Dressage Lessons - Advice needed

[RLF]

Hi, could anyone give me some advice please,
I have been having dressage lessons for over 3 years on/off, my horse has improved considerably and we consistantly score over 65%. my instructor got on my mare to try a more advanced movement that i was having a problem with, and my mare starting spinning, jumping up tanking off etc, after riding her for an hour my instructor said she was not accepting her leg, my mare is very forward going and needs very little leg, my instructor suggested i send my mare to her for a weeks intensive training to try and make her accept the leg. My dilmena is I think my mare is accepting the leg albiet a very light leg and i am worried that stronger legs and going to confuse and possible cause an accident for my instructor as she did nearly fall off. should i send her for the week or get another opinion.

 

[amage]

i wouldn't send her...not if she reacted like that. just because she can teach well doesn't mean she is the right person to ride your mare. my mare can be a bit like yours. i'm based with one of the top showjumpers in the country and he can't get on at all with my mare despite being a superb pilot

 

[beh]

i woldnt send her either, if you are gaining 65% and over, and still enjoying and improving from your lessons, why send her? if judges in tests keep going on about it then ask your teacher how to do it yourself.

 

[Mel85]

Sounds like your instructor is doing the right thing - your horse may well be going nicely in an outline with very little leg, but it may be that the power is not coming from behind, in which case, more leg is needed. If your horse is not used to this then she may resist and behave in a way that is out of the ordinary. I wouldn't send her away, but I would get your instructor to try to teach you how to do it.

The more advanced the movements, the more leg that is required which may be why you were having problems with it? Having not seen you and your horse going it's difficult to comment!

Good luck though!

 

[RLF]

thanks
I think the problem was my mare just didnt understand what was being asked of her, my instructor didnt manage to get the movement out of her during the lesson, but i have been able to since then, i think i should ask my instructor to give me an intensive week of riding instead of her riding because my mare is so used to my style of riding and i think having somebody else ride her might just confuse her more she does engage from behind i just think she prefers my lighter leg.

amage/jessyandsicco - i agree, think i just needed a second opinion. thankyou

thankyou all for your opinions, its been a great help.
Rachel
x

 

[Sal_E]

It may well be that your instructor is right, i.e. the horse needs to accept stronger leg aids especially if you're wanting to be able to teach her various lateral movements which require subtley different aids.

However, I do not think your instructor has approached it in the best possible way - she needs to EXPLAIN it to the horse, not just clamp on & basically say 'YOU WILL BLOODY WELL LISTEN', so the horse is thinking 'WTF!!!'.

I agree that your instructor should teach YOU to do it (should be easy for you to say something along the lines of, you want to learn as well so would rather do it yourself) - you can then work on it on your own, building it up gradually; progressively increasing the pressure within the limits your mare is happy with.

I've got no qualms in getting after a horse if they are being 'naughty', but it seems a bit harsh to do it when they don't understand. Same thing happened to me in my last lesson - gave my horse a smacked bum only for the instructor to tell me that I was asking incorrectly & the mare was confused - I felt terrible...