How to Do Basic Dressage Successfully

Dressage is a French term for training, and is the fine art of training a horse. Many people refer to dressage as horse ballet. The goal of dressage is to train the horse to react with simple commands and perform elegant movements. When you do basic dressage successfully, your horse performs with ease and great presence.

Things You'll Need

• Horse or pony
• Treats
• English snaffle bit
• English saddle
• Helmet

Instructions

1. Make yourself more flexible in the saddle to be better at dressage. Find the correct position to sit and the right body position for your saddle. Use exercises and visualization before you mount the horse to help you find your seat. When you master these basic elements first, dressage begins successfully.

2. Start with the rhythm and regularity program. Begin with a gait. Work on the horse's trot, walk or canter and make sure that the movement proceeds evenly and in a relaxed manner.

3. Work on the regularity of the gait. Keep the same level regardless of whether the movement is a trot, canter or walk. When you work on basic dressage, you successfully encourage the horse to maintain equal movements.

4. Look for rhythm in the step. The sequencing of steps should be pure. The trot should contain no other type of step and be a pure trot.

5. Work with the horse so he relaxes. A relaxed horse breathes through the nose gently, bites on the bit softly and has an easy gait. Basic dressage successfully taught requires that the horse moves easily and loosely.

6. Reward your horse for even small improvements. Frequently the horse doesn't do the basic movements well. Keep small treats with you and give a treat or verbal praise as the horse improves. Train in mini segments. If the horse breaks from a trot to a walk, stop right then and begin again. The second time, use a shorter distance and reward. Continue to increase until the total run is a trot. Reward liberally and especially praise your horse.