Lunge lessons

For beginners and advanced riders who want to improve their seat we offer lunge lessons. The horse moves on a 15 to 20m circle in walk, trot or canter, controlled by the instuctor. The rider can focus completely on her own body and balance. He/she will learn to sit balanced, supple, relaxed. A correct seat is not only a secure seat, it is also the major prerequisite for effective communication with the horse. A balanced rider will be easier on the horse. The hands and legs will be quieter and the rider can give clear signals to the horse. Only with a relaxed body the rider has the necessary feel for the horse. Tension in the rider creates tension in the horse and a tense body doesn’t always do what the brain wants.

For experienced riders certain habits or blockages can sneak in over time. They usually go unnoticed for a while until they become a problem. This happens easily to riders who are riding the same horse over a long time and the two of them start compensating for each other’s weaknesses. But it also happens through our day to day life, hours of sitting (at work, on trips, at home…), uneven exercise, old injuries, our natural crookedness and simply because our body changes over the years.  There are many helpful gymnastic exercises to work on these blockages in your body and help you become a better rider.

Once the rider is able to sit relaxed and balanced in all three gaits he/she can learn to hold a soft contact with the reins and control the horse with correct aids.

 

Dressage lessons

Coming from Germany my dressage training is based on the German Guidelines for Riding (see Resources). The training follows the same training scale that is used by the USDF: Rhythm and Regularity – Relaxation – Contact – Impulsion – Straightness – Collection.

Each lesson we want to start with a relaxed and supple horse. Just like in human athletes, the horse’s muscles need to be warmed up and stretched properly before we can ask for any athletic performance. The warm-up includes stretching of the long back muscles (long and low frame, trot/canter transitions), lateral stretching (circles, corners serpentines, leg yield). Only after the horse is swinging through the back, we can move on to more challenging work.

The lesson will be developed according to the skill level and individual challenges of horse and rider, usually with focus on one topic (e.g. contact, seat aids, turning aids, shoulder control, transitions…) Sometimes it may be enough of a challenge to achieve “Losgelassenheit“, a state of mental and physical relaxation of the horse (and the rider!) that allows focused communication between the two partners and consequently the desired physical responses of the horse.

We aim to finish the lesson with a relaxed and content horse and rider. My goal is that the rider feels successful after learning something new or overcoming  some personal challenges. The horse should feel good physically -after a healthy, relaxing workout- and mentally for doing his job well, being praised and loved!

In some cases I may give the rider “homework” to do until the next lesson. This may be a gymnastic exercise for the rider or something to work on with your horse.

 

Jumping lessons

The goal in our basic jumping lessons is gymnastic cross training for the horse, improved confidence and balance for the rider. It is not about hight or other records! Basic jumping is considered part of a well rounded education for horse and rider. It is not only great fun for most riders but also gives confidence and security for an occasional buck or stumble.

We start by practicing the jump seat over cavalletti and easy gymnastic jumps. Once he rider has achieved the necessary balance and confidence, we can tackle more challenging courses.

 

Training of the horse

As much fun as it is to ride a talented, well trained horse, I still truly enjoy helping the less than perfect horse improve his performance by correct dressage training. I like the challenge of finding the source of the problem, working through misunderstandings and helping the horse and rider to go on together.

 

 

Don’t work against the horse – always work with the horse!

Klaus Balkenhol