The Circle of Contact
The third level of the dressage pyramid is contact. This comes from the horse willingly lifting his back and reaching forward to the bit.
Tag: Dressage
Suppleness and the Value of Lateral Movements
The second level of the pyramid is suppleness, or looseness (losgelassenheit). This isn’t merely the ability of the horse to stretch and bend his frame, but also the relaxation with which he moves.
The Base of the Training Pyramid
Although a discipline in itself, dressage is not merely a style of riding but the basis of all riding. The show-jumper teaching her horse to balance and collect to squeeze an extra stride into an awkward line of jumps; the cowboy training his reining horse to bring the haunches under for sliding stops and rollbacks; and the knight using half-passes to manoeuvre in battle are all practising dressage.
