(“I need to modify those words.”)

I just went on at considerable length about the importance of remembering to ride your horse every single stride. Don’t get overly mechanical. Don’t get bogged down in psycho-analyzing your horse. Ride every stride.

But on further reflection, I need to modify those words. Better that I persuade you to “monitor” every stride. That means to let your senses be open to all the things your horse is telling you and then by reflex or by design to respond appropriately.

Although it does not to me, “riding every stride” could imply pushing or grinding or shoving or micromanaging constantly whether it helps or not.

Going back to that image from Dressage Unscrambled of the “helps” versus the aids, your job is to give your horse the information he needs. At times he may not actually need anything other than to know that you are present and he should carry on in the mode he’s in. In a really good circumstance that feeling could last a number of strides in a row. In the case of a horse who is just getting the hang of leg yielding, it could mean withholding the lateral pushing aid or the momentary resistance for just one cycle of the stride if the horse understands, keeps his balance, and can do just fine without that intervention.

So you must be prepared to act; the horse must be willing to respond instantaneously; but your goal is to minimize the frequency with which you are saying things or at least the size of the aids which you’re needing to use moment by moment.

“Less is More” when it works, but you won’t know if you don’t try.