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Dresseur

Dresseur - may I ask what exercise and position tweak you applied to work on your counter canter issue? Sure. In terms of position, I realized that I was really twisting my hip in an effort to maintain the lead, when I did that, I was no longer able to keep him driving honestly up. So, I have to ri...

Dresseur

So far so good on my goals, at least the counter canter part of it. The exercise my coach gave me, and continued tweaking to my position is quickly solving the lack of counter canter on the one side. We can now confidently do loops on both reins. I'm going to try to take it to a full loop in the nex...

Dresseur

I have to agree. If the horse required 15 hours of fluids, no way I would have warmed up. And, if the swelling was bad enough to interfere with the ride, you would see that before getting on the horse to warm up. I'm glad that she retired, I'm shocked at the judging up until she retired him. But I q...

Dresseur

This weekend was a fantastic end to the month, and has left me with clear goals for August/Sept. For the first time, we've started pushing what where mini lengthenings in to true lengthenings. We've felt for a while that he had more in the tank, and we were getting suspicious that he was getting wis...

Dresseur

Horses can be anywhere on the continuum of uphill balance. My young man shows uphill balance, but he is not yet collected. But, many people mistake extravagant front ends for being uphill, when in fact, the horse is dropped in the back and not really connected, or carrying more weight behind. So her...

Dresseur

I'll try to clarify- I'm not actively aiding every step, because I agree, that becomes noise. But I am always ready to aid, and I am constantly testing the response to my aids. Will they go out, will they come back. So I'm constantly feeling and responding if necessary. So, while I'm not aiding cons...

Dresseur

I disagree re chair seat. There is a reason the neutral pelvis and stacked spine is used throughout history. It's the most neutral, yet effective position. Riders in chair seats are behind the motion, driving the back down, and rider tends to have to use more hand because they cannot use their seat ...

Dresseur

Hmmm, I had to think on this awhile to work through what I do. I don't continue to ramp up and actively drive throughout the whole lengthening (or whatever level the horse is working to). So, I use my back, get the response and hold tone, I definitely do not go loose or get soft. That tells the hors...

Dresseur

Grooming is awesome! All the behind the scenes of a big show without the stress of remembering tests

Dresseur

A couple things based on your post Demi... Re strength... I find that people push the lengthenings too hard for too long of a distance at first. At first, someone watching may not even see a discernible difference, but what the rider feels in the body and the back of the horse is hugely important. I...

Dresseur

FYI, Petries are on sale at Dressage Extensions. Good price for the Anky's. I have the Olympics and the Anky's. The Olympics are lovely, but are breaking in a touch soft for my tastes. The Anky's are definitely stiff, and I find the sizing to be different than the Olympics. Konigs - the Favorits and...

Dresseur

This may throw a huge wrench in things - and it could just be semantics, but IMO, I don't want to follow and absorb movement. I want to direct and create through my seat and aids. That does not mean that I'm nagging every stride for something, but I am taking that forward and using it. I want to use...

Dresseur

That's awesome, what an accomplishment for you guys!

Dresseur

Yes, sorry! DaD is Dressage at Devon

Dresseur

I've been to Dressage at Devon as a spectator many times, but this year I'll be grooming at DaD! So excited, can it be September yet??
(Edited for clarity)

Dresseur

I have to agree with MC here. I think that riders perceive a slow down because of the increased air time, but I want that tempo to stay exactly the same with the hind end continuing to drive up. If there is an actual slowing down, I don't think that's correct. Especially because when you "come ...

Dresseur

Yea. I'm going to ask if they will bed a bit deeper and I'll start putting goop on it to help them heal up.

Dresseur

You've had him for quite a while now right? A year or so? Not quite- I bought him in September of last year, but brought him home at the beginning of April. So he's only been at my facilities for under 4 months. He lived out at my trainer's. So it's possible he got them there. She had got him from ...

Dresseur

Argh! Like I said, he came to me with them. I'll see if I can add more bedding- he's pretty deeply bedded at his new place. But I'd love for them to disappear.

Dresseur

He's on mats with soft shavings. At least 3 inches deep.

He's had these since I bought him, just thought maybe he'd grow some hair back since then

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They look the same on both sides- same size and placement.

Dresseur

that is a super idea!! Thank you!

Dresseur

I'm really pleased with the young man. He's totally settled in the new place- he finally started making his fart noises with his tongue to let me know he wanted carrots :lol: In terms of work, I'm being more exact in the in hand work. He started taking a step out as he was landing the downward trans...

Dresseur

Orono, I will take a pic tomorrow and post it.

Quelah, that's what I wonder about- he has mats and deep bedding (shavings). Maybe he's laying down outside- they're on night turnout. Any particular greasy ointment you would recommend? Mtg? Other?
Thank you!

Dresseur

My young man has a bald spot on the outside of each hock - in the hollow of the joint - where the tibia meets the calcaneus, which is an odd place to get a bald spot - as I can't see how anything could have rubbed there. They don't get better, but they don't get worse either. The skin is a bit rough...

Dresseur

Khalil, can you elaborate more on what you feel is not quite there? Is it that he isn't punching out through the shoulder? Is his hind end not "quick" enough or not staying up under? Is it the tempo? It will help with what insights/exercises to suggest.

Dresseur

Chisamba, I agree, she's a lovely mover and you are developing her well. Lots to be proud of in her, yourself, and the work that you're doing.

