Dressage - An Overview

Dressage, from the French for training, pronounced to rhyme with massage, educates horses in being keen, biddable, agile and alive. Dressage, when done well, is seen as like a ballet for horses. This may be due to the fact that ballet requires the same skills, agility and strength as does dressage.

Dressage at its very best is full of artistry and grace, this is only achieved when rider and horse and in perfect harmony. Both the horse and rider must be fully in touch with each other and as such it can be seen as the pinnacle of team sport. Dressage at all levels improves balance, suppleness, and obedience with the purpose of improving and facilitating the horse's performance of normal tasks.

Present day dressage has many parallels with the work of Xenophon on the classical Greek command of horses. It was first recognized as an important equestrian pursuit during the Renaissance in Western Europe. It was during the renaissance in Western Europe that the most important horse trainers implemented a training regime that moved from stage to stage for classical dressage that almost unchanged today is utilised for modern dressage training.

Dressage as a very formal event and normally this is recognised by tack being black or sometimes very dark brown. Riding dressage utilises an English-style saddle, which is known as a dressage saddle and is produced solely for dressage. It has been developed with a plumb and large saddle flap, the leg of the rider is echoed by the length and the slight curve at the knee.

Dressage is practised in many countries and an element of competitiveness is satisfied with competitions being held in many of the countries. The biggest addition to dressage competitions was its entry into the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, this galvanised the levels of training and hence riding. Dressage is also one of the three disciplines in competition at the Olympic Games, the other two being Jumping and Eventing.

The dressage arena measures 60 meters by 20 meters and has letters set out at various points. The letters are A-K-V-E-S-H-C-M-R-B-P-F. The letters are used to highlight where actions are to be undertaken, they can also be utilised by riders to estimate distances if required. Dressage horses when they are at the top level of development can be endlessly adaptable to a rider's persuasion and accomplish whatever is required with a minimum of fuss or apparent effort.

Movements such as the piaffe, passage, half-pass, pirouette, and tempi changes are what is required to succeed in competitive dressage. Competitive dressage differs from classic dressage in this respect as it does not include the aires above ground, as the majority of horses can not execute even when well trained. The Musical Freestyle represents the optimum part of the competition; this is when the dressage rider completes required movements and figures to music but to their own planning. The requirements within dressage exclude "tricks" to be learned by rote; the point of training in dressage is for the horse to develop both in body and mind, at one with the natural development, and these tests are "pointers" to exhibit the achievement of stability, endurance and attentiveness his training has allowed him to reach.

This article is written to give you an understanding of dressage, however in truth the subject is much too big to cover adequately in a single article.