DefinitelyDressage.com

demi

Three nice pics, Chisamba! Saiph looks very expressive.thanks for sharing!

demi

Just for curiosity, here is Rocky at 8 yrs. (she”picked me” when she was 2 and I went back and bought her when she was 3) E60EFF86-4686-4CA0-82FD-B8688BF3A999.jpeg This pic was taken Oct 2015 and one month later I gambled on buying Emma, hoping that she’d be my “dressage” horse and Rocky would be my...

demi

Here is Emma showing her “double joints”. She can do this with either hind leg and both fronts. She can stand up fairly square so it isn’t that she’s simply crooked legged. I have been reading about all the different hypermobility syndromes and it’s confusing. At any rate, I have reconsidered SF’s s...

demi

Nice to hear a good report about your ride on Potters, Mtneer! And Ale..x, good for you and Kora! Love the pics. Khall, glad you had a good time doing WE. Joplin seems made for that! That’s neat about your former student, Chisamba. Looking forward to the update! Exvet, thanks for the info on walking...

demi

As far as progress, I was hoping to use trotting uphill on trails as a way to keep my downhill built horse naturally uphill with less effort on my part. It was working really nicely until yesterday when we turned to head up the hill. She knew before I even turned her that we were going to trot and s...

demi

It’s interesting to read about the trainer relationships. And I’ve picked up some good thoughts in reading about how Exvet and Mountaineer have managed their interactions with their trainers. I know that I need to start taking more responsibility for the direction my lessons are going. My trainer is...

demi

I think about you all that are doing poles, cavaletti, and jumping and wish I was there with Rocky. I just don’t think it’s the right approach for me with her. It has take a looooong time to get her to go nicely uphill at walk and trot, and I’m still working on canter. I just imagine her crashing th...

demi

Good updates (mostly!). Nice SI, Chisamba. Thanks for sharing that great visual. That will stick in my head every time I do SI for a while. SF, your vids of A doing the cones for the Ritter course were really inspiring for me. I am no where near doing shallow canter loops through cones but seeing ho...

demi

I just got my hair cut and it looks just like Ariel’s. Now I know the style has a name. Sticky uppy!!

demi

Exvet your last paragraph especially hits home. Thank you for your input here. ..... Agree. As I read through this thread I am hearing a lot of things that sound familiar. For me personally, it’s easy (well, fairly easy) to think of aging parental care as a privilege, but as I mentioned earlier, I ...

demi

Rocky is my only horse in work and she gets moderate work 4-5 times a week. She is an easy keeper and my vet has mentioned more than once that I should cut back her grain :oops: . I have actually cut it back and she’s lost a little since last time vet was here. Right now we have a lot of grass so I ...

demi

Lynx looks good. He actually looks a little uphill! He’ll be fun to watch as he matures.

demi

My friend's dad died at age 75 while riding a 3yr old he was training up in the mountains. Coroner couldn't say if he died and fell off the horse or if he fell off the horse and died. He was a life-long cowboy. My sister is 64 and still mountain biking. She is also a breast cancer survivor. My moth...

demi

I just got back from a week in Michigan with my 92 yr old mom. She is mentally sharp but physically not so good. She lives with my brother and SIL in the lower half of a split level that bro built just for her. I have a sister in Chicago and another in the same town as mom. They do most of the work ...

demi

SF, I wish I was motivated more by long-lining. I have thought about it and it probably would be good for Em because she wouldnt have my added weight. And I might actually be able to take advantage of her training. But....i just dont enjoy the ground work. I did it with Rocky in 2014 when i was reco...

demi

For the last few weeks I’d been gearing up to putting Emma back to work and that was what rekindled my interest in walk work. Ive decided not to put her back to work, but after reading several articles on dressage at the walk, I think it will be a good thing to include a day of walk only work for Ro...

demi

Thanks for all the input. Each and every comment on this thread has been helpful. I rode Emma regualarly the first year i got her and then off and on for another 4 years. I periodically decided to just completely stop riding her, and then went back on my decision and tried again. Among her problems ...

