How do you train a dressage horse?

How do you train a dressage horse?

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, Britain's most decorated female Olympian , has spent most of the last five years bringing her horse Gio - with which she claimed bronze in Tokyo - 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 multiple 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