Welcome to Day 3!
In the previous two days we have focused on the topline itself and how you can evaluate your horse’s topline.
In today’s video we discuss some of the most common mistakes that riders make which negatively impact their horse’s toplines. We had our assistant demonstrate some of the mistakes for you on video (as best as she could! We discovered it is very hard to make mistakes when you have already worked very hard to eradicate them in your own riding!) and we discussed how each of these mistakes creates habitually poor posture and use of the musculature for the horse. Most riders have made some or all of these mistakes at some point in their riding education, and many riders make several of these mistakes. This compounds to further impact the horse’s ability to use himself well and to develop a healthy topline. Changing what we do begins with awareness, and this is the first step of that process. So let’s do this!
TO DO:
1. Watch the video
2. Take photos or video of your horse’s topline. Optional: post this in the Facebook Group.
3. Visit the Facebook Group for ongoing discussion and evaluating each other’s photos of toplines - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2022toplinechallenge
REGISTER FOR THE CHALLENGE
If you didn’t register for the challenge yet, you can still do so. By registering you get the daily emails sent to you with ALL the links (so you don’t have to go fishing through the Facebook Group to find them)
Register here - https://courses.artisticdressage.com/5-day-topline-challenge
Thomas & Shana Ritter - www.artisticdressage.com
Now located in Portugal, Thomas is an International Clinician and author of "Dressage Principles based on Biomechanics" and "Long Reining: From the Beginning through the Levade" (published by Cadmos Press in both English and German) and countless articles in many publications. Shana is a USDF Bronze and Silver Medalist. Together they create and orchestrate the Artistic Dressage program.
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