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Yes, there are other things that I can quibble with in terms of the quality of the movements (the piri's spin and the piaffe ropewalks) but I also have the benefit of knowing this horse very well and knowing where her weaknesses are. She's actually built rather downhill, which makes it a bit harder ...

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Khall, thank you for that clarification. I admit that I was thinking it was a bit more like I've seen and experienced people who follow PK's methods do. I've had people teach me those methods and the responses that they were looking for where what I described, not what you are describing. So, again,...

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... I see a lot of photos that look to me like it causes the horse to be too soft in the poll. I don't want a horse so light in the mouth that the minute you touch the reins it flexes. Some pics I see (including those of Mark) are horses in what I call a head set. What I call a head set, some other...

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Really nice work, Gwen, I thought you both looked great and she got more and more relaxed as the ride went on. Kudos to you on staying so composed in such a crazy setting. Controlling the posting is a huge thing, I recommend carrying a phone with you and setting a metronome for a bit so that you can...

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Khall I do in hand work quite a bit, both with flexions and then traditional in hand work doing transitions against a wall. I always check these responses before I get on a horse that I don't know. However, when I do them, I make sure that there is a feel on whatever the outside rein is and I make s...

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I think that this is the problem with critiquing stills only. I, or anyone else can carefully cultivate an image based on the still photos that I choose to share. If your eye is developed enough, you can really fool people. Now, what stills can't hide is overall balance, deviations in the positionin...

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Very, very cool Gwen! We expect a full report!

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Kande, I tend to agree with this: I also think it depends on what one decides they want when it comes to quality vs quantity, because they tend to be mutually exclusive when graphed against time. I sort of agree with this: So much about progress depends on the resources that one has, and how many of...

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I started writing something and thought I saved the draft, but, poof! In any case, there are a lot of "if's" in arm position, rein length etc. If the rider doesn't have t-rex arms or orangutan arms, if the horse has an ideal neck, coming out at an ideal angle, if the horse maintains that a...

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You are so right. And, everyone has different tendencies or the way they are built causes certain tendencies. That's why I do think it's important for instructors to articulate in many different ways, and to get on and do "feel" checks to see if what they are looking at jives with what the...

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I hear you on that Gwen, I struggle with it to. For me the big change has been to get my elbows a bit in front of me and ride up to the hand. (You may want to think about keeping a bend to your elbow to achieve this- canter pic had much less bend in elbows compared to jump pic). Then it's quick hh, ...

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Flight, on Norsey, he's a bit more naturally uphill, and I for one think that the balance is appropriate to his level. The judges will always want more uphill. What I think is missing, or at least, what can be improved on is that he looks loose in a way that is not necessarily conducive to the uphil...

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Anchoring the back would be a good description. For me, if I rounding the small of my back or have the feeling of being able to push a hand away, that's the kiss of death and I become the hunchback of Notre Dame- but I'm very, very long from hip to bottom rib, so different descriptions work for diff...

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Ryeissa, no, I wouldn't be pushing a hand away from the small of my back- the energy goes forward. There are actually no little muscles in the small of the back- it's all the larger muscles of the lats and obliques that connect there. So, when I engage the core (low pelvic muscles) and press my shou...

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You are correct, of course, mc! And Chisamba, no offense taken. I wish I could find a better word than push and drive- they do have negative connotations. And, because of our conversations, I'm confident that we are after the same thing. But I agree, I felt there was enough activity, if not too much...

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Khall, I 100% agree with this: I spent a long time with Rip (who is not the most naturally active hind leg kind of horse) reinforcing the reaction to light aids. So I would ask with light aid and if I did not get the response would back it up with the whip (I think I remember you saying you did some...

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Ok Flight, I finally had time to watch your video. You and your horse absolutely belong at that level, the judge was perhaps not very generous. That being said, I'm going to give you some very specific feedback based on what I'm learning about riding upper level tests and training for upper levels. ...

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I agree, I loved reading the blog at the time and it's very good information.

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Mountaineer, I would build it on the longe for sure. In the ridden work, keep it very short, and keep it on a circle. So, canter enough for him to get situated and then bring it down before it falls apart. When that gets better, you can start making the circles move more down the long side so that t...

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I shouldn't say anything, but I will anyway. It's funny, because I know that people will discover Rose's book and will love it. To me, it's the end of something that was incredibly special to me and many others and it makes me incredibly sad. She's a good writer.

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And, just two more pics.

The half second after the pic of the lengthening that I posted above.

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All this work changed the baseline trot to be more up, and more impulsive behind.

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Very interesting pair of lessons on Miro. We covered a lot of ground and made some very important tweaks. Like I keep saying, he's doing all the right things, but there was something in the feel that I wasn't sold on in some of the movements. First up, corners - I was not a fan of how he was glossin...

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Looking good, Gwen! One thing, I'd think about tightening/engaging your core to fix the tipping, especially making sure that your obliques are engaged as well. I worry that if you start concentrating on tipping your pelvis one way or another, you may make the crookedness worse - and I think that the...

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Yay Khall!!! That is super news for you!!

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The problem is not the in hand work, it is the way that it is trained and the responses that are allowed all throughout training. The horses by and large simply do not sit behind, nor is that the focus. Watch the halt transitions of the horses on both center lines- not a one does not have the hocks ...

