Whether you are riding a dressage horse or not, you must maintain an even pace for your horse or risk losing his balance and rhythm. Each horse has its own unique tempo and once you find it, you will have the key to achieving maximum performance.
Because the horse is so in tune with the rider, it must first deal with its own imbalances that result from stress and lack of exercise in the proper muscles. Here’s a simple way to find out how a horse’s tempo works:
Hold a dressage whip by the whip and set it like a pendulum.
Note that there is a natural and effortless swing or tempo of the lashes (depending on their length).
The longer an eyelash is, the slower it will be.
When you try to accelerate the speed of the swing, it will require more effort because it is not natural.
Since the horse’s legs are actually pendulums, each horse will have a natural rhythm, just like in the whip example above. It has to do with the law of physics. When your horse finds the temperature of his legs, he can move almost effortlessly; If you move too slow or fast, tension will build up in your body and disrupt your balance and movement.
To help your horse find its natural rhythm, ride it in small circles. You can increase the size of the circles as you learn to walk without losing your natural rhythm. Never hold the horse in rhythm with the reins.
If you need to make adjustments, wear some quiet half stops, adjust to take a step, and then release your kidneys. This is only if it is absolutely necessary for the horse to find its true tempo.
It is beautiful to feel when your horse becomes aware of your rhythm – his muscles loosen and he lowers his neck and head and breathes deeply, even sometimes letting out a great sigh. Then you will begin to relax and reach for the bite.
Dressage is not intuitive for the horse, so you will need to learn some specific skills to ride dressage and keep your horse in his natural rhythm. Understand the basics of riding and how your horse’s temperature works. If you continue to have trouble getting the horse to pick up on your pace, it could be a physical issue that needs to be addressed.
Practice makes perfect, and that’s certainly true when finding and adjusting a horse’s tempo for dressage or just riding. Make sure you know and understand the basics so that you can help the horse with the items it may be missing.