DefinitelyDressage.com

mari

Having a wobbly moment. Had a show yesterday, rode Elementary 3 again (2nd level). It was not amazing. Odin was not amazing. And I was definitely not amazing. The warmup felt pretty good. But in the test, after the medium canter, he just tanked me around. Obedient transitions in the sense that they ...

mari

Flight - Such a lovely picture! He looks ready for pretty much anything. One of my biggest struggles with Odin has been in the canter work. We've been going in a French link KK snaffle for years, and after a suggestion from a friend and some hugely frustrating rides I tried a Baucher. And the last t...

mari

Yes, I think I'll give it a rest for a little while! The upside is Norsey no longer even bats an eyelid at me ending up around his neck or hanging off the side :lol: :lol: :lol: Oh my sympathies... Mine doesn't launch upwards so much. He sort of flings his head and shoulders up and kicks out like a...

mari

Our plan for the last few weeks have been to find our counter canter again. And it has mostly come back, yay! For the next few weeks we want to really push his body around in the canter, lateral work all ways, so that he is more accepting of my legs in the canter. Over the last month or so our trans...

mari

Well done Moutaineer! I think we are currently serpentine sisters, mine sounds exactly like yours

mari

We use the SI in the walk on the centerline as a warm up exercise--with halts in the SI and move-offs still in the SI alignment. Working towards the mirror, so no cheating :) Helps him with suppleness and getting the hind leg stepping through and under, and helps me with straightness and body align...

mari

Exvet - sounds like a really productive lesson. I really like " the concept that my legs are for not just for requesting that he move his energy into a forward momentum but that he move his inner energy over his back into the hand/bridle and recycle". We're also working on that, with varyi...

mari

Lovely happy pic Flight! Rosie - you are super inspiring. Actually, you all are, and I love these threads. We had a pretty good test this morning. The canter strike-offs were horrendously wrong, which is very frustrating as they are supposed to be our strong point, and we got a very expressive 'chan...

mari

And smart to get that second level stuff done before focusing on changes. I lost part of my show season last year because I started introducing flying changes. I did it just in time for regionals, so even though we qualified, I didn't go because at that time we had neither a confirmed change nor a ...

mari

Flight wrote:Oh Mari, I'm sure it isn't terrible! But I do hope you have a good show. I'm doing one on Saturday and choosing to do Novice so I can do rising trot

I'm less sure

But I'm going to have to go out and suck at this level for a bit before I can get better. Good luck for Saturday!

mari

I have a show next weekend. Sitting trot is terrible. I'm currently terrible at it, and everything is terrible, and we are going to be terrible. Yay shows...

mari

Some really good ideas on this thread. Our canter was our best gait some months back, I hated riding trot. And suddenly (probably not actually suddenly but that is how it feels) the trot is completely lovely and canter has gone to hell. We will be working hard on canter the next few weeks, will chec...

mari

Flight - thanks so much for that video! So many good points that I can use too.

mari

My personal theory is that being able to listen to your horse is a primary consideration. Let's be honest, some horses will move away from a slight nudge and others you can thump se veral times with a flat hand before they say, oh , were you asking something I was chllaxing here as i step on your f...

mari

My appy x has no medium trot. Enormous canter, choppy pony trot. Two things have brought some improvement. The first is to really work on the collection end of the see-saw. Improving our collection has led to more scope for the bigger trot too. The second thing was 'chasing' him at the biggest trot ...

mari

Another thought is to be quiet. Once my horse gives a response, I use quietness if seat and aids to signal, as it were, that I appreciate the response. How long I can remain quiet in the contact depends on the horse, I do this often because it's my way if saying yes, you did good, this us our goal,...

mari

Flight - lovely photos! I think trying for explosive reactions is better than lukewarm ones any day of the week, so I will applaud that comment.

mari

Odie's first jumping show of the year. My instructor piloting. He jumped lovely clear rounds, and got placed in the competition class. The turns in the jump-off were fabulous, but he is so not built for speed :lol: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dcGsj5PV-_I48Jh5jVh-JWytFfS_H97WcfXcj5sbVQ-84W3IZEK...

mari

Dresseur - sorry to hear about Miro. It's just never easy... I rode for the first time in a few weeks, did the flatwork part of my jumping lesson this morning. Did not jump a single thing, but did do trotting poles. In typical Odin fashion, he didn't pay attention and faceplanted over them. Having C...

mari

Blob - RP is completely adorable!

