As dressage riders, getting our horses to accept a contact and being able to maintain them steadily “on the bit” is one of the most important things for us to be able to do, but also, one of the trickiest things to truly unlock as a skill.
In this week’s video, we’re joined again by the AWESOME Stephanie Seheult, Dr. of Physiotherapy at RideAdvanced to tell us what we’re doing right and wrong with our bodies, and how they should be placed to affect the best contact for us and our horses.
The correct position to establish contact with your horses’ mouth is to have a straight line from your elbow to the bit.
Some of the most common contact issues that come up repeatedly for riders are:
- Straight elbows – This locks your arms from your hand all the way into your neck and back and doesn’t allow suppleness through the contact.
- Chicken wing arms – This tightness of the pecs and upper trapezius and the lats.
Riders will often do one of these arm positions when the corresponding leg is weak.
When the arm position is correct, the elbows are slightly bent, allowing the hands to have a steady and supple contact. Any aid adjustments can be made with the fingers and the wrists.
When the arm is in the straight elbow position, it stiffens up the whole back and makes the horse’s back stiffer, pitches the rider forward, and makes the rider grip with their knees.
When arms are in the chicken wing position, the rider comes back behind the vertical, offsets the gravity, and makes the rider need to stabilize with the upper body
The aids to supple your horse should always come in this order. Start with the smallest aid possible and then do more as needed.
- Closing the wrist and ring finger
- Bend your wrist and pinkie so you can see your pinkie underneath.
- Bring the elbows slightly back
The goal is always to have these aids as subtle as possible and make the aids almost invisible!
All of this is impossible without the correct arms and hand position.
Watch the video where I demonstrate this aboard Mercurio!
AND be sure to watch the video to the end to get Stephanie’s great off-horse physio exercise that will encourage the RIGHT muscle memory to give you the right arm and hand position while you ride!!
Thanks as always for watching!
