How To Achieve A “Round” Horse With Amelia Newcomb
Ever had a riding theory question you couldn’t find the answer to? Or don’t have a go-to coach to ask? In this new segment, Amelia Newcomb is here to answer anything about your riding and dressage needs.
I recently moved up from to first level and my test had “needs to be rounder” on it more times than I’d like to admit. How do I get him rounder?
“If I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question…well, I could buy myself any horse farm I wanted! You are not alone in this struggle. It is very common, and it sometimes seems harder than it should be to achieve roundness.
It’s important to realize that there are different degrees of roundness, the roundness required in 2nd level isn’t as much as the degree of roundness required for Grand Prix. It takes years to develop roundness needed for the FEI level, and its something that we’re never quiet finished with because it’s so related to fitness and topline. A horse can loose their ability to have greater degrees of roundness if they have had time off or haven’t been working those muscles recently.
That being said, there are three elements that make up roundness. And as you work up the levels, you need to build on and add more of each of these elements.
Correct Position
The first step is to check in with your rider position. A lot of times when we get super focused on getting our horse round, we end up leaning forward, pulling, and staring at their head. Instead, we want to be looking up, sitting back, and have a straight line ear, shoulder, hip, heel. We also need to have a straight line from our elbow to the horse’s bit.
Forward
Next, we need to get our horse’s moving forward with energy and tempo. Before we even think about getting our horse round, we want to get them moving forward from our leg and seeking a light, steady contact on the bit.
Supple and Bend
Once your horse is forward, then you can start working on suppleness through bending, and riding inside leg to outside rein. To do this, you first want to put your inside leg on and push your horse into the outside rein. Keep a steady outside rein to support your horse, then supple and give on the inside rein.
It is through your ability to have correct balance yourself, the longitudinal suppleness (the forward to the bit), and the lateral suppleness (ability to bend left and right) that coordinates your horse’s body to bring the hind legs under, rotate the horse’s pelvis under, their back to come up, and round through his whole body. I have a great video that goes into this in more detail. Check it out here.”
–Amelia Newcomb
Amelia Newcomb is a USDF Gold medalist. Based in Somis, California, she incorporates complete dressage training from starting the young horse through the FEI levels in both her in person and online programs. Amelia works to develop a trusting and confident relationship between horse and rider. Her approach incorporates all aspects of horsemanship from basic groundwork to advanced dressage movements. Amelia’s mantra has always been “Dressage for All”, which is evident in both her in person and online coaching. With a successful YouTube video library of hundreds of free educational videos, over 70,000 subscribers (and counting!), and thousands of students enrolled in her online USDF accredited courses.
Interested in learning more from Amelia? Tune in to her segment on Thursdays in the Heels Down Spark. And sign up for her “30 Days To Round” Challenge – applications are open now!