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Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 4:56 pm
by khall
SueB no pics! They don't show up when clicking link. Is the saddle for short backed horses with the upswept panels? How do you like it? I certainly liked the look of it when I googled it, with the flatter area to sit in. A friend is looking for hoop tree made for short backed horses, she is trying a Duett. Interested to see how it does for her since with my incredibly short backed wide filly I will probably be going down that road as well.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 5:44 pm
by Chisamba
Just a cute pic of Kimba from the show ridden by my friend Jessica.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 5:45 pm
by Sue B
Nice picture Chisamba.

I tried a different url for my pictures, let me know if it works

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 5:49 pm
by khall
Nope still not working. Can you elaborate on your saddle please? Always interested in hoop trees because of my horses.

Pretty picture of Kimba!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 5:57 pm
by Chisamba
Sue B i can see your pic but for me its the same one twice, so no proof of canter :D

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 6:15 pm
by Dresseur
Sue B, I have the same result - two of the same trot pic, that being said, that trot pic looks like he's pretty darn comfortable moving out! We want proof of canter!!! :lol:

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 6:56 pm
by Moutaineer
No pix for me :(

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:34 pm
by Ryeissa
Lovely pic of Kimbra! Beautiful!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2018 10:16 pm
by Sue B
ok, I'll try again. Khall, the saddle is a Lovatt and Ricketts hoop tree with serge(?) panels--not leather. The hoop tree more closely resembles the big shoulder/low wither shape of Tio. He's basically shaped like a cob. The softer panels more easily "bend" or "form" around his shoulders so he doesn't feel restricted. He has more of a bulge than a dip by his withers so the normal fill saddles have there pinches him. The saddle is also has an upswept cantle and rear panels to accommodate his relatively short back. The only "problem" I've had with the saddle is it will shift to the side if he moves unevenly, like he did when he had a bruise on his rf sole. I actually don't see a problem with that, rather it is a good indicator of the horse's soundness.

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This is the proof of canter
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Trot
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Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Wed Jun 06, 2018 12:22 am
by StraightForward
Well, if we're sharing pics, here is a cute clip of Annabelle testing out her flying change over a toppled cone; I also think it shows how her canter is coming together: https://youtu.be/Dr8IV4-qbec

I'm hoping to show in a couple Opportunity classes next month and see how she handles the atmosphere.

Love the pic of Kimba, and great to see Tio going happily forward in his new saddle!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 1:32 am
by kande50
Tsavo wrote:
I don't disagree with that. But there have been trainers of that ilk on the various iterations of this forum who have been banned or left. The idea that a person like that could get banned by a lesser rider just seems so unseemly to me. Idiocracy.


I doubt they were banned for anything to do with their training knowledge, but were likely banned for not following the forum rules. They may have thought they were too important to be banned, but I have to admire an admin who at least tries to apply the rules fairly.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 2:14 am
by Tsavo
kande50 wrote:
Tsavo wrote:
I don't disagree with that. But there have been trainers of that ilk on the various iterations of this forum who have been banned or left. The idea that a person like that could get banned by a lesser rider just seems so unseemly to me. Idiocracy.


I doubt they were banned for anything to do with their training knowledge, but were likely banned for not following the forum rules. They may have thought they were too important to be banned, but I have to admire an admin who at least tries to apply the rules fairly.


I didn't say they were banned for anything to do with their training knowledge. The moderators are certainly in no position to judge that.

I am saying it is to not be serious about learning this sport when you ban a trainer who is better than you and who can teach the moderators and others plenty. These people did not break any rules that matter. People have to choose to be offended and in the case of the moderators, their petulant, peevish choices affect others who want to learn as much as possible.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 4:51 am
by Moutaineer
For Heaven's sake, It's a private bulletin board, not a democracy. They who pay the bills and do the work get to choose how they moderate. If we don't like it, we are free to go set up our own board and moderate it how we wish. Otherwise it's like turning up at a dinner party and then complaining to the hostess about the food.

