DefinitelyDressage.com

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Moutaineer, ouch! Jingles that the doc can get you sorted out and back in the saddle. I guess it is already time to close out! It was a successful period for us, getting some nice scores at our show a few weeks ago, and getting to ride in some helpful clinics. The clinician this weekend thought we'd...

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Well, I think T's mystery issue is solved. While I was waiting for the chiro on Wednesday, I realized that her new neighbor was all in our business. So she went from a mini to an older gelding. Sure enough, he was gelded late, and was trying to mount a mare who used to board there. So yeah. Luckily ...

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Alx, I hope the heat dome breaks soon, that sounds miserable. It sounds like you're making great progress and getting ready for PSG! T was much more cooperative tonight. I still did a long walk warmup with lots of lateral work. She wasn't shoving into my right leg nearly as much, and being less fidg...

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LSP, yes, I think T is just always going to have these Embrace the Suck phases where the work gets harder and the old bracing and sucking back habits come back to a degree. I just try to balance that with not being too hard-headed about kicking on when she might really need something other than toug...

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I'm surprised it's been so hot on UT and CO. Here the temp dropped about 30 degrees and I was actually cold at the dissection on Friday, then we got some rain in the afternoon. Today it was beautiful with maybe a high of 70. The mercury will start climbing again tomorrow, but it's looking to be a re...

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Aleuronx, nice video, thanks for sharing. Mtneer, I think I am in the same boat a bit. I got T's shoes on last night, but she still seems kind of sluggish and stiff to the right when I threw her on the lunge. So I called off our jumping lesson and I went and did some bodywork on her this morning, wh...

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Good on both of you for getting out there at 4th! I got home a day earlier than planned, so I went out and rode this morning. T had one shoe left :roll: so I figured she could manage to go barefoot for the next few days, especially since her fronts have been off for over a week. She was quite a pill...

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LSP, I all my jump poles are those landscaping timbers. They also stack nicely with the flat side. Well, except the ones that decide to twist and warp.

Except, good luck! Also to Mtneer. Glad Potters pulled it together today even if the judge was crabby.

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Oh Potters, take a chill pill and have a good night's sleep!

I'm looking forward to getting home and riding on Sunday.

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Oh, exvet, what a terrible experience and a loss of a promising young horse for your neighbor. Horses can just be so fragile. Aleuronx, glad you are on track to get your truck fixed up in short order. Tanga, great job on your show! Tesla threw a shoe in the pasture yesterday. I knew the day before t...

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Heddy, jingles for your dad. It sounds like such a hard situation. Blob, hurrah for the homework being so effective! Aleuronx, I can't wait to see how you and Kora do the rest of the summer. So exciting! Moutaineer, if it's skinned up for the show, a little brown shoe polish might not hurt? I put so...

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Yay for pony rides. Very exciting, and glad he was a good boy! Today was really good. It was low 70's with a mild breeze, so T was more energetic, but nothing crazy. First level went very smoothly, and we got 5 8's. T got an 8 for gaits (!) and I got a 7.5 for rider aids to finish with a 71.364. So ...

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Good day today! First-2 we missed a 70% by the slimmest of margins. 2-1 we were just under 66% with some points thrown away here and there. Tomorrow will be cooler so I'll try to build her up more with lateral work in the warmup, and expect a little more in the test. Today keeping her agreeable and ...

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Dang Potters! At least it looks pretty superficial? The horses will drive you to drink. I went by the show office this afternoon to pick up my number, and then headed to the barn to do a quick "you shall be in front of my leg" ride and then a bath. When I got there, the BO was just walking...

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Blob, I am not sure about Beris bits, but my Winderen is holding up well after more than a year. They recently came out with thinner mouth pieces, but it looks like they only go down to 4.5".

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Fager actually promotes using a smaller bradoon and a larger Weymouth, so that might be a way to go if it's hard to find a smally Weymouth. The thinner titanium bits seem like a good idea for the more petite horses. Moutaineer, I'm not showing at Les Bois, but I will probably go watch for a bit, so ...

