It is becoming increasingly more commonplace to hear music that has been composed or arranged to suit the character of the horse, as well as the movements performed.
As horses and people can respond adversely to some extreme frequencies, the key and pitch of the music used play a vital part in its perceived suitability. With the vast majority of judges having no musical training whatsoever, subtle pitch and tempo variation can be used to help disguise what the judge sees with what they hear. This device is often used to camouflage rushing through extensions, but easily detected if used in the canter pirouette.
Your favourite song, played even just a little higher or slower, can evoke a dramatically different response in how you and your audience feel about it. Equines also possess this innate tempo and pitch response to music and practising a freestyle routine using only earphones and then exposing a horse to very loud music he has never heard before at a competition is more than a little inconsiderate and speaks realms about partnership.
For those of you who want something more original than a ready made CD, but not yet in a position to make the financial investment required for a bespoke service, there is a useful site at www.Equimusic.com. which could be of help in producing your own tracks.
Just be careful about nasty edits and ominous fading.
If you are new to Dressage2Music and not exactly sure where to start, you might want to try one of our REALdressage2music competitions. They use compulsory music and an objective marking system written by ourselves.
Sound track: Disney A
