FLATWORK FOUNDATIONS – BUILDING BETTER TRANSITIONS

Smooth, balanced transitions are the hallmark of a well-trained horse and rider partnership. Whether you're preparing for your first dressage test or refining your technique for advanced competition, mastering the art of transitioning between gaits is fundamental to good riding. Yet for many riders (us included!), transitions remain one of the most challenging aspects of…

BylizzieApril 9, 20260Comments

Horse Training

CIRCLES

The wonders of circles Dressage is all about suppleness. Without consistent bend throughout your horse’s body lots of exercises become difficult and you’ll struggle to get a respectable dressage score. Here we give you two simple exercises that you can work on that will ultimately help to improve your circles: Spice it up: Circles are…

BylizzieOctober 23, 20250Comments

Ask HQ

ASKHQ: IMPROVING CANTER TRANSITIONS

Q: What’s the best way to improve my horse’s canter transitions? A: Quality trot creates a quality transition so focus on straightness, impulsion, and rhythm in the trot before you ask for the canter. No horse can canter easily from a disorganised and messy trot. Use exercises like trot–walk–trot to sharpen responsiveness, and try for…

BylizzieJuly 24, 20250Comments

Horse Training

TRAINING SHORTS – STRETCHING

Stretching is often a neglected aspect of flatwork, but really is a great way to end off a session. A quality stretch A quality stretch has your horse’s body in a convex shape with his poll the lowest point, his back lifted, and withers raised. A quality stretch does take time to achieve and usually involves…

BylizzieMay 27, 20250Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #21: QUARTER PIROUETTES

To do a correct pirouette, your horse must take his weight onto his quarters. On the inside track shorten your horse's walk while maintaining impulsion. Without stopping, use your inside rein to ask for a little bend, while holding the outside rein against the neck to encourage his forehand to move around and to control any forward…

BylizzieApril 25, 20240Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #20: GIVE AND RETAKE

As well as being a required movement in many dressage tests, this exercise is a very good test of your horse's self-carriage. In this exercise start by giving your inside rein, then swap to your outside rein and finally give both together. This builds the ask gradually and sets your horse up for success. Once you are…

BylizzieApril 25, 20240Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #18: LEG YIELD TO CANTER

Trot down the three-quarter line and use your inside leg on the girth to push your horse towards the track, while using your outside leg behind the girth to control the angle of his quarters. Ask for a little flexion to the inside, you should just see the edge of your horse's eye and nostril, but…

BylizzieApril 25, 20240Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #17: THE DEMI-VOLTE

In the corner of the arena, ride a demi-volte, finishing on the track. Carry on the track and turn in two smooth half 10m circles, so you're riding an S-shape from one long side to the other. When you reach the track again, ride straight, then perform another demi-volte so that you end up back on your…

BylizzieApril 25, 20240Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #16: HAUNCHES-IN

Haunches in, or, more formally, travers, is when the horse is asked to move his hindquarters to the inside line on which he is travelling, while keeping his shoulders on an outside line. Throughout the movement, he needs to maintain an inside bend through his poll, neck and body. Haunches in is an excellent exercise to…

BylizzieApril 25, 20240Comments

Horse Channel Horse Training

FLATWORK FEBRUARY #9: THE SIMPLE CHANGE

Yesterday, we looked at the walk-to-canter transition, and today, we add to that by combining it into a simple change. A simple change is a change of canter lead with a few steps of walk between periods of canter. The simple change is the beginning of teaching your horse to do a correct flying change; this…

BylizzieFebruary 13, 20240Comments

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