COWBOY DRESSAGE – “The Best of Both Worlds”

I have learned from experience that a horse will learn his lessons faster and with a good attitude if he understands the requests you are making. Very often, you can find obstacles on the trail that will make these requests clearer to him, even help him to learn the aids better.

For instance if you want him to move in a circle, it makes more sense for him to circle a tree or a big rock. You still will ask him to move forward, with his nose to the inside of the direction that you are going. You will still push the rib cage out with your inside leg creating the arc of the circle and if the horse’s hips start to drift you can correct them with your outsides leg. This is the same exercise you teach in the arena but now he has a reason to circle, you have given him something to go “around.” (In the arena I use barrels) If there is a group of trees I will serpentine between them asking the horse to “arc” around each tree……