On a more pertinent point, I had a really lovely, but rather hot, ride this evening. (It went from winter to summer in a week here.) We've done one of those step-changes, where (almost) everything we've been struggling with suddenly becomes more clear and solid and easy.

Now, not to over-cook things in the week or so before our next show...

Kimba looks lovely, Chisamba! Happy and focused and forward.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:48 am
by Flight
Really nice pic of Kimba, Chisamba :) SF, Annabelle looks to be going well too, look forward to hearing how she goes if you get to those classes next month.

Khall, Rip is very handsome, and nice to see him work. Joplin is lovely too! SueB, nice pics too - look at that blue sky. Sounds like the saddle is a good one for him.
Haven't kept up with the big discussions. I keep meaning to wait for a quiet time, but still have a few weeks of crazy time at work. The horses are on light duties so I've been semi-schooling and exploring the riding tracks around where I now live. It's semi-rural with a few trails interconnecting the roads. Ding was a very spooky at first but better today, and it was a lovely winter morning.
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Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 9:50 am
by mari
Kimba looks lovely!

I had a much better ride in the dressage arena today. Maybe because I had a lesson and an instructor was pressuring me... :D Much more prompt and accurate today. I suspect it's because I let her do the thinking, while I was concentrating on following instructions.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:47 pm
by Chisamba
I rode only my horses today, thursday is my " day off" which means i dont teach and clean stalls instead of riding. However, i decided my girls needed some riding and i needed a nice quiet day to do it. anyway, i spent the day isolating aids and reminding the horses that I preferred the correct response to an aid over anticipation. I think Kande was chatting to me once about how things fall apart when the horse gets ahead on the chain of responses. Well, for example, if i put one leg on , the horse is supposed to understand that they are supposed to move sideways, two legs, forward. it seems fairly simple, but when i added one leg to kimba, on the long rein, instead of moving sideways away from the leg, she sped up. Now i admit that i did not increase the contact in the outside rein, i was riding on a long rein, but i felt that she should understand that one legs means move sideways, be the rein long or short. So i quietly and patiently spent some time isolating aids and asking for the correct response. after a while it became a very good way to disarm her tendency to anticipate in a negative way.

So i started thinking, how often do I reward a nice offering because it is nice, instead of asking the horse to wait until asked? So i spent time really working on myself, did i ask correctly, did i ask the horse to wait for the correct aid before giving the response.

it was a good day

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 2:14 am
by Srhorselady
Another perspective on "more leg" and I suspect where the original poster was coming from. I first learned to ride as a cautious adult taking lessons on school horses. My first instructor was an eventer and my second a hunter jumper. I took Lots of once weekly beginner lessons. I heard "more leg" multiple times per lesson for years because I NEVER had the school horses in front of my leg! I don't think I ever had a horse truly in front of my leg until I bought my own horse and formed a bond with him. Also until I started dressage lessons many years later I never understood the importance of "in front of the leg" and what those early instructors were trying to teach me. There is an element of trust in both your horse and in your own competence as a rider that is necessary before you can get a horse in front of your leg. And until you can get the horse in front of your leg the importance of NOT using continuous leg as an aid just isn't there except philosophically.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 2:24 pm
by Imperini
Really nice pic of Kimba!

Sue B glad that Tio (and you I'm sure) is enjoying the new saddle. I remember when I first got my dressage saddle for Pal which I had a saddle fitter come out and adjust for her how nice it was for both of us.

Couple of funny things happened recently. The barn I'm at has a dressage ring but it's in a field on grass so they moved all the pieces off to the outside to mow the grass that had gotten long underneath it but didn't move it back yet so it's a bit wider and longer usual. You can see where it's actually supposed to be because of the larger pieces that hold it up which killed the grass so that allows me to ride as though it's still the right size. The first time I rode in it while it was like that for the first little while I had a hard time keeping Pal from gravitating to where the edge of the ring was sitting. It seems that perhaps when we're on the track we need to be just a little bit to the inside more often so we're not relying on the edge/wall so much.