I'll be in a neck brace for a few days, no riding til the end of next week. So no show. Don't even really know what to say about it. I'm fit and strong and oh-so-very careful and now I'm out again. Struggling to find my grace this time around.

mari

Lovely photos Exvet! Congrats on your results. I'm entered for a show on the weekend. Had a lesson on Saturday, Odie gave a huge buck/kick in anticipation of a flying change, and my already delicate neck is now in a neck brace again. I'm just so completely over this, and I want to abandon everyone a...

mari

Awesome job Flight! Don't know how you guys survive in the snow. This is what you're missing in sunny South Africa :lol: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/D72p11w0eZ6gnR7NpIADfy8qAxvELLJF_SO7NaWs-AekgrEclnOc_067Ss-d1w0HqPhb2yojaJRW-oXh_aA892c0OWnlYG1gguIoDwDhjykR6wyMXYZVMDdUK5A5UYJ_Ott98qUjQmhfht9rt...

mari

Good thread :p I like to know the test inside and out. I practice the arena layout constantly, and can recite the letters in any order. Then I learn the test patterns about a week before, and ride them in my head constantly while driving. I cannot practice riding the test too much with Odin, he is a...

mari

Thanks everyone! I know I need to do it more to get better, and I really do want to show, but it feels like this year is kicking my ass motivation-wise and it's only January

At least we had a lovely hack yesterday, and splashed in the dam.

mari

A very simple but hugely effective exercise to test how sticky your horse is to the wall, and to loosen him up a little: Pick up trot. On the long side, ride very round but shallow turns off the wall, like little loops, you should try to fit in 3 or 4. Rereading that, I'm not sure if it's making sen...

mari

I've managed to ride 4 times this week so far. The afternoon rides were unbearable hot. I'm on for about 30 mins, only really schooling for 10 minutes or so, with a walk break every few rounds. Had my first jumping lesson of the year this morning. Odin was very lazy, but perked up when we started do...

mari

Sorry for all you guys in the snow! We're having a heat wave in South Africa. Between the afternoon thunderstorms and the 40C days, riding is going to be tricky over the next few weeks. I've been away on holiday for 3 weeks, had a lesson this morning. My instructor started up the engines by riding O...

mari

Thanks everyone, I need some encouragement (25%) and a kick in the pants (75%) :lol: Mountaineer - I so understand about the forward! Our first outing at this level, I was so tense and nervous that I slowed the trot down to a crawl, and we got a 51%. This time I actually *rode* the horse, and we wer...

mari

We had a show yesterday. Elementary (2nd level). My first show in 2 years since my neck injury. I was happy with my ride, but the judge wasn't really. We ended up with a 58%. Much to work on, but a nice day out for both of us. So frustrating not being able to recreate what is coming so easily at hom...

mari

This is a great thread! Odie has a huge slinky canter, but he is lazy lazy lazy. We often do a warm-up in walk with my instructor cuing for very collected walk/halts and half-steps from the ground, me on top. And to get softened back and even more hind engagement we do si/renvers/travers in this ver...

mari

So, I think that given enough time, most problems can be improved upon. Not necessarily solved, but improved upon. It also depends on goals. If your goal is to show - then that crappy extended trot may never get more than a 5 or 5.5. My theory, collect the 5.5 and move on. Find something the horse ...

mari

I'm committing to no-stirrups-November, and my irons have been completely removed from my saddle. I want to do an ungraded show early in December, my first outing since my neck injury 2 years ago. Oh my goodness I can't believe it's been 2 years...

