Friday, July 31, 2009

Aids for collected & extended trot/canter?

hi, i am getting riding lessons but they have not taught us how to do the extended %26 collected gaits.
could someone please help?
also, shoulder in/out.
thanks
Answers:
hey Ill be brief with the aids here as Im sure you just want the basics!!
Collecting: put more pressure on your reins but squeeze more with your legs - basically you need to let your horse know that you are not asking him to break into a walk, which is what he would expect from the pulling on the reins, but by increasing the pressure of your legs he'll respond by continuing trotting, and adjust his stride accordingly.
Extending: take the pressure off the reins and exert more of a squeeze on your legs - be careful your horse doesnt break into a canter - keep the rising steady so he'll adjust his stride to match your rising. If he does canter, break him back to trot and continue with the aids - hell soon realise what youre asking him!
xx
Hi, the best way to learn these movements is with an instructor because they can correct any faults and help you do correct movements.
Collection - requires more engagement of the hindquarters - think of it as controlled energy. Lots of transitions and half-halts can help to develop this. Basically you use your half-halts to transfer the energy from forwards to upwards.
Extension - is similar in that you need the engagement %26 impulsion as for collection but this time you are letting it translate into forwards movement. A very common mistake is letting the horse run onto it's forehand (it feels downhill and the steps become faster rather than longer). It should feel more like you are pushing the horse into your hands but allowing him to take longer steps.
Shoulder in - Ride down the long side and turn slightly inwards as though starting a circle. Use strong inside leg on the girth and slightly more outside rein to encourage sideways rather than forwards movement. Inside rein and outside leg maintain slight inside bend. Proper shoulder in should be on 3 tracks but it is easier to learn shoulder-fore first which has less of an angle.
It's hard to explain so here's a couple of links!
http://www.artofriding.com/school.html...
http://www.sustainabledressage.com/colle...
Hope it helps!
The riding school will not have taught you these because they are fairly difficult for most riding school horses and ponies,who are mainly used to being ridden by a very great amount of pupils, To be honest shoulder in/out is best learnt on an experienced horse,so you are able to get the feel of the movement first. The same can be said for collection and extension.(they can only really be achieved with the horse engaged and working on the bridle, Unfortunately this is not the case with most riding school horses.)
you should ask your instructer to help you - they will know how to explain it better than people can on here in just words -
collect = shirer steps and therefore more of them
extended = longer strides and fewer strides
shoulder in = walking down the 3/4 line and tthen moving sideways to the outside whilst moving forwards at the same time - your horse crosses his legs to do this
good luck and I hope you are enjoying the lessons you will be wanting your own horse soon enough!

No comments:

Post a Comment