, riding H, M, B and E as tight corners. At each turn, the leg should be applied VERY strongly at the same time that the rider is turning, so that there is increased impulsion DURING THE TURN (there are a few strides of very forward movement just in the corners). This will wake the horse and get his attention because it is different… Changing the pattern like this will often get a lazy horse to pay attention, as will other creative patterns/games. This horse may also need increased conditioning, such as he could get from going outside in the fields or on trail—and conditioning outside and away from the arena may also improve his energy and work ethic.

For a sharp horse, school correctly from the beginning. Once a problem is established, it is harder to correct. If you do have a problem, ask for short distances with good activity and motivation, and find ways to give the horse a change of pace. Change the program so that he doesn’t know what to expect.

More 4 year-olds: Pacino and Graffini Grace

Eliza Sydnor and
Graffini Grace

Graffini Grace needs suppleness to develop better contact. When you start out your ride, you need to ask, “What horse do I have under me?” Look for contact in forward rhythm. The horse should be seeking contact and moving forward from behind. Don’t make too much of an issue over contact, i.e., in putting the horse into contact—allow the horse to FIND the contact. With a young horse, also do not overreact if the horse comes above the contact or fuss over the contact. If the horse is tight in the canter transition, make the quality of the canter itself good, and then go back to the trot and ask for the canter again. Repetitive transitions and changing of gaits allows the back to swing from nature and not from stronger aids from the rider.

At home, you should not feel that you have to ride with overly sensitive aids for the canter depart. The horse needs to learn the aids that you want. Accuracy (i.e., “at the letter”) doesn’t matter in the warm-up—go for appropriate timing instead, so that you have access to a good transition. When things are good is the best time to do a transition—don’t stay with the gait and just enjoy it.

Christoph Hess uses Tami Glover and Pacino to demonstrate the proper leg position to the spectators.

When a rider’s seat isn’t good, it does not present the horse in the best light either. The rider must sit deeply in the saddle. We must school our riders just as we school our horses. The rider should have the image of swinging the horse’s back into their hands, while keeping their heels down, trotting only as long as they are able to maintain the correct position, and then returning to the walk. The horse must remain in front of the leg and accepting of the leg during the exercise—and must be corrected if he fails to do so.

Many riders to not have an effective leg in trot work, and use the spur instead of the leg. This is absolutely WRONG. They must learn to use the leg effectively by correcting their position in the saddle.

Question and Answer

Q: Any suggestions for the green rider with the green horse?
A: Both Christoph and Scott agreed that it is an absolutely necessity that they get good help in the form of coaching and/or assistance with training.

Q: What can you do for a horse that is heavy on the forehand?
A: The rider should ride lots of half halts, and lots of transitions within and between gaits, minimizing the use of the hands and rein aids. The horse must be ridden forward into the hand to get them off the forehand—you cannot correct the problem with your hands alone.

Sir Sinclair, 5 Year-Old Stallion

Dorie Addy-Crow and Sir Sinclair

The next horse was Sir Sinclair, an active breeding stallion from Iron Springs Farm that was Reserve Champion at the US Young Horse Championships. He demonstrated a proper warm-up under Scott's direction first, and then rode the 5 year-old test with commentary by Christoph Hess.

Avoid long lines, and use frequent changes of direction to keep the horse from getting too long and to develop suppleness. Push the horse for a few strides of extension periodically to get him listening and test his responsiveness, and to keep him in front of the leg.

Savanna, 5 Year-Old Mare by Jazz

Dr. Katie Stanton and Savanna

The last horse was sired by Jazz, and was also a participant at the Young Horse Championships.

This horse wants to come above the bridle because of the crowd, and the rider needed to stay ahead of that by keeping the horse busy with some bending work in the warm-up—in that way the hands could be used for something productive rather than for restricting the horse. Bending, however, must be accomplished with feel. When a tense horse responds, pat her—tell her that’s what you wanted, but then put her back to work. Speed changes in the warm-up are a good idea, but they should not be ridden where you’d ride them in the test. You are looking to get the horse in front of the leg and on the aids, but not riding extensions the whole long side. Ride the canter to walk transitions during warm-up on a turning line to decrease the risk of getting them on the forehand—that sets you up for getting them more on the hindleg.

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