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DJR

I don't think I've ever seen a thread with a topic like this. I don't know if anyone else is interested in it or not. Great topic! Things I will never be able to do: -compete internationally (lack time & funds, among other things) -on Jet: do a long distance marathon (he just isn’t built for it...

DJR

My goals: -ride regularly -improve my sitting trot -go for walks more often -plan in some leisure time somewhere in my chaotic week (!) Goals for the horses: move Jet plus/minus Finn (or Pan) to an indoor facility now that winter is looming. JET: keep him as fit as possible, strengthen his low back ...

DJR

piedmontfields wrote:Never mind what we think, what do your horses and dogs think?

They seem to be rather air-headed, so I don't know.

DJR

demi wrote:
Chancellor wrote:I think your horse might be lame. Just look at how he is standing.

She probably uses sidereins!

LMAO!!!

DJR

I don’t use side reins when I lunge, except on occasion. I mostly lunge my 4 yr old to ensure that I have a brain between his ears before I get on as he was just backed late this summer. I use a lunging caveson, but it’s only seldom that I use side reins on him. I wouldn’t use that neck-stretcher co...

DJR

I’ve had a few people today approach me to discuss how I feed my horses. I really can’t figure out why.

Both my dog and my horse look fine to me!

: F1E237A4-A523-4D93-A6CB-8DD50850C320.jpeg (55.84 KiB) Viewed 14117 times

: C7E3E140-02E5-4753-8E6C-5629A6ED3F74.jpeg (71.9 KiB) Viewed 14117 times

What do you guys think???

Btw ... BOO!!!

DJR

I’ve been riding more regularly the last month than I was able to most of the summer. It feels great once I’ve done it, but it sure takes a lot of moxie to make myself go out at the beginning of the day when it’s pitch black out, or after a long day of work. I definitely notice being 54 in terms of ...

DJR

Ponichiwa wrote:Canter Queso under saddle consistently. In fact, he'd prefer we canter everywhere. My trot is now MIA.

OMG, I know what you mean. Same deal with me on Jet! Trot, trot ... where are youuuu!!??!! LOL

DJR

I am unlettered in vet med so I had to ask vets WTF is up with non-evidence-based treatments. It's not that I can't understand the reasons. It is just I don't have the training to know what they are on my own. Here’s the catch. Only approximately 45-60% of medicine (human or veterinary) is “evidenc...

DJR

I had the great opportunity to watch the Charlotte Dujardin master class that happened this past weekend in Toronto, ON, Canada. I watched Carl Hester a year ago, now CD. It was really good! So, this morning I got up early which I've been doing off & on for the past few weeks, and rode Jet in th...

DJR

Flight wrote:I like the girths to come quite high so the buckles aren't resting behind their elbows. As long as it's not bunching up your saddle cloth or getting in the way of your leg, I think it should be right?

This is what I do, too.

DJR

Another thing that I find helpful is to use the line I’m on to encourage a rhythmic, swinging gait first (training scale), then introduce the lateral work gradually. For a green horse, this means shallow angles for the lines when introducing leg yield and this line can become gradually steeper as th...

DJR

Tsavo wrote:What I really want is an FEI prospect like Finn from a PMU farm only a mare.

Do you mean my Finn? (If so, he’s Shire/Hano, not Clyde).

DJR

I’m behind in my updating! I had a short show season this year with a late start to it. I had to get Jet back into condition to manage Third Level tests, particularly in the hot summer heat (he doesn’t do heat well). I was hoping to get my Dressage Canada Third Level Silver medal, but wasn’t sure it...

DJR

I can't play the video either. He looks super!!

DJR

I clip as soon as I move mine to their winter boarding place (where I have access to an indoor arena). Mine are already getting shaggy but still manageable. I have a nice outdoor ring that has LED flood lights so we ride out there until the footing becomes impossible. I don't clip any of mine that s...

DJR

I was at a Lauren Sprieser clinic this past weekend. It was my first time riding with her, and I really enjoyed it. It was all in keeping with what my regular trainer is working on, which is always a good thing. I'm SO excited to keep going with Jet. He soaks up the work and handles the extra inten...

DJR

I was at a Lauren Sprieser clinic this past weekend. It was my first time riding with her, and I really enjoyed it. It was all in keeping with what my regular trainer is working on, which is always a good thing. We didn't do anything fancy, just worked on increasing Jet's strength & carrying pow...

