Dressage Exercise #3: The elastic band

This exercise is for all levels of riders. It is designed to help improve rhythm and help lift and round the horse’s back, it is a gymnastic exercise so it will also strength-build. It is also a very good exercise for the rider as they must keep the tempo, have a strong position and be coordinated enough to smoothly (key word) transition the horse from one frame to another. This exercise can be done at any gait, it is most effective in the trot or canter.

To Begin:

Working frame

• after your warm-up, pick your horse up into a normal working frame and establish a nice, forward working trot
• keeping your horse in front of your leg, slowly telescope his neck lower allowing him to have a longer frame without losing the connection, allow your horse to ‘seek’ the bit
• let him trot in this longer frame, be sure not to lose impulsion, nor to allow your position to be pulled forward
• after about 5 strides or so, SMOOTHLY, begin to shorten the reins, allowing the horse’s frame to rise and shorten
• 

  Stretching at the trot (this rider should allow the horse's nose to poke out a bit more, in this photograph he is slightly overflexed)

  be sure to keep the rhythm and make sure as the frame shortens, the horses head carriage also rises

• if you just shorten the reins and don’t let the head carriage rise, you will put your horse into a painful overbent frame which is abusive and also doesn’t achieve anything
• repeat this shortening and lengthening of the frame while keeping a consistent rhythm, the whole exercise should always look smooth
• if you are doing this exercise tactfully, your horse should not be bothered, rather your horse will become very relaxed and will want to strengthen the connection
• rather than just riding around the whole ring, it is better to ride circles, serpentines, from the wall to the quarter-line and back again, up center-line, across the diagonal etc