Last week I talked about freeing the sword hand by using the reins in one hand. This week we’ll deal with what to do with that free hand as we
12. Safely carry and move a long object (dressage or buggy whip, flag, sword etc) at the walk and trot
The purpose of this part of the test is not to see whether you can use a sword from horseback — we don’t ask you to do that until you’re ready to test for your Blue Spur. We just want to make sure you can carry a long object without hitting or spooking your horse, while maintaining a balanced seat and control of the reins.
It sounds dead simple, and most people do pass this part, but there are a few pitfalls. These include
leaning in the saddle to compensate for the weight or length of the object
startling the horse by moving an object suddenly past his face
allowing the object to touch the horse
losing control of pace and direction through lack of attention (ie, while worrying more about what’s in your sword hand than where your horse is going or what your rein hand is doing)
The most comfortable way to carry a sword is in vera croce, or the guard of the ‘true cross’. In this guard the flat of the sword rests on the opposite forearm, near the elbow.
A spear or lance, however, can also be carried either beside the horse with the tip pointing down, or vertically, sometimes with a stirrup rest. Both of these positions avoid the horse’s face and field of vision.
And of course as you get skilled at mounted games you’ll get better at picking up and moving all sorts of weapon-like objects at greater and greater speeds …
Up till now all discussing of the Riding 1 curriculum has implied the use of two hands on the reins. This is because we ride with English tack in the Cavaliere program and teach English style riding (for the reasons for this see these previous posts: English or Western pt I and pt II). However, it’s fairly obvious that at some point in your training you’ll need to put both reins in one hand to pick up a sword or lance. Because we want you to feel comfortable with this as soon as possible, the level one test includes:
10. Demonstrate single hand (overhand) reining at walk and trot
and
11. Transitions (halt, walk, trot) with overhand reining
Rather than use Western neck reining (which not all of our horses understand) we bridge the reins. The simplest way to do this is to turn both hands palm down, place one hand over the other and cross the reins in the palm of one hand.
If you are right handed you would use your left hand for the reins, and your right for your sword. The left rein enters your hand from the pinkie side, and the right rein from the thumb side. I tend to leave the little finger free and use my ring and forefingers to control the reins, but that’s a matter of personal preference.
To signal a right turn, curve your wrist with the thumb towards your body, shortening the right rein, and bring the hand slightly to the right. For a left turn curl the outside (little finger) of your hand towards yourself and bring your hand slightly to the left.
In all these pictures the rider is asking for a slight left bend using different wrist positions according to the pace and degree of bend. Different horses will require different degrees of cue, so your technique will need to adapt according to the horse you are riding.
Overhand reining requires a shorter rein than regular reining. For optimum control your hand should be low to the crest and about one quarter to one third the way up the neck, with less bend in the elbow than you would have in a classic direct rein position.
Practice switching from one hand to two, and alternate hands, regardless of the hand in which you normally carry your sword. Single hand reining has many applications outside of mounted combat, including mounted games, opening gates on the trail, and ponying (leading) a spare horse. It’s worth your while to get good at it!
I had to be careful with the title of this week’s post. Didn’t want it turning up in the wrong sort of searches,* as the next item on the Riding 1 checklist is:
9. Show correct way to hold a whip/crop
This is one of the skills we ask for in our level 1 that doesn’t turn up until higher levels for Pony Club or Equine Canada tests. However, since our goal is to ride with a sword or spear in hand, we figure its a good idea to get the basics of handling objects from the saddle early on.
A whip or crop, often just called a ‘stick’, is one of the two artificial aids. (Spurs is the other, but you won’t be donning those at level 1). It can be thought of as a supplement to your leg, to make the horse go faster, move the hindquarters or shoulder, or as a correction to a disobedience.
In the latter case it must be used immediately, as a quick reminder and no more. Never use the stick in anger or to punish your horse. He will quickly become either deaf to it or so frightened you will no longer be able to use it as a schooling aid.
How to hold a whip
Up until the 19th century most images show riders holding whips pointing upward as in the ones above and below from the 18th and 17th centuries. This is similar to the way in which a sword is held, and is good preparation for mounted combat. It is usefull on occasion for a slow or stubborn horse. When you strike the hindquarters with the whip held this way the blow is stronger, falls more on the rump than the flank, and is prone to generate a burst of speed … but perhaps also a buck or two if the horse is not used to it.
