Goals and progress:. June and July.

[Astral]

...

Be patient with yourself. For me I progress better with goals,. Challenging but in reach.

Thank you. I appreciate that. (And thanks to the others for their kind words, too.)

I think I'm just at a point where my goals are too open-ended. ("Get on a horse." "Try to remember how to ride."). Which is not why thing thread was created!

So let me refocus my goals. SUPER simple goals.

-Regain strength in general (working on fitness outside of riding), but specifically my left side and left leg. He's popping his left shoulder and running through my left leg a little - mostly because there IS no left leg there to support him!

-Work on establishing a most steady tempo in our walk and trot work. Tied in with my strength issues, but that's not entirely to blame! Not even going to worry about the canter until I get the lower gears back up to par.

-I was thinking about adding more no stirrup work (which my foot and ankle would be happy about!), but I wonder how productive it would be in my floppity-lump state. Can't hurt to give it a try...

[khall]

Chisamba, no I was responding to kande's "leverage" of the front end and stringing the bow and direct leverage making it sound like the reason the horse comes up in the shoulders is from the contact or stringing the bow. IMO that is not the case or at least only a very small part of the training. As I explained above.

[Flight]

Demi, I have same problems. See you hands? The inside one especially has come back and dropped down. Try and keep them up and forwards feeling, (shorten reins as necessary) and just use your fingers to squeeze reins, or turn your hand slightly for flexion etc. Don't drop your arm or your hands down or back. I don't think you need longer reins, just carry your hands and don't let them pull back or drop down!! That is the blocking.

Then to help her shorten her frame/collect. Leave her as in photo B, and pop her in shoulder in/counter shoulder in, small circles etc and see what happens, just try not to even think of raising her frame/shortening by using your reins. Keep a contact on her mouth though, but always forward thinking. Don't even worry about where her head is initially, just do the exercises and see what happens.
The bend and stepping under and through with the hindlegs does it for you.
It takes a bit of time and patience (oh the patience!) but it is how it works.

Chisamba, nice pics! And I liked reading about the sitting trot as I am working on my sitting trot torture (lol) too.

[demi]

...See you hands? The inside one especially has come back and dropped down. Try and keep them up and forwards feeling, (shorten reins as necessary) and just use your fingers to squeeze reins, or turn your hand slightly for flexion etc. Don't drop your arm or your hands down or back. I don't think you need longer reins, just carry your hands and don't let them pull back or drop down!! That is the blocking.

yes Flight! Thanks for helping me see this. I had the feeling that I was blocking her but I just couldn't see exactly how. When you point it out it is clear and makes perfect sense.

Then to help her shorten her frame/collect. Leave her as in photo B, and pop her in shoulder in/counter shoulder in, small circles etc and see what happens, just try not to even think of raising her frame/shortening by using your reins. Keep a contact on her mouth though, but always forward thinking. Don't even worry about where her head is initially, just do the exercises and see what happens.

I also felt the solution must be fairly simple because I feel so close to second level, and the solution you give IS simple. Well, sorta simple...Patience is hard!!! So thanks again for the quick response as it is EXACTLY what I plan to do in the morning.

The bend and stepping under and through with the hindlegs does it for you.
It takes a bit of time and patience (oh the patience!) but it is how it works.

Chisamba, nice pics! And I liked reading about the sitting trot as I am working on my sitting trot torture (lol) too.

Agree. Nice pics Chisamba.

[demi]

Also, thanks khall, Kande, Chisamba, and Mountaineer for your insight. I so appreciate this kind of help because one never knows just what is going to ring a bell. I read each of your responses carefully and can see the importance of your thoughts...each of you had things to say that rung true and I will look at them again over the next few days...

To the latest "players", astral and leheath8: So glad you're posting and and I look forward to your progress!

[kande50]

Sorry, I might have misunderstood, my friend just told me you probably do not mean going end lowering, front end lifting, leverage.

Agree about the way muscles act on the skeleton, but I was actually using "leverage" to describe how the actions of the bit (along with the other aids) leverage the front of the horse up and back to shift the balance so that the horse sits and lifts.

