Team PracAt this year’s Adequan®/USDF FEI-Level Trainers’ Conference, Heather Bender had one primary goal—to improve her 9-year-old KWPN mare Keisha B’s suppleness. The USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist and a Certified Instructor through Fourth Level was excited to work with Chef d’Equipe of the U.S. Dressage Team Christine Traurig because of her emphasis on the foundation and basic principles of dressage.
“‘Keish’ tries so hard, but she lacks the suppleness we need, so it’s something we’re constantly trying to improve, and it was great to work with Christine with her foundation focus,” Bender said. “I’ve been doing this long enough to know it all comes down to basics—your bending, suppleness and the ability to go forward and back.”
Bender said the transition and gymnastic exercises Traurig provided helped emphasize achieving the right amount of flexion with the right amount of tempo. “That’s really what we needed—just that degree of refinement. Keish is more of a rectangle right now, and I’m trying to teach her how to become a box as she moves up the levels,” she explained. “So, I’ve been using a lot of exercises to help control the outside shoulder. Christine really pushed me back into doing shoulder-in and bending and reminded me to be relentless about the better bend.”
We hope you can utilize the following tips from Traurig to improve your dressage horse’s suppleness, which will help influence his hind legs for proper engagement.
Creating Suppleness and Setting the Tempo
“Yesterday, we addressed that this horse is very much in a rectangular format and that Heather needs to choose what tempo and outline she wants with the mare in the warm up. The tempo should not be so high that the horse loses the balance easily. This then results in the horse getting too deep and bracing down into the bridle while getting excessively behind the vertical.
“If suppleness isn’t cultivated first, the horse’s hind legs cannot develop more pushing power. Transitions can help improve relaxation and suppleness and ultimately allow the horse to release his back and engage his hind end.
“Once you’ve completed the process of gymnasticizing the horse to get him supple, you can then start influencing the placement of the horse’s hind legs. Like it says in all the smart books, you have to be able to place the shoulders in front of the hind legs. And once you get that alignment you can influence the placement and effort of the hind legs—how they’re coming to the party and contributing in a quality way for forward propulsion and engagement. This is logical for the horse and evolves nicely.
“The benefits of riding bending lines are huge. First, we go bigger when the horse is younger and then a bit smaller when he advances in the education to be supple and therefore on a smaller circumference while being able to step underneath his body a little bit more with the inside hind leg. This later translates into the fact that you can direct the hind leg to the center of gravity in order to cultivate engagement.
“It is the rider’s responsibility to have the ability to direct the horse’s poll in the contact. You should be able to direct it a little upward or outward when need be, while supporting with your lower leg. You should feel like the hind legs want to follow the bit.
“Your ability to keep your horse in that uphill feeling is greatly dependent on your preparation and how your horse is up and off your inside leg into the outside rein. If that is not a given before you begin, your horse will get flat.
“Practice taking the bend into the haunches-in and use your left leg and left wrist to create the degree of flexion so your horse’s forehead is parallel to the approaching corner. Use the corner to prepare your horse for haunches-in by establishing the pre-existing condition for the movement—meaning your horse is in front of and around your inner leg.
“The zig-zag half-pass, which starts with a half-pass from the right to the centerline and then a flying change and then tracking left, is difficult because there’s not a lot of room before the change. You have to be able to basically relax the aid for the right bend in order for your horse to straighten his neck and think about the shoulder before the change. A lot of riders forget that. They come through the centerline and their horse is still looking right and has no clue the rider wanted a change.
“In all your lateral work no matter the level, if you make a habit of creating an adjustable horse who can easily go a little forward and then come back it automatically sets your horse up to have impulsion. And the more you make it a habit, the shorter amount of time it takes so you don’t spend time repeating.”
For More:
- Read more about the 2025 USDF Trainers’ Conference here.
About Heather Bender
Heather Bender of Palm City, Florida, is a USDF bronze, silver and gold medalist with distinction and a Certified Instructor through Fourth Level. She pursued dressage in Europe from a young age, training with notable coaches such as George Theodorescu and Sandy Pfleuger-Phillip.
About Christine Traurig
Christine Traurig is the current Chef d’Equipe and Technical Advisor and Development Coach of the U.S. Dressage Team and has been a part of the U.S. Dressage Pathway programs for more than a decade. She was named Chef d’Equipe in late 2023 and helped the U.S. Dressage Team earn team gold at the 2023 Pan American Games in her championship debut with the team, before leading her first Olympic team at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Traurig also had a successful career as a dressage athlete, representing the U.S. at the 2000 Olympic Games aboard Etienne, where they helped the team earn bronze.