demi

Oops. I meant Tesla, not Annabelle

demi

I didnt slam you Rye. I did mention that Annabelle was still quite young and that I had noticed from the videos that her body had changed a lot in just 6 months , that it looked like she was still growing. But still, I do think that SF is being very careful with her. I think most of us on this board...

demi

Yeah, wow. Just wow. This adds to my belief that a lot of the resistances we see in horses are physical and not simply behavioral.

demi

Has anyone ever heard of this? I’ve seen something in my mare Emma that I could only describe I as “double jointed”. I have lots of pictures that show what I’m seeing . So this morning I just saw an article on hypermobility of joints in the purpose bred horse and am wondering if this is Emma’s probl...

demi

Exvet, I definitely see your whole arm following down into the stretching motion. Like when you let him go from a normal working frame to a stretch down frame. But what I wasn’t seeing, were the little forward and back motions for each individual step at walk. I’ve heard that motion described as vac...

demi

That’s not exactly what I was thinking about, Rye. I wasn’t thinking of stretching trot. I was thinking about the allowing of the rider’s arms in walk (other than collected walk). The upper arm swings forward and the elbow opens and closes, following the movement of the head and neck. Many years ago...

demi

Thanks for posting the latest vids, SF. Both you and Annabelle are looking good! Are you still using the soloshot or was that vid from the pivo? Exvet, I love your riding, your training, your horses, the whole package. I’ve never commented on this but, one thing Ive wondered about is that your upper...

demi

I like the latest vids, SF. I think you’re doing a good job. We all know that mares (especially the sensitive red heads!) can be tricky. Sensitive, potentially explosive horses, need a lot of tact and I’ve gotten the feeling watching you with both of your mares, that you are a very tactful rider. An...

demi

SF, I really liked the looks of the Neue Schule (sp?) Boucher but since I was just experimenting I went with the cheaper Stubben.

demi

So this thread got me thinking about bits and I’ve ordered a new bit for Emma. She is quirky and will buck quite hard on occasion. She has her own thread way back on this board so I wont go into all of her issues. Suffice it to say, I don’t want to get bucked off because at my age I have osteopenia ...

demi

I recently switched Rocky from the snaffle Ive been using since she was 4 (she’s 14 now :shock: ). At 3 I mostly rode her in a Bosal (I wasn’t harsh with it!!), but that was mostly just trail riding. When I started arena work at 4, I tried several different snaffles and found that an eggbutt, medium...

demi

I guess I need to post some goals. 1.) alternate between days of strictly concentrating on staying round and stepping under and 2.) days of riding first and second level movements minus the lengthenings at trot or canter. I can get some nice lenthenings at both T and C but I need to have her really ...

demi

Aleuronx, no ugly parts in either vid! Thanks for posting. Nice hint of the potential! Kyra, I like to read your reports of walk work. I do quite a bit at the other gaits but sometimes all I can do is walk, and it’s nice to know that a lot of progress can be made doing the exercises at walk. When Ro...

demi

NICE tests, exvet! Very noticeable improvement since the last tests you posted. And I agree with you that there is definitely an “FEI horse lurking in there”! The medium and extending trots...wow! Thanks for posting your progress. I find it inspiring, and helpful in my own learning. I just watched t...

demi

The pivo was a fail today but at least now I know why. Right before I got the pivo my iPhone automatically updated to iOS 14.5 and Pivo is having a problem with that update. Waahhhh. They are working on it and hopefully they’ll get it fixed soon. The pivo gave me an opportunity to just let go of my ...

demi

I aim for 5 times a week but if I’m lucky average 4. I think. To get an exact number I’d have to average it over a year because not having an indoor my riding depends on the weather. In the worst of the winter and summer, usually January, July and August, i sometimes miss whole weeks at a time. I ke...