Leverage probably isn't a good word because it tends to be associated with steel bars and strong forces, but I think parts of the analogy work (at least for me) because it makes me think about how the spine needs to be aligned if the energy is going to go through to affect the hind legs.

I also think the concept has a lot in common with what you said about the straight line from the bit to the elbow, in that trying to guide with a pool noodle is much less effective than trying to guide with a straighter, stiffer line.

What I think is consistent though, is that to use leverage (or in the case of collection, the *idea* of leverage) to reshape the horse, there does need to be some rigidity/muscular tension, which I think is what makes the whole process so difficult to understand and discuss. Because we need some "positive tension" to be able to leverage the front end up and back, but if we create too much then the horse gets braced instead. And I think it's probably a very fine line between creating enough without creating too much.

[kande50]

Chisamba, no I was responding to kande's "leverage" of the front end and stringing the bow and direct leverage making it sound like the reason the horse comes up in the shoulders is from the contact or stringing the bow. IMO that is not the case or at least only a very small part of the training. As I explained above.

I think it may be an important part of all the exercises, which is why we can't ever get away from what's going on with our hands and the bit. Sometimes we pay lip service to the idea of riding with seat and legs, but that almost always seems to be in the context of some kind of contact with the horse's head.

I think the reason for that, whether one rides the horse briskly forward into the hand or balances the horse between the hand and the leg, is that the exercises and figures are only effective when the horse is ridden through them in a particular position, and a big part of getting that position comes from the use of the reins (because they make it so much easier to bend the horse accurately).

So even in circles, or si, hi, etc., the reins play an important part in positioning the horse during the exercise so that we get the effect we're looking for. Otherwise, the horse will just proceed around the circle or down the wall in whatever position makes it easiest for him, rather than in a position that facilitates his progression toward our goals.

[Chisamba]

Horses are very good, almost savants, at learning by association of ideas. I have told this story before but I know a Basuto man who ride his pony with a stick. Left lead,. You touched the left shoulder,. Right lead , right shoulder, change leads, tapping shoulders,. Lower the butt, touch the butt. He rode bareback and leaned back, his feet stuck out past his pony's shoulders. Some of the exercises were very dressagy.

I also follow a lively young lady who rides and has no legs. She rides dressage.

My point is that you can either ethically, but even with cruelty, teach most dressage moves in a multitude of ways.

There was a Hanoverian stallion who was famously found performing his favorite dressage test loose in the ring without a rider.

You can ride and train the way you love to ride and train, but if you wish to compete in dressage you are expected to show connection to the bit, and the ability to connect the reins to what is going on behind the rider. If you get to the point of collection, piaffe, passage, then you are also showing positive tension,. Your horse has to display motion upward, not just forward .

No matter how you have achieved it,. You have taught the horse to be restrained while having motion.

[kande50]

You can ride and train the way you love to ride and train, but if you wish to compete in dressage you are expected to show connection to the bit, and the ability to connect the reins to what is going on behind the rider. If you get to the point of collection, piaffe, passage, then you are also showing positive tension,. Your horse has to display motion upward, not just forward .

No matter how you have achieved it,. You have taught the horse to be restrained while having motion.

Agree, as the rules do specify that the horse needs to be on the bit, and then they describe what "on the bit" looks like.

Personally, I'd like to see the judges reward soft, gentle contact way more than staying on the bit, but if they believe that horses like the kind of contact they're rewarding then there would be no reason for them to be concerned about it.

And the fact is that we can't know how the horses feel about what I think is excessively strong contact, so their beliefs are just as likely to be accurate as mine.

[khall]

kande and Chisamba, I just do not agree with your thoughts on reins and that they are absolutely necessary in our training of dressage after a point. For me, dressage has always been about lightness and ease of movement and following/listening to our seat and weight aids more and more, while less and less needing the reins. That is why I posted the video above of the rider showing incredible collected movement without saddle or bridle. That is why I practice riding one handed so that I rely less and less on the reins and bit and have the horse follow my seat more and more. Gallop and my trainer Mark both talked about riding with a drape in the reins and being able to hold the horse with just the seat. That to me is the ultimate training goal with my horses, not showing and ribbons.

