Dressage: Help with making a horse relaxed and on the bit

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Sunny_Star

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My horse is very tense, and holds his head up really high and doesn't engage his back properly when I school him and before competitions.

He does relax when I've worked him in for about an hour, but I haven't found a consistant way of relaxing him in a shorter time than that, and sometimes I don't have enough time before a competition to school him for an hour so I get really bad dressage results
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Does anyone have any good exercises for relaxing a horse and getting it on the bit?
Or should I just stick with getting to comps really early in order to school him for an hour before the dressage?
 
loads of different school movements, shallow loops, spiral in and out of cicrles and also felxing the neck from side to side. keeping the horse straight whilst doing this,just encouging a bit of bend on both sides. ie, counter flexion etc, and more lateral work, shoulder fore ect..these all encourage the suppleness and bend.
 
my horse has exactly the same problem, and im just beginning to work miracles with her! my instructor gave me a video of Christoph Hess, and all i can say is, WOW! school your horse in a long and low outline; rather than asking him to bend, ask for a stretch in walk and trot. dont be afraid to really straighten your arms and drop your hands down low! if you maintain the balance whilst stretching in trot, ask for a canter, and keep him on a 20m circle whilst still asking him to stretch down. my mare will simply not go in a round outline in canter at present, she just hollows her back and raises her head up, but when i ask her to stretch, its a different story. you will feel him really start to engage himself, and although it wouldnt be an ideal way to ride a canter in a dressage test, it is definitely the first stepping stone to relaxation and freedom of movement!
hope this helps, i have only just experienced the breakthrough so am on cloud nine lol!
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sounds a top tip,im trying to get my tense mare 2 work long and low,as all my comments in a test is TENSE. she goes low in walk,but harder 2 get her 2 take a low contact in trot,any tips??and where did u get that vid from?
 
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