DefinitelyDressage.com

mari

Like Charlotte says, at least a 100 transitions a ride. Odin is a thug, and our first few years together he just powered around with me as a passenger. He used to "run away" with me at a big trot, I'd be in tears from frustration, arms being pulled off. Transitions everywhere and all the t...

mari

So my suggestion is whatever aid you use to influence only the shoulders, really accentuate the acceptance of that aid. your medium will improve when you can directly influence shoulder positioning and base of the neck elevation. not poll elevation, base if the neck. most horses that get quick push...

mari

Oh gosh do I ever need this thread... Nothing useful to add, but I'm hoping for loads of advice too

mari

Awesome results Chisamba!

mari

Sorry to hear about your NQR horse Chantal. Bear is super lovely though, gosh!

mari

Our summer rains have started, so riding has been a bit sporadic. I was supposed to have a jumping lesson this morning, but it was pouring last night and the arena was too wet. On the plus side, I got to snooze in ;) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FM7qGWnERzUo-ZV9YQXDVVhjPyU7-_wLz51ZdQx0f-XzQWNXm...

mari

Thanks for sharing, exvet. I loved seeing your videos, beautiful training moments. Lilo seems pretty amazing, next time you see her ask if she wants to visit Africa

mari

First off I know forwardness isnt speed and impulsion is independent of it. We are entering our third year showing PSG and now trying to move up to I-1. This year has been a real..... shit show? One of the issues seems to be a loss of really going forward into the bit and carrying himself. I feel a...

mari

Love your videos Flight! Norsey is so elastically slow-moving it is very deceptive, my first thought was "get more energy" but he's actually got springs

mari

Awesome report Tanga!

mari

mari, those changes are VERY nice for just starting out. What wonderful bigness and separation of the hind leg that comes under. You have a talented horse! And I have to say, I love the spots! My Appy was super god at changes, too. Tanga, we have been "just starting out" with changes for ...

mari

Second day of September and we don't have a new thread yet? I wanted to name it "Sprint has sprung", but I'm in South Africa and realised it would not apply for most of you :lol: I will start with some flying change progress. The changes have really smoothed out. As proof, here are two HP ...

mari

I ride bareback when I can, it's a huge help for my own alignment. I'm trying very hard to find a pad, but in South Africa the options are limited.

mari

Odin has a trio of antibiotic-resistant bacteria growing on his penis, causing an absolutely hellish smell, and some cauliflower-looking protrusions/swelling. So this week he's practically mainlining penicillin and eating another antibiotic by what looks like the bucketful. Aside from that, he's in ...

mari

I have functional flying changes! Only after years and years of chipping away at them, but now they are there!

mari

I took a rubber coated wire hanger and twisted the handle down a bit, covered it in fabric and put velcro on the ends. I put it in front of me and attached it to my bra with the velcro so that the wide ends can touch the front of my shoulders and remind me to keep them back when I go forward, and t...

mari

Sorry about your dog Lipsmackerpony88, always a hard thing to do. I jumped today! A line of 5 bounces, one stride to an oxer, three strides to an upright. My ankle held up okay. It's a bit sore now that I'm in stirrups again, but I'm trying to get it used to normal life again. I've also gone back to...

mari

These discussions make my head hurt :lol: . I feel LY is a 'basic' exercise but I still find it useful. I don't do a ton of it but I do still use it in my warm-up. I do a ton of it, at all three gaits, basic or not. Odin is a (sweet-tempered) thug, and we get absolutely nowhere with SI or HP if we ...

mari

I hope your lesson shows off your finding. Narrator: It didn't :lol: Today was a bit of a battle, he was just not with me mentally or physically, and I really had to knuckle down and work hard and sharp for about 15 minutes before he was on board. But it ended really well, with some great changes o...

mari

Someone told me a few years ago that training a WB is like riding a cross between a dinosaur and a giraffe, and you just have to be willing to go out and do the same thing every day. You might not think anything is happening, but it is. Odin being in "dinosaur mode" is a thing. Thought my...

mari

I had such a good play-around ride yesterday. I tacked up in the jumping saddle, and warmed up in a trucking-along canter in light seat. And then I just kept riding a figure of eight in light seat, asking for a change across the diagonal each time. So many nice changes, with one small kick only. Had...

mari

That is so cool! But good heavens Odin would totally take this as an ideal opportunity to exit stage left

mari

Btw Tanga, I loved your post. Transitions transitions transitions. Ridden with purpose and a focus on improvement, it is the secret of nearly everything, in my experience.

mari

I haven't trained to higher levels than Elementary Medium (3rd), so I don't think I have a movement speciality. But I have very good timing and feel, and I can ask for a sharp reaction and pretty much immediately be cool and zen and release a split second afterwards. As a result I tend to get a good...

mari

Exvet, thanks for posting your tests. I thought the trot work in both tests was very neat, and I agree with the other that the extensions are super! It almost seems like he gives you a better place to sit in the trot than in the canter.

mari

We joined the jumping lesson early this morning. Cavaletti only, while this stupid ankle knits up properly. It went super, the exercise was 3 poles in a line, 5 working strides each distance. We started with the 5-5 distances to find our rhythm, then we had to gallop it in 4-4, then 5-6. Odin was a ...

