DefinitelyDressage.com

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Went out the barn today for the first time in a few weeks (I was out of town). MM got a quick ride just to get us back in the swing of things. She felt good, a bit on the forehand, but that's not unusual after a couple weeks off. RP is looking mostly sound. He's leaning on his shoulder a bit, but I ...

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You bring up an issue Blob that I want to expound upon with respect to my OBSERVATION. Here I do not have issues with horses getting their feet wet. Because I no longer live in an area with horses feet being exposed to dew, rain and drying out often within the same 24 hour period, I've had (in 20 y...

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The discussion on shoes is very interesting to me. I also tend to fall in the category of 'give the horse what it needs to do the job you're asking'. But I . haven't really had to think about that on a performance level until recently. Meaning, in the past I've had horses with problematic feet, so s...

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I've only ridden pi/pa on horses trained by the same trainer, so it's really only one reference point of training method. For pi it was both legs and pa it was alternating. But the horses were most responsive to pa based on seat aids. If you made the seat more dynamic with a longer half halt in the ...

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Under tongue and on gums are both equally absorbent. But gel that thick is harder to get on gums without also getting it on the top of the tongue, which means it'll be swallowed instead of absorbed, or without getting much of it on the floor

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i tried a MacRider a bit back and really liked the saddle. However, it wasn't quite the right fit for MM. They're supposed to be super adjustable, so I reached out through the website to try to find a rep. Much to my disappointment, despite the website saying they had reps in my state, the contact e...

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When I was starting youngsters I spent a lot of time trying to mimic what a farrier does to get them used to it. I'd pick up feet and hold them between my legs for an extended period. Maybe you doing that will help

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About to head out of town for 12 days, so it'll be a bit of down time for my two. MM has been doing well but I think has gotten a bit bored and dull to the work. My biggest challenge with her is always keep her mentally stimulated--she's terribly smart and gets bored with things easily. I have to fi...

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How is she when you work with her feet? Is it an area that is generally one where she doesn't have a ton of comfort?

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I also would have suggested some mild Masterson Method bodywork. It's so hard to know what to do when you don't know the exact injury or the extent of it. Is he head bobbing lame? My mare would not bend to the right, she'd pitch a fit when asked. I had bodywork done twice and the worker said if she...

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Can you pony him. It's a favorite reconditioning of mine to pony the cray crays That's an interesting idea. MM is about as good of a horse to pony off of as I can think of. But it's something I've never done before. I have a good body worker, but given that we don't have a clear diagnosis I am worr...

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RP fell down in pasture about a month ago and hurt his shoulder badly. The injury is behind the shoulder blade so we don't know exactly what we're dealing with--pulled muscle? torn tendon? not really clear. I opted (for many reasons) not to do the extended stall rest route though that was the vet's ...

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well, ultimately, I don't really care too much whether it's straight or broken. I don't think either way is always the right way. I do think it's a lovely picture regardless. Flight, sounds like you must have had some really great moments in your test. Congrats on the first PSG! A 62% is a score to ...

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Dresseur those photos are very nice. I would just like to point out you and flight are in the elite crowd in riding with a broken line up. At some point the books will catch up on this point given all the empirical evidence of efficacy. Flight has a straight line from bit to elbow. Print the pictur...

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I'll be out of town for two weeks in september, but hopefully it'll still be a productive couple of months. MM: Work on getting a more consistent connection through the lumbar cross train as often as possible Get this saddle finally sorted Keep working on those changes--particularly keeping her from...

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Thanks, Straightforward!

I will try the spiral exercise!

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Would love some thoughts/suggestions on exercises: My canter 10 meter circles with MM need some help. They don't always feel straight and sometimes we lose impulsion. Ultimately we just really lose quality of overall canter by the second half of the circle. And while I recognize the only way to prac...

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Glad you're ok, Aleuronx! And also so happy to hear the move went well, Ryeissa. Moving can be such a stressful pain--but sounds like yours was very smooth and many good things ahead! Things mostly the same over here. I'm starting to get bored by my own updates. MM's saddle is back for the 4th time ...

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The barn I'm at cuts/mows their pastures. If they didn't, i would be worry about the amount of pasture access for my two, who are not IR, but are breeds that are more commonly IR than some other horses. I don't think I understand this statement. Mowing the pastures makes for better grass, not worse...

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I've never had a problem with overweight horses in unlimited hay. If they know its always going to be available they moderate their own intake. Now unlimited pasture is different. I've seen insulin resistance etc on the very rich grass here in the northeast. If a horse needs less sugar I soak the h...

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I've also only boarded at barns that feed 2x a day, but with enough hay and turnout that horses more or less have something in front of them all day

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It's both.. Some horses naturally have a very clear rhythm. Others need to be taught. The ones that are taught are usually just as consistent as the ones that have it naturally

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Mine are out all night with grass. And in during the day with hay that is more or less supposed to last them until turnout. Though some eat fast and end up going 2 hours or so without. In the winter the turnout schedule flips and round bales are added to pasture to make up for less grass

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I don't see anything about it on the show bill (silly me for not thinking to look there first). I'll definitely check with others at my barn, or the show secretary if needed. I didn't realize how much it could vary from region to region! If nothing else you could default to light colored breeches (...

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I leasesed one that would change behind and not in front. I did a lot of canter bounce poles to get more lift in the shoulder and that seemed to help!

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Did you recently get a new shipment of hay? Slobbers is usually harmless, but it is also usually caused by something the horse is eating. Some alfalfa and clover are often culprits.

