I have a 2,5 year old stallion, and I want to start learning a bit of dressage. I don't have the possibility of heiring a trainer, because i live in a country were horse riding is not very developed...

I don't aspire to becoming really good, i just want to form a powerfull bond between me and my horsey...

do you have any suggestions? 

Join the club of those of us who cant get trainers! First I would geld that stallion. Then get a library card. Get subscriptions to dressage magazines, get books, videos any thing to help. I go to the Can-Am every year, free clinics and lots of pros to talk to. Have you had lessons before this? Then it should not be too hard. Start simply with just backing the horse if he's not backed, then work on the basic. You can build on that. hope that helps. The bond though will come not from riding but from other things. I ride bareback and my horse will follow me over everything. She's not done her training but one day she will. The bond can be started by simply hanging out with your horse.

Well, I'd give your boy another year before you start riding him, but you can definitely learn dressage.  There was a post about this recently; dressage is just rhythm, balance, and straightness combined into circles, diagonals, and straight lines.  So if you were taking dressage lessons with a young horse, you would be working on finding a rhythm in all three gaits, then stregthening him and adding balance to that rhythm.  Definitely something you can do on your own!  A lot of ground work, yielding front and hind end, yielding backwards and forwards, massaging entire body, these things will help build your bond as well.

 Invest in the Jane Savoie Riding With Your Mind videos. Get #1 and work through that. When you are ready, get #2. Another help is Lendon Gray's book: Lessons with Lendon. It takes horse and rider from the beginning of dressage training through very important, foundational basics. Remember that the word dressage means "training".   Also look into several of the "natural horsemanship" training methods and use what works for you and your horse to build that bond in a way that your horse understands.

Another poster said geld your stallion and I agree unless there is a specific reason for keeping him a stallion. 

 Well i'm already riding him, hes a really big horse, and i'm small. We already have a tight bond, because i'm the only one that takes care of him and that rides him. 

I'm on holiday from school rite now so i was thinking of starting now.... i was thinking of getting a book or somethin, if i can find one. Do u have any suggestion on regards with what I should try first? As i said b4 my country dose not have this sport in mind, so i can't get a heads up from anyone.

 

 

Oh...and ...I don't want to geld him yet, hes a relly good horse, he dosen't act up, and he dose exactly as he is asked, i don't see any reason to geld him yet. Do u know a motive for wich I should geld him, is it beter for him?

I already have subscription to the only horse magazine in my country, but that dosen't reallly help, as for books and stof, i don't think they exist, only if i can get a really good one online or somethin.

I have had lessons for about 2 years when i was 10 (in 17 now) and I have worked on a horse farm for about 6 months. I have just raised up the money to buy my horse, I bought him from a friend , so he was at like 10% the price he is worth. 

I ride my horse in country land, so we dont have a arene or anything, w go over mountins, and rivers, and things like that, tho i don't want my horse to any know that, i want to do something more, because my friends, how have horses can't control theyr horses. I'm the only one who's horse dose what he is asked, their horses sometimes are so cought up in running taht they are very hard to stop. I don't want my horse to turn out like that.  

Just want u to know i have worked really hard for my horsey, and i love him to bits, so if u can help, and have any suggestions, i would love to hear them...

Thank u all for replying to my question

XOXOXOX

kisses 

You can absolutely work on dressage on the trail.  You can practice trotting in a rhythm, doing transitions between walk/trot/halt/trot, work on large circles in fields, etc.  You should be able to get almost any horsey book online from amazon.com or similar site.  I would take it easy on your boy for the next year though, light riding, walk/trot, and lots of groundwork -- it will help him last longer for you.  Young joints are fragile and easily damaged, as they are not done growing.  What country are you in?

Thanks...i will try to find a book and order it online.

As for not over working him, donn't worry i wont,///i only do walk and trot, and i try not to get him tired up, it's hard to stop him tho, when the guys thar running, he wants to go to, but i do my best in stopping him. Something weird happenes when he wants to run and i don't let him tho. If we are in a trot, he dose a weird transition, in a long trot, kinda like the horses in dressage do, he straitens his legs, and has a really long walk...do u know what i'm talking about?

I'm in Romania. Hope we can continue talking on this forum, u seem really nice, thanks for the advice!

XOXO
 

Ya, I know what you mean about the long trot, my boy does that too when I won't let him canter, you can definitely feel a difference when they stop taking the shorter, really fast steps and when they start pushing and taking long strides instead -- encourage that long, sweeping stride if you can, for short period of time, that will help build his back and butt muscles.  And yep, it's always hard to convince them they DON'T need to gallop with their buddies, good luck!

My mare does that, too (always wants to follow her friends.) She too lengthens her stride, which isn't so bad, but she stops listening as much, so I work with her on circles and serpentines when she does, just to get her focused and listening. I never punish her for the change in stride, though, because it's quite a nice trot.

I agree with Solaris, go easy on your boy and he'll be better for it later in life.

I would recommend the book 101 Dressage Exercises for Horse and Rider by Jec Aristotle Ballou as well as Lessons with Lendon. Good luck!

My favorite books are "Complete Training of the Horse and Rider" by Alois Podhajsky and "Dressage in Lightness" by Sylvia Loch.

All horses mature differently, it would really depend on him whether he is mature enough to start training.Though it's all the basics you need to work on, mostly--

-Developing respect, especially with a stud horse (If you don't plan on keeping him a stallion forever, you should geld him now before he gets a chance to develop stallion-y behavior.)

-Building muscle (Especially the back and butt)

-Lots of balance (Circles, shoulder and neck exercises)

-Control, basically.

-Picking up the shoulder. One of the worst mistakes in almost every equine sport is horses being allowed to drop their shoulders. Along with the shoulders is the back, keeping the back strong and up is very important.

Good luck, and I wish the best for you and your horse.

 

Viljoen :) 

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