DefinitelyDressage.com

mari

Thanks everyone. I must admit I'm so grateful that Junior's 'other' personality was short-lived. Here is a clip of 3-1. We had a brief hiccup at A at the canter where Junior thought I wanted a flying change and then when I asked there was too much hesitation. Plus in the beginning it took too long ...

mari

So at first I wasn't going to post this due to the fact that Brandon and I are going through another ugh the saddle doesn't fit perfectly in the expanding young horse phase, thus putting me in more of a chair seat position than I would like; but, it does demonstrate the training phase we're going t...

mari

khall--I love the in hand work. Just a thought from the other videos--your legs seem too far back on both sides all of the time and stirrups too long. I just got the leg too far back feedback, so have been working on getting both horses more responsive so I don't feel like I need to do that. (A lot...

mari

Chisamba wrote:Am I wierd because I thought the exercise was super and the outfit too staged.

It's part of her act. She does a lot of liberty exhibition work, and it usually has an ethereal feeling to it. She's really inspirational, I've been following her for a long time.

mari

Good heavens, so gorgeous

mari

Still, Mari, to your specific question, yes. I am making him be very prompt off my seat and leg. He doesn't get to go if there is any pause, trot, half-trot, lift with his head first, etc. I am also making darn sure he's straight with both hind legs. For Junior that means I am constantly guarding h...

mari

So I worked Junior today with the idea, that Chisamba inspired, that I was not going to let him be heavy in front and I wanted the walk-canter transitions to not only be prompt but be executed without him having to use his head/neck to lift him. Exvet how are you going about this? Are you just focu...

mari

Jumping lesson today. It went pretty well, I think the simulator lessons are helping, but not yet to the degree that I want. Nerves make me regress

https://youtu.be/FJrbwIPX-hg

https://youtu.be/Y-QasnVDMuI

mari

I am happy! Your and the others' feedback gave me the push I needed to focus, let's see how long it lasts :p

mari

So different horses seem so different but the funny thing is so much of the same thing works on them. I did the school canter on Saiph and it took at least three months of strengthening to show the goal and a lot of it was just having faith that it would improve. However I did not have that faith w...

mari

A really productive ride this morning. The canter work was only a tiny portion, we mostly worked on trot. But I want to keep posting videos here for the sake of progression :) Not clean changes, but a much better feeling in my hands, and his response (even if a bit discombobulated) was on the aid an...

mari

We had a lovely lesson this morning. Mostly focussed on walk and trot work, the arena was very wet. The nicest trot work to date, I think. Good consistent posture from both of us, and I was very focussed on a light reaction to my hands, no hanging or tipping forward tolerated. I can feel the weight ...

mari

Flight that video was awesome. I couldn't stop laughing at the middle bit where he keeps doing the dramatic hop and still lands on the same leg. You can nearly hear him go "Did I get it? Did I get it?"

mari

The last lesson I had went much better; but, unfortunately I did not have my daughter there to video. What I did like of this video compared to the video I posted from last May where I rode the third level test in the one schooling show we went to, is that Junior is much stronger (in back as well a...

mari

So, I believe this shows some progression. First video, rocking horse canter that needs to develop strength and balance. https://youtu.be/WVvYoU_3zNo Second video, better canter, to change. There is about three months of development between the two https://youtube.com/shorts/kZlZTtFeicI?feature=sha...

mari

At my lunch hour I spent a bit of time looking at many of my flying changes on videos and I really have nothing to be proud of. It's a lot easier to have an opinion than to be good at something. https://youtu.be/iFnKj1dKtew https://youtube.com/shorts/p1PMHyqA0MM?feature=share Thanks for sharing the...

mari

Coming from some helpful discussions on the video thread, I've been focussing on keeping lightness in the bridle and respect of the bit, and trying not to sacrifice even one inch of my own position and comfort. Doing this in my jumping tack with a rope gag snaffle is about one million times easier t...

mari

I'm uploading some video from a lesson I managed to have a few weeks ago. Working on transitions etc. Ding doesn't really sit behind, is built really straight and tries to pull up through his poll. So, trying to change this without being too forceful. It's far from perfect! https://youtu.be/06ro3mv...

mari

Chisamba wrote:Why was your instructor insisting on the round tight neck?

She wasn't.

mari

Chisamba - Your post is really thoughtful, thank you. I went through a "no tolerance" stage quite a while back (beginning of last year, iirc). And it did get better. But it takes literally one or two rides of not concentrating on it every single stride and the backslide is so great that it...

mari

Flight wrote:But you know what? If we ever have to go through it again with another horse, we've learned a heap from these ones

Totally! I would LOVE to have a second, younger one to bring on now. But money...

mari

Good luck exvet! Don't power through when you feel covid-tired though, rest rest rest.

mari

So awesome!!!

mari

On to my flying change essay (you asked for it!). I can only tell what I know and what I’ve experienced with this particular horse. I’ve ridden changes on schoolmasters, but this is the first horse I’ve ever had to teach myself. And by luck, he was also very tricky for both my dressage instructor an...

mari

He's turning 17 at the end of this year. I've owned him since he was 5, and every.single.ride is a battle to get him off my hands. And I’ve had some really good help along the way. I’ve probably given more upwards half-halts than I’ve taken breaths while riding… All your comments line up with what m...