Always in the back of my mind is the thought it is not about the reins (I am not always successful but that still is my goal) and as I train and ride, allowing the horse more freedom in the head and neck, it shows me how much more the horse will offer. For really the horses are made for movement it is us as riders that interfere with them. We need to as riders be able to less and less interfere so that the horse will more and more be able to move on their own, with just the tiniest of aids for direction.

I guess I have just had different influences and goals set from early on. Even in the old masters books they talk about riding with just a silken rein, or with the Spanish Riding school the exhibit of riding curb in one hand and whip pointed up. I have had exposure to Karen Rohlf who blends NH and dressage very well, riding often with no bridle but still accomplishing higher level movements. I seek out for inspiration these riders and trainers who show such training can be accomplished, because in my heart I believe that when we interfere less with our horses they will show us their best movement.

[Chisamba]

kande and Chisamba, I just do not agree with your thoughts on reins and that they are absolutely necessary in our training of dressage after a point. .

I am not going to engage you, because you will assume I am attacking one you loved and lost.

But that is NOT what I said. I said you can train way way your want, you can't train with a stick, voice, treats , aversives, neck rein, all u need is a consistent association of ideas and probably repetition.

You can sit like using a hammock ,. You can ride with no legs.

That is what I said. I thought i said it quite clearly .


I also said if you show there is a requirement to have a bit, and show a connection from hind to the bit .

[Chisamba]

I want to add there are only two real requirements for training,.
Was it fair
Was it successful

What tools and techniques are changeable.

However there is another requirement when showing,. Does it follow the rules. Because I am on a dressage board, I am discussing methodology that follows the rules. I realize dressage is not only about showing, but so far my discussions have been aimed at preparing to show.

[kande50]

kande and Chisamba, I just do not agree with your thoughts on reins and that they are absolutely necessary in our training of dressage after a point.

The misunderstanding may have something to do with the idea of "after a point", which wasn't what I was talking about as my interest is in training horses rather than in riding already trained ones. And for training, reins appear to be necessary to get to the point where one can do much of anything that resembles dressage.

[khall]

Chisamba yes this is a dressage board, but it is not a USDF/USEF dressage board. We all know dressage has been around way longer than showing has been around, otherwise we would not have the 4 ecoles. And this is a thread about goals and progress, not the 2nd level thread which is specific to showing. What you were talking about with the sticks and training any way you want is training, not dressage training. IMO there are certain criteria that have to be met in order for the training to be called dressage. I consider the development of a dressage horse with end goals in mind, the ultimate is collection but there is much that goes on with our training in order to achieve collection. While our immediate goals (like for June/July) are important, for me I have to keep those end goals in mind so that I train for them daily, usually in parts and pieces, but with the eventual goal of stringing them together to create a whole. I, like Flight, tend to ride with too much hand, so my focus on training is to remind myself that the reins are a very small part and ultimately not even needed with proper training. That stays with me every day I ride or work horses, I don't always achieve that goal but I always hope to.

As for reins being needed, yes they are but with proper development they are needed less and less. Karen Rohlf thinks a bit differently in that she will teach even pretty beginners to ride bridleless, I think of it as more of an end goal once the horse has the proper training and self carriage to achieve the riding with no bridle or reins. You use the reins to facilitate shaping of the horse but always try for lighter and lighter aids. All of this depends on a good rider foundation, with a good seat and feel. That foundation must be developed first, hopefully on a trained horse. I just know that as I have ridden these past several years a very large moose of a horse that I could have gotten stronger and stronger with, instead as I have explored the lightness in riding he has risen up to meet me in that lightness and it is a fabulous feeling when it all comes together. I think that is why most of us ride, to feel those fleeting moments, not to get ribbons. Showing is fun but not an end goal for me.

[Moutaineer]

63.638 for a first place

[piedmontfields]

63.638 for a first place

Is this your incredibly understated show report? If so, woo hoo!! Go Mountaineer and Laddie!!!

