Rearing, bucking, a tongue sticking out of the mouth, a tail rotating like a propellor; these are all indications of heavy or light resistance. Each dressage rider occasionally deals with one of these features during a training session.
The harmonic image becomes disturbed as the horse misinterpreted a certain aid. With flattened ears, sharpened nostrils and the white of the eye shown, the expression of discontentment appears on the equine's face.
Mouth problems are mostly externalized by showing an opened mouth, by grinding teeth or by sticking out the tongue. A rotating tail is often seen in the tempi changes, while grinding teeth mostly occur during the collected walk and the preparation to a pirouette or piaffe. The walk-piaffe transition demands great impulse and power and when the rider's leg pushes too hard the tail starts to swing, or the horse kicks to the rider's leg or spur.
Horses which are not ready for a certain exercise try to seek escape routes. They become tensed, buck, throw their head's up or "worst case scenario": they rear. Not only is rearing dangerous because of the chance of flipping over, but in a rear the rider also looses all control.
Heavy resistance is seldom seen during dressage tests at competitions, but "fear for the unknown" is often an important stimulus for horses taking off or rearing. Even at Grand Prix level a horse remains an animal and can refuse to run. Pictured is an image by Dirk Caremans of Gere going on strike.
Image copyrighted Dirk Caremans - no reproduction without permission