DefinitelyDressage.com

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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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Has anyone used Pine Tar Soap or Shampoo on horses? I know it's supposed to be beneficial for people with certain skin conditions and has some anti-fungal and insect repelling properties. All these things make me want to try it as a shampoo for my mare who gets very itchy skin in the spring/summer. ...

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I'm glad these notes have been helpful for some! I love auditing clinics because I find there is almost always something either directly useful or that at least makes me think differently. And it's nice to see how the instruction influences the ride. It's also a lot cheaper than riding in a clinic! ...

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If I want to apply a driving aid, I don't at this point start swinging my seat more (which is what I used to do, and it caused me leaning forward a bit and tightening the thighs). Instead, I engage the very, very low abs and stiffen slightly. If the horse doesn't come forward, I use a leg aid, and ...

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lorilu said use a reader. I agree. I used to get so nervous at shows. I knew the tests well, but in case I had a brain fart, and just because my instructor's voice calmed me, I would always have her read for me. I usually don't use a reader because I never even bother listening to the reader, i'm s...

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I aim to have an effective seat. I want my seat to help regulate tempo and tell the horse what I want and what is coming next. But I don't ever think of my seat as polishing the saddle, nor do I want it to. That does not align with the idea of invisible aids. As a side note, I will say that I also r...

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I think perhaps the word 'driving' is misleading because it implies an aggressive forward shove. But I'm not sure that's what's really meant. If I'm doing a downward transition from trot, my seat does not say 'stop trotting' it says 'start walking' or 'halt' depending on what I want. Similarly an up...

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Hmmmm I don't really use legs away or on this much- I can't recall that i have "air space" between my calf and horse, and i don't really kick my horse forward. I also don't shove or move my seat back and forth. I (try) to find one spot for my seatbones. I use my abs for engagement and HH....

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helping him come up through his chest/sternum and getting a softer/rounder outline and trying to get him to open up through the gullet. She helped me with how to use the curb to get this roundness and release. She said trying to do it with a snaffle at this stage, will close him up. He tends to sta...

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This past weekend I audited the 2nd day of a 3-day Conrad Schumacher clinic. It was an interesting clinic, with lots of useful takeaways and included a wide range of riders and horses--everything from very green to FEI. I wanted to share some of the quick notes I took in case anyone else found somet...

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acheyarcher wrote:The Cuckoos Calling, Robart Galbraith

This series is really fun. The second and third are my favorites, but all 4 so far are really enjoyable.

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Or is it like your leg is on because you’re in gear, but taking it off is like stepping on the clutch to move to another gear? . For me it's mostly this... Another way to think of it is that in collected trot, I keep a light leg on, but the goal is that when I release that light leg encouraging col...

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Thanks for starting this thread, Piedmont! This is an on and off battle with my mare. I'm currently in a real slump, but had a really good summer and fall getting increased reactivity (where did it go!?!?). One of the things that helped most was that while I was warming up at free walk, I would test...

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Thanks, Chisamba. Additional thoughts and valuable reminders are always welcome and useful. Since summer I've been focused on riding leg off and not getting into the nagging that had become a real problem for me. This made a huge difference and I felt like I had a new horse. But now, that new horse ...

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Blob, please know that in another land, I am also a person "going wild" after my very pleasant mare blows off an aid. I'm trying to think of this process as being about "improving clarity" rather than "strictness." Wish me luck. I have obviously been teaching her that ...

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Blob, we really do seem to be doing the same investigations. I am trying to stay positive by noting that if we crack this, so many things will be much easier. I think we have skated by looking "pleasant" for too long! I got some ideas recently from a trainer who has been quite successful ...

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Blob, at least you have a "magical" trainer who can turn on your mare and get you the right feeling! I am grappling with some of this, too, but have less support. Does your trainer understand what you're getting out of the lesson vs in a lesson? Yes, I'm grateful for him, but it can also ...

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Really feeling for those out in ridiculous levels of cold. It has been cold for us here, but nothing compared to what those in the midwest/northeast are dealing with. I've been in a real slump with MM and am feeling rather discouraged about riding in general. This past summer/fall, I made a lot of c...

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Fzybtfrm, I'm also struggling with changes, particularly L to R. For awhile even if the changes weren't perfect, there was definite progress week by week on them. Now we've sort of stalled out and had no real progress for awhile. It's reassuring to hear about your PSG gelding. My mare is also on the...

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I've used baby foot! It works really well.

My only caution would be that if you have any raw/open skin areas from the cracking to make sure it's safe for that.

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I’ll also add to the excellent comments so far that, for me, one of the more nerve-wracking aspects to showing is timing the warm-up properly. This is especially so given that I have a huge, black horse who hates the heat, and has a very narrow “perfect energy-to-warmed-up” window. I also need to p...

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Mountaineer-- sounds like good progress! It's always good to recognize the small ways we are uneven. I am also working on correcting some right leg issues! Tuddy -- so glad to hear you're back in the saddle and had a good lesson! And fingers crossed for a saddle for Yonka soon. I have noticed some g...

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Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and advice. Here are some things I plan to put into practice right away/this show season (starts in March for me): *Wear a wrist watch! *Practice riding test like riding at home: moving from one movement to another in a sequence, rather than dividing up all my r...

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Still battling tricky weather--lots of wet, lots of wind, lots of cold (for us anyway). But trying to stay motivated through it. We're scheduled for some ice/snow next week, which will be a bigger challenge if that happens. Hoping we either get snow instead of ice or just some cold, dry days. MM: Th...

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There's an excercise that is used for SI rehab/ strengthening, that I've is also very helpful for the walk: Set up poles/caveletti for the walk 4' apart in the middle of the arena. Walk over the poles at a diagonal line and, loop around and come back the other diagonal, so you're essentially doing a...

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Lots of good ideas here for those of us who just train, too! One little thought for the pile is that it is really useful to routinely ride in front of other people esp. those who rail bird. If you have your own place or are at a very quiet barn, it can be a bit jarring to be at a show grounds. I've...

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People say don’t practice your test too much at home otherwise the horse will learn it. But I feel you need to practice it and I do this by walking through it warming up (at home) thinking trot/canter etc at the spots and then definitely running through the whole thing. You have to be comfortable w...

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It won't let me see it without a subscription. Grrr...

but parsnips and mushrooms sound amazing!

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