Should I even be considering Passage??** Pics added**

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Rossifoal1

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Has anyone any experience on teaching/developing passage. Can you teach any horse to do it or do you think a horse has to be physically able?

Ross turned 7 in july and due to unfortunate circumstances (for him) with previous owners he came to me with some real issues i.e he was completely and utterly dead to the leg and weak in the back etc He is relatively well bred (by Jazz and a GP mare) looks like parcival (lol) but unfortunately doesnt behave like him. So he 'should' be able to do it eventually right??

A year on he is now about 80% sharper but im wondering whether I will ever be able to teach him passage? Hes competing at prelim/novice level and working at elementary at home. He's been to two competitions and so overall i admit he is very green and still very babyish in nature. He has done passage with me when he is being naughty once so i know he's capable :rolleyes: but im wondering whether you need a particularly sensitive horse thats had a better introduction to dressage at an earlier age?

I am quite a novice when it comes to higher level dressage (i've trained and competed up to medium before I went into eventing, but now im back in dressage!) so I have no idea how you teach it (im assuming there are different methods?) and also whether I should be doing exercises to 'prepare' him for passage later on in his career?

My trainer is Sally Anne Sharp with whom I have a monthly lesson but I have been thinking about this for the past week or so and cant wait until my next lesson so I thought maybe there are some knowledgeable dressage riders/trainers who may know?

I feel ive been a pest on this forum already! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Here is the foal in question...

Hes enjoying a little jump here. He really enjoys it but it can get a bit frisky

jumpingfoal.jpg


Having a sneaky peak in the feed room when he thought I wasnt looking

sneakyfoal.jpg


And finally being cute in his stable....
foalinstable.jpg
 
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All horses are naturally capable but physically you should build them up to those higher level moves over a long period, strengthening and developing them allowing for them to be strong enough for the collected movements and the demands that come with them.
My first thought tbh was that the suspensory ligaments may suffer trying to do passage on a novice horse, once you are more established with collected movements then there's no harm in introducing it but it wouldn't be something I would do at the moment, your trainer however, will know much better what you are both ready for than anyone here x
 
Most horses are able to passage, it's a totally natural movement for a horse, but I have to agree with Farma - there is a reason why passage is only introduced at GP level, i.e. at the very very top of the sport.

Can I ask you, why do you want to introduce passage - if you need it to activate the hindleg, perhaps half steps would be a better idea? Also for the passage itself, for a lot of horses it is better if it is developed out of the piaffe rather than the other way round.
 
Jackson said:
I really can't answer your question, but he is gorgeous :)
Just curious, in the first picture, did you loose a (horse) boot? :p
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yes! haha he pulled it off in the corner and my mum noticed it when she checked the pic she had just taken! Was put straight back on once we hasd found it lol

FrodoBeutlin said:
Most horses are able to passage, it's a totally natural movement for a horse, but I have to agree with Farma - there is a reason why passage is only introduced at GP level, i.e. at the very very top of the sport.

Can I ask you, why do you want to introduce passage - if you need it to activate the hindleg, perhaps half steps would be a better idea? Also for the passage itself, for a lot of horses it is better if it is developed out of the piaffe rather than the other way round.
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I think you have just given me what I need to know. I had no idea what level it should be introduced yet, so im happier now knowing that I shouldnt be expecting too much of him. I am going to mention it to my trainer re the half steps. I just didnt want to get to a higher level and then regeret not introducing something at a younger age if you see what I mean. Also a lady at my yard the other day was ranting about the previous owners of her adv med/Prix St George horse because they had taught piaffe before passage and now the horse is really struggling with passage, so shes blaming it on that. So im assuming this is actually the correct way?
 
Rossifoal1 said:
I think you have just given me what I need to know. I had no idea what level it should be introduced yet, so im happier now knowing that I shouldnt be expecting too much of him. I am going to mention it to my trainer re the half steps. I just didnt want to get to a higher level and then regeret not introducing something at a younger age if you see what I mean. Also a lady at my yard the other day was ranting about the previous owners of her adv med/Prix St George horse because they had taught piaffe before passage and now the horse is really struggling with passage, so shes blaming it on that. So im assuming this is actually the correct way?
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No, then don't worry about it yet - and to be frank, and without being negative, there aren't that many horses who do actually get to GP, so you are more likely to not even need it, than to need it. Half steps conversely are always a good idea even for horses who aren't destined to a stellar dressage career - in fact my trainer even works on half steps with her daughter's jumping ponies, precisely because they are so useful in getting the hind leg more active.

Don't worry about 'leaving it too late' as to be honest passage is not like flying changes (which might indeed represent a rather big problem if left too late, because horses have to 'get' them) - any horse could learn to passage, they don't need to 'understand' it, once the right musculature is there and the horse is ready you can often get passage spontaneously at the end of the medium trot (when you collect) or out of the piaffe.

Regarding the piaffe/passage debate, each trainer will have a different opinion but generally speaking, piaffe before passage seems to be the more classically correct way to teach a horse (the idea is that this way you teach the passage by moving *forwards* from the piaffe, rather than teaching the piaffe by moving *backwards* from the passage). However I am fully aware that there are trainers who think differently.
 
FrodoBeutlin said:
No, then don't worry about it yet - and to be frank, and without being negative, there aren't that many horses who do actually get to GP, so you are more likely to not even need it, than to need it. Half steps conversely are always a good idea even for horses who aren't destined to a stellar dressage career - in fact my trainer even works on half steps with her daughter's jumping ponies, precisely because they are so useful in getting the hind leg more active.

Don't worry about 'leaving it too late' as to be honest passage is not like flying changes (which might indeed represent a rather big problem if left too late, because horses have to 'get' them) - any horse could learn to passage, they don't need to 'understand' it, once the right musculature is there and the horse is ready you can often get passage spontaneously at the end of the medium trot (when you collect) or out of the piaffe.

Regarding the piaffe/passage debate, each trainer will have a different opinion but generally speaking, piaffe before passage seems to be the more classically correct way to teach a horse (the idea is that this way you teach the passage by moving *forwards* from the piaffe, rather than teaching the piaffe by moving *backwards* from the passage). However I am fully aware that there are trainers who think differently.
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Well he has a lot going fo him but only time will tell how far he gets, although im very aware of how difficult it is. Very useful advice, i've taken it all onboard so much appreciated, thankyou :)
 
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