There are a lot of confused people wondering just what dressage is all about and for some reason it is often explained in a way to make it sound more confusing. My interpretation is that it is training to enhance the natural movement of the horse. A horse likes showing off to other horses but it is difficult with a rider until the horse can learn to carry more weight with its hind legs and lighten the front end.
Dressage encourages the horse to take strong upward steps with bounce.
The whole training process is designed to gradually strengthen the horse to be able to do a range of movements that require great physical strength and a good partnership between horse and rider to perform in natural beauty. The rider must balance the horse and aim to give lighter aids to gain a better result. To achieve this the rider must first be balanced and not rely on the reins or gripping for support. The rider must work on their balance in the seat to be sure they are not putting more weight in one seat bone than the other and that one hip is not further forward than the other. The rider must carry their arms and hands and not lean on their own hips or rest on the horse.