From: Kelly
Dear Jessica, Thank you so much for everything you do, I can't even imagine what I would ever do without HORSE-SENSE! Most of the time I don't even have to write to you because I find what I wanted in the archives. I've pre-ordered your new book and can't wait to read it!
I'm pretty excited about my question, because I'm finally about to move up to First Level in dressage! I've been going to shows and watching the upper-level riders, and I'm having a very hard time telling the difference between a "trot lengthening" and a "medium trot". They look about the same to me, only the medium is with the horse in more of a frame. I know that what I need to practice is the lengthening, but I always like to look forward to the future, and maybe someday I'll be ready to do the medium too! So could you please tell me, first what exactly is the difference, and second, do you have any tips for me about riding the lengthenings at trot? I was wondering if I could maybe practice both of them now?
Thank you thank you! Kelly
There's a logical progression to dressage training, and there's a very good reason for you to begin working on lengthenings early (First Level) and leave the medium trot until later. At this stage in your horse's development (physical and mental), lengthening is quite enough work! A true medium trot requires a lot of pushing and carrying power. These will come with time and correct training - the system is progressive, remember? - but pushing and carrying requires muscular development that your horse simply doesn't have at this stage. The beauty of dressage training is that each step prepares the horse, both physically and mentally, for the next step, so that the process of learning is a pleasant one, and progress comes easily and naturally. The process is simple: preparation, suggestion, and discovery. That is, you prepare your horse for each new step, and when the horse is ready, you suggest and indicate what you want, and allow the horse to figure it out and discover that he can do it. Then you develop the new skill, amplify it, refine it, and build on it until the horse is ready for the next step.
So - you're ready for a trot lengthening. This isn't complicated - you simply begin with your horse's working trot (a tempo with which you should be quite familiar by now), and without changing the tempo (or, heaven forbid, the rhythm), you ALLOW (not force!) the horse to stretch a little so that his stride becomes longer. His frame will become slightly longer too.
At this point - fairly early in the horse's training - making a nice, clear, balanced transition into and out of each lengthening should be your main goal. Don't push for too much of a lengthening - keep the rhythm and tempo steady, keep your horse balanced, and try to create enough interest and energy in him that he will lengthen automatically when you increase your leg pressure slightly (and briefly) and allow your hands to move very slightly forward. Keep your own position steady as well - your horse won't be able to lengthen if he falls on his forehand, and he WILL fall on his forehand if you ask him for a lengthening and then drop your head in an attempt to see whether he's given you one. Trot lengthenings are like touch-typing - you have to look straight ahead and feel what's happening underneath you, because if you look down, whatever was happening will stop happening. ;-)
The best advice I can give you is to keep your horse sufficiently balanced, energetic, and forward (in body AND attitude) that he feels good in himself and WANTS to lengthen his stride. When that's the case, a slight squeeze of the leg and a little more rein will be enough to tell him that he has your permission to lengthen (nice forward transition), and a closing of your fingers will be enough to tell him that it's time to come back now.
When the time comes for you to begin working on a medium trot, you'll be glad that you spent time working on correct lengthenings! Every good lengthening will help your horse become stronger and better-muscled, and he will NEED those muscles in order to perform a medium trot. Lengthening involves a longer stride and a longer frame; medium trot involves much greater power from behind, because in medium trot the horse does more than just lengthen frame and stride! It also has to PUSH much harder from behind, not just to send its body forward in a longer frame and with a longer stride, but also to send it UPWARD in a longer frame and with a longer stride.
Next time you're watching upper-level riders, pay particular attention to the physical development of the horses that are performing medium trot, and notice how their bodies differ from those of the horses that are still learning to perform lengthenings. It's a whole different phase of muscular development, and you'll see that those horses are not only "in more of a frame", but that they are, overall, balanced differently, carrying more weight behind, and moving more uphill.
It all begins with correct lengthenings, so have fun, and congratulations on your move up!
Jessica
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