[Ryeissa]

Great news! Congrats

[StraightForward]

63.638 for a first place

Woohoo!

Yes, tell us more. And pics/vid if you've got them.

[demi]

Whoopee!! Laddie and Mountaineer!! We need one of those little cheering emogees. If I was there I'd buy you an icy cold beer and give Laddie apple slices with molasses!!

Pictures and details when you get a chance. Rest up for tomorrow.

[Chisamba]

63.638 for a first place

Well done. We're the comments helpful?

[Moutaineer]

So, a quick report... no pictures yet. And yes the comments were helpful and encouraging!

10 x 7s, 3 x 5's and one 4.5... We broke into a canter in our first medium trot and our simple changes had trot steps (reins too long ). 7s for gaits and rider.

"Needs more impulsion, needs to step under more in trot." So I think we need to take a few more risks tomorrow and see how it goes.

We have Axel Steiner tomorrow, which is a bit terrifying. He was handing out some (deserved) stinkers of scores today, but so was Mike Opinski.

Our little group all had good rides today, and Laddie was just a joy.

[Dresseur]

Well done!! Had a sneaking suspicion impulsion would be mentioned- definitely take some risks there, but don't let him spread out too much as you add more impulsion. Axel Steiner is very far, and very constructive. Good luck!!!

[kande50]

"Needs more impulsion, needs to step under more in trot." So I think we need to take a few more risks tomorrow and see how it goes.

Sounds like the outcome should be interesting, although it would be even more interesting if it was the same judge.

[Flight]

Just back to the reins and contact discussion. My instructor was proving to me that you can have a loose rein but it's still a contact. It's taken me a while to be convinced to be honest, because I came from being taught that you must have a weight in your hands, but on a trained horse, it all becomes lighter, including the rein contact

Mountaineer congrats! Good luck tomorrow!

[Chisamba]

We have been asked to do a drill team presentation for " all things equine". A local equine affair like day . We were practicing various patterns yesterday evening. I rode Kimba. The other participants had hunt seat, trail riding, and pleasure mounts. Just six if us.

So the interesting thing about a drill is that the most important thing is you have to maintain your position wrt the rest of the group,.

This can be a surprising challenge to how well you can transition, control tempo and maintain gait.

This is a boast of sorts, but obviously the dressage horse found this easier!! Yay dressage.

[kande50]

You use the reins to facilitate shaping of the horse but always try for lighter and lighter aids.

I think this may be the crux of the difference between competitive and "artistic" dressage: that in competitive dressage the rein aids may be used less as the horse advances, but there doesn't appear to be any interest in making the contact lighter and lighter?

And I'm not convinced that making the contact lighter is the goal even in artistic dressage circles, as the strength of the contact seems to be something the rider chooses right at the beginning of the training, and if anything may even get "firmer" (from the horse's pov) when the curb is introduced?

When I look at the videos of Nuno riding trained horses the contact looks quite firm to me, which seems consistent with what I've seen Mark use when he rides. But then, I've only seen Mark ride fairly low level horses, and have pix of him riding with much lighter contact, so lighter and lighter contact may very well have been his goal?

[Ryeissa]

Contact is much lighter than my training level phase, but definitely packaging my horse. Its just directed more towards the back.

[Dresseur]

I think that there is also a misconception that short reins = heavy contact. I ride with quite short reins, but the contact is usually very light, a few ounces. Sometimes it's more if the horse struggles with something, but really, the horse is in self carriage, and at any point, I can extend the horse or halt and the horse does not land in my hands. Or, I can extend my hands forward and keep the horse in the same shape because it is held by the seat and back of the rider. If I extend my hands forward and down, and come forward in a lighter seat, the horse will follow my body and the rein forward, down and out.

So why (for me) short reins? Because I am creating a barrier- basically asking the horse to work within that frame. The horse has been slowly taught to yield to the rein, and to seek and follow the rein. When I ride- I try to literally push the reins forward, and drive the hind under by my use of the seat and legs.

