IMPROVES YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR HORSE

This work creates a strong bond and relationship of trust and respect with your horse. We have successfully used this work to connect with horses who were shut off, shut down, and tuned out. It helps you to define the "language" of the work and nature of the relationship.

This course is particularly beneficial for providing a great first experience for your horse with the lateral movements and half-steps, but it also can help to retrain a horse who is resistant or confused about the lateral movements or half-steps/piaffe.

If you have had trouble introducing any of the lateral movements to your horse, this course can help with that.

If you have had trouble introducing the half-steps/piaffe to your horse, this course can help with that.

USE IT TO TEACH MOVEMENTS TO YOUR HORSE

Because you don't have the weight of the rider, and you are on the ground so you can more easily guide and influence the horse slowly, it is perfect for introducing and teaching movements to the horse such as shoulder-in, haunches-in, renvers, half-pass,  piaffe, and passage. You can also use it to troubleshoot problems.

This is a much kinder, simpler way to teach the horse without the additional weight of the rider or possibly confusing seat and weight aids. It helps the horse to figure out their body better without the weight or confusing aids of the rider. It helps you, too, to be able to SEE what is going on with the horse. You can SEE how they are using their legs and weight, you can SEE how they are shifting their weight to the hindquarters (or not), you can SEE how active they are with the hind legs (or not), you can SEE how well they are connecting from front to back (or not) - which enables you to fix issues in the lateral movements and half steps before they become a habit.

IMPROVES BALANCE, SUPPLENESS, COORDINATION, AND BODY AWARENESS FOR THE HORSE

Without the weight of the rider on the horse, you can guide the horse into exercises which improve the balance (so the horse learns to more easily and readily shift the weight to the hindquarters), suppleness (so the horse releases blockages and resistance throughout his body), coordination (because you can go slowly, the horse learns to coordinate his body better), and body awareness (so the horse learns he has FOUR legs and he can use all of them!).

The exercises in this course develop your horse’s body awareness, coordination, agility, help you to teach all the lateral movements EASIER to the horse, and develop collection and COLLECT-ABILITY.

GREAT ALTERNATIVE WAY TO TRAIN YOUR HORSE

Work-in-hand is a great training alternative for times when you cannot ride, or your horse cannot be ridden. 

For example, when you don’t have a saddle that fits, the training doesn’t need to be paused - you can do work-in-hand instead.

Also work-in-hand is a great supplement to other physiotherapy you may be doing with your horse when recovering from injury or working past training injuries or issues.

Additionally, horses with traumatic bad experiences often appreciate the work-in-hand if they had no previous bad experiences with it. It can be used as a bridge to help the horse overcome bad training and trauma.

Is this course suitable for my horse?

This course is designed for all breeds and types of horses, NOT only for Baroque types that seem to be born with the piaffe "pre-installed."

However, it is designed to build upon the skills in our Introduction to Work-in-Hand course, so we do recommend that course first.

Although this work can be done with young-ish horses, horses coming back from an injury, or horses that cannot be ridden for other reasons, please note that this course is not suitable for young horses under 3 years old, horses too injured or unwell for any work, or horses too dangerous for normal handling. Please don't do any training other than standard handling with a horse younger than 3 years old (we personally prefer to start when the horse is 4 years old). In the latter two cases, we recommend you get the advice and help of appropriate professionals.

Is this course suitable for me?

This course is suitable for any type of rider, regardless of discipline, who has an open mind and is eager to learn new things, however it is designed specifically for dressage riders who are passionate about learning classical technique. Also please note, if you have never done work-in-hand before and it is VERY new to you, this course may not be the best place to begin. This course is designed to build upon the skills in our Introduction to Work-in-Hand course, so we do recommend that course first.

Some of the techniques, if you have never done them before, will make you initially feel awkward, but stick with it, because that quickly fades as you develop more competence.

When are the modules released? How long will I have access? Will I have access after the end of the course?