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Congratulations, good thing you ordered that shadbelly!

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Yes, their customer service is not great. I do have a direct line to "James". This is my third SoloShot. I wouldn't really expect more than 4-5 years. The batteries on mine were basically toast at that point, and not really worth the expense on an older unit with a motor that was probably ...

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Well, to be fair, they were doing lessons at a few places, and the other riders there are boarders, so of course their horses are used to the llamas. It probably just didn't occur to the organizer and was otherwise convenient for me to not have to haul somewhere. Today's llama-free lesson was much b...

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LSP, glad you have fun at the WE clinic. No input on your boy's "excitement." I had a gelding who was terrible about showing his junk in the showmanship class, but I think that was excessive relaxation Exvet, sorry you had to miss a lesson, but it sounds like you're figuring out finer poin...

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Lynx is quite the chonky boi these days! The BO was saying yesterday that she sat a pic of T when she was 2 and couldn't believe it was the same horse. She was all head and angles on a toothpick neck, lol. Today we ran through our tests. Those canter departs on the short end are our nemesis. First-2...

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Well T is going to have to focus on dressage for a bit. I gave her a fair warmup tonight, then she "forgot" how to canter and I had to get after her a bit. She was like - "short reins, straight through the haunches, and forward... pick two." She did remember after I kicked her bu...

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Congratulations that is amazing. You've really earned it; it is so great seeing an AO bring a horse up the levels like you've done!

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Yay for the horses who aren't holding back anymore! We had a group school out on the XC today. Unfortunately, it was pretty rainy so I was worried about T slipping with her composite shoes. It was all find with jumping some logs, but we just jumped one little roll top and called it a day. Ryan said ...

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Ah yes, I would also love to have mirrors, but don't see that happening. At least my new SoloShot worked today. Last time it just spun around and videoed the ground. If I'd known it was going to work, I would have set it up in a better spot today. We did gridwork since it was a smaller arena. We wor...

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LSP, Lynx is really filling out. Yes, it does look like you'll be more supported with your stirrups up a notch or two, but it looks like the two of you are working well together! We had a fairly mellow stretchy ride with some spiral in/out on Friday. T seems a bit touchy in her back, but I think it'...

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We appreciate all your efforts!

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We had a nice jump session on our own Saturday. Without 100 instructions rattling around in my brain, I rode a little more naturally to the fences and T literally took things in stride. I didn't measure, but I think they were all set around 2'6" and she was pretty much just loping over them qui...

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Moutaineer wrote:I don't know how anybody ever gets to Grand Prix before either they or the horse dies of old age.

LOL, that is kind of how I feel right now. Like, we've come so far in the last year and yet we have so much more work to do at second level.

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Thanks for the new thread! #1 = Get my arse back into the gym! Demand more of T. I think this looks like slowing and getting the articulation in the hind legs. I watched a bit of video from yesterday, and with her play at half steps, she is not sitting enough, and I need to work on that. I think it ...

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Closeout time! My goals were a little vague, but I'm happy with our progress this go-round. Tonight in particular, I decided to get on with it and get T really stepping up into the bridle, and I think it's payed off. There has been progress with our half passes. I got some good lessons between my re...

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Glad to see the board is back up! I've been thinking that one of these days, I need to go back through all of these threads and C&P all my posts as a training journal for T. It might be useful if I ever say, get a head injury and go buy another two year old and start this journey all over again....

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Chisamba, interesting observations from riding client horses! I am not surprised, as I'm fumbling around into unchartered territory. I've never had a schoolmaster to ride or anything, so a) I'm sure my aids leave something to be desired and b) I'm not always sure about the feeling I'm going for. But...

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Exvet, I identify with a lot of what you wrote. I need to get past riding more carefully because T might throw a tantrum. She is also not unsafe, and can handle a little more pressure these days. Today's ride was interesting. She started out stiff and heavy on the bit, which is totally out of charac...