In 19th century paintings we begin to see whips being held in what is now a more familiar position to us, pointing downward and resting against the rider’s thigh. If the previous position was akin to a sword, this is more like a dagger in the ‘icepick’ grip.
This keeps the business end out of the horse’s view until needed, and it is very easy to deploy just behind the rider’s leg in a swift movement. Sensitive horses, especially mares, may respond well to the rider simply tapping her boot or the saddle pad, rather than making contact with the flank.
In this position the whip sits behind the rein in the rider’s hand, and the rider’s thumb rests on top of the whip handle. She controls the angle of the whip on her thigh with her thumb and little finger.
To use the whip, quickly place your reins in one hand, tap behind the leg, and return your reins to both hands. In most cases you will want to carry your whip in whichever hand is on the inside of the circle or arena to keep a horse from cutting in. Likewise, if a horse tends to veer away from a jump to one side, put the whip in that hand.
A horse that drops his shoulder and leans into circles can be tapped on the shoulder instead of behind the leg without switching to one hand, and a whip in the ‘sword’ position can be waved to get a horse moving without tapping it. But in general whips work best on the back half of the horse.
Practise switching your whip from hand to hand, either by lifting and placing the end on the other side of the horse’s shoulders, or by flipping it upside down to transfer to the other hand (this works well for longer dressage whips). Also practise switching from the sword grip to the regular position. If you can flip your whip in hand, deliver a correction and return to regular riding position in the space of a few canter strides, not only are you a more effective rider, you’ve got a head start on handling a sword from horseback.
*As in the type of search results that usually crop up for riding crop.
Back from holidays and back to business. This week our riding skill is:
8. Walk and trot over single ground poles and a group of 3-4 trot poles
Riding over ground poles is the beginning of learning how to jump, but is also a useful exercise in and of itself for improving a horse’s way of going. A ground pole is just what it sounds like — a jump rail, usually 8 – 12′ long, lying on the the ground. Trot poles are usually a series of three or more rails, set 4 – 5′ apart depending on the stride of the horse.
A horse going over a series of trot poles must:
look where he’s going
pick up his feet
stay straight
keep an even tempo.
If he fails to do any of these he will knock rails with his feet, or perhaps stumble. Most horses don’t enjoy tripping, and will pretty quickly respond by improving their way of going.
It’s not all on the horse, though. A rider must:
make a straight approach to the centre of the poles
once ‘locked on’ to the obstacle, lift her focus to a tall and distant object
use her hands and legs to keep the horse straight
if rising to the trot, keep an even posting rhythm
maintain contact and impulsion, preventing the horse from rushing or stalling out.
Failure to do any one of the these things opens the door for the horse to avoid the rails, break to walk, become crooked or even jump a pair of rails.
This may seem like a lot to think about, but remember you use all these basic riding skills whether there is an obstacle in front of you or not. For example, when turning down the centre line, say from A to C, you:
ensure the horse is pointing straight at the letter C
focus on a point above and beyond the letter
keep your horse straight between your hands and legs
keep your rhythm, whether at walk, trot or canter
maintain contact and impulsion to regulate your horse’s pace
In fact, the best way to ride over trot poles is to pretend they aren’t there. A common expression in the riding world is ‘look at the ground, that’s where you’ll end up.’ Looking down at the poles tips your head and body weight forward, ruining your balance and putting more weight on your horse’s forehand. This in turns makes him less able to pick up his forefeet and puts you in a precarious position if he stumbles, decides to stop, or swerves.
Once you’ve pointed your horse at them and set the pace, the poles on the ground become his problem to solve, not yours. The same is true of jumps, whether they’re cross rails or 6′ puissance walls. Develop this attitude early in your riding career and you’ll have far fewer jumping errors to correct later on!
Last week I talked about the dressage letters in the riding ring, and how to use them to increase your accuracy. The exercise was a change of rein at the walk across the school from B to E. In your level 1 riding test we also ask you to:
7. Change rein on long diagonal at trot
The long diagonal is one which goes from one corner of the ring to the other, through the letter X (centre). In effect the horse and ridermake a very large ‘s’ shape to change directions. The diagram below shows a change which goes from F to H, but other diagonal paths could be H to F, K to M or M to K.
In all cases the rider must ride the short side of the arena before turning onto the diagonal to avoid a hairpin turn. That is, the above change FXH must be ridden starting on the left rein and changing to to right. If a rider was on the right rein and tried to change through FXH, the turn would be too tight for the horse to complete at the trot.
