How to Warm Up a Dressage Horse

A dressage horse has a difficult job that requires strength, stamina and flexibility. It is easy to burn a horse out by riding him too fast or too rough, and a proper warm-up before every ride is essential. Make sure your horse is loose and flexible before attempting any difficult maneuvers, and adjust your warm-up if your dressage horse develops soreness or stiffness after the ride.

Instructions

1. Walk the dressage horse on a long rein for at least three laps of the arena both directions. This gets the blood pumping and the muscles moving without adding any strain to the horse. Don't worry about framing the horse up until after these relaxed laps at the walk.

2. Shorten your reins gradually to bring the horse into frame. To warm-up a dressage horse, make sure your movements are slow and deliberate and that you think about every step before you do it.

3. Alternate the pressure between your right and left calves in order to step up the walk. Your left leg should squeeze when the horse's right leg comes forward at the walk, and vice versa for your right leg. A strong, forward walk is essential to warm up a dressage horse.

4. Walk three or four 20-meter circles as you start to warm up. Use your inside leg at the girth and your outside leg behind the girth to ask for an inside bend, and apply additional pressure with your outside leg to increase the pace at the walk. Change direction across the diagonal and repeat three or four 20-meter circles.

5. Perform one or two 10-meter circles in each direction at the walk. This serves to warm up your dressage horse slowly, increasing the bend as his muscles start to respond. If he seems stiff, perform additional 10-meter circles until he begins to loosen up.

6. Ask the horse for a working trot, and always start out posting. This serves to warm up the dressage horse's back, and will ensure that you aren't bouncing around in the saddle until the warm-up is complete.

7. Repeat the 20-meter and 10-meter circles at the trot in both directions. When you change directions across the diagonal, ask for an extended trot to further loosen the leg muscles and increase the impulsion from his hind end.

8. Canter the dressage horse only after your warm up at the walk and trot have made him supple and pliable. Generally speaking, you don't want to canter until after fifteen or twenty minutes of warm-up.

Tips & Warnings

• Stretch the horse's legs on the ground before mounting if he feels stiff or uncooperative.