DefinitelyDressage.com

Kathy Johnson

Well, we're pretty sure daddy is a TB, since I don't think there was anything else at the farm. All I know right now is that she can start and stop labor at will. And I am tired, bordering on incoherent

Kathy Johnson

Fergus, I suspect there may be all sorts of complications possible. The main thing I got from the vet was to feed the mare as befits her age and the foal will get what he needs. Apparently this happens in the wild a lot but that doesn't make me feel much better. Red will probably be stunted a bit bu...

Kathy Johnson

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Kathy Johnson

Basically, the DNA test showed that the mare submitted as dam on the breeding certificate is not the mother. But the JC is being really nice, and they're running through possibilities of all the mares listed with that stud on the farm for a closer match. They also said they would refund the money if...

Kathy Johnson

Exciting update on Whozeewhatzit https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10154071054833188&id=108681978187 https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/10399005_10154070438633188_1320175709529502222_n.jpg?oh=c5648321ee71c3d0f557e1b736e778e7&oe=574BA623

Kathy Johnson

To keep her from falling on her shoulders in canter (or at any time!), I have been doing a lot of shoulder in in the walk. This helps a lot of things, as she is half Saddlebred and the gaiting can show up in walk and the shoulder fore and shoulder in help keep the walk four beat. I've also started c...

Kathy Johnson

I'm sure we all notice how much the horse's stretch at the end of the ride is so much better than the stretch at the beginning. Of course, moving and working the muscles contribute to this. But I think a couple of things specifically make it happen. Here is Orra's stretching walk at the the beginnin...

Kathy Johnson

A good schoolmaster has the capacity to match the level of the rider. Unless your trainer jazzes him up too much, he will probably find it the best of both worlds. We put some of our higher level horses in lower level lessons for this reason. The lower level riders can keep the horses fit without st...

Kathy Johnson

Well, I *did* start at the walk :) In fact, I walked for about 3 weeks, which is part of O's filling out. We walked over hills, cavaletti, more hills and more hills. And no, not everyone is as shiny as Orra--she is an angel, after all. I did a LOT of grooming in those 3 weeks and I added some corn o...

Kathy Johnson

I am BACK IN THE TACK. Ok, it's western. The English leathers don't support Crazy Foot. Crazy Foot, who burns like the dickens most of the time, when she's not being an ice block or sandy sock, has a new name. It's Burny. This is how Orra won her wings. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_f...

Kathy Johnson

Wait til you see Whozeewhatzit! She's about to pop.

I'm hobbling a bit behind.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10154014235553188&id=108681978187&substory_index=0

Kathy Johnson

It's a classical balance before forward or forward before balance debate! Yay! This is actually an easy one. It depends on the horse. The French, who rode hotter, lighter horses with more TB in them--balance before forward. They had plenty of forward. Work in hand. The Germans rode heavier, slower w...

Kathy Johnson

I'm in a saddle and on a horse! Goals are being met. I know I'm supposed to be walking, but Orra felt so good. I know I'm supposed to be in boots, but I'm still wearing a major brace on my ankle and can't fit in a boot. Orra is the horse I trust the most. She's a kind horse and we really like each o...

Kathy Johnson

It's hard to tell if she's gaining or is pregnant. She's dropped some pudgy fat and topline, but they may have been feeding them up for higher prices. But what really slays me is here is a horse 8 weeks out of the kill pen, bought at meat market prices. She has papers. I get that she is wild as a Ma...

Kathy Johnson

In some ways, I'm way ahead of schedule after ankle surgery Dec. 10th. I wasn't supposed to be riding for 6 months. Structurally, it's doing really well,l but I'm having some neurological issues related to the surgery that are not good. So, I convinced the doctor that walking on the horse bareback i...

Kathy Johnson

Sometimes tightness in the jaw and other mouth issues are actually symptoms of back pain or hind leg issues. But sometimes the horse is simply not accepting the snaffle. So I think your coach is on the right track starting on the ground, with work in hand. Here are some basic exercises you can try. ...

