Im new to riding and have a dressage test coming up :(..........?

Question

Anyway I'm going to my first dressage competition. I'm excited and its in one month so I have time to practice with Shasta (my new horse!). But I have looked at the course and I am meant to be able to do these movements which I don't understand:
~Free Walk Long Rein
~Working trot
~Rising trot lengthened strides

How are they different from normal walk and trot??? Cuz i have to do normal walk and trot in this test but are they the same things??? If not how do I do them???


Thanks so much everybody, Your awesome!!!

Answer 1

hey there - what the test requires you to do is as follows:



Free Walk Long Rein - you will be expected to lengthen your reins so your horse can stretch his head down and walk naturally without you collecting him. Its almost as if you are "cooling him down" so lengthen your reins - keep th walk going by squeezing him with your legs, but not too harsh as you dont want him breaking into a trot.



Working Trot - this is where the horse will be going forward in a nice active trot. To achieve this keep contact with your reins and push the horse forward with your leg.



Rising trot - lengthened strides - They judge will want to see an extension of the horses legs here - which is where it differs from from the regular trot - you're being asked for an extended trot here. To achieve this - you will have to push on that bit harder with your legs - maintaining contact with the horses mouth to prevent him from breaking into a canter. you will carry this trot out in rising trot. A good tip to get the horse to extend is by alternating pressure with each leg as you rise and sit - for example squeeze with your left leg when you sit - squeeze with your right when you rise. This is a well hidden dressage tip!



Best of luck in your test!



xx

Answer 2

Hi there! I am a level 4 dressage rider so I can easily answer this!



Free Walk - It just means a very relaxed (BUT STILL MOVING) walk with the horse's head down, on a very loose and long rein. You're posture and equitation just stay the same. Think of the WP walk.



Working trot - Where you are collected, and have a nice paced trot. I'm not sure if they want posting or sitting, you'd have to ask as it could be either.



Rising trot lengthened strides - This is an extended, posting trot. If you don't know what that is, it's where you ask for longer strides and more impulsion from the horse, but still stay in control. Posting is where you rise up and down with the best of the trot.



And no, "normal" walk & trot will differ.



I think you definitely should get an instructor though if you're this confused. An instructor can help you a lot more than we can!



Hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 3

I don't ride dressage, but I am pretty sure they mean:



Free Walk Long Rein is just normal walking but on a long rein with little to no contact.

Working Trot is a normal trot. Now in dressage I don't know if that means to sit or post, but just do your normal paced trot.

Rising trot lengthened strides is the posting trot with an extended stride. So when you are posting at your normal paced trot kick him into an extended trot. (every time you are down in your post give a squeeze and release when you are rising)



Good Luck

Answer 4

free walk - free lengthy natural walk on a loose rein, but still with some contact. when you reagin your reins dont take them up straight awa, do it relatively gradually in order to not make your horse jig jog.



working trot - just a normal active trot, not too fast not too slow. on a good contact



rising trot lengthed strides - longer but not faster strides, its not true extention so dont ask for the flick, just ask for a slightly bigger stride

Answer 5

Free walk:

this is a loose, up-beat walk where you take your horse from being collected to letting the reins go loose (now both of your hands have to stay on them, even if you put them both on the buckle. No reaching up and getting rid of that itch on your nose!).

Your horse should drop her head low (but even to the withers is acceptable, lower to the ground is desirable) and walk 'freely', just like how should would in say the pasture, on on a trail ride/hack. You need to make sure she doesn't move slowly though (even if she DOES move slowly in the pasture or on the trail), what you want if for her to walk kind of 'briskly'. Not fast! Or like she's rushing, the desired effect is your horse will make her stride LONGER, not just take more steps.

All you do is nudge her (if she's a slow poke. If she likes to walk FAST, you can keep LOOSE contact with the reins but still make them much longer. This way you won't let her 'run' away from you) and what you should do (and this next part takes PRACTICE!), drop your hips with her movements.

Basically you'll be doing is making a figure eight with your hips; here is the trickier part: you don't consciously move your hips. Just let you hips be loooooose (but don't loose your upper body or leg posture or they will take points off!) and she will naturally move you that way. Why you do that is to:

1: drive her on with your seat.

2: give her the ability to move FREELY, which is what this particular move is all about.

This move is very important, the judges LOVE to make the free walk one of the 'big point scorers'. While this move is no more important over all then your trot work, it will help out your score big time if you have a good 'free walk'.



Also, make sure you have your reins gather up and horse collected by the time you get to the next letter. If you horse is good, like mine is, you can gather up your reins and have them collect like, five feet away from the letter. Practice the loose rein and collecting thing A LOT at home. You should NEVER leave that one out of your work out.





WORKING trot:

This is the brisk, up-beat trot that without realizing you probably actually do EVERY day. In Dressage it just has a fancy name. Now, what makes it different then the REGULAR trot, is the the WORKING trot is more up beat. It should be brisk (I can't think of a better word, as brisk pretty much sums it up), but NOT fast. Just up-beat.

The REGULAR trot (and this is what Dressage tests will call them, just to let you know) is a more pokey-dokey dort of trot. You know that kind of lackadaisical trot you do warming up on a long rein? The REGULAR trot is the saaaame thing as that warm-up trot. Only you have the horse collected and on the bit for the REGULAR trot.





Rising trot Lengthened:

This is the extended trot. Hard as blazes to sit, so they are little you rise with it ('rising' is also known as 'posting'). In this gate the horse will drastically lengthen (or it should be drastic, but don't worry if it isn't at first, it takes a lot of practice!) his stride. He'll go from the working trot (as described above) into a trot that's stride covers MUCH more ground. Its just like when people lengthen their stride. And remember, not more steps, but in stead you want MORE GROUND covered in one stride than before.

This can also be tricky because some horses (now I don't know your girl/boy) like to try and get away from you and they will start rushing if you don't keep them on the bit. My trainer has me do little half-halts to keep my horse on the bit and rounded still while I nudge him on with my legs.



And if you have a pokey-pony, feel free to give a little (a LITTLE) tap with the whip right before you go into this move. Even a half stride of cantering is REALLY bad for you, so TRY not to let that happen. Its better to have a less impressive extended trot than to have your horse break stride. They reaaaaally don't like that. (and I would know... trust me...)



As with the free walk before, MAKE SURE you have your horse back under control by the end letter. So if he goes into a working trot next, you want to make sure he's doing a working trot when you are going PAST that letter. Don't put him in a working trot BEFORE you get there. Remember you want to get the move as close to the letters as possible!



((But getting it before is better than after, should you have to do it one way or another . This is just from my experience))