SandraB. Dressage

The most important element of a soft connection with your horse comes from your elbows. Our hands should be soft, our forearms relaxed and our elbows bent and connecting with the horse in a smooth fashion.  Many riders will move their hands up and down, cross the neck, or pull them back into their belly. Using the reins this way only creates resistance in the horse’s mouth. All of these habits reveal an inefficiency of the use of the elbows. The forearms must not tighten and press down when you are using the reins, the horse will only react by tightening their jaw and bracing their neck. Remember to soften your hands and forearms, allowing the strength of your posture to support your elbows.

Another common problem is a rider that uses their reins towards the belly and then rounds the upper body to compensate. This creates a mental and sometimes physical block where, instead of keeping your seat moving forward with the horse’s center of balance, the rider ends up pulling the seat towards the back of the saddle. A simple solution is to practice riding with the hands approximately hip-width apart and keeping the elbows bent. This opens up a space for the seat to “go through” your hands and keep a correct position.

Believe me, I know how hard it is to have soft hands! For years I wanted to keep a tight, steady contact on the horse’s mouth.  I would finish riding and my arms would be tired from holding them in tension against the horse.  I had been pretty good about riding to my elbows but it has been hard to develop softness and the feeling of lightness in my hands. Mentally I was trying too hard and the tension came from frustration at myself. When I became more confident and relaxed in my riding I was able to feel softness in my reins. Our arms will also reveal a lot about our security and confidence as a rider. If you are tight on the reins that typically means that there is some insecurity or fear related to being out of control. Other times it just has to do with a lack of balance, and the arms will bounce or tighten up as a result.  Quiet hands will come from a quiet seat, quiet mind and relaxed elbows.

8 Tips to improve your elbows:

1. Have a friend hold your rein so you can practice gently pulling and giving, focusing on the bend in your elbows.
2. Take a lunge lesson so you can ride without holding the reins. Practice keeping your elbows bent and mimic the actions of the reins, pulling and giving, keeping the motion smooth and relaxed.
3. Imagine your elbow is like the rails on a train- the motion never stops, it is a continuous motion, similar to a circle.
4. Make sure your elbows are softly by your side, not poking out like chicken wings or clamped to your ribs.
5. Keep some space between your hands, generally hip-width works the best.
6. If you tend to lock your elbows it might help to have someone place a hand on the back of your elbow so you can practice pushing back against them.
7. Take photos and/or video, focusing on the use of your arms. Watch for negative habits and tension.
8. Imagine your elbows weigh 100 pounds but your hands are light, this will help them to stay bent correctly.

I know that everyone talks about the importance of using the elbows, and for good reason!  I hope this information helps bring more awareness to your riding and improves the connection you have your with horse.

When I started riding at Isaac Royal Farm back in 1994 I was given a young Lipizzan mare to ride named Lucinda. I learned basic dressage and some jumping with her before I moved on to different horses. After a few years I started working with Lucy again and ended up competing through Prix St. Georges. Lucy helped me earn my scores to enter the USDF “L” Judges program and my USDF Bronze Medal. I rode a Third Level freestyle with Lucy and had a great time performing with her in the Isaac Royal Equestrian Theater. She was sold in 2004, I didn’t want her to go but I had a lot of other horses to work with that were a better size for me. She was originally sold to a woman in North Carolina but over the years went through numerous owners. I always heard about her through the grapevine and by chance my friend Deanna Thompson overheard a woman talking about her Lipizzan mare at the farm she worked at. It ended up being Lucy! I felt very strongly about seeing her and I was finally able to stop by her current home at Double Tail Farm on my way to Florida this spring. Over the years Lucy had developed a reputation for being very difficult to ride, she was acting out, rearing, spooking, kicking, and just being naughty. Sadly for Lucy she was being ridden with a driving seat to heavier contact. She was so sensitive and smart that I had to ride her very lightly and in my seat. One trainer even told her new owner that “if you could ride Lucy you could ride any horse in North Carolina”! Her owner Pam didn’t know that Lucy was trained to the upper levels until Deanna showed her the old videos of me performing with her in the equestrian theater. Well, after 8 years I finally got to ride Lucy again. It took awhile to supple her and get her to release the resistance in her topline but we had some good moments. I was very positive with her, using lots of treats and praise. Lucy knows her stuff, she just needs the rider to work with her, not against her. I will continue to help her owner learn the ins and outs of Lucy’s knowledge and personality when I travel back and forth from Florida.

The past three months have been so warm and wet that I have been struggling with thrush in Douwe’s hooves. He had his winter shoes put on the other day and my farrier, Jerry Harriman, was commenting that it has been difficult for many horses because of the extra moisture. I normally keep my horse’s feet picked out every time before I ride, keeping an eye out for thrush or scratches on the heels. But this fall/winter season I have had to pick out his feet twice a day, keeping his feet as dry as possible. I use Thrush Buster regularly and I have found that to be the most effective. The only thing I dislike about it is the purple color that ends up staining my hands and clothes if I am not too careful. I also use hydrogen peroxide when I run out of Thrush Buster because it is more readily available.  I have seen horses with thrush that splits their heels down through the frogs, making them very uncomfortable if they are not wearing shoes. Douwe hasn’t had any trouble with his heels, he is having problems in the crevices by his frogs. He had a deep pocket in one of his hind feet that almost hooked up and under his heel. I have never had that happen before to any horse that I have been working with. He has very deep crevices on each hoof by nature and I think that my biggest problem was that my hoofpick was not going deep enough. The key to thrush is to get to the root of the problem and get the medicine all the way to the bottom. On a few occassions I have had to spot-treat his thrush with cotton balls soaked in peroxide or Thrush Buster. First you need to make sure the area is really clean and dry. Then you will apply the medicine to the area and also soak the cotton ball. Using the hoofpick you can get the cotton ball deep in the crevice and really pack it in. This will make sure that you fully treat the area and normally the cotton balls will stay in for a day or two before they fall out. I am amazed at how quickly he heals, sometimes the specific area has already dried and hardened after two days! Here is a good YouTube video on the basics of thrush and how to treat it.