DJR

Although my first two horses were mares, I ended up riding geldings most of my adult life. But now I have a homebred filly that I CANNOT wait to develop into my riding partner! And I've been interested in bringing along a mare for awhile now. For me, though, it's the horse not the gender that matter...

DJR

Look who is home now after 5-1/2 months away for training (3 mo in harness training, 2-1/2 mo of under-saddle training) ... Mr. Finn! He is my homebred 4 yr old Hano/Shire gelding. 11C32493-FDE3-4DE1-A7F4-D559FB88F0DF.jpeg He was started in Nov-Dec last year but it didn’t go very well as he was quit...

DJR

FYI -this was a very old thread (2016) but thank you. He has really blossomed into a beautiful horse. Last year, in 2017, he had more scores in the 70s than 60s for First Level and finished the year with multiple championships and reserve championships. Such a good boy. We're now schooling Second Le...

DJR

My daughter & I just got back from a 2-day dressage show with our local chapter, the last one of the year. My daughter rode her cute QH pony, “Huckleberry Finn”, on the first day in four Walk-Trot tests. She had to get up bright & early as her first ride time was 8:15 a.m.! It was very cool ...

DJR

I’m writing this from the show site after a very successful first day. My daughter started the day with her four Walk-Trot tests. It was very crisp & cool (for the first time in 3 months) so her pony, Sawyer, was more fresh than she’s ever had to deal with. Early in the warm-up, he even gave a f...

DJR

Rye gymnastic jumping is FUN with the right horse! (don't know how fun it would be on Rip) Great for strengthening the HQs It also really helps them get smarter with their feet. Annabelle used to be just awful with awareness of where her feet were, or any concept of how to adjust gait. She was pret...

DJR

FWIW I think you will get eliminated if you do full walk pirouettes as they are not found in any test at any level. You could avoid it by doing the half pirouette, clearly walk forward a few steps then do another one. It wouldn't be elimination, it would be a -4 deduction. At any rate, I've chosen ...

DJR

piedmontfields, that property looks gorgeous. I've often thought of moving to the States, and specifically to TN. Maybe some day I will. For now I'm staying in Canada given the current politics. khall - I relate to the house woes. I'm in the midst of replacing the SECOND well's submersible pump afte...

DJR

I use LY in some capacity probably half the time, and sometimes more. For my 7 yr old who has a weaker RH leg, I use LY more as a gymnastic, "physiotherapy" exercise (coupled with SI and travers in the appropriate directions) so I use it more often. I also have added it at the canter (head...

DJR

FYI, I'm in Canada. USDF and Dressage Canada use the same tests for the most part, but some rules are slightly different and some of the "forbidden" items do not appear on Cdn tests. On the third level test, it says that 1/2 turn on the haunches is clearly allowed. To further confuse thing...

DJR

Freestyle question: I’m preparing my first freestyle and I’m not sure about whether an element I’m considering is allowed. It’s a Third Level freestyle, and in the walk work I wanted to put in a full turn-on-the-haunches to the right, and repeat it to the left. Full, as in all the way around, 360 de...

DJR

Panache (7 yr old Argentinian WBx gelding, schooling Second Level: Are you still planning on selling him? I'm wondering if he would be a prospect for Scruffy? Just a thought. Given his reactivity this past spring when I moved him to the indoor, scruffy didn’t think he’d be a good fit. He’s back to ...

DJR

I’m going to have to adjust my goals as I just haven’t been able to ride as much as I’d have liked due to work & single-mom pressures. So, I’m going to keep my goals much less lofty in the hopes I can meet a few of them. For all ridden horses: ride each twice weekly. Jet (13 yr old Friesian/Perc...

DJR

I hope she gets better quickly. Colic is always scary. No advice for your hay situation, just lots of sympathy. And, I now feel even more fortunate that my hay guy is literally 4 km down the road from me and supplies me with delivered hay every year. This year I got about 2600 bales of quality 1st-c...

DJR

I have lost track of this thread. Llfe got chaotic for me and I wasn't even reading this board for awhile. So apologies if I've missed anything ... I'm sure I have. For the first time since Oct 2017, I showed Jet this past weekend. I rode Third-1 and Third-2. I was NOT happy with his warm-up as he w...