In the most simplistic terms, the horse is taught to go from the leg and follow the rein- up, down, forward, out... But it is never really held by the rein unless the horse needs a bit of help. That's why there needs to be an obsession with the hind legs and feel of the back of the horse. If the hinds don't create activity, they don't push the horse up to the bit, so there is not enough energy for the horse to be in self carriage, and then it does become about pulling the horse into a frame, rather than more energy creating more roundness.

image.jpeg (88.42 KiB) Viewed 24899 times

[demi]

That looks beautiful, Dresseur. Active, athletic, light and harmonious. Thanks for posting!

[demi]

And elegant!!

[khall]

dressuer, beautiful picture. I do not feel that short reins always=heavy contact but I also feel that there is a misconception that the reins are absolutely necessary to ride dressage and they are not. I do know with dressage riders, especially competition based dressage riders, ride with shorter reins and what I often see is too short or compressed neck (not in your above photo though!) which absolutely blocks the horse's hind legs. They then have to work harder to keep the horse's energy up not realizing they have blocked that energy. A bit of a vicious cycle. What I am trying to relay that in my quest for learning I have realized that as riders we should explore more softness and lightness in our riding. See what our horses offer us rather than always demanding of them. Like in the above picture, what would happen if you put a drape in the rein. Would your horse stay balanced and still in self carriage? Would he/she offer you even more brilliance in his work? Think of how our horses move while loose with no rider, saddle, tack at all. How absolutely brilliant they can be with passage and extensions and even roll backs showing their power and balance. Yes our dressage work improves our horses by straightening and aligning them which leads to stronger and more equally balanced horse, but we should also not lose sight that horses are creatures of movement, built to run and spin and stop. They can do this shortly after birth, and must do so in order to survive. We need to as riders as we progress in our training allow the horse their movement rather than always demanding them to stay within prescribed parameters. Don't be afraid to think outside those parameters, see what they will offer up to us.

[kande50]

[quote="Dresseur"]I think that there is also a misconception that short reins = heavy contact.[quote]

That's true, because sometimes I ride with a very short rein but there's still a loop in it because my hands are forward, and sometimes I ride with a very long rein because my horse just came up from a long stretch and I felt the need to make contact with his mouth, but didn't bother to shorten the reins first. Because of that my inside rein crosses over the neck often too, which I don't worry about either, because if I had adjusted my reins first my inside one wouldn't have crossed his neck.

[Ponichiwa]

Contact discussions aside, I'm finally back in the saddle!

Little bit of good news/bad news:
+ Kiwi has had 2 rides since I arrived on Thurs, and has been stellar both times. Granted I'm not asking for much, but we've both had time off and need to leg up. Today's challenge was an extended trail ride with cows and gates and bridges, oh my!

- Whoa buddy. The fitness. My body is not used to a) riding (sure, have ridden for 15+ years, but as soon as I take 4 weeks off it's like I've never ridden before), b) 90+ degrees F, and c) ~85+% humidity. Yikes. I sweat from places I didn't even know could sweat.

Congrats on the so-far successful show, Mountaineer! Hope today's ride goes awesomely. Impulsion everywhere!

[Chisamba]

Contact discussions aside, I'm finally back in the saddle!

Little bit of good news/bad news:
+ Kiwi has had 2 rides since I arrived on Thurs, and has been stellar both times. Granted I'm not asking for much, but we've both had time off and need to leg up. Today's challenge was an extended trail ride with cows and gates and bridges, oh my!

- Whoa buddy. The fitness. My body is not used to a) riding (sure, have ridden for 15+ years, but as soon as I take 4 weeks off it's like I've never ridden before), b) 90+ degrees F, and c) ~85+% humidity. Yikes. I sweat from places I didn't even know could sweat.

Congrats on the so-far successful show, Mountaineer! Hope today's ride goes awesomely. Impulsion everywhere!

I remember Kiwi is a fourth level pony, but I cannot remember why you had a for week break from riding.

I love a trail ride to work back into riding.