mari

Each to their own I guess. I think side reins are the devil and refuse to lunge in them

mari

I ride LY every ride, in walk and trot mostly, but often also in canter. Odie is sluggish to move sideways, and training HP is no fun for the rider if your horse will go forward but not sideways...

mari

This is a timely topic for me as well! I have a good seat in that it looks "pretty", and I'm quiet in the saddle, but man oh man cantering on my horse is hard work. Because his stride is so big and round (and also because halt is his favourite gait...) I've gotten into the habit of driving...

mari

This is a lovely thread, following along with interest. For me it certainly has to do with rideability, that you can put aids on and the horse will let you in. Along with that eventually comes the softness in the body, and the ability to shape the horse as you want. But another big component, and fo...

mari

I sometimes ride a SI the whole long side. I don't think it's much more strenuous than a LY across the long diagonal. Of course, if the horse was struggling to maintain the position in any way, we would not be doing it. Our current mission is the transitions between lateral positions. Odie understan...

mari

Quite a lot of luck is involved, methinks :p Odin is not ideally conformed, his front feet turn out. Because of that, he goes for yearly x-rays, and the farrier consults with the vet afterwards to make sure they're on the same page. He's had a suspensory injury (minor lesions on both fronts), and si...

mari

I love the pictures/videos and updates. This is what this thread is for, for me. Getting inspiration from like-minded people, your everyday little issues, big issues, random horse care updates, breakthroughs, whatever. If there are specific training tangents, we can start a more detailed thread on t...

mari

Odie's favourite gait is halt. So I'm very much with Mountaineer and Piedmontfields on the benevolent management idea :D He is bold and strong and forward but (weirdly) also very lazy and not reactive at all. Takes a while for him to get his mind and body into gear. We've found the best type of ride...

mari

Kimba looks lovely!

I had a much better ride in the dressage arena today. Maybe because I had a lesson and an instructor was pressuring me...

Much more prompt and accurate today. I suspect it's because I let her do the thinking, while I was concentrating on following instructions.

mari

This morning our dressage arena was finally finished! I've been schooling in a jumping arena for the last 6 months, and while the space is lovely, it certainly does my already-wonky geometry no favours... So this morning I broke in the new arena, while my jumping instructor was measuring out and pu...

mari

This morning our dressage arena was finally finished! I've been schooling in a jumping arena for the last 6 months, and while the space is lovely, it certainly does my already-wonky geometry no favours... So this morning I broke in the new arena, while my jumping instructor was measuring out and put...

mari

Cauliflower cheese macaroni, sauce made with sage, bay, cream and smoked cheese. Was delicious!

mari

Odin got a 5th place in the 1m class yesterday, piloted by my coach. https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/brqAKajjCA0SU0Ir7NabsD2gBnp6rj8iROLGEOr95EoKpJhYYRQdR7AOxX7KWcJ1N8Xdzcki3n41VXAYVySyoHAGMeGMr15zcI8JqEzfZhQxk_jb1E4oOJBKCuk54kBOGKXjRghp72nzpkIyWspDDLL4U133OrebmUC8CHqqlt2NCHdq1D_DGVrwSRdvZ1kig_NNW...

mari

Oh yes, and I myself am obsessed with submission. Odin, on the other hand, is less interested...

mari

I am obsessed with figuring out to consistently execute power and forward flow through trot-canter-trot-canter transitions. I know this sounds ridiculously easy, but it isn't for us! We have spent too much time with me accepting little power gaps and throttle leakages through these transitions, whi...

mari

Great notes!

Now trying to think where on my body I can tattoo "A half-halt is not a dialogue"

mari

Goodness Chisamba... I wish you well!

mari

Flight - I think Ding looks lovely. For flat flying changes that need a bit more jump and expression, I always have that Charlotte exercise in my head, where on the long side you start in collected canter, then have 3 steps of lively medium, then the change, then immediately collect again.

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