The other thing is I have a tendency to look down while I'm riding which I know is a common issue but it's a big one. I made a point during my ride yesterday to look up and where I'm going instead of down and I was reminded how it changes everything. My shoulders, where I was actually sitting in the saddle, my lower leg, sitting trot, etc were all better. This is not something I didn't know but I really really need to make sure I put it into practice all the time because it makes such a huge difference.

I'm also successfully shrinking, about 5 lbs down over last month and the start of this month so pretty much on track with the healthy rate I was going for.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 10:01 pm
by Kyra's Mom
I think I am one ride away from my goal and it shouldn't be hard to do :D before the end of the month.

We actually went for an honest to goodness "trail" ride today. No arena and no track. We can ride up the road about 1/4 miles and cut off onto a ditch bank. For about 1/2 mile there is a high track (the ditch bank) and the low track (a service road) so we did that and made a nice little loop. There were challenges and she handled them very well.

The first was the 6 Pygmy goat kids that I didn't see in the pasture next to road until we got there. What cuties. Well, they saw her and started bleating. I was watching her to see what her reaction would be and she merely cocked an ear at them. Good thing, because when I looked back they were following us...maybe they thought she was Mama? We rode by her former neighbor and BFF. Neither one uttered a note a and she strode on. Often times, when she leaves the security of seeing that last horse (pasture borders a big hay field), she slows way down and wants to turn around. Not today. When we dropped down to the low track to head back, the ditch rider went by in his truck which had rattling equipment. She did offer a small spook at that but in her defense, the truck was above her and they just don't see things above that well but she settled right down and boy did we get a nice swinging huge walk headed back toward the barn. By the time we got back to the goat pasture, the babies were gone but the cows were out and she didn't even pay them any mind. The last challenge was the hay truck that came up behind her on a downhill stretch...air brakes included but the driver did slow as he passed her. She hasn't had a ride out like that in maybe 2 1/2 years so I was thrilled with her level head. I must pick my days but today was a good one.

Everyone has great pics.
Chisamba, Kimba looks lovely. I remember what she looked like when you got her.
Straightforward...Can she do right to left? That will be the test :lol: .
Sue B...Tio is a compact dude. Looking lovely.
Flight, winter pictures! It is the other side of the world :).

Happy riding all.

Susan

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 12:30 am
by Flight
Here's some vid of Ding - still chipping away at piaffe/passage. I do find it a bit hard without someone on the ground to help out, and definitely the trans out doesn't work yet. I'm also a bit confused at the aid for the trans? Anyway, feel free to critique.

https://youtu.be/xWGZWZ9qV2k

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 1:23 am
by khall
Flight the new instructor I am working with said to use a buggy whip to help with the activity behind (she had me doing SI, counter SI in medium trot) and to use it in hand for activity. Have you ever tried using this type of whip working with Ding?

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 4:03 am
by Flight
To use while you are riding? No haven't tried one. I'm pretty unco so could be interesting :lol:
We do SI/counter SI and SI/QI to 'warm up' for passage.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 11:21 am
by khall
I know! I've been chased around by Mark with one but never ridden with one. Bought it to work on piaffe in hand (he is getting the actively forward piaffe steps but asking him to hold the piaffe needed another tool) We will see! Not sure how brave I am to try and ride with it! It's wiggly!!

It's just watching the passage Ding is like Rip needing more activity behind, so hard to procure that on our own:/ I am like you, rarely have a ground person in everyday riding, so I need some other help.

She's having me push the trot in counter and SI to get him to reach more with the shoulder, between that and Spanish walk, to get more brilliance to his trot. So hard when he is an energy conservationist!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 3:54 am
by Chisamba
So, isolating aids and checking responses has been super successful in curbing Kimba's most difficult trait, being anticipation.

Deneb is being strangely aggressive again and I'm looking for potential medical issues. Pain or tumors?

