A Simple Step to Improved Dressage

Dressage is a popular equestrian discipline enjoyed by many horse riders of all ages and abilities across the world. It involves horse and rider working together for obedience, flexibility and balance. Dressage riding competitions assess the way that horse and rider work together through performing a set combination of moves.

There are many factors that influence the dressage performance of a horse, and many exercises and training programmes designed to train horse and rider for dressage. The horse must be supple and well balanced, responsive and obedient. He must be happy and forward going in his work and the rider must be able to remain balanced with the horse and be able to give independent and effective aids. An in depth discussion into every one of the various factors to be considered in order to achieve such results in dressage riding is beyond the scope of this article, but there is one common factor that is applicable not only to dressage riding but to all equestrian disciplines. At all times, the horse needs to be able to move freely without pain or restriction in order to perform to his best.

Now this may seem like an obvious thing to say, and yet it is one of the most common reasons for poor performance in horses. Whilst there are not many riders would ride a horse who is in obvious pain, sometimes it is not so obvious that the horse is experiencing discomfort or being restricted by the equipment that is being used. An example of this would be by using horse riding saddles that do not fit correctly or that are not suitable for the purpose of which they are being used. Similarly, an incorrectly fitted bit or noseband can prevent the horse from relaxing into his work. When thinking about horse riding saddles for dressage riding, you should consider if it would be worthwhile to buy a quality dressage saddle. For low level dressage or simple flatwork this is unnecessary, however, if you are serious about concentrating on dressage riding as your main discipline and riding at advanced levels then it could be a worthwhile investment.

The dressage saddle is designed specifically to allow horse and rider the freedom of movement needed to carry out dressage movements. The deep seat and wide, flatter panels encourages the rider to sit deeper and remain balanced whilst evenly distributing their weight, which in turn helps the horse to balance and carry himself correctly. The style of the saddle with straight cut saddle flaps and the stirrup bars placed slightly further back also allows the horse plenty of freedom though the shoulder and enables the rider to keep his weight over the horses centre of gravity.

It is worth pointing out that a standard general purpose saddle is more than adequate for low level or novice dressage riding and, generally speaking, a dressage saddle is only necessary for those riders where dressage is their main discipline and are riding at more advanced levels. This being said, a simple change such as this for more advanced dressage riding could be something that makes a big difference in improving your performance and dressage scores.

The Equine Store is filled with quality products for horse and rider, including made to measure or standard size quality English leather dressage saddles. Take a look at the shop at http://www.equine-store.com and quote customer code 'cust01' for 10% off your first purchase.