How to Do the Load

The load exercise is a way to allow the horse to do a proper jump without putting too much pressure on its face. See the difference between the wrong and right way of jumping with helpful tips from an experienced Grand Prix rider in this video on horse exercises.

The next exercise we're going to do, is the Load. The load is very important because most people, most of the top riders, all allow a horse to load up, off the ground. That's where you soften your hand to allow them to bend their knees, to spring up again. If you constantly are on their face, the horses are animals of pressure, so they lean into pressure. You have to train the load and that's very important. You've got to let the jump, you've got to let the horse take care of the jump. And if you train by letting go for a second in front, you soften and then feel a little bit. Then you have to mess around with each horse a little bit but it's very important, every horse needs a load. Every top rider does it, you'll never find a rider that just hangs on their face, at the top level, all the way around the course. So now I'm going to demonstrate a load. I'm going to show you guys the difference between hanging on their mouth and allowing them to give you a proper load. So the first time I will demonstrate the proper load. That's the proper Load, you allow them to get, bend their legs, get their power, watch my arms here. I draw, I gage, there you go. We'll go up now, we'll do it as it's bigger. So now I've locked my arms again, find my distance, I draw, there it is. That's supposed to be every jump, all the time, that's the idea.