Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Tsavo » Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:35 pm

Flight, your videos look very correct to me. The FCs and piaffe ones were extremely nice. I think you are talented. Idon't understand you being gigged for stiff connection unless you rode the show way differently.

PF, were you riding off contact in those photos? Why?

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:53 pm

kande50 wrote:I think the swinging tail is important because it's easy to see on video, and gives us important information about how the horse is moving.
I don't agree that it does. I have owned and seen horses that I know have tight backs and their tails swing.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby piedmontfields » Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:12 pm

Well, I don't think tail swinging is the be all and end all! After all, I have a tight-backed mare who swings her tail very consistently. However, when I see a tail *not* swing, or get held off to one side, or swishing or held tight between the legs---these are clues that all is not well in how the horse is moving or feeling. For a few seconds, these are not big deals but it is not uncommon to see these clues as constant habits.

Tsavo, see my own comments on my riding (aka pick up the reins, Piedmont!).

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:33 pm

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:43 pm

piedmontfields wrote:Well, I don't think tail swinging is the be all and end all! After all, I have a tight-backed mare who swings her tail very consistently. However, when I see a tail *not* swing, or get held off to one side, or swishing or held tight between the legs---these are clues that all is not well in how the horse is moving or feeling.
Agree with that for sure. I love a tail that is lifted. Most good dressage horses are like that. I don't know if it has to do with conformation or movement. I hate the tail held tight. You see that on all Paul Belasik sale horses.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:47 pm

Ryeissa wrote:-jumped a canter grid and improved my jump position, no change in canter quality in half or full seat
-canter poles- now there is no change in canter rhythm and he *keeps going* where as before he would hesitate thinking too hard, and he was so used to doing trot poles he would drop to a trot. (smart, yes, but not what I wanted)
What kind of height are you jumping in the combinations?
As always, dressage is my focus and continued improvement in many areas- the next step is to understand when to give the outside rein- I did SUCH a good job of making it stable/primary that I think I block my horse a wee bit.
This has been called to my attention as well by my trainer. I don't feel I'm doing it but apparently I am. Hard to break.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby piedmontfields » Thu Aug 30, 2018 4:54 pm

BTW, Queso in pink polos is quite the hunk!

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Aug 30, 2018 5:10 pm

musical comedy wrote: What kind of height are you jumping in the combinations?


Baby wussy height. I don't know how to jump ...! Just normal gymnastics. A step above "just a canter stride".

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby kande50 » Thu Aug 30, 2018 6:55 pm

piedmontfields wrote:Well, I don't think tail swinging is the be all and end all! After all, I have a tight-backed mare who swings her tail very consistently. However, when I see a tail *not* swing, or get held off to one side, or swishing or held tight between the legs---these are clues that all is not well in how the horse is moving or feeling. For a few seconds, these are not big deals but it is not uncommon to see these clues as constant habits.


Agree that the tail is by no means everything, but I do think it's an important clue because of what a tight or agitated tail tells us.

I have video in which my horse was at the halt and I gave him the cue to canter and he was so shocked/confused by it that both this neck and his tail went straight up in the air. :-)

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Tuddy » Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:00 pm

Tuddy wrote:Schools out for Summer! (well for my 2 legged kid that is).

Now that the horses have been cleared of whatever virus they had, back to work they go. Lunging starts this week and both Tuddy and Yonka are booked into horsemanship/riding clinics in August. Time to prep for that.



That was my goal at the beginning of summer.... Crushed it like an empty beer can!

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby kande50 » Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:20 pm

My goal for July and August was to ride more, which didn't actually start to happen until the middle of August when I finally got my schedule straightened out so I have the same days off every week. So now I'm using my days off to work on getting back in shape, and the trot/canter sets are proving to be a lot more effective for that than the trail rides (and I know that because my abs are sore after the trot/canter work and they aren't after even long trail rides).

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Aug 30, 2018 8:52 pm

Tuddy wrote:
Tuddy wrote:Schools out for Summer! (well for my 2 legged kid that is).

Now that the horses have been cleared of whatever virus they had, back to work they go. Lunging starts this week and both Tuddy and Yonka are booked into horsemanship/riding clinics in August. Time to prep for that.



That was my goal at the beginning of summer.... Crushed it like an empty beer can!

Huge like!

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby piedmontfields » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:10 pm

kande50 wrote: Agree that the tail is by no means everything, but I do think it's an important clue because of what a tight or agitated tail tells us.


Kande, we absolutely agree on this point. I write this because I am not always agreeable ;) .

p.s. my mare is accumstomed to halt-canter or rein back-canter. Hence, no shock and no super elevated tail swish!

p.p.s. This movement is a bit of a "cheat" to put the horse on their hind end. I like it and it works (and is certainly pretty old school), but really, I want that sitting from walk or trot all the time :D But that said, it is a very useful exercise.
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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:23 pm

piedmontfields wrote:p.s. my mare is accomstomed to halt-canter or rein back-canter. Hence, no shock and no super elevated tail swish!

p.p.s. This movement is a bit of a "cheat" to put the horse on their hind end. I like it and it works (and is certainly pretty old school), but really, I want that sitting from walk or trot all the time :D But that said, it is a very useful exercise.
I don't know how old school it is, but I did it with my jumping horses. I think many of the good hunter/jumper horses can promptly canter from the halt and/reinback. Whether they stay 'through' and on the bit doing it is another story.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby StraightForward » Thu Aug 30, 2018 11:56 pm

StraightForward wrote:Yes! Ready or not, it is here!

