DefinitelyDressage.com

Ponichiwa

^ That will also trigger the rushy steps, which gives you a chance to correct them. Put the aids on, and if he rushes off, return to trot and try again. If he's softly on your aids, you can go all the way to canter and hold for several quality strides-- at least 1/3 of a 20m circle. Rinse, repeat (a...

Ponichiwa

If he can canter from the walk, he can do this properly from the trot. In general, don't practice what you don't want (running/falling into canter) or he will think that is what you want. One strategy is to get your trot very organized, have appropriate bend, prep for canter and then DON'T CANTER--...

Ponichiwa

I generally do the absolute minimum to get my qualifying scores for Regionals. Sometimes that takes more shows than others (guys, Open is tough-- and shows are expensive!). This year, I'm looking at a big cross-country move during the summer (great timing, job, thanks for that) so I'm probably looki...

Ponichiwa

A tap with the whip on the hip as you ask for the new lead can help connect the dots, too. It serves as a reminder for the ones that are happy to canter along all broken and weird that they actually have a hind end and they can use it. As above, this should be for the new inside hind leg. You may ha...

Ponichiwa

I swear I have that conversation with myself every year. I'm a slow learner. When I was in school, I rode down to 8 deg F but called it quits under that. That got bumped up to the low teens when I started working full-time. Now, I really don't like riding when it's under 18. Who knows what will happ...

Ponichiwa

Not 2 days after vowing I'd ride 5 days a week, I came down with my first massive headcold of 2016.

Next week's the week I get stuff done. Onward!

Ponichiwa

Piedmont, I'm glad your girl is feeling better! I am trying to be very picky about how we work as we gain strength---so that we are truly even in push from each hind and truly in both reins. I've actually found that a break, even if for reasons not of our own choosing, can be helpful to 'reprogram' ...

Ponichiwa

I'm in! January and February are the hardest months for me. It's cold, it's dark, and work sucks. So I'm going to aim for: - Getting Kiwi back in shape - Riding 5x/week (indoor arena, how I love you) when not traveling - 1000 calories/day of cycling at my desk at work - Half steps towards piaffe But...

Ponichiwa

Well. Kiwi has had the last 2 weeks off. I returned from vacation just in time to see the first real cold snap (thanks for that, weather), so I imagine things will be fun when we go out to ride this evening. This month, I'll be getting her (and myself) back in shape. And that means ton of canter/tro...

Ponichiwa

Just like always, some of us (I'm 27) will succeed and some will fail.

Our sires' age was worse than our grandsires'. We, their sons, are more worthless than they; so in our turn we shall give the world a progeny yet more corrupt.

- Horace, ~20 BC

Ponichiwa

Thoughts seem to be that riding slightly under tempo can be a good thing? Does that mean that riding considerably under tempo isn't, and is that because it's too difficult for a horse to sustain impulsion if the tempo becomes too slow? You can drop tempo to almost 0 if you want, but if you don't ke...

Ponichiwa

For some horses, it's akin to body-building. Slow, constant repetitions of weights. This is only helpful if the horse's natural tendency is to get quick. If your horse's reaction to something new is to get slow, do not encourage it. "Forward" has 2 parts: tempo and ground-cover (speed). Fa...

Ponichiwa

Update: bought a DeskCycle. It arrived yesterday, so today is Day 1. Verdict: love it. Have already put on 12 miles and it's not even noon yet. I have it on the lowest resistance setting so I don't sweat at work, and it still feels like I'm getting something out of it. It'll be so much easier to fi...

Ponichiwa

Update: bought a DeskCycle. It arrived yesterday, so today is Day 1. Verdict: love it. Have already put on 12 miles and it's not even noon yet. I have it on the lowest resistance setting so I don't sweat at work, and it still feels like I'm getting something out of it. It'll be so much easier to fit...

Ponichiwa

Brydie, sorry for your tough outing. I think we all have those. I know I have! I'm puzzling my way through my connection issues with Kiwi, and after taking it easy and rebuilding from a Training-Level-esque posture and balance and bringing it back to 3rdish-- and hitting the same roadblocks-- I've d...

Ponichiwa

Thank you Ponichiwa---That's super helpful! Yes, my DH loves to help (watch and video) and we do have mirrors. I'm really excited about this stage. My horse knows what I'm after now and he's so willing to please that we're on our way. One of my biggest struggles is knowing exactly when to give the ...

