Rhythm

Well as some of you may know I am going to venture into the world of dressage.

I am going to take this seriously so I am going to work on the dressage training scale of Rhythm,Suppleness,Contact,Impulsion,Straightness and Collection.

So I was just wondering how I would achieve a good Rhythm within all of Phoebe's gaits to start me off on the training scale?

Shauna xXxXx

What I do to check my rythm is for a while count out the trides, like, one two three four, for the trot and stuuf and try to count as evenly as possible. I hope this helps!

It does and thank you

I'm kind of a music nut. It helps me to think about a song, to sing it in my head, or hum to myself. The trick is to think of a song with a tempo that matches your horse's natural gait.

If your horse doesn't mind the noise, an electronic metronome can help too. Have a knowledgeable buddy set it to each gait, and write the tempos down for future reference. Most metronomes can be set to 4/4 time (walk), 2/4 time (trot), or 3/4 time (canter), and set from there to different speeds within each number of beats.

Oh ok that sounds fun I always ride to music anyway

Savvy, this is funny because I just posted the training scale on your other thread. Then, I saw this thread, so now I feel silly. But, I gave a link to a great site that explains the training scale concepts.

Rhythm is the base of the scale because it is indicative of relaxation and tension. If the rhythm is bad, common problems are that the walk can be 2 beat (lateral) and the canter can become 4 beats (sometimes evident in upper levers when people try to collect the canter). These things happen because of tension - in his body and/or mind.

In young horses, have you ever ridden one who is new to rider and is getting used to the weight? Sometimes, they rush forward, then go slowly suddenly, then rush forward, etc. Establishing a constant rhythm is really helpful for them. You simply become a metronome for the gaits. The walk is 4 beats, trot 2, canter is a triplet. Transitions from walk-trot-walk and trot-canter-trot are really helpful to help the young horse begin to take weight on his hind quarter and get stronger. Riding 20 meter circles with proper bend are also great ways to help the horse begin to engage the hind quarter.

Mostly rhythm is establishing consistent cadence, either speeding the horse up or slowing him down, and moving forward from your leg. Here is a nice site:The Art of Classical Riding--Dressage Training for Horse and Rider

Thank you aynelson and I did read your post in my other thread so double thank you lol

Shauna xXxXx

So heres a link to a video of her will you guys answer the questions in the video please Patch and Phoebe - Videos

When I think of rhythm, I think of longissimus relaxation. A horse with a tense back will not move correctly. When your horse is calm and listening to you, and his muscles are relaxed, good rhythm occurs. Horses that have tense backs can have lateral walks or in the trot the hind leg will come down before the front in the diagonal pair, and the canter will have four beats instead of three. Another factor with rhythm is being able to maintain a constant speed. You must work at a constant pace at each gait. A horse with rhythm has a maintained speed, and does not lose rhythm when asked for a transition (does not suddenly jerk into the transition or take a few rushy steps before preforming the transition).