DefinitelyDressage.com

StraightForward

Moutaineer wrote:Yabut... a super fancy facility at the base of a ski resort where you have to walk down a steep, icy hill to get from the barn to the indoor arena?

Well, my husband skis... There are some acceptable places in the Sun Valley area, if I had to choose

StraightForward

Thanks for the additional notes

Moutaineer wrote:The facility was brand new and very fancy, with outstanding footing. They fed us a gourmet catered lunch.

I saw that on Facebook and let my husband know he needs to hurry up and win the Powerball. Cool that they will be hosting shows.

StraightForward

I'm pretty much out for the next few rounds. We have a followup ultrasound on March 25th, and I am on the list to tentatively get her into the rehab facility a week after that. I was happy to hear that she had a space available since I'll be gone for a couple weeks in April. I'll see what the vet th...

StraightForward

Thanks Exvet. That sounds like a heart wrenching situation with the horse you lost. I did use oral Reserpine with Annabelle, and she would blow through that with Ace on top. She responded well to DePaulo Tranquility, allowing me to survive the ridden portion of her rehab. I ordered a bucket of it la...

StraightForward

Moutaineer, sorry you have the yuck, just as you're getting back in the saddle. Justin showing Potters sounds like a good plan! Alx, it is in the body of the upper branch, probably just before it starts to flatten towards the insertion point on the fetlock. My regular vet is out this week, so I used...

StraightForward

Well, it is her lateral suspensory branch, so we are probably cooked for most of the show season. Just got done with PRP. A month of stall rest and then recheck.

StraightForward

Well we are off to the vet on Wednesday morning. I think I've mentioned that T had had some swelling off and on on her left front. She was sound on it and I assumed it was a superficial bruise, but the swelling has been getting more persistent and she had been a little off in her warmups. I put a sw...

StraightForward

Thanks Blob, that is similar to what Carrie had us doing for setup at the last fall clinic. I really think right now she is coming into season and a bit extra snarky, so with the spurs irritating her, and her thinking that a kick change behind would get me off her case, things went a little south. I...

StraightForward

We had a better ride today. I took the spurs off but insisted that T get in front of my leg or else. Also really not accepting the rigidity that is her SOP. I didn't ask for any changes and she only did one little kick and change behind. I am thinking that she is coming into season and the spurs wer...

StraightForward

Thanks Mari and Exvet! I think most of these happened when she tried to change before I actually asked. She starts feeling me prepare her and then throws a leg instead of staying on my aids and waiting. There was one circle where I was doing literally nothing except trying to get her more supple and...

StraightForward

Thanks Khall, I will have to take a look at that article. Moutaineer, so happy to hear you are back in the saddle, and I hope your back recovers! Had a lesson today to work on changes, and many shenanigans were had. I asked for them in a specific place last time, so today she really started anticipa...

StraightForward

Blob, so sorry MM had an episode out of nowhere like that. Sending jingles to her. Glad you are having some good rides with RP though. Sounds like he is getting the hang of changes. We are also starting to wrap our heads around changes, though probably not quite as far along. Last night I did some c...

StraightForward

Yay, it must feel great to canter! Onward and upward! I used lots of Steffan tips last night and got some really good work. I ride in the Erreplus to refresh my memory of that saddle. If only I could get that flap and block put on another seat and tree. It seemed like her back came up more than in t...

StraightForward

. SF hate that about the Albion. Don’t know if you would be interested in a different model of Black country but Juliet’s owner has a brand new wide load beautiful saddle. I’ll share the link or if anyone else is looking… T actually doesn't need anything wildly wide. Usually a regular wide or gener...

StraightForward

Maybe Moutaineer can add to this when she sits in in a few weeks! The notes are all from FEI level horses with pro riders. There were a couple first levelish horses that he was very patient with fixing some basic things like keeping the horse off the hand and trotting off promptly. It would have bee...

StraightForward

The clinic was really good today. It was mostly FEI level combos, and I feel gratified saying that this is really the first time I've been able to get so much out of auditing rides at that level. Steffan's go-to warmup is half a 20-m circle near the end of the arena with a feeling of LY out, then do...

StraightForward

Ah, well at least the seller is taking the Albion back! Someone on Facebook has an Erreplus exactly like mine, but it's a private seller, so that makes me nervous that I would have no recourse if the tree had a problem. Then there is another, slightly older one at Maryland Tack Exchange, but it's br...