Ponichiwa

Thanks, everyone! I have in my mind visions of myself a la SRS, looking perfectly poised as my little black pony dances around me.

Reality is likely to be very different, but I'm going to wait til the weekend to prove that.

Ponichiwa

I didn't mean it as a chastisement! Just that it's easier to post a link than all the content (and I'm lazy). That said, your trainer is right that the disunited change is the hardest thing to fix. Other challenges are crookedness (it's a pain to turn "drifting" changes into straight tempi...

Ponichiwa

Gonna go ahead and be "that person", but here's a thread on the subject: http://www.definitelydressage.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=138 Bad habits to watch out for (rider): - Tipping forward - Getting handsy - Getting crooked Which can result in the horse getting: - Changes late behind - Cr...

Ponichiwa

You may or may not have heard of Kiwi and my ongoing struggles with connection. Recently, I've been advised that double longeing/ground driving/long line work may help get over some of the more dramatic moments. It's also a hole in my skillset that I probably should do some work on-- and it can't hu...

Ponichiwa

After a sad struggle with my formerly loose pants, I'm most definitely in. The holidays are never an easy time to start (or maintain) a diet but if I don't get started now I'll find more excuses in 2016. Starting today, I will: - Walk or bike at least 30 min per day - Ride 5x/week when not traveling...

Ponichiwa

^ Blueberry, not Blackberry. I, too, am a nobody from nowhere. I'm not a fan of how this horse is going, but I'm impressed that he's letting the rider in so much at such a (relatively) young age. That's mostly colored by the fact I'm really struggling with that aspect of my flashy-moving but tough-m...

Ponichiwa

Highly recommended reading for the peeved: http://www.amazon.com/Bad-English-History-Linguistic-Aggravation/dp/0399165584 This isn't to say that I don't ever draw a line in the sand (seriously, people, if you're truncating a year it's '98, not 98') but it does help put things into (historical) persp...

Ponichiwa

I'm so sorry for your loss. It's very hard to lose a great horse, especially your first.

Ponichiwa

An activity tracker or pedometer (the most helpful one for me was FitBit, but there are some apps that track your steps via your phone's gyro if you don't want to buy a new device) also helps make it painfully clear how many calories track with how much you move. For example, if I wanted to lose a p...

Ponichiwa

From a physics perspective, longer necks mean more strength is required to keep the same relative position. Which is why so many long-necked horses curl or duck or get crooked in the bridle: they're not strong enough to hold themselves out there. They can be very hard to un-kink once they learn how ...

Ponichiwa

passagey trot? No Kande that's just a trot with some suspension. Thanks, lorilu. That's what it looked and felt like to me too, but I was told it was a passagey trot, so I think passagey trot means different things to different people? Just a note of caution. He's not always pushing off the ground ...

Ponichiwa

Ponichiwa, I don't know if this comment is at all useful, but here goes. I have the kind of seat that usually calms very hot/forward horses down and makes them willing to go slower. Call it the opposite of an electric seat! So with my mare, I've had to learn to turn my electric seat on sometimes, a...

Ponichiwa

As alluded to on the tempo thread, Kiwi and I are undergoing a restructuring of the basics. And as usual, that means things aren't looking great all the time while we're really getting to the bottom of some issues. Upside: yesterday, all my changes were clean AND on the aids, and I'm finally getting...

Ponichiwa

The mods-can-figure-out-who-you-are discussion is a red herring with respect to the OP. It doesn't mean that the conversation isn't worth having, but it has nothing to do with hosting UDBB content or respecting IP laws.

Ponichiwa

I posted pictures on the UDBB of the gardens at the front of my house. I received a pm from a person very local to me saying, "I know where you live". All they have to do is sit outside my house and watch for who comes and goes and then put 2+2= CanadianTrotter. The person was kind and fr...

Ponichiwa

I had a grand old Hanoverian gelding (RIP, T-ster) whose go-to move was a slight reduction in tempo and energy as a way to back out of the connection. For him, being quicker in trot tempo was a good warmup and he wasn't nearly so quick to back out again. Kiwi, though, could quickstep all day long. T...

Ponichiwa

Passagey trot does not = passage. I'm using "passagey trot" to mean a trot whose tempo has slowed down and which has an exaggerated moment of suspension, but is not actually a passage (i.e. hind end is lagging, and potentially the back is neutral or sagging). Hallmark of that error of gait...

