Dressage in Eventing

Do you think dressage as its own sport is portrayed differently when combined in an event?

I'm in the process of teaching my new baby how to not resist, and basically go into a frame, and he keeps his head much lower. My old mare used to do this as well, and I know it still looks nice - But do you think it's acceptable? Where do you like to keep your horse's head, or is about where he likes to keep it?

I know in the sport of dressage (not combined in eventing) the horse's tend to look even a little tense with their heads held high.

This is where my mare kept her head



I'll try to get a photo of my Paint's head soon.

Then you are looking at wrong dressage.

Dressage - whether it is during an HT, or CIC or CCI, or USDF - the horses head should never be forced into a frame, or held into a frame.

I'm a dressage nut myself, and can tell you that you must be looking at the wrong dressage, as Spyder said, if you think it's about having the horse in a high, stiff frame.
As a baby you don't want to put them in a high frame! You are asking them to lower and stretch those weak back muscles to build them up, keeping their back soft and swinging. As you go up the levels in dressage, the degree of collection increases, so pretty much in your initial, lower levels you're looking for horses with a lower head carriage, soft swinging back and everything nice, tidy and flowing. As the levels go up, judges want high head carriage along with higher degree of collection. By the time a horse is at Grand Prix the head carriage is quite high, but this is due to the level of collection they are at. If the work is correct, they will be taking the majority of their weight on their hind legs and their forehand will 'lift'- lower head carriage is good for stretching their backs and getting them prepared for collection, but it's not posisble to be in a level of high collection with the head down near their chest!!

In the case of pure dressage being different to eventing dressage. 100% different I don't enjoy watching eventing dressage unless it's a top class comp and then only the riders who have put alot of effort into getting correct dressage work. I find eventing dressage to be very tight, flat and just not correct.

If the horse is stiff then it isn't dressage, it is tense stepping. I don't know if eventing dressage is different from normal dressage but the picture you have posted would not be good for normal dressage.

Hard to tell from the photo you posted mate, but it looks like she's quite stuck and on the forehand, if you put her through a low level enting dressage test like that and rode accurately to the markers you'd probably get a reasonable score because she's reasonably 'round', but in a pure official dressage comp you wouldn't place so well if they judges are any good because she isn't relaxed enough through the back- she looks very stuck behind the saddle.

I'm just saying that's what it tends to look like.

Okay nevermind I was having difficulty trying to state what I meant, I didn't mean anything of how people are commenting on it.

I just notice there are many places to hold the head in dressage.. high, low, whatever. I just wanted to know what everyone thought was most appropriate, or does it just depend on what the judge is looking for/likes. Obviously you never want the horse stiff in any discipline, or even if you don't necessarily have one. I just don't particularly like how most Grand Prix dressage horse's head looks. Like how Anky rides

.. And how dressage differs when it is combined in an event

Anky uses force. That's why sometimes her horses faces look forced into a frame. It's called Rollkur. Although, she does not use it in competition

What is appropiate is the place the horse finds most comfortable according to its conformation and for the level of training and collection requested.

The rider/trainer should never be gearing their training around any specific judges preference. This should go whether it is english or western, dressage, hunter, reining or western pleasure.