How do horses learn?
Sometimes, in Dressage, we get so caught up in the details of Dressage that we end up gripping with our legs and hands and give conflicting aids. It is easy to forget the very basic concepts of how horses learn and to remember how horses actually learn to respond to the aids.
Here are 3 tips to help you train your horse:
Pressure and release: In nature, horses in the wild respond to one another with pressure and release. When the dominant mare nears another horse, she pins her ears and asks the horse to move away. If this doesn’t work, she follows through with a kick. It’s pressure and release. When riding, it’s the same idea. The rider applies a pressure with the leg or the rein and when the horse responds, the pressure should be released.
Repetition: Horses learn by repetition. Repeating the same cue (pressure) and reward (release) of pressure when the horse gives the desired behavior is how, over time, you can train the horse to respond to your aids.
Timing and feel: The timing of when you apply the aid (or pressure) and when you release the pressure is of utmost importance. Top riders can give smaller and lighter aids because they apply the aids at the exact instant! The only time you can influence a horses’ leg is when it is leaving the ground so the timing of the aid must correspond to the moment when the leg you want to influence is leaving the ground.
How much pressure should you use? As little as possible and as much as it takes!
And don’t forget the REWARD! Be sure to REWARD the slightest change and the smallest try.
Happy Riding!
Amelia