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Flight, like you I am in a muddled change land with MM. We have one that is reliably clean unless I panic and one that is not (I think that's the case for you as well?). I don't know if our issues are necessarily the same, but we are definitely in the same place. So, I am always eager to hear about ...

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dasher wrote:Is she having a reaction to the needle? I had a horse that had an allergic reaction to ss staples.

Hmmm.... Could be. It doesn't seem to matter what she's getting. But I also haven't injected her IM with anything but vaccines.

Do you use different needles?

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MM got her shots today. Thankfully the ordeal was far less traumatic than last time and she did not get as worked up as last time. The vet minimized what she needed so she only had 2 injections. She got banimine beforehand. After I rode her, cold hosed, and put arnica gel on the injection sites and ...

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"sit" is one of the commands my bf's future greyhounds should have learned in the prison program. Though, we were warned that some tend to 'cheat' on their sit and either crouch or just go lie down with the head up and when you say 'down' they put their head down. ha! Lie or sit, I don't c...

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Every lesson I've taken the expectation was that I would take care of grooming and cleaning the tack of the horse i rode. So, that doesn't seem odd to me at all. I rode the horse, I should make sure the horse and its equipment were taken care of. The lessons being useless however does not seem norma...

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Most schooling shows require tidy clothing and turnout and not much else. What I do: I usually wear solid colored breeches (you'll see plenty of tan, white, and black) and a solid polo shirt tucked in. I typically don't braid (unless your horse has a long mane) but make sure the mane is pulled and c...

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don't want to put words in Flight's mouth. But I imagine for some of us, it's also about learning. I've had a pro put changes on a horse or had horses that already had changes on them and not only is there nothing wrong with that, but it was an important part of my education. But I also have the de...

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Probably not, which is why it's not really a buck. He's just trying to do as I ask. I struggle working this out largely on my own. Why do you have to do it on your own? What is wrong with having a pro put the changes on the horse. Is it a pride thing? I don't want to put words in Flight's mouth. Bu...

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When I go straight from work to the barn, I usually change into my riding clothes in the car. One day someone will walk by and catch me naked.

At shows, I change in and out of show clothes in the tack room and I'm sure plenty of strangers have seen me in my underwear.

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It's hard when horses have a lot of stall rest because when you do turnout even the calmest horse will go a bit wild after so much stall time. It's common for horses to reinjure themselves this way and it can make getting on top of the injury very hard. I know people who have been successful at gett...

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piedmontfields wrote:One more simple strategy is to make sure she gets turnout afterwards. It can really help with swelling.

She always gets riding/lunging that day and turnout. She spends most of her time outside

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Thanks Texsuze and Heddylamar, useful advice. Makes sense to give banimime before and after not just the day of. Don't know why I didn't think of that I will ask the vet about pectorals. She's had them there before. Actually her first ever vaccines were in her pectoral, so imagine my surprise the ne...

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Is it every shot or just one of them? Are there different vaccine companies? If so try a different company. It's every shot and every company I've tried. @musical comedy, I don't really have an option if I want to show her, I need a vaccine record. She actually does better with the multiple vaccine...

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My mare gets horrible reactions to vaccines, or to any injection. She's also awful about getting them done, which makes the pain worse. She gets banimime before shots but still swells up and is very muscle stiff for at least a week. When she got her spring shots, in addition to swelling and stiffnes...

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Oh wow, that would have definitely surprised me too!

He sure is a pretty looking snake--the can must have ben a nice cool spot to rest.

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I think it is hard to evaluate what is default at this stage, because there are so many things I do without thinking or even realizing that I do. What I can articulate are the many things that are not default yet, that I'm reminding myself about on a daily basis, some are recent bad habits (remindin...

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Thanks all, this has been super helpful. My biggest worry is that my cat is very playful and often plays by darting around the house, which might be a trigger. But we have time to do the introduction slowly and carefully. And we'll utilize a muzzle in there beginning to be extra safe. The rescue my ...

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Ugh, Mountaineer, I know that feeling well of having a show that just wasn't quite right in many small ways. I will second the question about the footing. There is a show venue in my area that I wont' take MM to until they fix the footing. it's not objectively AWFUL footing (though no one would call...

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Thanks for sharing, Chisamba. I always enjoy people's clinic reports.

A good reminder about the downward transitions that I can utilize right away.

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Any folks on here with experience with greyhounds? Particularly former racers? In particular would love to hear how/if your greyhounds integrated well with other pets. My boyfriend is looking to adopt a greyhound. We don't live together, but plan to soon. I have a cat, so the rescue he's working wit...

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Oh, Xan, this is a common feeling. I'm sure all of us have at least one 'horse that got away' kind of regret. But also, I do believe that if the timing didn't work out, then it wasn't meant to be. You will find your right horse at a time that makes sense for you. And although it sounds like the mare...

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A few good old standbys that I tend to come back to time and time again: 1. Trot down longside, halt before the corner, TOF so you're facing the other way, trot off. Rinse and repeat at other end. This exercise usually gets horses quicker behind and more confirmed in half halt. 2. Do a 15ish meter c...

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Yes, do keep us posted! I've also done a whole range, including the coconut oil... But it seems the combination of sweat (it's humid down here!) And oil/strong conditioners actually made it far more tangled. The knots were easier to get out, but there were a lot more of them! Brushing AFTER it's dri...

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I would really need a lot more money than I have now to afford Wellington. I think if I had the funds for that amount to be nbd I might want to try the experience at least once to see what it's all about. But as it stands now, that kind of thing is not only not possible financially, but also somethi...

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