DJR

I worked on T-W-T in SF tonight, very useful. I'm only riding Panache these days (while Jet is getting a driving refresher). I'm really enjoying him again. Why is it that "for sale" horses feel so good that one rethinks selling them ... just before a prospective buyer is due to come and tr...

DJR

I finally found time to ride Panache after almost a month off (only because I was too busy with hay & work). He was foot perfect, and amazingly easy to sit once he was warmed up. I put him through a bit of everything, but kept it light & short sessions between walk breaks. I was very pleased...

DJR

I like to imagine the hind legs stopping last and stepping up & under. I also use an upward hh during downwards if the horse is leaning or bracing, which my 7-yr-old is prone to do. A great exercise for teaching the horse to stay active behind through any downward is to do trot-almost walk-trot ...

DJR

So sorry to hear about the losses. Cb06, that is never easy losing our beloved dogs to hemangiosarc. Nasty cancer that is. My condolences. That pup is awesome, though! Chisamba - so sorry that Deneb has had to be retired. I definitely understand that choice. I hope she is more comfortable in the yea...

DJR

I do PPE's on any horse I buy, and make informed decisions based on what the rads tell me, and as I said before, work is managed from an athlete's perspective. M I did a PPE on Jet, my Friesian/Perch. The first vet who saw him felt that his stifles were a weakness and a major concern. I had a 2nd v...

DJR

I agree with most of what others have said. Good luck is underlying all of it! Movement is important. My guys live out 24/7 on varying terrain. They move all the time. I do board in the dead of winter (because if I want to ride, in wintertime, options are otherwise limited), and I do board indoors b...

DJR

Moutaineer wrote:The eyelashes on that baby, DJR!

I know! She still takes my breath away every time I look at her.

DJR

My personal goals: -ride at least 4 times a week -go for morning walks more days of the week than not -cut back a bit on carbs I unfortunately did not achieve any of these goals. I'm still struggling with all of them. I did join a 6-wk challenge at a local gym that is within a 3 min drive from work...

DJR

My goals are a bit different this month. That's because of a slight change in plans. Jet, my Third Level boy, has gone for a 1-month driving refresher at the trainer who started Finn, my 4-yr-old, under harness. The reason is that I bought a lovely carriage for Finn and it will work with Jet, too. I...

DJR

I don't have a lot of experience with the FC, but my experience in the 3-yr odyssey of teaching them to Jet was that it sent the rest of our canter work to crap here & there. Not all of it all at once, but here & there, sporadically, just related to him going through the process of figuring ...

DJR

I rode Jet last night after dark (I'm SO glad I had outdoor lights installed for my outdoor ring!). It was cool & breezy, perfect conditions for him. I had quite a nice ride so worked on his changes and canter HP. He felt really good so I tried the 3-change diagonal line that is in the Fourth Le...

DJR

I appreciate the perspectives people have offered re: my "slump." This weekend I was going to show my daughter's large pony QH, Sawyer, but he came out of the paddock lame in the LH. He doesn't want to put the heel down so I'm thinking/hoping it's just an abscess. If it isn't that, it's hi...

DJR

DJR, I wonder at where you find all the energy sometimes! You have a lot on your plate professionally and personally and I admire all that you accomplish! I can commiserate with the slump - I think that no matter how passionate we are, we all go through it from time to time. In those times, I usual...

DJR

How do you even keep up with their comings & goings? Do they still have a tv show?

DJR

It's taken me AGES to understand that I get my horses rounder by allowing my hands 'up and forward'. I have to say to myself 'up and forward', 'up and forward'. I always want to drop my hands and pull them back. My instinct to do that is strong and I'll admit, I have to fight it hard! Ditto! And a ...

DJR

I think the quote about dressage being simple but not easy is sort of accurate. For me, when my instructor points something out and I follow her direction, my horse goes better (and so do I). Why didn't I think of that then? Well, because I was thinking about 5,000 other things and forgot about that...

DJR

I had another dressage clinic weekend with my beloved FEI instructor. As usual, lots of good stuff to work on. Yesterday, with Jet, she introduced counting exercises in anticipation of canter zig-zags in the future. It was eye-opening! We did 8-count LY from the wall to quarter-line (or thereabouts)...

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