If the figure is done at a rising trot the rider may change her posting diagonal at X (the centre) or just before H. Common errors include wavering in the line from F to H and not riding deeply enough into the corners. To ride the figure smoothly and accurately:
half halt between A and the corner, flexing the horse slightly to the inside (left)
ride as deeply as possible into the corner
support the horse through the turn with inside leg and outside rein
look directly at the letter H, leaving the rail at F
straighten across the diagonal without speeding up or slowing down
half halt as you approach H, flexing the horse slightly to the right (the new inside)
support your horse with your inside (left) leg and outside (right) rein as you look towards the letter C and regain the rail
These changes of direction are easy on the horse as they don’t involve tight turns, but still must be ridden with accuracy. Add them into your warm-up routine and practise maintaining a steady pace, neither slowing down nor speeding up as you make your deep corners and straight lines.
Take a lesson at almost any riding school and you will hear a stream of letters flowing past: “twenty metre circle at C”, “between K and A develop working canter”, “change rein FXH” and so on. These letters are not acronyms or arcane code, but simply markers on the dressage arena.
No one I’ve talked to seems to know for sure why the letters refuse to follow in alphabetic order, or why some are missing altogether, but the most likely story is that they represent places around the ring for the members of the German Royal court. At any rate, these letters have been in use in their current places since at least the 1920’s so they are probably here to stay.
For the average rider it’s not necessary to remember all 17 letters of the 20x60m dressage arena. The important ones in a riding school are A and C on the opposite ends of the arena, B and E on the half-way points of the long sides, F, M, H and K near the corners, and X, which is never marked, but is the centre of the arena.
Letters provide your instructor an easy way of communicating where she wants you to go, but they also provide you an opportunity to test the accuracy of your riding. If you are asked to halt at the letter K, that letter should end up between your horse’s shoulder and your leg once you are stopped: not near the nose or tail.
The first test of accuracy we give you in Riding level 1 is:
6. Ride across the school at walk (B to E or E to B)
It sounds simple enough: ride a straight line from B, through X, to E. But remember that straightness comes near the top of the dressage pyramid and is more difficult than it seems.
Riding across the ring from B to E is most often used as a way of changing direction, or rein. In the diagram below the rider is starting on the left rein (ie, the left hand is nearer the inside of the arena) and ends up on the right rein.
It is impossible for a horse, with his long body, to make an absolutely square turn, but the idea is to make the corners as square as possible. Common errors are bulging out past B (ie, preparing the turn too late) and cutting the corner (turning too soon).
To ride the figure correctly:
Half halt your horse just before B, flexing him slightly to the left, or inside.
Use your inside leg and outside rein to keep him on the rail until his nose is at B
Look across the arena to E. Your eyes and head are vital in steering your horse
Use your left rein and right leg to bend him around your inside leg.
As he completes the first turn allow him to straighten and ride directly to E
Repeat all the above steps with the opposite aids (flex right, support with right leg and left rein, etc)
Although it may seem dull to practise such a basic figure it is worth taking the time to perfect the aids at the walk. Only once you have honed your accuracy at the walk can you hope to be accurate at the trot, canter or gallop.
No, this is not about blogging, or fenceposts, but on rising or ‘posting’ to the trot.
The trot is a 2-beat gait in which the horse’s legs move in diagonal pairs (last week’s post has the Eadward Muybridge photo series on the trot). It is the roughest gait to sit, which is why the technique of posting, or rising in the stirrups on every second beat, was developed. Rising to the trot not only saves your seat bones, it saves your horse’s back by relieving it of your derrière 50% of the time.
However, if you were to always rise with the same diagonal pair of your horse’s legs, your horse’s back would become unevenly developed and possibly sore on one side. This is why we determine to which pair of legs you rise, based on your direction of travel in the arena. This is called the ‘posting diagonal’, and in your level 1 test we ask you to:
5. Demonstrate change of posting diagonal when asked.
When posting the trot, you should rise in the saddle when the horse’s foreleg closest to the arena fence goes forward. That is, if you are on the right rein (going clockwise) you will rise when the left foreleg goes forward and sit when it is on the ground. To switch your diagonal, simply sit for two beats and resume posting.
