Poking nose Dressage comments

[banny]

Hi,

My horse and i are very much dressage beginners and dressage will never be our best area but i would like to improve. I keep getting comments from the judges like poking nose and could be rounder. I have never ridden my horse in an outline and have never even seen her be ridden in one by better riders than me. How do i go about introducing this to us both, I dont even know how to ask for an outline.

Thanks.

[Stella2]

It sounds like you will really need the eyes on the ground of an instructor to introduce you both to this :) Can you arrange for a freelance instructor to come out to you and your horse?

[holiday]

id go with stella2 its dificult to explain but its all about leg to hand and feel which is easy to explain when you can see whats happening.

[Willingbe]

Have you got transport? If you have I suggest you join the Northern Dressage Group http://www.northerndressage.org.uk/ They run training clinics for both dressage and show jumping.

Otherwise you need a freelance instructor, you may be able to find a trainer through the BD website, http://www.britishdressage.co.uk/findtrainer.cfm

Although there are web-sites which aim to help I wouldn't start using them until you have a trainer to bounce questions off. Some of the information on the web-sites can be mis-interpreted and they can cause more problems then they solve.

[sweuzo]

having the horse 'round' is one main thin about dressage.... as far as i can tell and unless you learn how to get roundness you can't really progress in dressage.

[SailleCinza]

Sweuzo, I disagree, there's lots of things to focus on BEFORE roundness, which is a BY-PRODUCT of doing other things correctly. Banny, while looking for an instructor to teach you to go "on the bit," which is the first step to going in an outline, focus on rhythm, relaxation and looseness. You might already have these things, but try taking them to the next level through transitions and new figures. Keep a perfect rhythm, bend your horse and increase his responsiveness to your aids... then when the teacher comes you'll already be halfway there! You'll learn about contact and half-halts, and will be able to influence your horse to move "round" the correct way, and you'll also be halfway up the training pyramid!