dressage vs trail

Greenall (greenall@vermontel.com)
Sun, 5 Jan 1997 00:56:50 +0000

Interesting views on dressage vs trail training and really, both are
right. We live in Vermont, and while it is God's country and we ride
all year round, the winters do present a challenge. For that reason,
we spend two days in the indoor with fellow endurance riders and work
our horses for about an hour. No question that basic dressage work gets
the most out of our hour as we ask the horse to focus on certain
muscles with certain exercises. This simulates trail work such as
Mr. Morris pointed out. Classical dressage is meant to be done on
the flat with good footing, not on a nasty rocky trail. However, the
moves required in both are very simular. Diane Nelson pointed out
the quality of the Rojeks and their horses. Since I school with
them, I watch how they do it, and it is a mixture of both dressage and
trail that makes those horses look so good. The secret is to make it
easy for the horse, the trot should be easy and relaxed, so should
the canter, and the walk have some energy in it. Cantering around
an indoor for 15 minutes certainly teaches the horse to do it the
easiest way possible or else it is incredibly hard on them. Most
horses figue this out quickly, cut through the nonsense and start
looking for the balance that makes each stride most efficient and
easy. Yes this can also be done on the trail. Canter a horse for 15
minutes in our hills and they do the same thing. We strive for
natural carriage that allows the horse to move in the most efficient
way possible. Each horse is different. On the trail there are
certain circumstances that require the rider to "ride every stride"
and it sure is nice to have done that before one find's onself in
that position, hence the benefits of dressage work. I think what we
see on the trail in those horses going hollow or barely in control is
that they have never been faced with rider control
and truly do not know how to deal with it. Your choice
to train for that doing dressage or in your conditioning program.
John and Sue Greenall
greenall@vermontel.com