StraightForward

Ugh, I got the Albion over to the Saddler tonight to put billets on. She decided to go ahead and drop the panels, and yep, the tree is crooked. So I guess I'm going to try to get my money back and look for another one. There aren't too many 18" Albion Revelations available, and she had concerns...

StraightForward

We've made it to February with no H&F thread, so I thought I'd get one going. 2025 was not kind to me, and I did gain some weight when I was trying to lose. I got back on the gym train in December and it has been going fairly well, so now I'm trying to add a 4th day of exercise. Ideally, three d...

StraightForward

We are trying to find our groove over here, now that it's warm enough that the arena is reliably thawed out. Yesterday I was trying to focus on trot work and getting T in front of my leg. She seemed to be bumping me off the contact in every way, not just the bit, but my seat and leg. We got a little...

StraightForward

Ugh, I feel for all of you in the path of the storm. I've seen a few friends' videos of plowing, plowing, and plowing! Here the inversion finally lifted and the arena was pretty nicely thawed out today. I've had a couple lightbulb moments over the past few days. T was going through one of her phases...

StraightForward

@straghtForward, do you know anything about Spurwing facility in Eagle? I gather it has had a makeover and all new footing, and has taken over Nadine's recognized show dates for the year. Barn is contemplating a road trip and I said id check on the local low-down! It is quite nice. This fall they p...

StraightForward

Glad to hear Joplin is making good progress! Also that Kora will be OK with her booboo! We have had a couple good rides though I am needing to apply more structure. Just as I got the dressage court set up to work on riding better lines, the arena froze up. The good news is that T is finally getting ...

StraightForward

Horses can be such a rollercoaster! I went out last night to try the new saddle on T and throw some kinesiotape on her back. She was so touchy that she was trying to kneecap me when I tried to check the saddle fit, even though it looked pretty good. Gave up on that and tried to put some tape along h...

StraightForward

T got chiro on Monday. She was more "out" in her back with probable relation to saddle than usual, so I guess it's a good thing the new Albion is arriving tomorrow. She had yesterday off, and we had a somewhat short ride tonight, maybe because it was dark and freezing fog, IDK. She did fee...

StraightForward

Yeah, saddles, ugh. I was thinking that T might be changing muscle a lot this year now that she is finally offering some actual collection, so having another alternate saddle waiting in the wings might not be a bad thing. We had a good ride today. I executed my plan of 2 changes over the pole, and t...

StraightForward

Khalil, sorry to hear that Quincy didn't work out, but better to spot a problem before money exchanges hands. I hope your surgery recovery starts getting easier too. We had a soggy week, so just a couple walk rides in the BB pad, and then half the arena was OK yesterday, so I just go there moving ar...

StraightForward

Blob, I definitely have the same concern! I asked my coach and we agreed that the way to go is to use the pole to establish the pattern, and then ask for the change right next to the pole. Hopefully it works! The BO there happens to be a former FEI rider, and she was watching and told me independent...

StraightForward

Well maybe losing boarders will be a wake-up call to the new owners that they need to introduce themselves and work with their clients to find out what they need. I've had this comm set for a few years and it's been well worth it. I did just have to replace the transmitter, but considering that I ge...

StraightForward

LSP, I hope things smooth out soon and the new owners get clued in. The weather worked in our favor and I was able to shoehorn in the clinic in Sun Valley. I'm really glad I did. I stated my overarching goals for my first post for my instructor, and she fully agreed. She said T was "beyond read...

StraightForward

I thought I'd kick this off a little early as I'm sure many of us are ruminating on or overall goals for 2026 this week as well as our stepping stones as we persevere through winter. This year I am really aiming for flying changes and third level. Of course, without an indoor I'm at the mercy of the...

StraightForward

Yikes, that is concerning! Even if they are contractors, it seems like responsible owners would be overseeing and instructing them to make sure they aren't wreaking havoc with the horses. Ugh, I hope it gets worked out!

StraightForward

SF, Molly Martin swears by PEMF and offers services to others in the area. She is convinced it's one of the key pieces in keeping her horse's ulcer incidence down to a minimum. I have used Bemer on Tesla. I rented one for a week a couple years ago, and by the third day of having it, she would come ...

