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Many terms
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The Rider |
Terminology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Aids Refers to both the signals used by a rider to ask the horse for an action or the means for providing those signals. In the US the application of an aid is known as a 'cue' (the signal for the horse to do something).
Bascule
To arc. The ideal outline of your
horse when jumping, rounded through the back and neck. - shown right
BrushingWhen a horse is moving its legs may knock or brush the inside of an opposite leg (fore or hind). Given that most horses wear shoes on both front and hind hooves this can cause serious damage. Brushing boots are a simple way to provide protection. see tack Cavaletti
Poles attached at either end to X shaped
ends. The crossbar is attached in such a way that when the ends
are up one way it is only a few inches off the ground but when rotated
around the pole becomes a small jump. Cavaletti are used in groups
for trotting poles to help with rhythm and to begin jumping.
Coffin
Any jump which consists of a narrow trough at the bottom
of a ditch, with a post-and-rails fence on banks to either side.
Counter Canter
Basically cantering on the wrong lead, the
counter canter is another advanced dressage movement. The horse
not only canters on the 'wrong' lead but is also bent to the outside,
meaning that he is bent away from the direction of the movement.
at the canter
Change the Rein Change the direction the ride is going in. For example; if you are riding a 20m circle on the left rein and are asked to 'change the rein through the circle' then you will turn and ride through the centre of the circle before turning right and continuing your 20m circles on the right rein. Contact The feeling of the link between your horses mouth, through the bit and reins, and your hands is known as a contact. To have a 'good contact' is to have a constant, even, elastic link with your horse and is very different from pulling at your horse's mouth. Think of it like holding a child's hand, the horse is reassured by a steady contact. DiagonalsWhen learning rising trot your instructor may mysteriously ask if you are on the right diagonal. At first, the correct answer to this is always "no". This is because you will probably have no idea of a) what a diagonal is and b) how to tell whether you are on it. A diagonal refers to the diagonal pair of legs that the horse is using when trotting, horses. This is important when riding on a circle because if you are rising when the wrong diagonal pair is coming forward you will be putting your horse off balance. You should rise when the outside pair are coming forward. That is: you should be rising when you see the outside shoulder coming forward. Figure EightFor those non riders out there, you may spend a couple of weeks being chastised for cutting corners when you ride a 'figure eight'. This is not necessarily because either your horse is misbehaving or that you are unable to control your mount. When first asked to ride a figure eight I immediately pictured it in my head and began to ride what I thought was an eight. However, my instructor and indeed all riding tests believe that an eight is 2 fat circles squashed together in the middle with an almost straight line, who knew... Flying Change
The process of changing lead during canter
is known as a flying change. This is of course required during a
change of direction while cantering and is also used during advanced
dressage tests. Flying changes are ridden by simply changing the
aid for canter from one lead to another but require a horse of
sufficient strength and suppleness to comply.
Gait A gait is the term used to describe the way in which the horse is using its legs to move. The four basic gaits are walk, trot, canter and gallop. There are variations on each of these gaits and some breeds of horse have additional gaits such as the pace, tolt or amble. Check out our GAITS page for full explanations of the four major gaits and some of the more exotic ones. Half-Halt This term is actually more literal than I first expected. You are attempting to halt the first (front) half of your horse while pushing the back half forward. Rebalancing the horse. You are, of course, not actually bringing the front to a complete halt but simple slowing it down so that the back legs 'catch up' and are used more under the horse than behind it. This causes your horse to become more balanced and is used a lot during transitions from one gait to another. To perform the half-halt you sit up tall in the saddle, stop your hands from moving forward with the horse's natural movement, at the same time applying leg on to push the horse forward. Once the horse has complied (usually a stride or two) you resume normal movement. BTW there is plenty of discussion on this subject so you will find plenty of descriptions that are different from this, but this is my understanding of the move. When asked Alois Podhajsky once said that he thought he used perhaps 500 half-halts during a normal training session. Half Pass
The horse sweeps diagonally across the
arena with the forelegs moving just fractionally ahead of the hind legs.
Similar to leg yielding, but with the half pass the horse is bent in the
direction of the movement. This is much more difficult for the horse.
Helsinki Steps
A cross-country fence consisting of rails forming the
outline of steps dropping down a natural hill slope. The rider
usually has to ride up the steps.