Anyway. I don't think I will ride her in the Helmut clinic.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:29 am
by DJR
Today I took Sawyer, my daughter's large pony QH gelding, to his first ever show. It was a semi-local dressage schooling show about an hour away. I started riding Sawyer about 3 wks ago so this was a test to see (a) how things are going so far, and (b) how he behaves in a show environment.

It couldn't have gone better!

He got off the trailer interested, but completely sane and manageable from the first moment until the end of the day. We got there early enough to be able to lead him around the show ring and show him the fancy flowers, the judge's tent, and so on. He really could not have cared less. He certainly was "looky" but in no way was he disobedient or sassy. He was more interested in eating the green grass around the dressage ring than any of the typically scary things!

I entered him in three Walk-Trot tests. When I first got on him 3 wks ago, he was balky, a bit sour, very stiff with predominantly left shoulder issues, and very little sense of contact. Within the short time I've ridden him, he's made huge progress and is trusting the contact more and more, and using his body more and more as a result. His canter is still stiff & unsure hence my choice to stick to W-T in a show environment.

Here he is in W-T test B.
2018Jun10 GlamorganDressage_SawyerWT3.jpg
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His free walk.
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Sawyer, free walk.
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He got better and better as the morning progressed, with scores of 69%, 70%, and we finished with 73%!

This was super for my daughter to see as she is a timid rider and her experience on her Welsh pony hasn't been the greatest (that pony has some dirty tricks). Now, she has seen how sensible and responsive Sawyer is and it has rekindled her wish to show him. Mission accomplished!

I was very proud of my daughter today. She was SUCH a wonderful girl, clapping for those who no one else seemed to be clapping for, being groom extraordinaire, and generally an amazing, loving human being. So much love for her! Here we are with Sawyer and his winnings (2nd, 1st, 1st, and division champion).
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Yay, Sawyer!
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When we got home, we rode the other horses at home. She dusted off said Welsh pony and started to bring her back into work with lots of short spurts of trot, walk, and many figures & transitions. Sera, the pony, is now 20 yrs old and can get stiff so I was proud of how mindfully my daughter worked her today. I put Jet through his paces and he was nicely responsive despite us riding in the heat of the day. We did some canter HP, a few changes, some trot lateral work, and a bit of a look again at his half steps ... all quite good! So we set off for a road hack on them to cool them out.

I finished the day with a ride on Panache, whom I haven't had time to ride in about a week. He's been acting the complete loon in the paddock so I wasn't sure what I'd sit on, but he was all work and sensible under tack so it was a nice ride. I put him through his paces and focused on keeping him "up in heaven" instead of rounding to the point he is on the forehand. I also looked at true counter-canter on a 20m circle and discovered that he finds it quite challenging particularly right cc. But he did improve and tried hard, so another good ride for the day.

We finished the day playing with the new 2-day-old filly and introducing her once again to wearing a halter. That filly is SO sweet, and SO beautiful!! We're still figuring out a name for her. I didn't get *any* photos of her today (bad me!) but will get some tomorrow as a 3-day-old.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 3:24 pm
by Tuddy
I have no riding update since Yonka and Tuddy are still getting over those damn snotty noses. I gave them both 20cc of Excede yesterday and will dose again on Thursday. Hopefully, that is the end of it. I want to get back in the saddle!

DJR - your daughter is quite special!
Chisamba - I hope you find the root of the issue on Deneb!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 6:58 pm
by Moutaineer
Idahodians, sounds and looks like you are all having good summers so far! I will not be heading to Pocatello next weekend, I decided. I have a new truck (yippee!) and I want to make sure all works well on a local basis before I head out into the great unknown, so I am showing locally next Saturday instead--I'll just keep my head down and avoid the drama somehow...

Flight, Ding looks very happy in his work. He's a lovely horse. I don't know enough to offer advice!

DJR, what a great report and happy pictures!