mari

I rode with stirrups for the first time in nearly 3 months. Rising trot is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.

mari

Stirrups. My goal is riding with stirrups again

mari

I use a full-cheek French snaffle (like so: https://westernshoppe.com/product/contact-full-cheek-french-snaffle/) for dressage. Odin is not particular about which bit is used, by which I mean he's not prone to objecting. But he gets HEAVY very easily. I've tried a Baucher multiple times, he leans on...

mari

I want to add that I realize the vid I posted of C/W/C isn’t actually C/W/C! It’s just what I get at this point when I ask for C/W/C. The trot steps before the walk, and the antsy walk are what I am working on. I hope to have an improved version to post in the near future and by posting the WIP vid...

mari

Ryeissa wrote:nice job Mari! you've come a long way

Thanks Ryeissa! I'm hoping to get into a habit of videoing, it helps so much.

mari

Mari, those flying changes look pretty good imo. It looks like that when you get Odin more engaged and jumping from behind and straight he comes through pretty well. I'm not sure if it will help anyone else but the one thing I find that helps me with the c/w/c is to imagine that I'm landing a plane...

mari

My torn ankle and I are soldiering on (stirruplessly). I've had some really good rides and a lot of things to work on. Today was not a good ride. Odin has days where his brain is very noticeably absent, and it takes a lot of concentrated effort to get him back to somewhere in the vicinity of the are...

mari

Sue B I'm so sorry about your mom. I also have family members that just spent the last few years of their lives waiting for death, even though they were financially AND physically capable of living full lives. The psychology of it is incredibly murky to me, and crushingly sad.

mari

I'm dressaging away with my stupid ankle in a brace and a sock. I've taken the stirrups off the saddle completely, because the thought of anything banging against my ankle makes my teeth hurt. And it's actually going really well. I can't wear spurs currently, so Odin is not super motivated, but my i...

mari

I have a badly sprained ankle (rolled my foot over in the stirrup, jumping a tiny upright. I mean, who even does that???) with what appears to be some frayed ligaments, and as a result I'm now riding without stirrups until end of March sometime. Very annoyed.

mari

Flight - lovely pictures! I need a monkey strap...

mari

I am partial to the spotty ones. We have some really nice Appaloosa sport horse (wb crosses) in South Africa, and a Namibian stud close by that breeds gorgeous sport horses too (Joseph's Dream Appaloosas). In the Western Cape is a stud that breeds Knabstruppers. I desperately desperately want one, b...

mari

I don't have advice, but I can certainly commiserate. My horse is not nearly as enourmous as yours, and he has a small trot. But he is short-backed, and his back muscles are extremely busy when he moves. Even when he is through and supple and soft, it is a very hard place to sit, confirmed by my dre...

mari

Chisamba and Khall, I so agree. It should be about quality/purity of gait, and not impressiveness of gait. Because that is just plain ridiculous and takes the focus off training, which is where it should be. Who the hell cares if it trots super pretty but can't halt/hp/whatever? Then we might as wel...

mari

Re the breathing, I did a lot of work on that during the course of last year. I do a lot of exercise (both strength and cardio), but it never really carried over to improved stamina while riding. So last year I just knuckled down, I would canter a lot. My main aim for months was just that Odin keep ...

mari

Fitness is obviously a major factor, and you're working on it. But how is your breathing when you're riding? If I'm concentrating (which I do while riding but not while running), I tend to hold my breath a bit, which is EXHAUSTING. So it would be a weird feeling of being utterly out of breath while ...

mari

After nearly 4 weeks on holiday, I started again slowly this week. We did a polework lesson, which was a complete and utter disaster, like I've never jumped before in my life :roll: Yesterday we did a little bit in the dressage arena, just focusing on forward and lateral work to get some suppleness ...

mari

Odin rang in the new year with a very exciting high fever of 41.2C :( Today is going better though, after the second in a series of penicillin injections. He started eating again this morning and is looking perkier. I am away on holiday, just super grateful he is in such professional, capable hands....

mari

I love 101 Dressage Exercises. So many practical things. I love picking a few exercises, giving it a try by myself and then having my instructor help me in the next lesson.

mari

Chisamba that is insane! I've seen snow about 4 times in my life (I'm in South Africa), and even that was more than enough. I am not friends with the cold

mari

Blob, I do think that you will get your changes, they may just take a bit longer than you wanted. It is a frustrating thing to be stuck on, I really feel your pain because I have been stuck with Kimba at it but she is improving and i have faith that you will too. Don't lose hope Blob. After about 3...

mari

I have about a week and half of riding left before going away for more than 3 weeks. The changes are sloooooooooowly getting better. I've been focused on the canter so much that our lateral work at trot is getting a bit creaky, but I think I will leave that til next year to pick up again.

mari

We have a lesson tomorrow, so I did some FC practice today. The terrible changes now tend to happen exactly on the aid, and even when we're working on changes a lot, the counter canter and changes of bend remain very secure. He waits obediently for the aid, and then throws us around like a sack of l...

mari

I agree, Chisamba. She starts sucking back as soon as I start preparing her for canter, and my instructor is trying to get us to where I can really ride each stride through the transition and maintain a connection. SF I love your video and the detailed way you describe it. t/c/t is absolutely my ne...

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