Horse

Dressage Level II

Many a times people confuse good contact with a horse with the horse being trained. That is not the case. If a horse accepts the rider's seat, hands and legs, it is same that he is offering the rider a good connection or good contact but this doesn't necessarily mean that you can ride your horse like a pro without any precaution. Good contact is achieved when your dressage horse accepts your ownership and responds to your movements and actions which include:

"seat and leg aids while maintaining a round outline with a mouth that is relaxed and accepting the bit."

So how exactly can you tell if your training level dressage or your normal horse is in good contact with you?

You should check for the following posture:
If the horse's back is lifted, his quarters engaged, his poll at the highest point, his jaw relaxed and his nose a hint in front of the vertical then congratulations you have successfully proved yourself a good trainer and your ride would be smooth.

Impulsion: Every being poses energy be it a human or an animal. A horse can only show his full energy if he is in good contact with the rider. There is an energy flow released by the rider that causes the horse's back to swing, his forelegs to articulate and his quarters to engage and this my friends is known as impulsion.