This great little video has some nice slow motion footage of the trot, clearly showing the footfalls, posting, and how to change diagonals:
Posting and switching diagonals is something that takes practice to make smooth and automatic. Start by simply counting trot beats: “one-two, one-two” to get that rhythm in your brain before you begin rising on the “two”. When you’ve got the hang of posting, start counting them in pairs “one-up, two-up, three-up,” while rising on the “up”. Now practice posting for three to five pairs at a time, then sitting for a pair to switch your diagonal and so on: “one-up, two-up, three-up, sit-sit, one-up …”
As difficult as posting the trot may seem at first, it will eventually become second nature. You’ll be able to detect your diagonal without looking and regulate your horse’s speed with your own rhythm.
Up until now in our Riding level one test we have done everything — adjusting tack, mounting, and mounted exercises — from a standstill. Now it’s time to move off, but before we do, a few terms need defining.
Aids: These are the physical and verbal language used to communicate with the horse.
Natural Aids: The rider’s voice, legs, hand, seat (body) are all natural aids
Artificial Aids: Whips and spurs, used to reinforce natural aids.
Hands: Through soft ‘contact’ with the bit, the hand influences bend and direction of travel (steering) and for beginners is the main ‘brake’ to halt or decrease speed.
Seat: The position of the rider’s body always influences the horse. For beginning riders it is important to sit as softly and evenly as possible so as not to inadvertently give mixed cues. Once you progress to more advanced riding the seat becomes an important, if subtle, aid.
Paces: The four natural gaits of the horse are walk, trot, canter and gallop. Paces are more finely tuned variations within these gaits, such as working trot, medium walk etc.
Walk: The slowest pace, with four individual footfalls. The sequence of footfalls is left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore.
Trot: The next ‘gear’ up, the trot is a 2-beat pace. It is faster and more jolting to the rider than the walk. The sequence of footfalls is left hind & right fore together, right hind & left fore together.
Transition: Change from one pace to another.
The Trot by Eadward Muybridge, 1897.
The first actual riding we ask you to do in level one is show simple, progressive transitions.
4. Demonstrate simple halt / walk / trot transitions
The word ‘simple’ in here is slightly misleading. It refers to a progressive change of pace, such as walk to trot, or walk to halt. If you were driving a car, this would be like changing from 2nd to 3rd gear, or 2nd to 1st. (A non-progressive transition goes from 1st to 3rd, as in a walk-canter — but we get to those at higher levels). Transitions of all kinds, however, are anything but simple. They require an understanding of pace and the coordination aids.
The Half-Halt
Before any change of pace use a half-halt, or prepartory aid, to alert the horse that you are about to ask him something. A half-halt is performed by slightly increasing contact with the seat and legs with simultaneous light squeezes on the reins.
Halt to Walk Transition
1. Increase contact on the reins, warning the horse you are about to ask him to move (ie, half-halt)
2. Look in the direction you wish to move (generally forward).
3. Give a gentle squeeze with the legs. If the horse does not move promptly, you can ‘cluck’ or ‘kiss’, say ‘walk on’, give a firmer squeeze with your legs, and as a last resort use your artificial aids.
Walk to Trot Transition
1. Half-halt, increasing leg and rein contact.
2. As #3 above, using ‘trr-ott’ as a voice command if necessary.
Trot to Walk Transition
1. Half-halt
2. Sit tall (but not back) in the saddle, settling your weight on your seat bones.
3. Give a gentle squeeze on the reins. If the horse does not come back to walk, reinforce the the cue with ‘easy’ or ‘wa-alk’ and stronger squeezes of the reins.
Walk to Halt Transition
1. As above, using the voice command ‘whoa’ if necessary.
As you can see, the half-halt features in all of these transitions, but at level one we don’t expect your half-halts to be particularly polished or effective, or your transitions to be smooth and light. Simply being able to walk, trot and halt your mount when asked is enough at this level. However, knowing there is always room for improvement in transitions — no matter what level you attain — allows you to constantly work on making them better.
We begin all our riding sessions with warm-ups for both horse and rider. For the horse, this involves progressing walk and trot, circles, changes of direction and suppling exercies to warm up the muscles and joints prior to exercise. For the rider, the warm up serves an additional function: to develop an independent seat.
The warm-up exercises we do each time are intended not just to loosen the joints, but to specifically test your ability to isolate your upper body from your legs and seat. This is necessary in all forms of riding as a horse takes different cues from the rider’s legs, seat, hands and body. In mounted combat, where the rider must make powerful thrusts and cuts in all directions while asking his horse to move through cues from the legs and and seat, this is even more vital. A rider who inadvertently moves his legs when he swings his sword will send the horse off in an unintended direction, most likely at an unforseen pace!
