dressage- impulsion

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kerrylou123

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Hiya!
Did some unaffiliated dressage with my boy this afternoon. We did prelim 7, and got quite good marks, but the judges comments confused me a little!
one of the the remarks was 'lots of impulsion (too much)'.
What does that mean? I was under the impression that impulsion was a good thing? Or am i mistaken?

Thanks in advance, Kerry x
 
I think it may have been a polite way of either saying
a) your horse is moving too fast and you need to collect the impulsion a bit more
b you are asking for too much impulsion ie you are pushing him forward too much or making his pace faster then it should be.
The only time when I got the comment 'a little too much impulsion' was when I did a medium trot across the diagonal in a long school, I built up so much energy around the corner, when I let him go forward and opened him up, he exploded, but we managed to get it back by X and finish with quite a decent score for the movement!!!
 
I agree i think the judge was trying to say you need to slow down a bit, but not telling you in th right way. Impulsion means the horse engaging their back end and lifting their back and it isnt speed. Try to slow your horse down a bit bt do not fall into the trap of making your horse go to sow and get comments such as lack of impulsion.

hope this helps pm me if you need more help
 
thanks- i now know where this comment came from, especially as my arms are really aching this morning after trying to hold him lol. Never mind eh.... maybe he should stick to showjumping lol.
 
Hi!

Impulsion is important, but it has to be controlled too to produce exuberance and balance which is what you are aiming for (with training and in time obviously!) I think they might have meant that your horse was running on a little bit? As I wasn't there it is difficult to tell, do you have a video of your test? That might help you.

It is great that you got good marks and that you are out there and competing!

Have fun!
Diana
 
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