Impulsion A term which describes the power and manner of a horse's movements, particularly the use of his hindquarters, rather than the speed of the horse. A horse may be described as having an impulsive trot when he is moving forward with a clear moment of suspension between the two beats of the trot. Inside/Outside You will often hear your instructor refer to inside rein or outside leg. In its simplest form, the leg and hand/rein closest to your instructor, as you ride around him/her are known as inside. This also applies when you are riding around an arena or indeed any turn. In more advanced schooling the terms are also used to describe the side of the horse (or rider) involved in any bend, however subtle, even though the horse may continue on a straight path.
Lateral Work lateral work refers to any movement where the horse moves sideways rather than straight forward. Lateral work will only be introduced once you have successfully mastered steering, have some basic balance and can control your leg position. Leg 'On' Your legs are one of the most important aids. To tell your horse that you would like more speed or impulsion you will squeeze his sizes with the bottom of your leg and heel. This is known as having your leg 'on''. The position of your legs will also tell your horse what sort of movement you require and hold his rear end in the desired bend. BTW 'squeezing' is the ideal, in reality this is more likely to range from nudging through to a fairly vigorous kick depending upon the horse. Remember that the release is just as important, if you simply squeeze the horse can easily ignore it and a pulsing action may be more effective until the desired reaction is obtained and then you must release to reward the horse so that it knows its done the right thing. Leg Yield
One of the first lateral moves you'll
attempt. The horse moves diagonally as in the half pass but is bent in
the opposite direction from the movement. To perform a leg yield
to the right. Look to the right, open the left rein enough so that
you can see the horse's left eye, but keep the outside rein in position
to stop the horse from falling through the shoulder. The
left leg will be behind the girth tapping in time with each step to
'push' the horse across on the diagonal, the right leg will be on the
girth to provide impulsion.
Long Rein Allowing the horse to stretch his neck by letting the reins out from their normal riding length. Lunge (known as longeing or long lining in US) The lunge is a long line that attaches to a special halter or cavesson so that the horse is worked around an instructor or trainer. It is used to work the horse with or without rider. Without a rider lungeing can be used for basic lessons or to provide controlled exercise for the horse. Lungeing with a rider is used to provide lessons where the rider may concentrate on riding position without worrying about controlling the horse at the same time. NappingNot an expression that I've actually heard used in New Zealand but British horse magazines are full of it. It doesn't that your horse has narcolepsy and suddenly falls asleep under you, it means a horse that refuses to go forward, often throwing its head in the air, bucking and reversing rather than going where you want it to. Horses generally don't 'misbehave' in this way out of malice but rather due to a number of causes ranging from painful gear, through to confusion from too many learner riders without correct schooling, or even plain old boredom. Having experienced one of these horses myself, I must say that the odd session working through this type of behaviour in the school is useful and can give you a sense of achievement but if its your hard earned lesson fees don't accept such a horse on a regular basis. Open hipsThis term is of interest because unlike other body parts the hips can be described as 'open' in two different manners and this can cause some confusion. In most flat work the instruction to 'open your hips' refers to the loosening of your upper legs and widening of your hip joints in order to sit more deeply in the saddle. However, if you are jumping the term will refer to the angle between your upper body and your upper legs. When sitting up tall and upright your hip angle is 'open' and when leaning forward in the jumping 2-point position your hips are 'closed'. At various times an instructor may use this 'open your hips' instruction to mean either 'sit back' or 'relax your hips'. PostingAn American term which refers to rising trot. Interestingly it's an old English term, no longer used in England. It originates from the 'post' riders on carriage horses, (still seen on royal carriages) who found that riding long distances at the trot was easier if they rose on each alternate stride. (Work) Go Large \ WideWhen riding in an arena or school you will often be working in one area of it around your instructor. If you are instructed to 'go large' or 'go wide' this means that you are to ride around the entire perimeter of the arena. Ramener - On the Bit
A french dressage term. The horse's head
is positioned as nearly as possible on the vertical - a degree in front
of the vertical is still acceptable, but a degree behind the vertical is
not. The English equivalent is "on the bit" according to the FEI
definition. However, head position is not the only
criteria, as the neck should be supple and the jaw accepting of the bit
to allow an elastic and constant contact with the riders hands.
Rassembler - Collection
A french dressage term. Means that the
horse is carrying itself in balance, "on the aids", using its belly
muscles, stretching and lifting its back, with more weight on its
hindquarters and less weight on its shoulders, which are therefore
free to lift along with the base of the neck. A horse in the field can
demonstrate rassembler - think of a stallion showing off for his mares
- but it takes time and the systematic building of muscles, tendons,
ligaments, and the horse's
understanding before a horse can be asked to work in rassembler,
especially whilst carrying a rider. The English equivalent is
"collection".
