This week in lessons...

This week in lessons we are working on riding deeper corners and using the corners to get the horse to step up and under with its inside hind. Corners are a good way to rebalance a horse and increase weight bearing behind.

I am using poles set at the "C" end of the arena to mimic a dressage court and to make sure rider's are supporting their horse with the outside leg through the turn, as the encourage the bend with the inside leg active at the girth, and the inside hand active and back towards the rider's inside hip.

Each corner should be thought of as a 1/4 circle; with greener horses and riders doing a 1/4 10 meter circle, and more advanced horses/riders doing as small as a 1/4 6 meter circle.

In jumping lessons, we are also going to be focusing on the turns and corners, and riding very controlled through the ends. This will help lead to getting flying changes consistently, as the horse will feel balanced between the inside rein and the outside leg.

Karen