INPUT ARTICLE: Article: The first three gaits walk, trot, and canter should be forward and consistent. Both you and your horse should feel confident traveling at all three gaits in all circumstances. Becoming comfortable with various speeds requires patience and practice. Learning the differences in gaits should be the foundation of your training with your horse. Mastering these skills requires a lot of practice and will most likely take months of constant work. But, they will be the base for all further training you do with the horse. When you show your horse in dressage competitions, you'll need to demonstrate a mastery of the various gaits. The horse should have smooth, forward transitions, both upward and downward. Your horse should maintain balance, rather than falling onto its forehand, and it should not pull against the rein. Ideally, transitions should be mainly ridden off the leg and seat, with minimal hand/rein instruction. In dressage, coordination is absolutely necessary. So transitions need to be prompt and occur at the exact moment the rider wishes to change the gait. To improve your horse's transitions, you need to spend a lot of time practicing. Try transitioning from walking to trotting and then from trotting to cantering. You can also practice transitioning from a standstill to walking. Going back and forth between these different moves will help your horse learn, over time, how to successfully transition during a dressage performance. Try to spend at least 30 minutes to an hour per day practicing your transitions and gaits with the horse. In Training Level, judges don't look so much for the collection that many people consider to be characteristic of dressage. Instead, they look for the predecessor to collection, which is willingness to accept contact and stretch into the bridle. How can you tell that a horse is stretching into the bridle? When you hold your reins still, you should be able to feel the horse's mouth without it hanging on your reins. If you soften your reins forward, it should follow the contact down, neither pulling against the reins nor dropping the contact. Consider asking an experienced dressage rider or trainer to watch you from the ground, to make sure you're getting the correct contact. If you're struggling, they'll also be able to help you achieve bit contact. When you want your horse to turn, pull your waist up a bit in the saddle every time. Slightly turn your hips in the direction you want your horse to go. Push straight with your hips in the direction that you want to go. The longer you practice this method with your horse, the more perceptive your horse will become to your movements and intended commands. Eventually, you will only have to pivot your hips ever so slightly for your horse to interpret the response you expect from it. Ask your horse to bend its body to follow any curve by supporting him with your inside leg and inside seat bone. Be careful not to overbend him; if you were to look down from above, the curve of its body should match the curve of the turn or circle. Another way to think about this is to use gentle pressure with your inside leg and seat bone. Then, release with the outside leg while turning your hips. These cues together will tell the horse where you want it to go.

SUMMARY: Work on your horse's basic gaits. Practice transitions. Make sure that your horse moves into the contact with the bit. Use your hips to turn the horse.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Take a 40-minute walk daily or jog for half an hour. This helps to improve circulation, which allows for the distribution of nutrients in the body. This ensures that the skin gets the nutrients it needs to rejuvenate itself and stay healthy. Smoking increases the level of nicotine in the body and decreases the circulation of the blood. This results in less nutrients being absorbed by the skin and less toxins being released from the skin, causing reduced rejuvenation and growth of the skin. Smoking also dehydrates the skin and depletes it of essential vitamins. This includes vitamins A, B complex, C and E, and minerals like potassium, calcium and zinc. Try to reduce your alcohol intake, or cut it out completely, if possible. Alcohol increases the level of toxins in the body, which has a negative effect on the skin and contributes to aging and thinning. Massage helps to improve the circulation of blood, allowing important nutrients to circulate throughout the body, nourishing and thickening the skin. Apply a massage oil to the skin and massage the area for at least 90 seconds. This should be done twice daily for best results. Exposing your skin to sunlight can cause it to become thinner. Therefore you should wear long pants, long sleeved shirts and hats that have a broad rim in order to protect your skin from UV rays. The ultraviolet rays of the sun break the collagen in the skin, causing it to lose its elasticity. This makes the skin thinner and causes it to bruise more easily.

SUMMARY: Try to exercise every day. Quit smoking. Reduce your alcohol intake. Massage the skin to improve circulation. Wear long-sleeved clothes that protect your skin.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Even if you have enough fat in your diet, you still won't absorb vitamin A well if you have a medical condition that limits your body's ability to absorb the fats you eat. Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, disease of the liver or gall bladder, cystic fibrosis, and problems with your pancreas can affect your fat absorption. These will require treatment or additional vitamin A supplementation to get your RDA of vitamin A. How you absorb fat is also decreased if you have had part or all of your stomach removed, such as after certain kinds of weight-loss surgeries. Alcohol can interfere with your body's ability to absorb vitamin A (and other needed nutrients).Stop drinking alcohol altogether, or limit your alcohol intake to, say, one glass daily to maintain good health and promote vitamin absorption. The prescription medication Orlistat is used to help people lose weight, but because of how it works it can interfere with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, including vitamin A. Olestra, a fat substitute sometimes added to food, can cause similar problems. Avoid these if you require a vitamin A supplement. If you are at risk for vitamin A deficiency, speak to your healthcare provider about any medications that you are taking. Some cholesterol medicines called bile acid sequestrants, like cholestyramine and colestipol, can block vitamin A absorption; another kind of cholesterol medicine, called statins, can actually help vitamin A absorption. Omeprazole (Prilosec) is used for heartburn and reflux, and can cause absorption issues, as can the antibiotic Neomycin. Switching to different medicines with your doctor's advice can help. Discuss your medicines and your vitamins with your doctor, to avoid any interactions. Say something like, "My dietician wants me to take a vitamin A supplement. Will that cause any problems with the medicines you prescribe to me?"

SUMMARY:
Treat digestive conditions medically. Drink less alcohol. Avoid weight-loss medications. Change your medicines that block vitamin A absorption.