Ring Sour

Does your horse behave better at shows than at home?
My horse does.
A ring sour horse is one that gets bored with the same scenery.
Day after day, you work your horse in the same arena.
As a result, the horse will entertain himself by misbehaving.
Here's a few tips for ya:

• Try exercising your horse in an open field around your barn.
• Take a field trip.
• Do dressage in your cross-country field.
• Introduce a new movement.

You will find that your horse is listening to you better and complying with your commands.   Keep your exercise routine interesting by mixing it up every once in a while.

Uphill.

Dressage judges say that you need to be more "uphill."
But what exactly does this mean?
It clicked for me one day
accidentally.
I was exercising my horse when I became really frustrated
at my lack of expertise in the dressage ring.
So I gave up.
I realized that I was probably just making my horse worse.
I decided to just head back to the barn.
I was still on my horse when we walked from the dressage ring to the main arena.
Between these two arenas is a large hill.
We started walking up the hill and then it hit me!
Uphill!
My horse filled the saddle.
His hind-end was beneath me.
His shoulders were freer.
Eureka!
So then I decided to give it another go around the ring
with this concept of "uphill" in mind.
It was gorgeous.
Try it sometime.