Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ottilie on July 27, 2008 at 9:52pm

Hi Barbara,
This is a tricky one! I have only taught 2 horses to piaffe, with different trainers and totally different methods. So I'm no expert, but here's what I've learned so far:
The first time, the aid was to put both legs far back & sit light. There was a lot of pushing and holding, and he figured it out eventually. With my current horse, the aid I have taught him is both legs on the girth, sit very still and light and generate energy without moving(!) - my trainer calls it 'electric stillness' if that makes any sense at all. We taught it first in hand, to piaffe from the voice out of a slow collected walk. Then I got on, and added the physical aid to the voice aid (with assistance from an experienced person on the ground to begin with!) - If nothing happens, he gets a quick smack. Now he is getting more reliable, as we do it a little every day. My horse has also had trouble finding the rhythm, so sometimes I do it from trot, to give him the 2-beat idea. keeping him more on the spot is helping with rhythm also, but this is something I have been able to do only recently, as he is a 'backward thinker', and a little fragile in the contact.
Whatever aid you choose to teach the horse, probably the hardest part is showing him what you want, without giving confusing stop/go messages.
I would strongly urge you to get help from someone with a lot of experience, as the timing is tricky and you have to have 100% confidence in what you are doing. You may have to 'rattle' your horse a little, without offending him, let him make mistakes, and be quick to correct or reward accordingly (sounds obvious, but with piaffe the goalposts keep shifting). You have to be able to think on your feet, and if you are at all unsure of yourself, you may get mixed up, or be too slow to react.
Also, mirrors would be a big help (or eyes on the ground) as it is often really hard to get the right idea from what you can feel.

Sorry, I don't think I've been much help at all! Good luck with it :-)

Permalink Reply by Barbara F. on July 27, 2008 at 10:45pm

Thanks, this has definitely been a help. What I have been doing lately is leg yielding at the walk two steps left then right, extremely lateral, without going forward, then when my horse gets a bit lighter and quicker, I think forward a bit. My horse is getting the idea from that. I also use the mirror and have someone on the ground with mints ready to reward every small step in the right direction. My horse knows the mints are coming and does start to do a few baby steps. This is really challenging.

Permalink Reply by Alanna on August 5, 2008 at 1:45pm

Here is a good website on dressage t.v shows with klaus balkenhaul : http://www.nickernetwork.com/ch_piaffe.asp?channel=22

Go to the bottom of the list and there it is.