Dresseur

I'm going to hold on showing until next year. No reason to blow his pea brain quite yet. Believe it or not, steering is still sometimes optional on him :lol: I'd love to bring him out at 1st level next spring. Maybe try for second towards the end of the year- but I'm in no hurry. When they time come...

Dresseur

Thanks MC. Most of that is just him. We're keeping everything simple and short. He hacks out a lot, and we keep things fun

here are some quick snippets:
http://youtu.be/rxR-CjS_kek
http://youtu.be/drcNXj8lhQc

Dresseur

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Three more pics, since it only lets me do 3 at a time

Dresseur

Thanks for the well wishes. My DH is home and recovering well now. The only hitch is that he's in the stage where he wants to do all of the things that he can't do. It's infuriating!! Yesterday did not go well for me or Miro- in that I just couldn't with the heat- so my coach rode him. He looked gre...

Dresseur

Well, I'm about to be thrown back into boot camp after about 2 weeks off. My husband had surgery and there were some fairly major, unforeseen complications in recovery. Surgery went great, recovery, not so much. He's home and doing well, and I'm a couple hours out from shipping Miro over to my coach...

Dresseur

I personally like to see a balanced neck when standing and at liberty. If there is zero muscling underneath, I wonder about how much turnout etc the horse is getting. However, when in motion, that neck needs to be soft underneath there. So, while the horse may have strength in the under neck, they c...

Dresseur

Flight, shoulders back and press the hips up. Do the posting/standing exercise making sure that you are really standing. Basically, right now, you are leading the motion with your shoulders and leaving your hips out behind. There is a great exercise with a balance ball, I'll see if I can find it.

Dresseur

It's the pelvis backwards that I really don't understand. I'm assuming she's not talking about tipping the pelvis back... But maybe she is??

I can see pulling the pelvis forward on the upbeat, brining the horse's hips along with. What am I missing in the description?!

Dresseur

^ I agree. Although, I found this article to fairly fairly spot on with how I use my body, except that "bearing down" doesn't describe what I do either. I AM trying to figure this out... typo perhaps?! By emphasizing the uphill beat of the canter, Wanless had a rider use her thighs to pull...

Dresseur

Week 1 update of Kiwi stall rest: Kiwi needs a diet. She has become pretty portly. However, handwalking starts today (woo!) so that will help. Dresseur, I also can get too elbow back,. Which defeats the purpose of back to front riding :) Exactly!!! And, a bit ago you had shared an article that talk...

Dresseur

Chisamba wrote:Dresseur, I also can get too elbow back,. Which defeats the purpose of back to front riding

Exactly!!! And, a bit ago you had shared an article that talked about exaggerating in order to fix the habit. And this is what I'm doing. Exaggerating elbows forward in order to fix it.

Dresseur

Chisamba - I absolutely take your comment to heart! And yes, I agree with your re high hands and what that can cause. I try not to go high, except that I DO use upward hh - lift, drive and give, especially with Miro, who does like to compress the shape and duck a bit. I think that in fairly short or...

Dresseur

Ok, I've been a bit quiet on the Miro front because of lots of changes! First and foremost, I moved barns. The barn that I was at was crazy town - mind you, I DO NOT need or want a sterile environment, but the shenanigans that went on were truly mind-blowing. It was also very far away from me, and f...

Dresseur

I think that this is a very interesting thread. I do think that there are things that you just can't fix, but overall, if you are working the horse correctly, you can tell in the musculature. For instance, a naturally ewe necked horse may never have the topline that a horse "born on the bit&quo...

Dresseur

Way to go, Flight!!! Keep us updated!

Dresseur

Regarding the thigh, you have to have tone there. As far as how much, that's personal. By that I mean, my tone on a scale of 1-10 may be a 1 in normal work, through a 5 or 6 if the horse is pulling and I need to anchor myself more fully. But, I can also max out the abductor and adductor machines. So...

Dresseur

Thank you Chisamba! I should say not necessarily back, but down. I hunch my shoulders forward instead of having a nice open sternum. Bringing my shoulder blades down flat helps this. You are right, when I bring my shoulders back as in the pic on Willie, I arch my back more.

Dresseur

In the same vein as what Khall wrote - the psoas and I would say obliques as well are incredibly important for stabilizing the spine. It is the whiplike action of the spine when riders try to absorb the motion that causes back issues - and when you don't hold the core firm, the extremities tell on y...

Dresseur

^yes!

Dresseur

Thanks MC :) I'm not without my own conformational issues :lol: Scoliosis, very long torso, short legs and a bum hip. Flight, you are not far off- and your canter position is very nice! My thoughts, to take this to the next level, you need to be a bit firmer in the core. Specifically, the psoas whic...

Dresseur

Don't do the slow motion thing to yourself!! Trust me, I know- I do it all the time to myself. It's murder on self esteem. Brutally honest alert: To fix/obsess over position... get fit (note- not skinny... Fit) Find good eyes on the ground, preferably a trainer who obsesses over position Obsess, be ...

Dresseur

I've been on and off with fitness. I'm lucky in that I'm naturally thin, but I need to start concentrating a bit more on it. It's just so. hard. Last year I tried to train for a 1/2 marathon. Due to my old track injuries, I had a really hard time staying in a steady routine because I kept re-aggrava...

Dresseur

^ seriously good exercise. You can add sitting in there too if you want. Sit, post, stand. Rinse, repeat.

Dresseur

As someone who is constantly fixing and fussing with position, I'd be happy to take a look if you have pics/vid that you'd be willing to share. Can't really help diagnose without that though. Most of the time, deviations in the limbs are because of something going on in the pelvis and core. In risin...

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