Travers
"Travers towards half pass"

Duration Approx. 50 minutes

Travers

Travers is an important suppling exercise in its own right. Half-Pass is an extension of Travers and can be developed into a highly gymnastic exercise. Both movements should:

• supple the horse both laterally and longitudinally
• enable the horse to engage and mobilize the joints of the hind limbs
• encourage the horse to take more weight in the hocks and haunches
• render the horse light on the forehand and softer in hand

Yet, most riders experience great difficulty in teaching their horse travers and half-pass which is why we have devoted a whole video specifically to these movements. Here you will see very normal riders on horses of different ages and type (thus disproving the idea that you have to own a 'dressage horse' to do dressage) showing some of the problems that people encounter along the way. Clearly, to ride travers and half-pass successfully, it is important to understand the basic principles, e.g.

• influence of weight aids
• the required body posture for horse and rider
• why the inside rein should be softer than the outside

Once we have taken this on board it is easier to appreciate..

• why our step-by-step method works for the novice horse
• how we may enhance the work with the more experienced horse
• how travers and/or half-pass complements all dressage movements including lengthening
• why three-track and four-track work leads to COLLECTION!

Sylvia Loch has been training and teaching classical dressage both overseas and in the UK for well over thirty years. She believes that teaching good lateral work comes from developing "feel" and in this video she takes enormous trouble to show viewers how to achieve this. The beauty of the classical approach is that your horse is never put under pressure but everything is clear and logical. Sylvia's videos and books have proved so popular, that she founded CRC, a non-profit making global organization in 1995 to enable like-minded people to network each other. The Club's Charter and magazine promotes 'Harmony in Horsemanship'. For information, please send an sase to CRC Office at Eden Hall, Kelso, Roxburghshire, TD5 7QD, United Kingdom.

Written and presented by Sylvia Loch. classical-dressage.net