[Dresseur]

Khall, I agree in that you don't need reins to ride the movements, but in terms of training a horse to carry itself and move correctly WITH a rider (not a natural state), the bit and reins play a very important role.

I have sat on quite a few horses that are ridden on loose to no contact. They were pliable in the neck, and soft in the mouth, but their backs all had a similar quality- stiff and frozen. I do believe that there are riders with impeccable seats that can ride on a draped rein, but IMO, those horses didn't start there.

In any case, when I ride, I give forward often. Sometimes on one rein, sometimes in both. If I give, but change nothing else in my position, even my 3 year old will demonstrate self carriage- eventually, I'll be able to ride him on a draped rein. If I give both reins and come forward, he follows.

I guess in summary, I don't believe that the focus should be on reins - it should be on the hind end and the feeling in the back- does the energy pulse up to the front, does it have a supple positive tension etc. The end product is a horse that can be held to the rider's seat and back. If the reins are given, the horse will actually continue to get rounder if the rider continues to ride the horse in front of the seat.

My favorite adage is to make the horse light in the withers, not the mouth! If you do that, the horse WILL be light in the mouth!

[Moutaineer]

Laddie was wiped out today. We have been "stabled" in metal run in sheds in the full sun at this show, which was too much for a big black horse, even wearing a cool coat.

And then I overdid the warm up. He gets rushy and heavy when he gets tired. I stop using my legs. Not a very elegant combination.

So, a 59 today. However, I learned something useful. This is only the third show we have been to together, he tried his best and I tried to over achieve and screwed it up. Frankly, he saved my butt. It could have been an awful lot worse with a less generous horse. Which was pretty much what Mr. Steiner wrote on my test sheet...

I did however win the class of 5 by a rather significant margin. Looking at the scores overall I think a lot of us were having a tough time today. Second day of the first show of the season and very hot, even early.

Yet again, he was such a good boy in a zoo of a warm up ring, and just such a pleasure to be around.

[Ponichiwa]

Contact discussions aside, I'm finally back in the saddle!

Little bit of good news/bad news:
+ Kiwi has had 2 rides since I arrived on Thurs, and has been stellar both times. Granted I'm not asking for much, but we've both had time off and need to leg up. Today's challenge was an extended trail ride with cows and gates and bridges, oh my!

- Whoa buddy. The fitness. My body is not used to a) riding (sure, have ridden for 15+ years, but as soon as I take 4 weeks off it's like I've never ridden before), b) 90+ degrees F, and c) ~85+% humidity. Yikes. I sweat from places I didn't even know could sweat.

Congrats on the so-far successful show, Mountaineer! Hope today's ride goes awesomely. Impulsion everywhere!

I remember Kiwi is a fourth level pony, but I cannot remember why you had a for week break from riding.

I love a trail ride to work back into riding.

I had a cross-country move and had to send Kiwi down ahead of me. So she's been sitting in the pasture getting chubby and loving it while I've been chasing down move stuff. Not the worst thing in the world, as it turns out.

[orono]

Dresseur your horse is stunning and carries himself so well. What level is he schooling it? He looks so confident and relaxed in collection.

[Kyra's Mom]

Good job Mountaineer. Sounds like despite the conditions, you made the best of it.

I am just over the moon with how Kyra has been working. She is still not getting a ton of work but the last week has been more consistent.

One day she was a total wet muddy mess when I arrived thanks to a sudden rain shower. I just did some liberty work with her. She didn't want to stick with me (not a big surprise as she still, after all these years will take the upper hand if allowed ). So, rather than truss her up since liberty was the point, I simply built a loop in the lunge line and dropped it over her head and around her neck. She felt the weight of the line on her neck but was lovely in her work and there was seldom any tension on the line. She eventually decided sticking with me was an OK pursuit and I was able to do some SI and HI au naturale (at the walk).

While I have been trying to work through MY butt issues, I have been doing a lot of walk and a lot of lateral work in the walk. It is pretty amazing what benefit you can reap never getting out of walk.

