Joining the dots

In any discipline, the best way to set yourself up for success is to build solid foundations through your flatwork. Not only will it help improve your marks in dressage, but being able to connect your horse from his hindleg to the bit is also the way to achieve power, impulsion and contact – three key elements that are just as influential when jumping as on the flat.

Understanding how to achieve that elusive leg-to-hand connection will allow you to upgrade the look and feel of each movement for test purposes – and improving your horse’s general way of going will stand you in good stead for jumping, too.

What is connection?

In dressage, connection refers to the flow of energy from your horse’s hindlegs, across his back and neck, and into your hands. To truly achieve it, your horse needs an established, regular rhythm and suppleness through his body, because he has to power up from his hindlegs to lift his back and be soft in his frame while accepting your aids and the bit.

Exercise 1: Stop-start

One of the most common faults in a dressage test is the lack of squareness from the hindlegs in the halt. Usually, it’s quite obvious when the front legs are square, but detecting what your horse’s back end is doing can be trickier.

An uneven halt usually happens because there is a lack of engagement, which results in uneven weight distribution between the hindlegs.

Try this exercise, which uses a sequence of trot-halts to teach your horse to respond promptly to your leg aid and halt with his hindlegs under his body so he’s in the correct position to power away at the touch of a button.

Set it up

Poles can be an excellent tool when riding this exercise, and you only need two. Set them out around 1.5m apart on the centre line.

Check out Phoebe’s exercises that will help you achieve the perfect leg-to-hand connection in September Horse&Rider – on sale now!