Working on forward and hot off the leg. Not planning on reading "needs more impulsion" on our tests next weekend. He's enjoying it, I think--ears up, very willing, uphill balance. I'm kind of thrilled with him, actually :)

The weekend had it's interesting moments. I board Laddie at a barn in a fairly densely populated "Equestrian Community" of sorts in the next canyon to home. The neighbors built an enormous indoor arena and barn last year, right on the property line. How they got permission to build what they built is anyone's guess, it's far too large for the area code, etc. etc., but I have no doubt that there was some graft involved somewhere. They have been completely inconsiderate pigs through the whole process, and have made out lives fairly miserable. To cut a long story short, they've been putting on an addition (!) to this monstrosity and have been dumping all their construction waste in a pile right on our fenceline, where it has proceeded to blow into our arena and generally be a nuisance. Our barn manager asked them to clean it up and get a dumpster a couple of weeks ago and got told, in no uncertain terms, to eff off.

So Saturday was a wildly windy, hot as hades. red flag day. Who knows what they've thrown on the damned trash pile, but just as I am about to get on my horse, it goes up like a torch, setting the adjoining field on fire, melting our boundary and arena fencing and getting far too close to us, causing us to have to evacuate the barn and paddocks in a hurry. Not so easy when there's 4 of you and ten freaked out horses in a howling, smoke-filled wind.

Fortunately the fire department was there pretty much before we knew we needed them, 4 engines, 3 sheriffs trucks, our neighbor the County Sheriff, the DNR investigator, and a couple of other investigators, roaring down the driveway next to the barn with sirens blaring, but it was 45 minutes of pumping adrenalin that none of us needed!

The investigators were still poking around when I left. It will be interesting to see what they find. I hope they throw the freaking book at this bunch of careless clowns. We were incredibly lucky we were there when it went up, rather than it being the middle of the night.

So, make sure you've got a workable evacuation plan, is all I can say.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2018 7:45 pm
by khall
Holy moly mountaineer!! That yes a bit too much of an adrenaline rush and melting your fence :shock: . Neighbors can be a PIA sometimes and so inconsiderate. Glad all is well and you all were there, just wow. Adult beverage time after.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 12:43 am
by StraightForward
Wow, Moutaineer! I hope they get a big fine for that in addition to cleaning up and replacing the fence. Things were on fire when I drove out to American Falls on Sunday; I'm not ready for fire season just yet. :(

DJR - what a great day and lovely pony. I'm sure your daughter will be up there in the saddle with Sawyer soon enough!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2018 8:30 pm
by Chisamba
I'm particularly irritated by irresponsible fires. I hope it all end up better.

DJR. I love hearing about your sweet daughter.

Khall and flight I have used a long whip when riding to touch back feet or even rhythmically tap the rump to get it lowered in piaffe work. But I don't use a whippy one.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 1:04 am
by khall
Wow! So happy for Cedar! She had a show last weekend showing 2 of the horses she works with, got one score for bronze medal, 3 towards her silver and one towards gold. That is impressive for a young trainer.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 1:23 am
by musical comedy
khall wrote:Wow! So happy for Cedar! She had a show last weekend showing 2 of the horses she works with, got one score for bronze medal, 3 towards her silver and one towards gold. That is impressive for a young trainer.
I'm impressed. Most impressive too is that both those horses are young, the oldest being 10 and doing I1. Both stallions, too. And first time shown I think. That Zorro horse is really nice. I don't think I've seen the other one.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 2:26 am
by Tsavo
khall wrote:Wow! So happy for Cedar! She had a show last weekend showing 2 of the horses she works with, got one score for bronze medal, 3 towards her silver and one towards gold. That is impressive for a young trainer.


That is very impressive especially since she trained the one horse herself. I think you said JP trained the other?