This is why the third requirement in the Riding 1 checklist is
3. Exercises at the halt
As you progress in your riding you will move from doing exercises at the halt, to warming up in walk, trot and canter, but the basic movements remain the same. In all of these exercises, keep your weight evenly in both seat bones and your legs in correct alignment (knees over toes, hips over heels). It is better to have a smaller motion or reach and maintain correct lower body placement than it is to reach farther but shift your legs or seat.
Be aware of your horse’s reaction. If you have a young or spooky horse, have someone hold him while you do these exercises at first.
1. Arm circles. With your reins and crop in one hand, slowly reach straight behind you with the other arm, and bring it up in a slow circle above your head, forward, and down. Keep the shoulders square to the front of the horse, isolating the arm from the torso. Repeat 4 or 5 times, then reverse direction. Switch hands, and repeat.
2. Forward & Back Reach. Reach forward with one hand and touch your horse’s poll (the top of her head, between her ears). Reach back and slide the hand gently along your horse’s spine till you reach the dock (base of the tail). Repeat with the opposite hand.
3. Stirrup touch. Slide one hand down your leg, going as far as you can without upsetting your seat. If you can touch your stirrup, bravo! Now cross your hand over your rein hand and reach as far down that leg as you can. Repeat with the other hand.
4. Ankle circles. With the reins back in both hands take your feet out of the stirrups. Pull your toes upward as far as they will go, maintaining your thigh and calf position. Rotate up, out and down 3 or 4 times, without changing your seat or inadvertently kicking your horse.
5. Thigh stretch. Place reins and whip in one hand. With both feet still out of the stirrups grasp bend your leg at the knee so you can grasp your ankle with your free hand, keeping your weight even between both seat bones. The purpose of the exercise is not to stretch the thigh (it’s called thigh stretch because that’s what it resembles), but to help you maintain balance in the seat alone.
There are many more exercises you can add as you progress, including ones with both reins and stirrups dropped, and full torso movements, but these are sufficient for beginning riders. Make a point of doing these every time you ride and pretty soon you’ll be able to do this at a gallop:
As you can see from the above two pictures, we’ve been mounting horses the same way for centuries. Unlike we at Academie Duello, most equestrians do not wear swords, but the habit of mounting from the left has stayed on. That said, you should practise mounting from the right as well. Don’t be like me, who feels as awkward as a beginner when mounting from the ‘wrong’ side! For the sake of clarity though, we’ll deal with mounting from the near side.
From the ground
Stand at the horse’s left shoulder, facing the rear.
Gather the reins in your left hand, making sure they’re even and short enough to stop your horse should she decide to walk off, and place that hand on the horse’s neck, grabbing a bit of mane if necessary.
Take the stirrup iron in your right hand, and place your left toe in the stirrup, being careful not to poke the horse in the side with your toe.
Place your right hand on the seat of the saddle, and give a single hop to get some momentum.
Straighten your left leg, and swing your right leg over the saddle.
Pick up the reins, and place your right toe in the stirrup.
From the mounting block
Place the mounting block near the horse’s left shoulder.
Stand on the block and gather the reins as above
Steps 3 – 6 as above, though the hop is not needed.
It’s kinder on your horse’s back to use a mounting block, but it is vital to know how to mount from the ground if you do any sort of riding off property. So practise both. Eventually, of course, you may want to do away with stirrups and vault on like Xenophon, or modern day Mounted Gamers:
Taking up the reins
A single set of English reins should be held so the rein comes from the bit, goes between the ring and little finger, passes through the hand and over the index finger. The thumb rests on top of the rein, holding it securely to the index finger. The bight (or free loop) of the reins hangs over the horse’s right shoulder. The middle fingers are closed around the rein, but not gripping tightly. Think of holding a tiny live bird in each hand: you don’t want the bird to escape, but you don’t want to crush it either.
Points to check when you’ve taken up the reins:
Reins are straight, not twisted.
Reins are even: each one the same length, and hands the same height
The wrist is straight (as if delivering a punch), not curled in or out, and there is a straight line from the bit to your elbow.
The thumbs are on top, not pointing in towards each other.
Finally, for those of you wondering how knights would have mounted with all that armour on, I recommend this excellent video. It’s 45 minutes long, but worthwhile for the history and WMA enthusiast. If you want to skip straight to the mounting question go to around 28 min.