mari

You can talk about them all day long and I will listen happily. It's been a few years of struggling for us, so if you're interested in my essay on our journey, then I can do some typing for you :p

mari

(... continued from above) To find a half-halt and some semblance of respect for aids, we did some c/t/c/t transitions. I got greedy and tried for the change at the end, and it was still not good. https://youtu.be/4_AyQLgvyhA This is a video from yesterday. Much much better feeling in my hands, much...

mari

Here are some flying change videos of not-great rides from a lesson last week. He was so strong, pulling through my hands. I’m bracing in my upper body and arms to counteract, and it just never really came together into a harmonious picture. https://youtu.be/OB_m1s6z8Dc https://youtu.be/YAQf8ur3R6A ...

mari

Had a not-great jumping lesson today, after a really nice dressage ride yesterday. Self: More sitting trot. Be less crap at it. Be less crap at seeing a distance when jumping. Practice over poles until I am less crap. Horse: Keep plugging away at changes, shifting the focus slightly to obedience to ...

mari

I was really pleased that she said all the horses had improved. On my client horse it was forward work to get his giant tush to track up and carry leg yield without losing the stepping up. His canter was deemed hugely improved. We had a ridiculous snow and ice storm yesterday but the weather was ni...

mari

Just when I was patting myself on the back about good FCs, today they were a disaster :roll: Leaning on my hands, running through the bit, flinging himself around. Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuurgh. One step forward, two steps back. My instructor was supposed to video a bit today, she certainly looked like she was...

mari

Lipsmackerpony88 wrote:Mari, I have always wanted to try one of those. I haven't seen any nearby me though. You are lucky! Was it expensive?

Comparable to my normal lessons. It's R400 (South African) per lesson, which is about $27 Google tells me.

mari

Glad the show went well Lipsmackerpony88! My instructor should cover her ears, but I prefer showing with minimal warmup, actually

mari

I booked a few lessons on a riding (specifically jumping) simulator. I have a very upright posture (thanks dressage...) when jumping, and I often feel like I get left behind when Odin is jumping particularly enthusiastically. Also, because he is so keen, I want to sit up too early, which either unba...

mari

That was a nice test Tanga! I love how in the extended trots her steps get sloooooooower and bigger. And now I want dark grey show breeches... No idea if our rules here would allow it though.

mari

demi wrote:Mari, I like Amelia’s videos. I looked for the one you were talking about but havent found it yet.

Gosh, now I'm wondering if it was her or some other channel. In my mind I can hear her voice talking me through the exercise

mari

Agree with Lipsmackerpony88: Straightforward, I have position envy! Demi - great videos! One exercise that I found hugely helpful for t/c transitions is the w/t/c/t/w sequence. I saw it on a dressage YouTube channel (Amelia Newcomb Dressage). The trick was not to make any of the sections very long, ...

mari

Chisamba that is a hard no thanks from me! We South Africans do not understand cold AT ALL.

mari

Great video Khall! That looks really cold, good heavens

mari

I love riding with a bareback pad!!! All of the goodness of being actually bareback, with none of the treacherous slipping or allergic reactions in my nether regions

Really teaches you so much about where you put your own balance, I would do it every week if I had my own bareback pad.

mari

I did not have a good ride yesterday. Odin is a proper dude horse. Relatively nice mover for dressage, keen jumper, can go anywhere and safely handle him myself, great with/without other horses, on outrides etc. But that same laid-back attitude makes dressage very very hard work for me sometimes. Ye...

mari

Every year that your winter rolls around I'm just like :shock: I don't know how you guys do it. In the depths of winter, I have to deal with -4C in the morning and some frost, the day will warm up to 20C + :lol: Currently dealing with the heat and humidity of Highveld summer. We're working on collec...

mari

I just came back from a 3-week holiday, so I'm a bit late to this thread. My goals until the end of Feb: - Build up Odin's fitness. - Do as much basic work on sharp responses and lightness in the bridle to support our 3rd level work. - Solidify the FCs even more. - For myself, more and more sitting ...

mari

You would be getting the La Nina affect with more rainfall too, Mari?? I'm so glad we are no longer in drought here in Australia, but I"m not used to having to delay when I'm riding due to rain! He's like a rubber ball bouncing through that. Awesome! I'm not sure if we're feeling La Nina. Here...

mari

We've given up on serious progress for the year. I've got this week and next week left before I go on holiday for 3 weeks. We're playing with changes and transitions and some harder canter lateral work. And having 2 jumping lessons a week (or trying to, it's raining a LOT). Here is a video of us doi...

mari

I don’t know. I’ve had a 180 flip with Gaila. The one who preferred watching the other horses work now is a motoring fool. I’m having to use steep lateral work and small circles just so I’m somewhat in a controlled tempo. She’s not being spooky or dangerous just literally leaning on the bridle and ...

mari

Tanga, I really like your work. It struck me that both you and your mare were focused, capable, and workmanlike. That is a very big deal! Yes, more power and expression is needed for more ## scores. But I liked your commitment and teamwork together. Also, for me, I saw a very good job of a rider ca...

mari

So many awesome updates and pictures and videos. You guys are very inspiring!

mari

Oh, and another of my favourites: Go large in trot, and at each letter (or every second one) do a 10m circle. But kick forward on the little circle quite a bit, it has to be super hard work for the horse. As soon as you hit the wall, collect as much as you can. It was a real game-changer for us, bec...

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...

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