Western Dressage

Feel

by Kelley Bitter

Ispent last month watching the WDAA World Show. I am always amazed at the grace and effortless rides that I see. The horse and rider seem to read each other’s thoughts and know exactly what to do and how to respond. It is true teamwork and harmony in motion. I get goosebumps watching the horse and rider glide seamlessly through the test. Then, I try analyzing exactly how that happens. This effortless communication between horse and human. It can be many things but the most important is that the rider feels the horse’s movements at each gait. The rider knows which aids to apply to create a beautiful harmony and ride.

Have you ever had the ride that is perfect? Everything just seems to work together smoothly, correctly, and you are in harmony with your horse. Have you ever wondered why that didn’t last? Well, it might’ve been that at that moment of harmony you had feel of your horse. You had that connection that seemed easy and effortless. So, what do we mean when we say you have feel when riding? Let’s talk about what feel is and why it is important in western dressage.

Feel describes the ability to communicate. It is the connection with the horse that is developed by having an awareness of where the horse’s body is in each gait and even each stride. It is also the ability to understand how your aids influence how your horse responds and moves. Sounds mysterious, but it really isn’t. Some people have a natural feel when it comes to riding, other people must learn it. You can learn feel.

Feel is a crucial element in western dressage. When you have a feel and you are aware of the horse’s positioning as you ride, you then have harmony. Harmony is key in western dressage and it is what the judges look for during your test. Harmony is what makes the ride look easy and effortless. However, this awareness or feel comes from the ability of the rider to understand how the horse moves and how to properly use aids. Does this sound familiar? It should; it’s part of the training scale that we talked about in the last article.

The horse and the rider each have different responsibilities in developing a communication and harmony through feel. The rider must understand how the horse moves in each gait, the aids being used, and have a balanced supple seat. The rider must also be aware of how the horse responds to each aid. The horse must have rhythm and suppleness at each gait, be relaxed, and seek connection of the rider.

Often what happens is that the rider does not have a balanced seat and gets in the way of the horse. Feel then becomes much more difficult. The rider should be in a position so that the ears, shoulder, hip, and heel are all in alignment with equal weight on each seat bone. The seat should be supple, and hips should move in motion with the horse. In other words, don’t get in the way of your horses’ movement, instead move with your horse so that you can develop feel.

One of the first things that you want to do is become aware of what aids you use to move your horse forward at each gait and between each gait. Notice when you give the aids and how your horse responds. Once you have done that, here are some other exercises to help you develop feel. 1. At the walk, put the palm of your hand on the croup of the horse. This works better with a calm horse who is relaxed, so if your horse is not relaxed you may want to borrow someone else’s for these exercises. As your hand is on the croup watch the hindquarters move. Start associating that movement with the feeling you have in the saddle. If you’re comfortable close your eyes and really feel the movement with your hand and your seat. Now remove your hand and just try to feel the walk with your seat. See if you can feel which hind leg is coming underneath of you. 2. At the walk, place one hand on the shoulder of the horse in front of the saddle. As the horse moves, feel the shoulder and the leg moving forward. Take notice of how it feels on your leg and your seat when the horse steps forward with his front leg. Again, if you feel comfortable enough close your eyes and feel the movement. Now take your hand away and see if you can feel the leg moving forward with your seat. 3. Trot a 20 m circle and transition to a canter. Remember you are going from a 2-beat gait to a 3-beat gait. Feel when that happens. Now do it again and when the inside front leg and outside hind leg are about to leave the ground ask for the canter when you feel the outside hindquarter swing forward. This takes some practice, but this will help you develop the feel and when to most effectively use your aids to appear seamless in your transitions.

So where does this come into play in western dressage? Where you will see words like harmony, connection, feel, rider aids are in the collective marks on a test. There are five collective areas that are given points. First is the gait. Is the gait free and regular? Second, is impulsion. Is there forward movement with suppleness and a steady tempo? Third is rider position, seat and hands. Is the rider well balanced with light connection and centered alignment? Fourth is rider correct and effective with use of the aids. What is the horse’s responsiveness to aids? Is there an elastic connection during maneuvers and transitions? Fifth is harmony. Does the horse accept the aid and influence of the ride willingly and relaxed? Is there a partnership and free flowing performance?

All the collective marks have to do with being aware of your horse’s movements at each gait; as well as how you use aids and how your horse responds. This is feel, and that is what creates the partnership, the harmony and perfect ride. It takes practice but you can learn to be aware of how your horse moves and responds to you. That is a partnership.

Remember to not block the movement of your horse, stay supple and balanced in the seat. With practice you can develop feel. Your rides and your test will look effortless and seamless at each maneuver. You will have developed a communication S