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 3:14 am
by khall
Tsavo, no both of these horses are ones she works with regularly, the stallion that she will be showing GP is the one JP trained. Full brother to Zorro the I1 horse. I'm not positive but the second horse is probably the buckskin Lusitano that belongs to a client. She has a stable full it sounds like to work with, plus her own OTTBs she has. BTW she has worked with a young Totilas stallion, sent for training and CTJ work. From what I understand this was her very first recognized show, she did show a few weeks ago at a schooling show. They are wanting to exhibit that the work JP learned from NO can translate well into the show world. She very much works like Mark did, just asks a bit more is the only difference. Still uses the lateral work to help the horses be more balanced and straighter, not to use it for show pen only. Still emphasizes relaxation, yet encourages forward.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 5:18 pm
by Sue B
Moutaineer, I can't imagine how frightening that must have been. Fire that is not contained in a campfire or burn barrel terrifies me. I hope your neighbors get set down for that.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:23 am
by Chisamba
Are we now turning this into advertising?

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:29 am
by musical comedy
Chisamba wrote:Are we now turning this into advertising?

This thread is about anything and everything. That seems to be the way the group wants it. I think it would be better if each poster had sort of a forum blog, just for their own progress. Training issues in different threads. But then, my opinion stands alone.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 11:51 am
by piedmontfields
I would enjoy threads of each pair (rider-horse) and their progress....although I would probably be embarrassed to highlight our efforts with a headline!!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:11 pm
by Ponichiwa
My own progress thread would be embarrassingly repetitive, I'm afraid. Much better for me to blend right into a bigger thread.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:14 pm
by StraightForward
I like this thread format. Sometimes I tag a small update onto a post commenting on someone else's post, whereas I might not deem it update-worthy for my own thread (see my rarely updated Anna Banana thread). Also not sure I'd click through 15 different journaling threads on a regular basis, so we'd probably kind of end up just talking to ourselves.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:25 pm
by Chisamba
It's true we do take diversions . I'm entitled to object to this one and you are entitled to shoot me down.

I happen to enjoy the direct experiential discovery, timing, discussion of these threads. I don't see why everyone should have their own.

I suppose if everyone wanted to start extolling the virtues of their mentor, I'd just have to suck it up, or leave.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:37 pm
by musical comedy
Chisamba wrote:It's true we do take diversions . I'm entitled to object to this one and you are entitled to shoot me down.

I happen to enjoy the direct experiential discovery, timing, discussion of these threads. I don't see why everyone should have their own.

I suppose if everyone wanted to start extolling the virtues of their mentor, I'd just have to suck it up, or leave.
So it's just Khall's posts about Cedar that is bugging you? Yeah, maybe that would have been better on its' own thread. Still, I guess nobody sees my point. I am interested in training discussions, not particularly the everyday rides of people. That's just me and I know I don't fit in with the thinking of the group. If someone puts up something about specific training issues in the goals thread that I want to follow....and...a new post is made, I open the thread in hopes that the discussion would be about that training issue. Instead, I may have to scroll through pics and stuff only to find that the training stuff has not been commented on. I"m not a time waster and I don't open threads that are of a subject I'm not interested in. If good stuff is imbedded in a thread that goes off topic, I'll miss it. So be it I guess.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:43 pm
by Tsavo
On another forum, someone once asked me why I am writing in one subsection. The question shocked me because I just look at the list of new posts and don't even look at which subsection they are posted in.

That lead me to realize some people do not look at the new post lists but rather just go to certain subsections to see if something new is posted.

Similarly, I do not retain the title of any thread when responding. I just read what was written and respond if I have a relevant comment.

I think the purists who like clean threads or certain people only posting in certain subsections have to realize that is not how some read a forum. Some people, including myself, focus entirely on the content of individual posts and ignore the organization of the posts. I am championing substance over form.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:45 pm
by Tsavo
MC, can't you just look at the list of new posts to see if you are interested in the content?

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:51 pm
by kande50
Tsavo wrote: people, including myself, focus entirely on the content of individual posts and ignore the organization of the posts. I am championing substance over form.


