Any equestrian, even those who only accept weekend horse riding, but love horses and everything about them however, would at one point dream of entering a dressage competition. But when that really becomes a possibility , the mere act of selecting from potential dressage level steeds could be a hurdle to overcome. What do you look for in dressage level horse?

The pirouette, a canter the movements of which are likened to a coiled lion, is a perfect maneuver that you should usually picture in your brain. A horse that can perform this move gracefully is a horse you can take up through the levels of dressage. Picture the old portraits of the American Revolution heroes on horseback, balanced for battle. Their steeds kind of sit on their hindquarters, and their fronts seemingly become lighter.

Except for steeds to be well placed to accomplish that and many other higher level maneuvers, they should not only have the skills and display the talent they also need to be built in a physical standard that fits with the thorough demands of sport like dressage. So when looking for prospects, check for these:

Whithers higher than croup “Called the uphill build, this fundamentally means a horse has a higher neck set, which in turn means she will carry herself with ease uphill. Check to see if in the point where the neck meets the whither if the muscles are concave or powerful, and will it require (and does it have the potential to) be worked on to be in a position to handle higher level frames?

Necks that allow flexion “In short , the length of the horse’s neck must be not too short and thick, though not extraneously long as well such that it’s tough to compact the steed.

No evidence of being ewe-necked “A horse could be born with an ewe-neck or early coaching might cause her to develop one. You’d desire to search for a robust, clearly defined crest rather than an overdeveloped muscle under the neck.

A straight back “Straight, but not hollow.

Natural suspension “Particularly for the canter and trot, horses with natural tendency is preferred over horses that were simply trained to develop a talent for suspension.

Good walk “While the canter and the trot can be improved, it is toughest to address horses that simply do not have a naturally free, good, swinging walk.

Gait straightness and purity “Though not as critical as the above factors, it is still superior to buy horses that have built in abilities to both extend and also collect within gaits.

Bloodline “It can’t be denied that genes play a very important role in selecting horses for such sport as exacting as dressage, so it would definitely be an edge if you get a horse with bloodlines of previous champions.

You can look into purchasing or leasing schoolmasters, horses that have took part in dressage but are moved down a level for various reasons. Naturally, knowing more on the sport by watching such events would be a good way to discover what else you want to keep an eye peeled for when looking for prospects.

Horses are Heather Toms ‘ passion and she enjoys sharing her extensive knowledge through her 100’s of articles with other horse lovers like all things about horse rugs .