Part 1: Catherine Haddad shares her philosophy on the role of dressage in all elements of eventing and the importance of the rider being aware of and able to control all parts of their own, and the horse's, body. As the rider warms up, Catherine points out that the horse is heavy on the forehand and lacks self carriage while also being unstable in his neck position. She has the rider choose a head and neck position and maintain it which allows the horse to trust in his own bend and flexion while they move onto discussing rhythm and other aspects of the trot. By building this confidence, the horse can gain stability while the riders works on differentiating between riding the horse down and riding him up.
Up Next in Dressage
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Quiet Hands - Part 2
Part 2: Catherine works with the rider to keep the horse stable and soft through bends, rather than stable and held. She explains it's much easier to bend horses than people think, because most people want to do it with strength but if you approach the horse with strength in the arms he'll lock h...
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Quiet Hands - Part 3
Part 3: Catherine works with the rider to use less rein and instead turn with their vision and their seat. She points our most horses are happy to follow these aides, and in using them, riders can avoid constantly disturbing the horse with the bit. The rider has to focus on multiple problems at o...
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Quiet Hands - Part 4
Part 4: Given that the rider is riding in a double jointed snaffle, Catherine explains the importance of not moving the bit through the horses mouth - which leaves the leg and seat aids to be relied upon. She has the rider do an exercise with bridging the reins which illustrates whether she needs...
