[Just_me]

Ok,some of you know that I`m moving to europe soon.I`ve the choice of either continuing jumping or getting into dressage.I think jumping is fun but my trainer said I`m not seriouse enough to get to the upper levels,neither do I have the corage
She thinks all my potential is in dressage Anyways,I`ve never taken a real dressage lesson.Ofcourse I know how to do shoulder in+out,side passes and stuff like that from warm up in jumper lessons but my seat is definatly not dressagey at ALL!
how do I establish the typicall dressage seat?Is there any specific exercise?I mean I can do sitting trot when my horse is at a slow collected trot but I`m starting to really bounce around once I ask him for big extensions.How long should my stirrups me?
Any advice on that would be great.

[Just_me]

bump.......someone has to know this

[Malibu Barbie]

I don't know of any exercises that can help you, but when I moved from hunter/jumper to dressage it was a BIG change for me. I have been working on it for several years and am finally starting to get it But for awhile after starting my Dressage lessons I wasn't very serious about them, but now I'm really serious hoping to start competition and it seems to be coming easier now. I don't really know how long the stirrups should be, I just know what hole mine are set on, but it's longer than the ones used for jumping. In jumping you are supposed to grip with your lower leg and in dressage you grip with your thigh and that was one of my biggest problems. Whenever I would canter I would grip with my lower leg instead of my thigh and end up getting tipped forward and when I would release the pressure my pony would stop. For a long time I would always have to think about exactly where my legs were to keep them in the right position, but now it seems to be more natural for me. Someone on here should know some more about some exercises you could do to help with your position, I know that I would appreciate them too! Good luck with your Dressage!

[Lindsayanne]

Honestly you'll probably make the smoothest transition if you find a good dressage coach and ask them to put you on a lunge line and treat you totally like a beginner- instead of trying to pick through what you know and missing chunks of dressage basics if you try and pick it up halfway down the road. I've heard so many people say a shift from jumpers to real dressage can be very difficult, but read starting from scratch with dressage lunge lessons is the best way to begin to reprogram your seat.

[Suie]

It's hard to etablish the dressage seat without somebody who's nagging at you A coach is of course the best choice, but if that's too expensive you can ask a friend or somebody else who's good at dressage. It's good if you can be longered (??? I don't know the english word for this- the horse is running around a person, who's holding a rope that extends to the horse... I know it's a bad describtion but try to help me!), so you don't have to control the horse, only yourself and your seat.
Good luck with your dressage, it's a relly good choice!

[Belladonna]

Originally Posted by Suie

It's hard to etablish the dressage seat without somebody who's nagging at you A coach is of course the best choice, but if that's too expensive you can ask a friend or somebody else who's good at dressage. It's good if you can be longered (??? I don't know the english word for this- the horse is running around a person, who's holding a rope that extends to the horse... I know it's a bad describtion but try to help me!), so you don't have to control the horse, only yourself and your seat.
Good luck with your dressage, it's a relly good choice!

i think(could be wrong) but i think what your trying to describe is lunging.

but moving on, i was thaught that to get the right length in the stirrups for ground work i had to hold the stirrup out and put my arm along it, if it touches your armpit, it's corected, but if it's too loose or too short it needs to be ajusted acordingly. where as in jumping it's suppost to be atleast 2 holes shorter then ground work. to develope a seat i would suggest, lunging, without stirrups, that way your not holding yourself with the stirrups and there for bouncing on the horse's back. the big thing is just to relax to it, try and sink into it as far as you can, and don't get tense, if you tense up you'll only end up bouncing around again. also once you ride with stirrups again remember to keep your heel down(yes this is very basic) but i was taught keeping your heel down is the only thing that'll save you if your horse does something unpredictable, and it's very good, becuase if your focusing on having your heels straight down it makes it very hard to grip with your calves and so you'll naturally resort to gripping with your thighs. and having your heals down will help you sit deeper in the saddle. hope all this helps!

[Just_me]

Originally Posted by Belladonna

i think(could be wrong) but i think what your trying to describe is lunging.

but moving on, i was thaught that to get the right length in the stirrups for ground work i had to hold the stirrup out and put my arm along it, if it touches your armpit, it's corected, but if it's too loose or too short it needs to be ajusted acordingly. where as in jumping it's suppost to be atleast 2 holes shorter then ground work. to develope a seat i would suggest, lunging, without stirrups, that way your not holding yourself with the stirrups and there for bouncing on the horse's back. the big thing is just to relax to it, try and sink into it as far as you can, and don't get tense, if you tense up you'll only end up bouncing around again. also once you ride with stirrups again remember to keep your heel down(yes this is very basic) but i was taught keeping your heel down is the only thing that'll save you if your horse does something unpredictable, and it's very good, becuase if your focusing on having your heels straight down it makes it very hard to grip with your calves and so you'll naturally resort to gripping with your thighs. and having your heals down will help you sit deeper in the saddle. hope all this helps!

I`m going to try this on Monday.If it doesn`t work out I just wait until I`m in the new barn and can take seriouse dressage lessons

[bay_blnd jmpr07]

Don't worry about stirrup length yet.<-My dressage instructor doesn't worry about this at all at first.

You need to learn to ride with your thighs rolled in, if you don't already do so(and if you don't do that yet be warned because it DOES hurt in the beginning and it's hard to keep the thighs rolled in with out really having to focus on it. But it does get better and easier and soon it becomes habit).

Work on sitting deep in the saddle and not forward. And even sitting the trot.

Good luck with this. Dressage is so fun once you can actually do it! LOL(I HATED the sport when it wasn't coming easy, but now that it does I LOVE it!)

[Rose Rushton]

Hi,

I am new to this forum but I have been a show and a dressage judge, as well as ran a riding school.

Dressage is gymnastic exercises for your horse, so he will certainly benefit in all areas of competition, if you learn it. In jumping, he will be easier to turn and also easier to rate between jumps.

Getting the right seat is all about practice! So, relax and have fun. If you actually compete in dressage competitions, you will start to enjoy it as it is all about how well you have trained your horse.

Belladonna is right about how to measure the length of the stirrups. You can also measure your stirrups by having the bottom of the stirrup iron at ankle level. That also is usually about the right length.

An exercise to get and keep your heels down is walking around the floor or ground on your heels with your toes up. This stretches your calf muscles and eventually it becomes second nature.

[Lindsayanne]

Originally Posted by Rose Rushton

Hi,

I am new to this forum but I have been a show and a dressage judge, as well as ran a riding school.

Dressage is gymnastic exercises for your horse, so he will certainly benefit in all areas of competition, if you learn it. In jumping, he will be easier to turn and also easier to rate between jumps.

Welcome to the forum. I'm sure we'll all appreciate your expertise.