That said, I have been able to tolerate w/t and c much better. Still not totally comfortable but not so much that it will stop me . She has been working so good. Much improved self carriage. Fair softness in the contact (mare has a long history of contact issues due to pinching) and just has been a total pleasure to ride. I even got some smoking mediums today. Well cadenced and she was actually raising her shoulders. Canter work is good IF I get straightness (duh ). Right lead today was so rhythmic and loose. This horse used to do what I call Flamenco dressage--so much tension and quickness. My previous instructor called it stamping ants . Left lead was a little inconsistent but overall much improved. I have started asking her for changes within the gait and that is going well. Did a great exercise today that really got her butt engaged. 20m circle at walk...canter from walk--one 20m circle. Walk and do a turn on the haunches then canter the new direction 1 circle, walk rinse and repeat. The canter transition is much more from behind and not lifted by her neck.

I still need a ton of fitness work. Not sure when to work that in but I keep trying. I can actually trot 2-3 laps of our large arena now...pathetic but an improvement .

Happy riding all.

Susan

[Dresseur]

Orono, he's still 3, so he's not collected yet The work is very basic. Circles, leg yields, forward and back (in small degrees), stretching FDO and being a solid citizen on the trail. He has just started playing with some shoulder in, but really that work won't start until late fall/winter.

He's just a special guy, and naturally carries himself that way. It would be easy to push gaits big on him, but we keep it dialed down so that he keeps learning to carry himself. We do a very small amount of in hand work - walk/trot/walk, moving turns on the forehand, to knit him together a bit more- he is a gumby.

The other thing is that he likes to get a bit short in the neck, so keeping him reaching out is a constant.

[demi]

As others, I have been dealing with weather conditions. The heat index was 106 yesterday and probably close to that today. I've been riding at 8 am and even after only 30 minutes Emma and I are both soaked. I think about riding at 7 but I would have to feed at 5:30 and it's still dark then. I might just ride at 7 this morning and not feed till after I ride. My spoiled herd will not be happy with that!

I've been riding as per Flight's recommendations. Frame as in photo B and STOP doing the hand jive It's so much easier to ride that way. I have to fight the tendency to make things much harder than they need to be.

[Ryeissa]

Hot here too! I've been watching a jumping clinic and feeding riot treats. He's ok with that!
Great rides last week though!

[orono]

What a fun horse Dresseur, looks like it will be fun (and relatively easy) for him to move up the levels.

[StraightForward]

Ponichiwa, glad you are back in the saddle; I always enjoy your adventures with Kiwi, whose name I love, by the way.

Susan - glad to hear that Kyra is doing so well. When I was riding her, I was honestly working on my own position enough that I would totally forget about her mouth, so maybe the key is just to ignore any gnashing of the teeth and carry on? Great that you're able to ride, even if mostly walk.

Dresseur, your guy looks amazing for three. My three year old just doesn't have the mental maturity to be backed yet, much less carry forth in any sort of a frame.

And on that subject - Pickle will now tolerate having her jaw and bridle path clipped! I've never had to spend so much time on clipper training before. Will definitely be doing a lot more before I make any attempt at trimming her ears, though. She's doing better at bathing as well, so we almost have this stable manners thing in hand. I've abandoned the HSH equipment for a little bit and have been working her in my serrata-style cavesson in hand. Very simple stuff, but her attention span is getting better and she's getting to be a bit more submissive, which I think is what she needed before going to work with the HSH reins and asking for a frame. Haven't had a chance to get her off the property again, but will later this week, and possibly haul her to an open show next weekend. She's getting her teeth done on July 6th, so after that we'll do more bitting, which I was avoiding as her baby incisors were coming out.

[khall]

An interesting read http://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2014/1 ... ew-mclean/ I especially like the Baucher training goals/pyramid.

Mountaineer, glad you had a positive experience for your show. Wished you could have been at your best for A Steiner, he is a great judge that uses the full range of scale for scoring.

Ponichiwa, I certainly understand about sweating in places you did not know would! Living in middle Georgia for most of my life the heat and humidity can be brutal here. Today is being a unusual exception and break for so late in June. Good luck getting Kiwi back in shape.