This is a beta course, so this is a tentative schedule and it may change as we adapt the course content to YOUR requests and needs, but here is our planned content release schedule:

Module 1- August 23, 2024:
Shoulder-in

Module 2 - September 6, 2024
Haunches in

Module 3 - September 20, 2024
Renvers

Module 4 - October 4, 2024
Half Pass

Module 5 - October 18, 2024
Pirouette renversée

Module 6 - November 1, 2024
Half steps from halt - walk - halt transitions

Module 7 - November 15, 2024
Half steps from halt/walk - trot - halt/walk transitions

Module 8 - November 29, 2024
Half steps from trot - halt - trot transitions

Module 9 - December 13, 2024
Half steps from Shoulder-in on a volte

Module 10 - January 3, 2025
Half steps from haunches-in - straight

Module 11 - January 17, 2025
Work-in-Hand with a Double Bridle

Module 12 - January 31, 2024
Living Pillars

 You will have lifetime access to all the materials, including the Q&A and Hot Seat recordings.

Is this something I can learn in an online course?

Plain and simply - Yes. We have proven it thousands of times now and we are eager to show you how you can learn this... online.

If you have a skilled and knowledgeable trainer who can teach this work to you and your horse, obviously that is the very best option for you.  However, the truth is that for many riders in many locations around the world, learning online is their only option if they want to learn this kind of work.

Furthermore, even if you have access to a trainer locally or in clinics who can teach you and your horse this work, we believe you will find that this course complements your education in that it can provide you further context, often deeper theory and explanation, and the ability to repeatedly watch demonstration videos until you thoroughly understand the technique and concepts, as well as the ability to get feedback on your videos which is a HUGE additional benefit of this course. Better than learning from a DVD or book, because you can ask questions, get feedback, and learn THROUGH the other course members' videos and experiences, too.

How is this information presented? I am a visual learner.

Everything is in both written, video, and audio form. We demonstrate all of the techniques with video. The exercises are all taught with video demonstrations.

For visual learners, the Hot Seat sessions are especially beneficial even if you do not submit your own video footage for feedback. You will be able to learn from ALL THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS' videos and the feedback we give.

When are the Q&As and Hot Seat sessions? How do I attend? What if I cannot attend live?

Q&A SCHEDULE
#1 - Welcome August 24, 2024 at 8:00pm GMT+1
#2 - Thursday, September 5, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT+1
#3 - Thursday, September 19, 2024 at 10:30am GMT+1
#4 - Thursday, October 3, 2024 at 10:30am GMT+1
#5 - Monday, October 14, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT+1
#6 - Thursday, October 24, 2024 at 1:00pm GMT+1
#7 - Monday, November 11, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT
#8 - Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 10:00am GMT
#9 - Thursday, December 5, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT
#10 - Thursday, December 19, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT
#11 - Thursday, January 2, 2025 at 1:00pm GMT
#12 - Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 6:00pm GMT
#13 - Thursday, January 30, 2025 at 6:00pm GMT
#14 - Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 8:00pm GMT

HOT SEAT SCHEDULE
#1 - Monday, September 2, 2024 at 10:00am GMT+1
#2 - Monday, September 9, 2024 at 8:30pm GMT+1
#3 - Monday, September 16, 2024 at 11:00am GMT+1
#4 - Monday, September 23, 2024 at 8:00pm GMT+1
#5 - Saturday, October 5, 2024 at 10:00am GMT+1
#6 - Tuesday, October 15, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT+1
#7 - Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 10:00am GMT+1
#8 - Friday, October 25, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT+1
#9 - Thursday, November 13, 2024 at 10:30am GMT
#10 - Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 8:00pm GMT
#11 - Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 6:00pm GMT
#12 - Tuesday, December 8, 2024 at 1:00pm GMT
#13 - Friday, January 3, 2024 at 8:00pm GMT
#14 - Wednesday, January 15, 2024 at 10:30am GMT
#15 - Wednesday, January 29, 204 at 6:00pm GMT
#16 - Tuesday, February 11, 2024 at 1:00pm GMT

 *If you cannot attend the Q&A or Hot Seat session while live, you can still submit your questions/video and watch the recording afterwards. No problem!

All Q&As and Hot seat sessions can be attended live on Zoom. They are always recorded. The recordings can be watched afterwards within 24-48 hours, once they are uploaded to the course platform. Timestamps are added for each rider so that it is easier to find your feedback on your videos!

(Note that all dates and times are subject to change. Advance notice will be given if this happens and announcement will be by email and in the FB Group.)

