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Why use the school figures? School Figures give purpose Why do we ride around and around the arena? If you do this without consideration of your horse you might be doing more harm than good. The mental and physical well being of your horse can be influenced in many ways by the way you school your horse. The School Figures are an established set of movements that are ridden in the dressage arena. These make up the basis of all dressage test movements. Even if you are never going to ride a dressage test, the school figures will still be of benefit. Straightness can be practiced by riding the quarter lines, centre lines and diagonals. Achieve the correct bend and flexion by riding accurate round circles and half circles. Master the change of bend and flexion by riding loops and serpentines.
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By riding these exercises well, you keep your horse forward, supple and interested in their work. You, as the horse’s teacher, are able to give clear direction and plan each session with achievable objectives.
School Figures train the rider Feel? The rider’s feel for the horse is the starting point for being able to teach and train the horse. School Figures are a simple way for a rider to start to feel what is happening underneath them. The School Figures give the rider a set of exercises, so that we can train our horse effectively on our own. Since we often ride by ourself without an instructor we need to be able to train independently. By using the School Figures this can be achieved. School Figures train your horse How does the horse know what is required to please us? Horses are magnificent animals with beautiful movement and power, plus a willing heart. To be able to keep these attributes we as riders must have empathy and clear principles. The School Figures are able to give structure to your riding sessions. These sessions are always progressive: Self assessment is the first step in training Assessment sounds formal or even harsh. We get assessed at exams, which often brings back unp To be able to assess we need a reference point to start from. When we are starting out and still gaining knowledge we have limited experiences. So we can best assess the horse and our own riding by riding the established exercises. School Figures are the ideal reference point to start assessing your horse and your riding. They provide you with correct lines to ride when practising. You can therefore assess your horse’s responsiveness to the aids. You will be able to identify if the horse is even on both reins. These assessments are the beginning of being able to correctly train your horse.
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copyright 2008 Dwight Pedlow