Kyra- glad you able to be back in the saddle!!

Dresseur I think if you read my posts a little more carefully you would see that we are closer together than we are apart. I do like your guy, what is his breeding? One point I would like to address is putting a drape in the rein and what happens under the rider, I don't really agree that they get rounder what I feel is that the HQs engage even more while the withers and poll lift up leading to even more engaged horse.

Rye glad you are having good progress with Riot even if you are taking a slight break. You know I have always liked him.

Chisamba I agree about yay dressage. I always get a giggle when you see the Western reiners switch with the dressage riders (Stephan Peters and a unknown to me Western rider comes to mind) funny to watch those cowboys ride those big moving dressage horses!! Then the dressage riders get on those smaller moving QHs and never move. Dressage training both for horse and riders really does prepare for other disciplines.

I am trying to establish some goals moving forward without Mark. With the training on my big guy I was really needing Mark's help moving forward, I am at my level of experience of training with him. While I have trained piaffe/passage and changes on other horses it has been YEARS since I have and not with the emphasis that Mark had of correctness and lightness and being fully fully prepared. Rip has all the lateral work firmly established and can move easily from one to the other depending on what I feel he needs. I do feel (and have felt) that I need to focus a bit on some other aspects of his training, not all about straight dressage work. So I am leaning towards Karen Rohlf style of training. I have always admired her focus of the relationship between horse and rider, her use of various training outside of the sand box like liberty and riding without reins. I think this would be a good move for my big guy and for me as a rider with a youngster that I will be starting a bit with next year. I have ridden with Karen Rohlf before but stayed with Mark because his style of teaching just clicked with me. I will also be looking into other possible trainers to work with, preferably ones who emphasize the use of in hand work because that has been such a helpful and huge learning experience for me with Mark. So if you know of any trainers who might fit the bill either post here or PM me. I do have to say that gallop aka Paula Kierkegaard also always resonated with me with her posts on UDBB, so if anyone knows if she comes East and teaches please let me know.

Good riding all and stay cool for those of us in the heat!!

[kande50]

I think about riding at 7 but I would have to feed at 5:30 and it's still dark then. I might just ride at 7 this morning and not feed till after I ride. My spoiled herd will not be happy with that!

Why would you need to feed at 5:30 if you wanted to ride at 7?

[Dresseur]

Khall, I think you are right. We are just using different words. Your description of what happens under the rider is what I'm calling roundness. So yes, we are on the same page

He is by Festivo MR out of Bandida NSW. Working lines, I'm told.

[Brydie]

Went for our first trail ride at the new place on Saturday. There's a big paddock at the back of the property which is basically Australian Bush. There is an opening at the back of the paddock to more land but we didn't go through.

Loved it! Not long after entering the paddock Red started to look up at something and there was a kangaroo just starting at us, and there were a few more hopping through the Bush. Was pretty cool! In the five years I've lived in Australia I've only seen one wild kangaroo and that was last month on a driving trip!

Red was NOT paying attention where his feet were going, had a couple of small trips, but then he started to pay attention as we trotted through the Bush and felt great when he started picking his feet up and being more careful. Will definitely have to do this weekly . Did a few walk to canter transitions back in the schooling paddock in between our trots through the Bush. Red seems to have held his fitness well with his lack of work in the last couple of months (but has lost muscle). Really looking forward to get him back in a training routine in a few weeks.

[Ryeissa]

I also joined Dressage clinic.com and I'm really enjoying it. I had a membership to dtessagetraining online, but never got into it a few years ago.
I guess I'm seeing more connection to my personal work and at a different place in my mindset.

I ride with eventers so I enjoy this dressage community here!

[Ryeissa]

My biggest lesson of both the online videos and seeing the jumping clinic is that I may not ride hard enough. I think riot is decently fit, but maybe I can start to ask more aerobically. I'm so big on "quality" and precision but there might be more room for conditioning.
I am riding 4x a week each week, which is good. I keep a calendar and journal entry of every ride.