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I don't think dancing a good analogy for riding a horse, because when two humans are dancing the pressures they use are *not* aversives that one partner is trying to avoid or escape, but instead are simply cues. Horses OTOH, are trained with aversives, which they need to learn to avoid or escape, w...

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Saturday was cold and rainy!! And the wind!! eek! I was very happy to be able to ride indoors, but my friend Nikki was not so lucky, she had to ride her first test outside - but was able to find a window in the rain. I felt like it was April, not May lol

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cb06, I recognize those showgrounds! I was there on Sat - I wish I would have known you were there, I'd have introduced myself. That is so awesome, and as a fellow nervous competitor I can commiserate with the "no puking" mantra. This is the first show that I wasn't dry heaving in the trai...

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This weekend marked the meeting of a goal that I didn't think was possible. I am proud to say that I am now a USDF bronze AND SILVER medalist! The test was of course not mistake free, but I rode my breeches off and we pulled it off. It was so interesting because the last two rides, I've been managin...

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I'm glad to hear that Rip is feeling better, I hope that you continue to find ways to manage this condition and keep him comfortable. I'm also jingling for answers for where this came from and if you can salvage the pastures and not sell. Keep us updated as you can.

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This year seems to be trucking right along, and since it's May, I figured I'd start us off. I'm continuing to learn as much as I can about riding at the FEI level and what it takes in terms of precision, power, and feel. However, I have 2 fairly specific goals. 1. Pirouettes. I was disappointed to s...

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My heart is breaking for you Khall. Is there anything we can do to help?

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Another show report! I showed yesterday in the PSG and the 4th level MFS. The PSG was up first and while I missed out on 60% by 2 percentage points (thanks to an error - I turned left in the walk, rather than right, as well as blown 4 tempis (apparently all we do is 3's) and then perfect 3 tempis th...

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I was able to take some time and get in some consecutive lessons on Gala, as well as bring my guy over for a check in. The consecutive lessons really, really helped. (Usually I can only get 1 a week in, if that.) I had a bit of a breakthrough in the canter, and while I'm still not happy with my posi...

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Khall, I'm so sorry. I wish I could find something to say that would be of comfort.

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GreenHolmesHandy, there is a lot to like in those pics with you and your guy. You are definitely improving and I love his active hind leg!

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Show report! I can officially say that I'm an FEI rider now! I still feel far from it, but I made my debut on Gala at PSG, wore the shadbelly for the first time and not only was it not a disaster, but we pulled out a respectable 63% despite errors on my part on both lines of tempi changes. This is t...

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Lovely to see you back in the saddle, Kathy. I was also sorry to hear about Chico, but I'm looking forward to reading new stories about Handy!

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Yes. It's basically the goat on a mountaintop pose - very over the shoulders when he tightens up. And I would say that my criticism of the work with Miro is that he wants to be a bit short in the neck, but whenever I tried to ride the neck out, I would lose his back, and he would get a bit high and ...

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I'll try to explain his conformation and tendencies, because I agree, it's fascinating to see pre-dispositions in horses and how they manifest. Body wise, he is maybe a touch long behind. He now has a massive in neck on him. This pic is from when he was 3, so very undeveloped yet. I need to get a ne...

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I also just read your post on CoTh about the mechanics of the sitting trot. (Rainy day and boredom at work lol!) So, for the sitting trot, my description of crowding the pommel and pushing forward crotch to sternum is what I do in the regular sitting trot. When you add impulsion, you have to "h...

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Lorilu, it's hard to tell without seeing a video or at least pics to see how you are sitting in the saddle. But, I hear you on the struggles of riding a wide horse. However, in terms of the sitting trot and in the lengthened trot - you want to feel as though your pelvis is crowding the pommel. So, i...

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Khall, continued jingles for Rip and your herd. Mountaineer, keep us updated on Laddie's progress as well! Khall, it's funny with Miro - it's not the actual movement per say... it's the walk I think and what he does with his back. But yes, he is incredibly agile and I think he would be stellar at wo...

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Haf, I actually bought these at a horse expo. Another very generous DDB'r send me a pair of equissentials which fit beautifully, but it looks like they are no longer in business

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I've been a bit MIA on updates. LOTS going on in work and horses. This weekend I'm going to be making my PSG debut and I'm feeling nauseous just thinking about it. The work has been good, not great. The learning curve incredibly steep. I have breakthroughs and then lose them. I can do changes beauti...

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Chisamba, here are my thoughts. To some degree, that she is right there for you when you do movements that require more engagement makes me think that when she is stretching, she is loosing engagement. Does she offer a good stretch in shoulder in or in the more engaging movements? I think that they ...

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Ditto. Straightness. On Gala we figured out that I am twisting my left hip back a bit, which is causing straightness issues and miscommunication in the changes. On M, his straightness and continuing to quicken up his hind legs.

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I've been looking at the Horze breeches in general, we have a horse expo going on today in PA and I'm thinking about popping over to see if they are carrying any brands that I can look at/touch lol.

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Good news!!! Hoping the good news continues for you!

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I did indeed!! Dark grey with purple points, a tiny, tiny bit of sparkle. And bonus, it comes down a bit lower, it was custom made for someone who ended up not wanting it. But, it fit me perfectly, maybe a touch large in the shoulders/sleeves, but who cares!

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