Same here. I just go to new posts and go to the last posts on the threads I'm reading. Some of the computers I use get stuck on posts with pix, but scrolling is fast now so it takes almost no time to scroll down to the new posts.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 12:59 pm
by Dresseur
I for one don't mind hearing about the ordinary rides as well as the lightbulb or frustrating moments. Lots of training tends to be at a slow crawl as you work on quality or pick apart a specific thing. It's not necessarily exciting, and more than always frustrating. :lol: I think some of it depends on the nuance included. I could say, Miro and I will be working on the walk, trot and canter quality - and that would be true. But would be missing 99.9% of the story! As a sidenote- I assume Khall posted the Cedar update because it validates CP in the recognized show world - there are lots of trainers that have alternative methods (as seen by the mainstream) that can't make that jump successfully. And, she does carry the JP halo - he's a bit of a controversial figure. In any case - congrats to her and her people!

So in the interests of furthering the training discussion - btw Chisamba, kudos on the bareback ride!!! - Miro and I will be taking our first off property excursion since his injury last year. We'll be going down to Andrea's place, but he's never been at her new facility, so I'm very curious to see if he's chill about it or if he turns into a fire breathing dragon. When we went to our first show, he was good - but very tense and was having no parts of the judges box!

She stopped by yesterday so that I could show progress and so far, progress is happening - we're in a bit of a wait and see mode to see what we need to address. The canter, while improving steadily due to increased strength and the inclusion of the lateral work remains the weaker gait. He's moving much better - not slapping the fronts down, but it lacks the expression of the trot. Which is why we're in wait and see - there's nothing to do at the moment other than to keep building strength. He answers every question I ask of him (can he lengthen a bit in the SIs, can he come back a little, will he circle without interrupting the rhythm - yes yes yes etc.), so, we'll keep doing exactly what we're doing. I do crucify him for slow transitions up and down, but other than that, I don't pick at him.

Trot work is coming along - I feel that he's a bit unsteady in the bridle - Andrea said that she doesn't see what I'm feeling, so we decided that what I'm feeling is momentary loss of balance where he falls on the shoulder for a split second as opposed to him yawing on the bridle or dropping behind the vertical. However, we ARE going to try him in a french link. He's been in a regular, single jointed snaffle since he was broken and he just has a tendency to hang out a bit, so we want to experiment a little to see if he'll like the extra movement a french link provides. She also feels strongly, and I agree, that the moments of imbalance are directly related to times when he is hanging on the bit - but the rhythm and tempo is not interrupted when I give hh, even if they are strong for a split second. Lateral work we have to try to push the bend at this point. He's doing the right thing... but the haunches in lacks bend, particularly to the right, SI/R lacks bend - particularly on the left and the HP is quite nice on the left - and surprise! lacks bend on the right. Walk pirouettes mirror this... what's interesting about him is that he locks his back up, especially on the right and then instantly goes lateral. So, he's allowed a few steps, then out, and the steps have to be very large.

I'll report back on our weekend - Andrea may ride him to see if she can address the bend issue. If she fixes it in a ride, it's my technique. If not, it will continue to be chipped away at.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 1:14 pm
by Chisamba
musical comedy wrote:
Chisamba wrote:It's true we do take diversions . I'm entitled to object to this one and you are entitled to shoot me down.

I happen to enjoy the direct experiential discovery, timing, discussion of these threads. I don't see why everyone should have their own.

I suppose if everyone wanted to start extolling the virtues of their mentor, I'd just have to suck it up, or leave.
So it's just Khall's posts about Cedar that is bugging you? Yeah, maybe that would have been better on its' own thread. Still, I guess nobody sees my point. I am interested in training discussions, not particularly the everyday rides of people. That's just me and I know I don't fit in with the thinking of the group. If someone puts up something about specific training issues in the goals thread that I want to follow....and...a new post is made, I open the thread in hopes that the discussion would be about that training issue. Instead, I may have to scroll through pics and stuff only to find that the training stuff has not been commented on. I"m not a time waster and I don't open threads that are of a subject I'm not interested in. If good stuff is imbedded in a thread that goes off topic, I'll miss it. So be it I guess.


