How do you make a horse dance?

How do you make a horse dance?

The simple answer to the question how do you train a horse to dance is this: devote a lot of time to it. There are no short cuts. Charlotte Dujardin, the current Olympic champion , has spent most of the last five years bringing her horse Gio up to speed. She won two Olympic gold medals atop her previous mount, the gelding Valegro. But he was put out to pasture after winning in Rio and she turned her attention to her new partner. Even before Valegro disappeared off to the long grass, Dujardin was working several hours every day in the long process to produce a horse of Grand Prix standard. The first thing it is wise to do is pick the right horse, at which the gold medalist is something of an expert. The best horses have a naturally balanced canter, able to control themselves off their hind legs. Balance is everything in dressage, the core of the process. Horses also - and this might sound obvious - need trainability. Stroppy horses, those with a bit too much independence of thought, the sort most amateur riders have struggled to corral, are not naturals for the dressage ring. A bit