demi

Nice tests, Tanga. Really good scores, too! Thanks for posting. I love your mares and they are a testament to your good training because they try so hard for you. I like your freestyle music. I need to watch it a few more times. My eye isn’t trained so I watch the horse the first time through and do...

demi

Aww thanks, Sue! Your encouragement means a lot to me because I respect your riding and training. Rocky and Rudy are similar, not just in color, and I know you understand what its like working with a somewhat difficult conformation. Even a horse with a good temperament can be difficult when trying t...

demi

It’s been almost a month now and the sitting trot is getting reliable. I’ve had several horses where sitting trot was never an issue. Rocky is so different! But being able to have her carry me in a good sitting trot now, without losing energy or connection and also not getting tight has made a big d...

demi

Sorry about your head,Mountaineer, but as you say, at least Potters is in good hands and you can watch. SueB, I really get what you said about living for the fun days. Rocky is no where near where Rudy is with the lateral work but, man, just riding good leg yields on her now is fun. She has nice cro...

demi

I still haven’t been able to get T-3 videoed and sent in to virtual horsesport . My temperamental soloshot3 didnt work all last week and I finally gave up on it. I ordered a pivo yesterday and it should arrive in 4-5 business days. I dont know how the pivo will work for doing tests because the best ...

demi

Texsuze, flexibility in the “to do” list is a big deal! I’ve learned that if I do something that was important, but it wasn’t on my to do list, I’ll go ahead and add it after the fact, and then check it off! Quite satisfying :lol: So maybe I’m a little quiffy at the moment but it IS Friday. I laughe...

demi

This clip was from yesterday, showing my sign for the virtual judge. Yes, I know the date on the sign is wrong, but the "sign on a stick" that i had planned to used was too big for that wind! So I use a prototype from a couple days before. https://youtu.be/PAst2kEJenY at least now I know I...

demi

I said I was going to ride my test yesterday come hell or high wind and I did. It wasn’t as windy as the day before but still too windy to get a good ride. I was holding her in because I was worried about a spook. I rode the test anyway but it was crap.I dont even care. And that’s a good thing! I’m ...

demi

Wow! Very nice picture. Quite an unusual job you have, Anne! Thanks for sharing.

demi

Anne, we were posting at the same time and i missed your post. NICE pic of you and Conner! I’m glad you posted it and hope to see more in the future.

demi

SueB we’ve had crazy winds too. All of March was windy which we kind of expect but April has been crazy too. Yesterday’s ride was not good but it gave me some insight into the way I think about riding tests. I was planning on doing T3 on vid to send in for judging. I felt that we’d improved on some ...

demi

I’m not doing as well as I’d like but still working on it. I’ve been doing IF 18/6 three days a week and watching the sugar. I was going to weigh every day but that was not helping because the weight loss is so slow. My clothes feel like i have lost some fat even tho the scale isn’t going down much....

demi

Better diet is definitely helping me. But also, I am trying to work smarter not harder. As Hayburner mentioned, I too can’t lift stuff like I use to. Changing implements on the tractor requires some heavy lifting so I have figured out ways to avoid most of it. DH always says just call him and he’ll ...

demi

Thinking about all who have been knocked down but not out! Hang in there. Exvet, thanks for posting the session with Jr. I am doing a very similar session currently with Rocky so it was especially helpful for me to see how you warm him up, how long, etc, and how long the session was from start to fi...

demi

Good job, Rye and Riot! I know you don’t like to post pictures but at least a casual shot of the two of you wouldn’t hurt!!! Thanks for the in hand vid, Khall. I would like to see Rocky doing exactly that same exercise bending to the right. I’m kind of afraid to try it though because I just dont hav...

demi

Nice forward, SF.

demi

Sorry about Rip the pill! I wouldn’t want to risk getting hurt and then not be able to ride Joplin. She is SO lovely I imagine you’d be unhappy if you missed riding time on her because you got hurt.I go back and forth about riding my own Emma. She can be good but I have to be careful because if I ma...

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