DefinitelyDressage.com

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my mare doesn't get sweet itch but she gets awful hives in the summer. Not only from bug bites, but also form life. Feeding her spirulina has been the only feed through that has made a big difference. Try the vinegar rinse too - my horse gets contact hives a few times in the summer and the vinegar ...

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my mare doesn't get sweet itch but she gets awful hives in the summer. Not only from bug bites, but also form life. Feeding her spirulina has been the only feed through that has made a big difference.

I am planning on trying the Boett sheet this year per Chisamba's recommendation.

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Dressuer, what a great update! Charm looks great. Work has been exceptionally busy the last few weeks, so i've had less riding time than ideal, which is a shame, especially since we have our show coming up this weekend. I'm waiting to get ride times and am crossing my fingers for early times (so I d...

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I'm happy with the cheapo horse. Good for you. I've been terribly unhappy with a "cheapo" horse. It's really such a crapshoot isn't it? When we go out searching for diamonds in the rough, we often only get the rough. But when it does work out, as it has for me before, it's a great situati...

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Thanks, Chisamba & MC, lots to think about. I'm starting to get ready/anxious for our upcoming show. I'm really wishing i had a dressage arena to practice in, for most of the stuff, I'm not too worried about not having the arena to practice in. I know the dressage arena well, and a long side, a ...

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oh! i love this!

What a good, sweet boy Finn is!

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I'm not long-waisted, but I like my breeches high-waisted. If my pants are up under my ribs when I'm riding, I'm a pretty happy camper, even if i'm not a fashionable one. I will say all the breeches I buy now are full seats. Though majority of the time I ride in walmart jeggings. Yes, don't fall off...

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Glad to hear the progress!

Yes, forward doesn't look the same for all horses! Remind me of Emi's breeding?

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piedmontfields wrote:Thanks to you lack of enabling, I have bought neither.

LOL!

I can't speak for the brand, but i've found tights never really hold up well

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blob I had that same issue with P but hers ended up escalating to balking/completely stopping and refusing to go forward when I put my leg on, especially for canter. I got past it by riding with a completely loose rein and no contact for a while and super light aids with escalating aids for no resp...

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Glad to hear many of you are having good work and other types of progress! I had started tapering RP off his ulcer meds last week, but I think it might have been premature because all of a sudden he's back to having a lot of over-reactivity to the leg, esp the right leg, where even the slight pressu...

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I am very good at apologizing.

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My horse is still manaical after his move. He's calm enough in his stall/paddock. But I can barely lead him. I've gotten him to the point where I can walk him, in hand, fairly calmly down ONE side of the arena, then he spins around me, has to be halted, perhaps backed, then I try to lead him forwar...

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I'm so sorry, SF, this is always so hard. I agree with Chisamba about finding something keep her busy in the stall, such as clicker training. Often if you occupy the brain/tire the brain some, the body is less explosive/excited. So finding something that is physically easy to teach her could be a gr...

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I've found that even the best quality leather girths tend to rub more than synthetic girths. All the horses I know that are sensitive in the girth area have done best in synthetic girths. Ovation has some good ones, including one that is curved for more shoulder relief. I haven't tried that one, bu...

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I've found that even the best quality leather girths tend to rub more than synthetic girths. All the horses I know that are sensitive in the girth area have done best in synthetic girths. Ovation has some good ones, including one that is curved for more shoulder relief. I haven't tried that one, but...

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A wise older friend once told me "the more you can afford something the more you enjoy it" and that rings true for me. I have a bit of a mixed perspective. Money and quality matters in dressage. the older i get the more I see limitations in dressage due to money. However, reality is also ...

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my horse was out for a couple weeks with a vaccine reaction that abscessed. Ugh. I started her back into work this past weekend. I'm easing her back into work after time off, so it's been a good time to focus on reaction to the leg through basic work. It's a good test because the work is not difficu...

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One of the reasons I hang around here is that I learn things, so my whole life I never practiced the full test, always added circles after the free walk to avoid jigging and anticipation. Then some one said, ride a test every day, if you want to be able to show well ride a test on every horse every...

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Signed up for my first show this year last night. Second level for MM and RP as a non-compete. Already feel nauseous thinking about it.

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I'm both looking forward to March/April and anxious about it! Goals: MM: -Get us back into riding after 3 weeks off for vaccine rxn + infection -Get confirmed enough with a flying change to feel ready to show at third level in late april or may -Work on getting a higher frame without losing supplene...

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Glad to hear some really good reports coming in at the end of this month!

Dresseur, glad you have a vet who is committed to solving the problem (and saving you some money in the process). fingers crossed for more good updates in the future!

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great pictures, everyone.

What a wonderful and special story, Chisamba.

I need to figure out how to attach pictures properly, but then I have some I can share

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MM: -Continue work on changes to get them reliably clean and on the aids -Medium trot-- more power, less speed -More polish and power in HP (trot and canter) -Half steps RP: -Find RP a saddle we both like (fitter comes next week) -Work on establishing strength and consistency in a higher frame at t...

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Glad you enjoyed it, KathyK!

I'll definitely be making it again with future carrot tops! Easy and tasty!

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oh ughs, Hot4spots, that's frustrating. If you can't find a rider that will truly give you peace of mind while you're on vacation, might be worth taking the option of a temporary place that can give him enough turnout. The last few days have been stressful for me and MM. She got her spring vaccines ...

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Masterson Method has workshops all over the place (various instructors). I'm thinking of taking the weekend course, which is a pre-requisite to the full 5-day workshop. The bodyworker I used for my ponies learned the Masterson Method and she does a really great job with my two. If nothing else, the...