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LSP, glad you had a good ride. Cool you'll get to ride with CS. My instructor has started working with him as well and really likes him. She seems to be in a groove of riding with him and Lilo monthly. I'm excited to see how the shows go for her this summer! Moutaineer, interesting with the UG. Boo ...

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Got T's full shoe package on last night. I stupidly left her tricky RH for last, and she really went to snatching it away and stomping down before I could place the shoe. Finally got it done though set just a little more forward than I'd like. Now she is in leather wedges in back, and flat leather p...

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Aleuronx, sounds like another good exercise. Glad you have a great lesson and K got a bath to boot! I often do things lately and reflect on how T would have thrown a tantrum or shut down over these requests a year or even six months ago. We have awhile to go to get to staying on the aids with rapid ...

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That sounds like something I need to try, Chisamba, thanks! T was out of her funk today and jumped really well. She was just excited enough by the neighbor's alpacas that it gave her an energy boost, but she stayed focused on the job and didn't bat an eye at the fillers that she hasn't seen since fa...

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Geeze Exvet, I think I would be curled up in a ball in the corner after all of that. You are one tough cookie! Moutaineer, hope your boys are both fine and Potter's mood improves. They can never let us relax completely! Aleuronx, great your trainer can see the improvement while you've been flying so...

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Hurray for boring, Goldhorse. I hope it continues that way! Exvet, jingles for Ace. He sounds like such a good boy, I hope his colic problems are solveable. Second day of the Carrie Harden clinic went well. When I got there they said they were running 15 minutes behind, but that turned into 45 minut...

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LSP, it's generous of you to share your horse. Jingles for your friend's horse healing up! And of course congratulations on the nice compliment. Adding some notes from this morning's clinic ride before I forget things. First, T loaded nicely, which was a relief, because she was a royal pain about it...

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Exvet, exciting that you are sitting on Troy! I'm sure he'll be riding around with you in no time! T is a lot of fun for me even though she wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. Even though she can be a pill, she is a pretty safe pill and doesn't fly off the handle and do anything too crazy. We had a g...

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Glad it is clicking for you M! We had a great ride tonight too. I pulled T's hind shoes last night since my welds on the tabs were failing. I couldn't get it together to prep a new pair of shoes, so I stuck some Sole Guard in and she got a little back massage, red light and stretching while the stuf...

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Half pass positioning to the left is the devil for me, Moutaineer! I find if I weight the inside seat bone it blocks us, but when I lift that seat bone, my inside leg comes off. Once I get the position right, I lose the swing and she just powers down and all the impulsion goes. Oh well, we won't be ...

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Oh Dang! Glad he is generally OK. Fingers crossed for no abscesses or other complications! Chiro was out for the first time since maybe December. She said T is generally in good shape, with a few ideas for things we can do for her hind end. She was a little stuck in C3 and a couple other places that...

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Exvet, glad you have a productive lesson, and that Troy seems to be turning into what you've been looking for. Blob, what do you think is at the root of RP's HI struggles? Does he have the same struggle in HP? No ideas, just curious. We had fabulous weather this weekend, and I had a good jump school...

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I'm getting ready for a tack sale next weekend. Thought I'd share the price list here in case anyone is looking for something I have. Happy to send pics and info if you are interested in an item, and make some deals to get this stuff moved! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z5I0ytHf66rI_0N6cyegu5i...

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Thanks for sharing the video, Aleu! Nice forward and back. I know Kora had some lateral canter issues similar to Tesla, so I am very encouraged by your progression! Today Susan (Kyra's Mom) and I went to the Idaho Horse Expo to watch Jim Masterson's demo on releasing tension to improve performance. ...

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Dressage Boot Addicts Anonymous is a wild place, LOL. I am bummed tariffs are going to jack up the price of any boots I might order to match my saddle, but I'm glad that overall I have the tack I need at this point.

Moutaineer, we will need pics of those boots. They sound gorgeous!

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Interesting conversation on the various training styles! I think matching the type of horse to the training style is a big thing too. Chisamba, your mare is lovely, and you are looking fit and trim! I had a pretty good ride today. I think we're just working through another of Tesla's tough spots. I ...

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