A rough guide for husbands, boyfriends and others who have only a vicarious interest in the sport of Dressage.
Object of the exercise:
This is to navigate a horse around a small sandy paddock in a particular order. The horse must go faster or slower etc. according to a set of instructions called a ‘Test’. This will be meaningless to you unless you can grasp a few of the fundamentals which I will explain below.
The horse has four main gears or ‘Gaits’: The Walk, The Trot , The Canter and The Gallop. They can each be preformed respectively slow, not so slow, quite fast, and too fast. Too fast is normally not done due to space restrictions. You can tell what they are as follows:
a) The Walk.
This is divided into:
Slow Walk :
This should be very loose and uncoordinated, rather like a brother on crack (n.b feeding the horse crack or indeed “horse’ to achieve this effect is frowned on )
Not so slow walk:
This should be a bit hurried. Like speeding up a bit to avoid a street beggar or an altercation on the pavement. It should be brisk and determined but not hurried.
Quite fast . :
This is getting away from a lunatic who’s attention you don’t want to attract by running. It is brisk and concentrated. Unlikely to stop for anyone.
Too fast . :
This would be like the power walking in the Olympics and is not done
b) Trot.
Slow: (sometimes called Passage). Diagonal feet move together punctuated by a period of levitation similar to that experienced by a cartoon character who runs off a cliff, and forgets to fall.
Not so slow: Mincy and gay looking in most horses (especially geldings) sometimes called working trot.
Quite fast: Determined to get to the other side as fast as possible without running. (Think white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland)
Too fast: Normally only done whilestpulling a chariot and usualy found at racetracks ( otherwise it is not done.)
c) The Canter.
This is where the feet have a mind of their own. (Think skipping.) One front leg will point the way and the others will follow. Sometimes the pointing leg changes from the left to the right side or visa-versa. You will notice this as the horse looks like it might fall over. This is called a ‘flying change’. This movement can be performed slow in which case the horse looks startled, or fast in which case it looks out of control.
d) The Gallop: This is only performed at ‘too fast’ and therefore is not done at all.
Other Terms you may come across are:
Traverse . This is a forward gait that is being blown off course by stiff cross wind resulting in a diagonal path. The horse still thinks it is going straight ahead.
The half Pass . The horse has lost its way tries to get back to where it should be by crossing its legs whilst walking. Think of side stepping back into a queue you have inadvertently wandered away from.
Piaffe. Basically ‘Horse on a hot tin Roof’. Diagonal feet should be alternatively off the ground for as long as possible while the horse stays in the same place
Pirouette . This is usually a Piaffe in which the horse slowly rotates in order to find a way off the roof
Halt . The horse stands still. Fidgeting, scratching, or picking its nose is frowned on. It should appear vaguely interested in the proceedings and not gaze around in a bored fashion or think of its holidays.
Shoulder in . Like walking a dog on a very short leash or taking a small child up a ski tow bar. The head and shoulders are directed to the left or right whilst the body goes straight ahead. The spine can be twisted horribly. It can be combined with a stiff cross wind (see traverse above).
Passage See slow trot
Impulsion This is the amount of apparent energy visible in the horse.( Like a dog straining at the leash.) Contrary to expectations there does not have to be any actual movement
Forward. This is the enthusiasm and eagerness of the horse to go ahead. It can be standing still as long is it looks as if it would like to be moving .
Half Halt . This is tricking the horse into thinking you want it to stop, but at the last moment kicking its butt. A conflicting procedure. Think of the order “advance with all haste slowly “
Eventually the horse tries to stop by tucking its bum in but continues forward which is good and is called ‘collection’. The more eagerly it does this the better.
Collection. This is a pent up state (as a result of the half halt fiasco). The horse can immediately spring into all gaits with impulsion (see above) Think of a boxer holding himself ready to avoid a counter punch.
The Kur This is an attempt to make the exercise (see above) more interesting by diverting your attention away with music. It sounds like an unwanted canine, but this is because it is one of the few German words that have been allowed.
The Grand Prix and the Prix St George . These are the highest levels of the exercise (see above) and will incorporate all you have learned so far. By the time you have to sit through these you will be an expert.
© Blackfern Ltd 2004