Dressage Training Customized: Schooling Your Horse as Best Suits His Individual Personality and Conformation

Perhaps you have a “hot,” sensitive, short-coupled Thoroughbred mare—doesn’t it make sense that you work her differently than your friend schools her placid, long-backed Warmblood gelding? One of you must ride quietly and assuredly while focusing on stretching and relaxation of the horse’s mind and body. The other must ride actively, compress her horse’s frame, and keep him from falling asleep under saddle.

All too often we try to apply the same techniques, in the same order, with the same intensity, regardless of our horse’s defining characteristics. The result? At best slowed or stalled progress in learning movements and maneuvers, and at worst a fractured horse-and-rider relationship—or even a “ruined” mount. Now Grand Prix dressage rider Britta Schöffmann has provided an in-depth key to the major horse types, as well as training “roadmaps” for each. She explains that no matter how experienced a rider you are, no matter how many horses you’ve owned over the years, whether this is your first dressage prospect or your fiftieth, every horse is different, and each one must be treated as an individual when it comes to planning and implementing his training program.

Learn how to ascertain a horse’s character by looking at his ears, eyes, and stance, and noting his reactions under saddle. Find out why your horse’s anatomy plays a role in how he’s trained. And your horse’s gender must be taken into account—does he have a gelding’s pliable attitude, a mare’s hormonal swings, or a stallion’s machismo?

Training according to the horse’s type is something anyone can do—with the guidelines, hints, and tricks provided in this book, you’ll find “reading” a horse before you get on him soon becomes automatic. And, whether you school dressage for fun, for competition, or to supplement your horse’s performance in another equestrian discipline, the six elements of the Training Scale—administered in differing amounts according to the horse’s type—are all you need to ensure a happy, healthy mount and a thriving partnership with him.