to be honest, i thought a post was nice, repeated posts, less so.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 4:18 pm
by khall
chisamba the snark is very unbecoming. You would have a point IF I was not directly responding to other posters with my diatribe on Cedar. (MC/tsavo) While you were very encouraging and "got it" and generally happy that I had found someone that I wanted to work with, MC drug up a 2014 video of Cedar disparaging my choice. So I had a rebuttal to her and to tsavo with more current video and directly responding to a question that tsavo asked about Cedar (what level would she show). I felt that the results of the show I posted was just a follow up for MC (who apparently was intrigued enough to look more into Cedar) and tsavo. In no way was I trying to advertise Cedar other than to say YEAH I found someone to work with that I can identify with!! and yeah Cedar was successful at her show from 3rd to I1, very happy for her. While showing is not a big thing for me (like I said to Cedar white breeches are evil!) I'm happy to see this training from NO is finding success in the show arena to hopefully bring a different view point on training than what is typically found in the competition arena. Bettina Drummond is doing something similar in her search and wanting to put this work out to more people. Her young trainers are showing some too I believe.

Not too much on the training forefront, life is getting in the way right now(and weather) though I did ride Rip out in the field day before yesterday (sick with cold yesterday) and just lunged my filly today with the bareback pad on. Hope to do a bit more maybe Sunday-Tuesday but have appointments the rest of the week that might and will interfere with working horses.

I hope Miro minds his manners dresseur and glad he is progressing with your program.

Happy riding all!

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 5:17 pm
by Imperini
Mountaineer how frightening, I hope the people responsible are punished to the point that they make better decisions in the future.

I like the format of this thread but I read it with the expectation of it being what it is. Individual threads might get overlooked because there would be so many and then things that are potentially beneficial to someone else could be missed by that particular someone else.

Sometimes I find it difficult to express what I'm thinking in writing and also tend to be the type that spends a long time writing up a very short post. I told my DH the other day, "I've realized that in order to ride like a professional I must ride like a professional!" which of course is true (and me being silly) but it leaves a lot out. My actual realization is difficult for me to put into words but is along the lines of when I'm riding I always need to really be riding. I can't forget about my core, I can't forget about my shoulders, my legs, etc, I've got to be there and I've got to be riding. If I'm not doing these things and my horse is not going well then that's not the fault of the horse and not even a different horse could fix my poor riding. Realistically, and pleasantly, I'm not sure a different horse than Pal could have taught me these things as well and as quickly as she has. I've ridden a lot of horses in the past and not one of them has transformed me the way that she has and perhaps part of it are the changes I'm making in myself outside of riding (my PT exercises, etc) but I believe a lot of it is her as well.

The move to my coach's barn happens at the end of the month and I'm looking forward to that. I expect it will be interesting riding Pal after a my coach has had some rides on her. This will be my first time ever having my own horse or horse that I'm regularly riding also be ridden by a professional regularly so I'm sure that will be eye opening.

Re: More Leg! More Leg! - May and June Goals

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2018 10:34 pm
by Flight
I don't mind the topics wandering in this thread, but I find it hard to go back and comment on everyone's progress and it feels like some posts look to be ignored, but I enjoy reading them all.
I'm always putting pics and vids up, I hope it's not annoying anyone!

I made a makeshift buggy whip and it made quite a difference to Ding, wish I'd videoed it so I could see better what was happening. Made the transitions happen etc. I was careful not to overdo it though.
The weather is cold, wet and windy for my days off so no riding unfortunately.

My big horse has become really stiff to the left. It's always been his stiffer side. I can't find anything particularly sore, but it's difficult to get the bend in his body and move his shoulders. I'd say it's the lack of regular work he's had lately. Only another week or so of being extra busy at work, then I'll be back to normal shifts so a bit more riding.