<sub>GMT+1 is our timezone in Portugal which is also the same timezone in London, if that helps. A link that can help you convert to your timezone, wherever you are in the world: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html

But.... a general rule....
​​​​For USA PST, subtract 8 hours.
For USA CST, subtract 6 hours.
For USA ​EST, subtract 5 hours.
For ​Central Europe (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.), add one hour.  
For Perth, Australia, add 8 hours.</sub>

What equipment do I need to take this course?

Horse Equipment:
1. A horse to work with.
2. A simple snaffle bridle, bitless bridle, or a Portuguese cavesson (a halter /head collar or rope halter is not suitable for this particular work).
3. At least one of the following: normal dressage whip, work-in-hand whip, longe whip, or driving whip. 
4. OPTIONAL: For the work in hand with the double-bridle section, you will need a double bridle with a bridoon and curb bit. It is not required to complete this section.
5. OPTIONAL: For the Pillars section, you will need a Portuguese cavesson and two longe lines, as well as two whips of choice. It is optional to choose to use side reins and to attach them to either a saddle or a surcingle. You will also need an additional handler to do this work with you. It is not required to complete this section.

Tech Equipment
1. You will need a device (computer, tablet, or phone) and internet access.
2. Everything will be hosted on a course platform you can access with any internet browser, but there is also a free app you can use to access the course platform on your phone, but it is not necessary.
3. To attend the Q&A sessions and Hot Seat Sessions LIVE, you will need Zoom (free software). Recordings are always uploaded afterwards to the course platform, so you don't need to attend live if it doesn't work for you.
4. OPTIONAL but recommended: you will also need Facebook if you wish to be in the Facebook Group.
5. OPTIONAL: A smartphone, video camera, or robotic camera for recording your videos for feedback.
6. OPTIONAL: Simple video editing software (often free is sufficient) so you can trim your video before submission. You can get tips and recommendations in the Facebook Group for how easiest to do this.
7. OPTIONAL: Some place to host your videos. There are multiple places to do this, but we recommend uploading to a free YouTube account and listing the videos as "unlisted" then sharing the link to the video with us. You can get tips and recommendations in the Facebook Group for how easiest to do this.
8. A free Google account for adding your questions and links to videos to our Google Docs for the Q&As and Hot Seat sessions. You can get tips and recommendations in the Facebook Group for how easiest to do this.

What if I have never done any groundwork before?

Then we recommend that you take our Introduction to Work-in-Hand course first. You can sign up for the Self-Study version or wait until we offer a "supported" version with Hot Seats and Q&A support.

Self-Study Introduction to Work-in-Hand course: https://courses.artisticdressage.com/introduction-to-work-in-hand-course

How is feedback given? How does that work? How long will I get support and feedback?

You can get our feedback in three ways: 

ONE: You can post your videos in a private, secure Facebook Group set up just for this course. With those videos, provide any background information we need to know and any questions you have. We will watch the videos and tell you what we see going on and give you tips or suggestions. You can (and should) ask follow-up questions, post follow-up videos, etc.

TWO: There are 14 Live Q&A sessions where we can answer your questions LIVE. You can also pre-post your questions and we will answer them live whether you are able to attend or not.

THREE: There are 16 Hot seat sessions where we will review the submitted videos live, and explain what we see going on. You can ask further questions right then and there, even if it is not YOUR video. Great for improving your eye and understanding. Again, you don't have to attend the session live to get our feedback.

Feedback and support lasts through February 13, 2025. After that, the Facebook Group will be archived.

You will have lifetime access to all the materials, including the Q&A and Hot Seat recordings.

Do you offer a payment plan? What if I have more questions about the course, have trouble enrolling, or have trouble with the payment process?

We do offer 3-month and 12-month payment plan options. Just click the button and click your preference.

Please note that the best price is to pay in full with one payment.

If you have any questions about the course, just email us at [email protected].

It is possible to pay by bank transfer within the EU. Just email us at [email protected] to set it up.

Can I buy this later?

Of course, we will certainly offer this course again at a future date, but we do not know when that is. Furthermore, when we do offer it again, we can promise that you will never get the unparalleled amount of support that you will get in this current 2024/25 run of the course.

Can I participate in this course even if I already participated in the Introduction to Work-in-Hand course?

Yes, you can! In fact, this course was designed specifically to follow on from that course!

So, you're in the perfect place!