StraightForward

ExVet, that sounds really great. Hope you get to work with her again! I just pulled the trigger on an Activomed PEMF blanket. I bought an older reconditioned one, plus new leg wraps. Part of my reason for going with this brand is that they make an add-on for Pecs/sternum/abs area. I'll probably buy ...

StraightForward

Quincy sounds like a gem, Khall. Jingles for a good PPE and that you're back together soon! Except, glad you're getting so much productive coaching! I didn't end up getting a lesson but did get some video on Saturday. I was pleased to see that we have a pretty clear 4-track travers both directions. ...

StraightForward

No lesson this morning as my instructor woke up with back pain. Maybe we'll squeeze something in this weekend, but it's pretty wet and rainy. I tried the posture corrector for 5-10 minutes. Wow, it is pretty intense but gets the point across. Probably something I'll just use for a few minutes once a...

StraightForward

Tesla is not always thrilled about jumping, but usually she works into it. I do like to do a trot in, canter out as well, to get her snappier with pushing up and over and not sucking back. Very interesting ride tonight. I could tell out before I got on that she had a belligerent streak. I'd already ...

StraightForward

Blob, we have touched on changes a little, but it's still at the stage of trying it when she has some extra zazz to work with. Saturday she was trying to change after a jump but it was more just kicking legs in all directions.

StraightForward

One was shipped over a few days ago. It's a mare so has to go into CEM quarantine for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, a horse on the flight over died (!!!) and so all the horses on the flight have to be quarantined until the PM is done (about 2 weeks, apoarently) and THEN the poor mare has to go into CEM q...

StraightForward

Moutaineer, glad you are making progress and at least getting to go out to the barn a bit. Can't wait to see you back up in the irons! Khall, exciting to have a prospect to go check out! Weather has been so nice here for December. Yesterday the frost was just burning off when my lesson started at 9....

StraightForward

I got these last winter and they are quite warm. https://www.tackoftheday.com/b-vertigo-onyx-waterproof-winter-gloves-titan-navy-312bf33-tnb/p The warmest riding gloves I have are Horze brand with down filling, but I am not seeing them now in a search. I have a pair of rechargeable hand warmers. The...

StraightForward

Aleu, I always love your snow videos! Here we tend to have chopped up frozen footing under the snow, so the opportunities to ride in snow are limited. I do love it though! I set up some jumps today with the idea of doing a figure 8 with a lead change over the hogsback in the middle. Well T got obses...

StraightForward

Absolutely! I was thinking the same since my brother has a 3D printer, but I would have no idea how to create the file for it. I just looked for heat deformable plastic, but it looks like it would be at least 50% of the price of the actual product, so I'll probably just order it. It's about the pric...

StraightForward

Thanks Exvet! The instructor said it was great that T was thinking of changing behind first, but then she's always been one to swap behind if she feels out of balance. Getting those big shoulders up and out of the way will be key. I think we have a 50/50 shot at third level next year. I am not payin...

StraightForward

The sun was out and it was surprisingly warm this morning. We had a good lesson working on simple changes and then a couple attempts at FCs. One she changed chaotically. The other she stole a trot step and changed, but hey, it was a reaction and attempt! We have a few days of rain, and then it is lo...

StraightForward

Blob, that should be an interesting experiment! T is also super sensitive in the mouth, and currently in a Baucher (Winderen). I have not even started thinking about trying a double, but Imagine it might not be TOO far into the future. LSP, it sounds like Lynx is growing up. Glad he was a good boy! ...

StraightForward

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We rode in the bareback pad yesterday, and now that I think of it, I'm not as sore as I was expecting, lol. Today we had a nice jump school. One thing I'm working on with T is that when I pick up the reins after a break, she is asking "what now boss?" not "...

StraightForward

Horses read our energy, and OUR horses can really learn to read OUR energy. It always takes me awhile to get T sufficiently hot off my leg, so if I just want to amble around down the road, it's no problem. She would not be reactive about a branch touching her butt because of her dressage training. B...

StraightForward

We are getting our momentum back over here. Two good dressage rides this weekend, then a bit of jumping tonight. My current thing is focusing on my own self carriage so I don't give anything up in the transitions or when the lateral work isn't going perfectly. Working more adjustability in the cante...

StraightForward

Welcome back, Flight and Mari!

Search found 3431 matches