Dressage riding © Benkert

Whole Track

Description

The schooling figure "Whole Track" is the basis of all schooling figures. It is ridden in the riding arena on the right or left hand outside. This can be done on the first track as well as on the inner tracks. It is always important to ride out the corners of the riding arena deep.

Whole track © Victoria_Rubly

Rider's aids

In dressage, it is important that the horse runs straight on the long and short sides. When walking and trotting, the horse is neither turned nor bent. When cantering, the horse is placed in the direction of the horse, while it canters on the rein.
This means that the front leg and the hind leg of each side are on the same track and not offset. This sounds easier than it is, because most horses have a natural crookedness and like to move their hindquarters towards the hollow side. Especially when cantering this is usually clearly visible. On the other hand it helps to straighten the horse by a lot of gymnastic exercises.
Each corner can be seen as a ¼-circle, in which the horse is placed inwards and bent around the outer thigh. In the corners the rider shifts the weight to the inner buttock bones. In the corners, the inner thigh pushes towards the outer rein (diagonal help). How deep the corners are ridden depends on the class. The higher the class, the deeper the corners are ridden.
The outer rein gives half halts, the inner rein provides the inner position. On the short and long sides the horse must be kept straight between the thighs and reins.
Along the long sides, various tempo changes and reinforcements are required from Class A upwards.

Exercises and schooling figures which start from the "whole track":

(Middle) Circle
Volt
Serpentines (single, double, through the path 3/4/5 arcs, serpentine along the center line)
Centerline
Change through the whole/ half lane
Reduce / enlarge square
Simple canter change
Flying canter changes/ series changes
Half pirouette in walk
Reverse direction
Hold
Different tempi/ outside canter

That means a correctly ridden whole course is a constant change between straightening and bending and therefore a good basic gymnastic for the horse.

Whole track in training

The whole track is the standard for warm up riding. The large lines do not put too much strain on the joints and motivate the horse to move forward with a lot of momentum. At the beginning of the training session the corners are not ridden so deep to maintain the forward tendency in the horse. During the training session you can use the whole track to make the horse fresher and to increase the impulse forwards. This effect can be increased by gaining weight on the long sides and catching the horse on the short sides. This makes the horse more sensitive on the thigh.
Many people make the mistake of letting the horse walk along the rail while riding the whole track. This is fine for a break or to get a swing, but it is not very useful for gymnastics. In the working phase you should therefore make sure that the hindquarters do not give way and that the horse is always correctly bent in the corners.

Tips for competition riders

The judges pay special attention to the straight horse on the long sides and the correctly ridden corners. The horse should also not fall apart on the long sides and be able to stand and bend willingly in the corners.
At home one should always ride on the second track. Then it is not so unusual for the horse to have the outer boundary missing. Because at the show the outer boundary is often only limited by the low dressage gates.
This is a check whether the horse is accepting the outer aids. If the straight ahead riding also works on the second track without the horse evading with the hindquarters, you are on the right track in terms of straightness.

Horse on the straight line - whole track © Benkert

In a group it is often difficult to compensate for speed differences to the horse in front when riding a whole track. The solution here are the corners. If the rider in front is too slow, you should ride out the corners particularly deep. This creates a little bit of space and takes away the forward momentum of your horse.
If the horse in front is too fast, shorten the corners a bit to follow the horse in front.