How To Add Suspension To Your Dressage In Five Minutes

Are you wishing you could add some more spring to your horse's trot in the dressage arena? 

We've all spent countless hours trying to lift our horses' backs & generate more impulsion by using a certain plane of the ankles while precision-scootching seatbones into a receiving hand & holding the muscles between your 5th & 6th rib at 45 degrees of tension. 

Or something like that.   

Last weekend, I found a much easier solution.

I present to you Exhibit Echo.  As voiced by Echo. 

We are trotting around at Trainer Neighbour's, everything is pretty normal.  Until...

Why HELLO, Interesting Bear-Doggeh, WHAT R U?

BEAR-DOGGEH! I CAN HAZ A PLAY!?!! 

TAA-DAAA!  Look at that supension!  So uphill!  All we needed was an Interesting Dog in the arena!

Of course, Echo didn't stop there.  Interesting Dog apparently looked like a super-fun playmate:

We do like this, Bear-Doggeh, first u prepare...

...then u lift feets like this...

...then u WHEEEEEEEE!!!

Ah, the steps of riding a Baby Monster.  Who is 5 going on 2.  But since he is a good Baby Monster, two strides later, he was right back to a normal rhythm.  Sometimes the WHEEEE just can't contain itself, but he is so darn cute & completely non-threatening about it, it just makes me giggle.

Interesting Dog (appropriately named Grizz) never moved.  Maybe he's into playmates with fewer sharp edges.

Categories: dressage, schooling