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The pushing a sliding door with your core is a weird one for me. Like I get the point--you don't need a lot of force--but it's a weird analogy for me that I'm not sure helps me with much. I also think a lot of philosophies like this deal with the ideal. the idea that if you give a little pressure yo...

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Yes, I know some very wealthy people, where a $75k horse is barely making a noticeable dent. There's no sacrifice made for it, no future retirement in jeopardy, and there are probably sillier things they could spend their money. I'm most certainly not that wealthy, but I don't shade anyone who can c...

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silk wrote:I would feed them to my horses, or my chickens. Horses love them!

Yes, that's the usual approach. But this chimichurri will likely keep me hoarding them

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I've been getting carrots lately in my CSA with their tops attached, so I did some googling to find out what I could do with carrot tops, other than find an animal to feed them to. Came across this recipe: https://www.loveandlemons.com/carrot-green-chimichurri/ I made it last night and it was really...

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I think changing is hard. I look at my videos and my riding errors are far more consistent than change!! changing, changing is really hard. No wonder the SRS likes to take greenies and put them on the longe for 6 months. Lol. Yes, i feel this very much. Change is hard. So is changing a pattern in a...

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Do you ever see her chewing when she still has hay in her stall or is it only when there's nothing there? If the latter, the barn owner might be happy to increase hay in order to save her barn! Otherwise, if she's still getting bored int he stall even with hay, you could look into a toy for her (tho...

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Kimba will lose balance and rush during medium to extended gaits. My modus operandi is to collect, rebalance and go again. Suddenly the penny dropped, kick her forward and insist she balance forward then reward with collection or stretch. This is a good reminder. Glad it's been working well for you...

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heddylamar wrote:Sorta? When they're in overnight (or daytime), the horses get 3 feedings of 1-2 flakes of hay. Maia always cleans hers up, and she's at great weight.

Maybe a slow feeder would be a good idea? Keep her busy for longer

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Curious how much people aim to ride. The poll is for the ideal scenario, but also curious to hear what reality is for folks and also what kind of break down you have for what you do, meaning do you designate certain days as light days or heavier days?

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I think no matter how expensive my horse is or isn't upfront, I'd be putting equal money into lessons. I'd also be putting equal money into board. Health seems to be a bit of a lottery--you can be lucky or unlucky. But certainly how much I pay upfront doesn't determine the health bills I may or may ...

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Recently finished "Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows" which had me laughing out loud. Though the snippets of the stories were racier than I anticipated :oops: :lol: For those that do audiobooks (I drive 45 minutes to the barn, so audibooks are my friend), this one was great as an audiobook...

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I fully endorse making sure that there isn't soreness, and giving time off... but, when you longe again, make sure she's forward on the longe as well - when horses are behind the aids there too, they can appear short and stiff in their movements because they aren't moving freely forward. If she is ...

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Thanks, Dresseur, these are all good reminders and all real struggles! ha! I put my mare on the lunge yesterday and she did not look great--tight through the shoulder and back. So, I think we might need to also take a step back as I suspect she might be sore. So, she'll get a few days off and then I...

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So, so excited for you Dresseur! What wonderful progress. And thanks to everyone for all the interesting thoughts and discussion. I've been talking to my instructor lately about finding the right balance of needing response and reaction right from the start without expecting too much right from the ...

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Dressuer, so sorry to hear about your boy. But also sounds like you'll be soon making good progress to find out what exactly is going on. Please keep us updated. I know how frustrating this process can be. Mari, good luck and so sorry about your neck. I very much relate to the feeling of being over ...

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I know many people who have loads more money than I do. Some work on Wall Street, some are lawyers and doctors who have their own firms and practices, some are in construction. They can well afford a 75-100K horse. One of my friends has a 1.3M boat (yacht?). Some are women that married hedge fund m...

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Chancellor wrote:Scarlett (who was a dog) had terrible eczematous dermatitis. The dermatologist I worked for a the time recommended trying Neutrogena T-Gel and it really helped her itchiness!

Ah, yes, I know people who use T-Gel.

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I wonder how this would work without the pureeing step. I have a blender, but I love pieces of veggies in my soup.

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Gwen's mare who us in my care does very well with her "body condom" for allergies. It's a Boett sweet itch blanket. https://www.boettusa.com/ Ah, this could be useful. Fly sheets don't do much, but this might help. How much heat do you think this adds? I'm in GA, so summers are HOT and hu...

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I don't have any info about pine tar soap. But, have you tried Eqyss Microtek shampoo? It really helped a friend's mare who would get a weird scurfy, itchy crud after she was worked and got sweaty. https://eqyss.com/products/equine/shampoos/micro-tek-shampoo/ Oh yes, I've tried it and just about ev...

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Exvet, good luck this weekend! If you get any pictures, please share them, love seeing jr in action! Mountaineer, so glad to hear Laddie is looking sound. Also, there is no shame in adding lunging into your regular rotation before rides, esp. in this colder weather. If some time on the lunge helps g...

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If the goal is to use the dressage training to improve the barrel racing, you probably need to be mindful of not doing things that will be contradictory to the aids she needs. I think getting the horse more balanced on turns by getting better bend through the body is probably beneficial, as are exer...

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The South Africans used pine tar to cover harness rubs on their horses donkeys and cows. We thought it harsh and sticky but it seemed to work. I think shampoo should be ok Ah, thank you, tha'ts good to know. Yes, I suspect the shampoo will be much milder than direct pine tar, especially since it's ...

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