Ponichiwa

Your guy is adorable! I've got a DHH cross (other half is Danish). He's huge-- 17.3, big-bodied, and used to move a bit like a freight train with the hocks out behind. That still can happen sometimes: https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/v/t1.0-9/1012104_10151732904890990_431812122_n.jp...

Ponichiwa

Speed is the enemy of impulsion, it causes loss of balance. Better a little under tempo (within limits). But there is a difference between ground covering and shortening the stride (the ideal extension is longer stride and slightly slower tempo because of the air time). So, you have to recognize wh...

Ponichiwa

Not wanting to derail the flying changes thread, but wanting to continue the discussion on tempo: I had a bit of a mental breakthrough the other day that changes in the tempo or speed are harbingers of loss of balance. Sounds pretty simple, or maybe even obvious to some of you. I've often struggled ...

Ponichiwa

My gelding had a similar issue. I put my leg on, and all his energy went up instead of out. I think this is common in horses who are naturally round-moving (Andalusians, friesians, and in my guy's case Dutch Harness Horse) but don't necessarily find it easy to move OUT. I opened up his canter with l...

Ponichiwa

Good article, Kelo. I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and it was a theme of the clinic I just came back from. In fact, the wording (weight lifting) was also identical. How timely! Had a really low-key ride with Kiwi yesterday. I think that's probably not such a bad thing for both of us right...

Ponichiwa

You need to speed the tempo up and tuck the hind end underneath him every stride. I'm not talking choppy with feet flying everywhere-- but think about if every stride was 20% faster than his normal tempo. And then keep that tempo going for a couple figures. Make sure that you can transition from the...

Ponichiwa

Well, Kiwi and I are back from our clinic. We got some good things out of it, but for the most part I think there was a style clash. Kiwi was NOT amused with the "you're doing it, and you're doing it now" style. Granted, I may give her too much leeway because of our history (and my disconn...

Ponichiwa

Klark, What happens when you put your leg on-- does he go faster over the ground or does the tempo increase? My money is on the former, which can help to separate the front end from the hind and disunite the changes. If you increase his tempo (without him covering more ground) from his normal status...

Ponichiwa

USDF published a recap of a study from the Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports: http://www.usdf.org/EduDocs/Competition/Statistical_lookat_Dressage_comp.pdf Which showed a max 2.5% difference in average scores between the lowest scoring and highest scoring breeds. That's all scores across all...

Ponichiwa

We've got one good side (Left to right) that I can almost always get, the other (R-L) is coming along, I find I get it better if really think about keeping the impulsion, and make sure he is sort of up in his neck (that's probably not the right terminology) - that side also sometimes better if I do...

Ponichiwa

I've found that schooling big working pirouettes is helping my mare. She's short-coupled (and short-statured, and sometimes short-tempered) and is so fast to get organized-- it's a challenge to keep her on the aids instead of jumping ahead of me. She's also very quick to "steal" the bend i...

Ponichiwa

Over tempo, under tempo, lateral and longitudinal flexion being used for 'submission'. Western horses posing and low, other uses are to prevent overt resistances and go over tempo (with steady torque on the curb). Two sides of the same coin, gaits still show the effects of the (rider's) actions. If...

Ponichiwa

I like to introduce counter canter by asking for half of that single loop from the 1-3 test. Come around the short side, ride from the corner to X, and then canter straight along the centerline. This takes away the sometimes mind-bending counter positioning required by the full single loop, and intr...

Ponichiwa

Or flinging changes, if that's how you roll. By the looks of things, the Introducing Counter Canter thread is slowly morphing into a discussion about flying changes. And from the sounds of things, there are quite a few of us who are currently in/near Flying Change Hell. So let's chat about it. What ...

Ponichiwa

It snowed on me during my ride yesterday. Stop it, PA. Stop it now. This past week I've finally gotten the canter back under my seatbones. For the longest time, Kiwi didn't let me in to adjust the canter much if at all. The contact felt brittle, as if any change I made in position or path of travel ...

Ponichiwa

Sue B wrote:I'm in too! Aww, gee EE, I don't know how I'm gonna remember your new name though.

Konichiwa, pony-chiwa.

Ponichiwa

Yo yo yo! Formerly EngineeringExtension, now Ponichiwa. Checking in! Couple things going on in Kiwi's world: - Flying changes are less dramatic and are always clean unless I'm making them harder (e.g. halfpass to flying change on the centerline, multiple changes in a row, etc.), and then cleanliness...

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