Rhythm rules
Acclaimed coaches Ian and Heidi Woodhead explain why rhythm is vital to you and your horse’s performance
Improve your horse’s rhythm with Ian and Heidi Woodhead
HAVE YOU EVER picked up your dressage sheet at the end of a competition and read the words:
‘Losing rhythm on the turn’, ‘llacking rhythm in the medium trot’, ‘loss of rhythm on canter circle’, or something similar? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Many riders struggle with rhythm, but there are some simple exercises that you can do to improve it.
What is rhythm?
The word rhythm is derived from the Greek word rhythmos which means ‘measured motion’. You could also describe ‘rhythm’ as the regular reoccurrence, or timing, of a beat. In equestrian terms it relates to the regularity of footfall in any pace. If your test sheet says you’re ‘losing rhythm in trot through a turn’, it may be because your horse slows down or backs off your leg as you ride the turn, such as might occur on a serpentine loop perhaps. If you lose rhythm in a medium trot movement, it could be that you’re pushing your horse out of his natural rhythm for his stage of training and development. We all know how it feels when our horse is rurunning forwards and he misses a beat in trot, which often results in him running into a canter transition. Sometimes you just need to allow him to develop and strengthen physically and in his training experience in order for him to be able to hold rhythm in a change of pace.
If the horse is truly in front of the rider’s leg, and he is submissive to the contact and level down the rein and through the topline, then he will travel in his own natural rhythm that he was born to go in, and the rider should be able to sit still.
Making sure that your horse is truly in front of the leg doesn’t mean that there should be an increase in speed. In fact, it’s important that the paces don’t quicken. In front of the leg means that if the rider applies a leg aid, the horse reacts in a positive, forward-thinking way. On the whole, riders need to work to improve the reaction that their horse gives when a leg aid is applied.
Submissive to the contact and level down the rein refers to the feeling that the rider gets from the horse through the reins.
The horse shouldn’t be stronger on one rein than the other, and he should respond to the rider’s aids through the rein when the aid is applied.
Achieving natural rhythm
A simple starting point to work towards achieving these aims is to train your horse to move away from your leg.
Start with the basics — a simple halt– walk, halt–walk exercise.
1 Your horse should move forwards with one light touch of the leg.
2 It is important that you don’t ‘grip’ with your leg, as your horse can become numb to the aid.
3 A light tap, a nudge, or a gentle kick should be sufficient to teach him to move away from the leg.
4 Use transitions — walk–trot–walk– trot — counting a regular amount of steps (four or five), between transitions. 5 Make sure that your horse responds quickly to the leg and rein aids.
n6 If he overreacts to the leg, this is positive as he is understanding the aid, so praise his reaction and use a lighter aid next time.
7 If his response to the aid is delayed, continue to work on transitions to improve his understanding of the exercise.
Add in lateral movements
Once your horse is moving away from the leg aid and responding to your rein aid in the upward and downward transitions, progress to using lateral exercises, such as leg-yield and shoulder-in.
1 Pick a start and finish point in your training space (this doesn’t have to be in an arena; an area of a field is fine).
2 Count how many times you have to use your leg to get the reaction from your horse that you’re trying to achieve — obviously the fewer times the better.
It’s important to remember that throughout all training exercises you should keep refreshing the contact in the rein so that your horse doesn’t start to rely on your hands for balance.
Your horse must be working into a contact, but not relying on the contact. Developing your horse’s ability to carry himself in balance and work in a consistent rhythm takes time and patience.
When riding movements in a dressage test, or when training at home, you should work to develop the rhythm in the paces, as well as your horse’s understanding of what he is being asked to do.
At the start of any horse’s training, always keep the exercises simple so that he can build and maintain confidence in his work as he progresses.
NEXT ISSUE Ian and Heidi share their secrets for achieving suppleness.