A Better Way to Ride

Almost everyday I see the term “Western Dressage” being used by top trainers in the world. Before ever starting the Doubletree facility in the early part of my training carrier it seemed to me that that old way of riding was a bit lacking. At the time most western riders including trainers were riding with their legs stuck out in the air and pulling the horse around by the nose.
I came across an old book written by some riding master I think in England and in the book I started to see how the dressage riders were communicating with their horses. I liked the idea of weight shifts and leg cues to direct the horse, but was still a little concerned with the bit contact that dressage riders used. I started experimenting with ideas and soon started building “The Program by Carl Wood” that I teach now to all my students. It involves body language that all horses understand, because it is a natural way for them to respond to the cues. Taking maneuvers like flying lead changes and roll backs and dividing them into simple exercises I have been able to teach this concept to horses and riders alike. The goal was to communicate to the horse as a partner in achieving complicated maneuvers rather than pulling him around with the reins. So the term Western Dressage meaning a lot of leg cues, weight shifts, and loose reins came into being. Good horseman continue to refine and discover new and better ways of communicating. Now that it is becoming more popular to communicate with your horse rather than dictate to him I believe there will be a lot of good horseman refining and building on the program bringing about whole new level of horsemanship.