Kathy Johnson

Sorry, I'm messing with different formats here, trying to get some continuity. Click the link for the story. http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Nightmare-Doll--Relentless-Will.html?soid=1102390974141&aid=qRzCRZBh0Bg https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/v/t1.0-9/12705396_1015395480...

Kathy Johnson

https://www.facebook.com/shannon.dahmer.9/videos/vb.1611345465/10207200370000187/?type=3&theater

Shannon Dahmer is riding Lakota, owned by Jan Wingate that I helped her start. Mari, he looked a lot like your guy when he was starting up the levels.

Kathy Johnson

Lovely!

Kathy Johnson

Registering these girls with the Jockey Club is an expensive project, so I'm not adding on a name change currently. Besides, Julie said she would love an eventer named Nightmare Doll, because it's badass

Kathy Johnson

I think it's beautiful that no matter how much we work with horses, we can still walk in a stall and a certain horse will make us catch our breath and we get that sense of wonder and amazement.

Kathy Johnson

Part 5: Nightmare Doll

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Kathy Johnson

X will do both talk or riding therapy but she also prefers talk therapy. She basically loves people fawning over her and really related to all kinds of people. A very sweet young man with developmental delays was whispering in her ear, "You are my daughter and you are SO Good." She loved h...

Kathy Johnson

Ah, sweet Xaquema. She is likely very muddy, but I'll see what he can do. She is currently slacking off as one of our very best therapy horses. It's very important work, but it's not very athletic. She likes children and loves being groomed, so it's a great life. She was a rockstar at our Benefit in...

Kathy Johnson

I haven't ridden with him personally, but I used to listen to his audio tapes back in the days when we had those

Excellent. You can also find some good teaching videos on you tube if you want to know what you're in for.

Kathy Johnson

http://www.dressagefoundation.org/century-club/new-members/janet-wingate-and-narcisco-caballeroso.html

Kathy Johnson

Good question on the cavaletti, Flight. I think they are like free weights and you strengthen them by doing them. But another key to cavaletti is to train the horse to move like then there is no pole. So, the aids you give over the top of the cavaletti should translate to what you want when you ask ...

Kathy Johnson

Yes, she's a TB. That's Nighmare Doll. She is 3 turning 4 and Whozeewhatzit is 1 turning 2. Nightmare Doll is a granddaughter of Transworld and Whozee (barn name pending) is a great granddaughter. Doll has THE most beautiful head I've seen on a TB. The next chapter will be about her.

Kathy Johnson

Chapter 4 Whozeewhatzit https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153889404648188&id=108681978187&substory_index=0 https://scontent-dfw1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtl1/v/t1.0-9/12376204_10153889404648188_4476610719330868889_n.jpg?oh=3915eb9f9cf3351a6abd7554155e45dc&oe=5743D9E7

Kathy Johnson

Great! And if you make that noise in the tempo you want, it asks him to match it. I don't know if you can hear me over leaves and the hoofbeats. And even if you're getting what you want at libery, you can say "good" in rhythm as a reward. It's not trick training, a simple reward based trai...

Kathy Johnson

https://scontent.fsnc1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtp1/t31.0-8/12401924_10153875198298188_2558374229717052516_o.jpg Orra is enjoying her vacation. I had ankle surgery Dec. 10, modified Brostrum, peroneal tendon repair and bone debridement. I got out of the Hell cast yesterday and on to some sort of cu...

Kathy Johnson

Thanks, Lorilu! That is very helpful. It doesn't explain Sainbel (or I might still be confused), but it does explain early artists' rendering of the gallop,

Kathy Johnson

I'm of the quality not quantity school, but do whatever works best for your horse. I imagine, if oversped, he could fall on his forehand quickly. Same with lengthening on circles, on straight lines, on hills, with other horses, etc. Do what works for him to get the most bang for your buck. I assume ...