Rein back
From a square halt the horse steps
backwards, using his legs in diagonal pairs.
Reining
Advanced competition for western riders
involving high speed movements such as turns, spins, flying changes,
rollbacks and sliding.
Renvers
- hindquarters-out -
croupe au mur
Renvers is an almost identical
movement to travers, except that the horse is bent around the
outside leg, meaning that the haunches are on the outside track and
the shoulders the inside. An illustration of renvers is shown
left. The line to the left is the arena and the arrows show
that the motion will be forward rather than diagonal.
ReinWhen asked to begin on the right rein for the first time you may be forgiven for thinking that this is another trick question. In fact it is not referring to the 'correct' rein but indeed the RIGHT rein (ie turning right) as opposed to the left rein (turning left) SerpentinesOne of the first dressage movements that you will be taught to give you an understanding of basic steering, bend and change of diagonals. Serpentines are schooling movements where the horse crosses the arena a number of times using half circles to get from the end of one crossing to the start of the next
Shoulder-fore
This is a 'beginners' shoulder in. In Shoulder fore the shoulder is brought only slightly off the track. Shoulder-fore is a 2 track movement. Shoulder-In
A slightly more advanced lateral move,
shoulder-in is usually performed down the straight side of an arena and
involves the horse moving laterally on 2,3 or 4 tracks, depending
on the school. Traditionally, shoulder-in is performed on 3
tracks, but some schools will exagerate the movement right over to 4
tracks. The forehand is bent off track while the quarters continue
on the original track. This means that the inside hind should be
stepping in the track of the outside foreleg.
Sides - Near and OffThe left side of a horse is known as the near side, which of course makes the right side the off side.. Horses are generally lead, mounted and tacked up from the near side. Note:Most buckles on bridles, halters etc are on the near side so its pretty easy to get this right. StaleFunny term which simply means that your horse is urinating. Can also refer to a horse (usually competitive horses) which is overtrained or simply bored and has lost its enthusiasm for work. TransitionA change from one gait to another. A downwards transition is from a fast gait to a slower one e.g. canter to trot. Conversely upwards transition is from a slower gait to a faster one. Working transitions is one of the best ways to improve your horsemanship since it involves planning, using aids, balance and being correctly aligned. Travers (pronounced trav-air) - Haunches In - Hindquarters in
In both Travers and its cousin Renvers the
horse moves forward in a straight line but its shoulders and quarters
are on different tracks. The horse is bent around the inside
leg and moves in the direction of the bend with the haunches being
brought onto the inside track. The movements may be performed on
either 3 tracks or 4 tracks. In the 4 track version the angle of bend
would be increased from 30 degrees to 45 degrees, essentially creating a
half pass along the wall.
Turn on the Forehand
The horse is asked to turn from a halt
by moving his haunches only, pivoting around his front inside leg.
The aids for turn on the forehand to the right are: From a halt, open
the hand very slighty to the right. Use the right leg to tap
evenly behind the girth. Allow the horse to make one sideways
step, halt, then take another step. When it has performed the
required degree of turn allow the horse to step forward from the halt.
Turn on the Haunches
This time the horse will move its front
legs around its inside rear leg. When performed at trot or
canter this is known as a pirouette. Unlike the turn on the
forehand this is a forwards movement.
Turnout
Turnout is the term used to describe the correct riders clothing and
horse's tack and grooming for a particular event. These rules
govern such things as whether the rider must wear a jacket, the
colours allowed for items of apparel and whether the horse should be
braided etc Each show and\or discipline will have rules regarding the
turnout expectations and these should be checked prior to arrival.
Generally lower grades are more casual and some training or confidence
building shows will specifically require 'casual' turnout i.e. NO
jackets or braids allowed.
Under (Over) HorsedTo be under or over horsed simply refers to the size of the horse in relation to its rider. i.e you are under horsed if you are 6ft 2" and you're riding a 14hh pony or you may be over horsed if you are a slightly built, 5ft person on a 17hh warmblood. Volte (Half Volte) A 6 metre circle is known as a volte. A half volte is simply a half circle, which is often used either at the end of another movement or to perform a change of rein. When changing rein using a half volte this creates a 'teardrop' type pattern. This same half circle and diagonal back to the track is also used with 10 or 15 metre half circles however only the 6 metre is called a volte or half volte. Working Through A term which means that the horse is working correctly with its hind quarters and back (in particular) and is taking a light contact with the riders hands. The horse is then said to be 'working through' the bit. AbbreviationsThe following abbreviations are used in advertisements, show or breed descriptions
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