Does your horse transform into a giraffe during your ride? Are you unable to feel a consistent contact? Or maybe you’re constantly getting pulled out of the saddle? Where should your horse’s head even be and how can you tell if it is correct?
In this week’s video, we will be talking about your horse’s frame. Your horse’s frame is important so you can control your horse and get your horse round and engaging their hind end. While your horse’s neck is only part of the whole picture that you look at to access your horse’s roundness, it’s a good place to begin the assessment and start working on getting your horse round.
There are three aspects of your horse’s frame that we will be covering in this video. I also have a FREE PDF on Contact and Connection that you can download HERE to fill out as you watch the video!
There are three parts of your horse’s frame that you should analyze:
The Neck
- Is your horse “above the bit” with their nose in the air and in front of the vertical?
- Is your horse “behind the bit” with their head curled behind the vertical?
- Is your horse “on the bit” with their nose slightly in front of the vertical and the base of their neck engaged?
Weight in Your Hands
- Is there no weight at all in your hands (or one more than the other?) and you can’t keep a steady contact?
- Is there just the right amount of weight in your hands (about as much as a soda can weighs)?
- Is your horse leaning on your hands and pulling on you?
Hand Position
- Are your hands too high?
- Are your hands too low?
- Are your hands just right, making a straight line from elbow to bit?
Watch the video where I go into more detail about each of these parts of your horse’s frame! I hope these tips help you! Don’t forget to download and print out my free PDF on Contact and Connection to fill out as you watch the video! Please share your responses on Amelia’s Dressage Club!
Happy Riding!
Amelia
