How to teach your horse to piaffe

The piaffe is a high school movement that doesn’t make an appearance until the upper level dressage tests. Before you can even begin to train your horse to piaffe, you must first have mastered a steady and balanced collected trot, and your horse must be working from behind.. You should not school the piaffe without the guidance of an experienced trainer or instructor.

Instructions

1. Ask your horse for a nice collected trot. Once the trot has steadied pick a place along side a wall to ask for the piaffe. The wall will help keep your horse from swinging his haunches.

2. In order for your horse to successfully piaffe you must have their bodies and heads pointed straight ahead. Your horse is more likely to stay straight if your head is up and you are looking straight ahead. Make sure your weight is evenly distributed on both seat bones before you close your fingers and ask for the piaffe.

3. While keeping your upper body straight, squeeze the horses barrel with your legs. At the same time close your fingers, simultaneously asking the horse to stop and go at the same time. Your horse will rock back to it’s haunches and trot in place. When your horse has done this for a few steps, reward him by letting him move forward into a collected trot.

4. Repeat the process several times until your horse behaves as if it understands what you expect it to do.

Tips & Warnings

• Be patient. Your horse works hard and is doing his best.

• Whenever you are involved in an equestrian activity you should always where an ASTM/SEI approved helmet.