Kathy Johnson

Have you started leg yields yet in walk and trot? He may not fully understand the outside aids, especially going right. Also return to turn on the forehand, especially away from the left leg. He needs to be sharper to your left leg. And be sure he is particularly straight cantering right. If you ove...

Kathy Johnson

Thank you. Josette, I am so sorry about your TB. I do know where there are nine others just like these who were rescued at the same time. There are mares and foals and mares in foal and some geldings and more fillies. These horses need homes and are currently being halter trained and worked with. ht...

Kathy Johnson

Part 3 The X Factor

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Kathy Johnson

That's very interesting about the hounds, and I know they have some extra gaits. I do think the artists were following some sort of tradition. I will look more closely at AP as well. Now, I've read a lot about Eclipse, about whom this book was written when he was autopsied. And he had a lot of inter...

Kathy Johnson

Tony watched that and said, "somebody sped that film up! No way that's real." Wow. I don't see anything overt , but if stop action a few times, I see diagonal pairs on the ground. It may be in the moments of acceleration, which would the fastest. I don't know. Tony called that burnout. I w...

Kathy Johnson

Hi, Yes, Muybridge is fascinating. I never did understand why the artists painted the horses in the outstretched stance, when the equestrians of the 1700s clearly knew the beats of the canter. They not only knew about the four beat canter, but they also knew about positive and negative DAP, although...

Kathy Johnson

I'm reading a treatise on racehorses by Sainbel, 1789, for other research but I found a definition of the gallops of three times, four times and two times. I kind of get it until the gallop of two times, which I can't quite figure out. I'm hoping you can help. The gallop of three times is the three ...

Kathy Johnson

Part 2

https://www.facebook.com/108681978187/photos/a.173053403187.122637.108681978187/10153852610928188/?type=3&pnref=story

Kathy Johnson

These girls will be my next project when my ankle heals. Julie will be helping in the meantime. Merry Christmas to all...

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Kathy Johnson

How many time have we all shown in open dressage at rated shows with only one or two in the class and gotten a first or second? Who cares? It's the scores that count, right? Because I have actually ridden with a disability dispensation, I am a little sensitive about this topic . I found the whole pr...

Kathy Johnson

Very often in the real world, the horse's gaits can be de-scoped so the rider can sit them. This usually only works on a horse with big gaits, who tends to a lot of amplitude, or you will get a horse behind the leg, as Shadow mentions. The forward and back with such a rider might be only a few strid...

Kathy Johnson

Many thanks, Chancellor! You're awesome.

Kathy Johnson

This is a holiday ask, which you can ignore if you like, but I thought you all might enjoy Suzy's story. Although Suzy is tiny, she is one of the greatest therapy horses at Medicine Horse Program. We need your help taking care of the amazing Medicine Horses like Suzy. We need your help offering slid...

Kathy Johnson

Why equalize? We can show horses who are half blind, fully blind, and we don't require them to wear blindfolds. Add more divisions, but do NOT make the job of the rider any harder than it already is. I get someone probably cheated. But don't penalize the rest of the contestants. Totally ridiculous a...

Kathy Johnson

I think it's discrimination. But that doesn't surprise me in dressage. So, if one rider has a full leg that doesn't work, and the other rider has half a leg, are they going to cut off the full leg? Ridiculous. The horses are the great equalizers. This sport is hard enough--they don't have to handica...

Kathy Johnson

Horses definitely hold their condition a lot longer than people. Their muscles work differently. After a month of stall rest, there is some loss of oxidative enzymes in the muscles, but this has little effect on performance. However, after six months of rest, horses have more difficulty completing a...

Kathy Johnson

It was 27 degrees but I really wanted to ride with Debbie Rodriguez, so I did. She took it easy on my ankle, and that helped. Orra travels a little haunches in to the left, not bringing that left hind straight under her. I am assisting her crookedness by pulling on the left rein and overbending her ...

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