I am excessively excited about being done with my work travel season and looking forward to buckling down and working Annabelle steadily 6 days a week. I'll be riding early before work to beat the heat during this challenge.

Pickle is moving back to my old barn today and I'm looking for a new situation for her. I'm also going out today to pick up a project horse on trial for a month, so we'll see how that goes. If I end up returning him, I might start riding Susan's horse in August as I'm now much closer to her barn, making it way more feasible to ride two.

Annabelle:

Show next weekend. We were wait-listed for Sunday, so we'll probably just do T1 on Saturday and be happy to get through it without mishaps.
Ride 4x a week and lunge 1-2x a week.
Jump once a week, jump a mean cross-rail course by the end of this period, and maybe some 2' verticals.
Work on trot lengthenings and W/C transitions each ride.
Continue straightening the canter

Me: Get back in the routine of hitting the gym 2x a week. Go for a run on the weekend. Eat cleaner.


Well, we showed three times at training level. The first was more a training wreck, the second day was well, we got through it with the canter parts. Third show we did T1 and T3 and even got a first place with I think 62% or something (tiny show).

Jumping - we have jumped cross rails and grids. Annabelle can now canter over three poles, which is a pretty big improvement.

Have been lax on the lengthenings and W/C transitions. Have been doing them, but not every ride.

Something was up with Annabelle's lumbars or hip area early August, so she got almost two weeks off while we were sorting that out. Just now getting back to full steam. I do think the canter is straighter, but still tends to be haunches in. I finally bought a rigid-nosed serrata in the correct size for her, and I swear it makes her move better on the lunge line; I think maybe because she is following her nose around better?

I've been riding Susan's mare Kyra 3-4 days a week since the end of July. That as going well and it's a good chance to improve my seat and lateral work.

My fitness, well :lol: I was getting pretty consistent with the core work through July, but tweaked something in my shoulder and kind of got out of the habit. I have gone out for a run twice in the past week though, and am glad to see that my aerobic capacity isn't too terrible.

As far as Pickle... she is gone! Her new career is brood mare, and in her place is a super sweet 2 year old Westphalian filly who's just learning the finer points of living the civilized stable life and soaking up all the attention she can get.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby kande50 » Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:35 am

musical comedy wrote:[qI don't know how old school it is, but I did it with my jumping horses. I think many of the good hunter/jumper horses can promptly canter from the halt and/reinback. Whether they stay 'through' and on the bit doing it is another story.


I don't care if mine stay through and on the bit to start, as I just want them to understand what I'm asking, and get good at doing it any way they want to do it. Then, once they understand what I want I can start to modify how they do it.

It's one of my favorite exercises, as I love the feeling when they just pick up their front end and canter off. I've been working on it with my mule lately, and it feels like he's getting pretty good at it, although I haven't videotaped it yet so that could easily be an illusion. :-)

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby kande50 » Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:44 am

piedmontfields wrote:

Kande, we absolutely agree on this point. I write this because I am not always agreeable ;) .


I think it helps clarify things when we explore all possibilities, so I'm all for it. :-)

p.p.s. This movement is a bit of a "cheat" to put the horse on their hind end. I like it and it works (and is certainly pretty old school), but really, I want that sitting from walk or trot all the time :D But that said, it is a very useful exercise.


I don't really want it all the time because I'm afraid it'll put too much strain on their backs and hindquarters, but I do want it part of the time.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Sue B » Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:41 pm

Goals Rudy
Clinic in a couple of days
Continue work on keeping a longer neck etc
Start FC

Goals Tio
Find someone to put shoes on fronts
Jump
Go to a derby
Work on the canter.


Still no fc on Rudy, but reaching out to the bit is consistent as noted by the clinician in July. I may have another clinic coming up in October, but maybe I'll be able to drive the 100 miles (one way) to get fc lesson from coach. Tio is happily in shoes now and jumping (18" max until I build some jumps) consistently. The other day he smacked his front foot on my very heavy cavelletti set at 18"; the next time through he over-jumped by a good foot or more in a totally balanced manner. Because eh did it so well, I stayed right with him, didn't get left behind, hands following, landed in a 2-point. Quite pleased with him AND myself. :P Tio's canter continues to improve in both directions and I work on it most every ride. They cancelled the derby series, so i didn't get to go to any derbies.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby demi » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:16 pm

demi wrote:My goal for this time is simply get back in the saddle. Hoping for 4 days a week by the end of August.


I rode Rocky 18 times in July and 21 times in August. This is the first summer in years that I rode consistently through July and August. I would have gotten more rides in July except I was out of town for a week taking care of mom.

I took some screen shots from my soloshot vid today that I will post. I am happy with how she is going, even though I can only walk for the next 2-4 months (hopefully only 2) because of a small tear in her suspensory.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby demi » Fri Aug 31, 2018 8:56 pm

Image
Image
Image

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:42 pm

Those first two pics are beautiful Demi. Rocky has such a petty head and the neck looks super. Your position looks stellar too! If someone paid me a million dollars, I could not get my heels like that. Maybe standing in the stirrups, but even then probably not. Why no noseband?

What I am struggling with right now is getting my mare to walk on contact like that. Trot and canter no problem, but walk is. My mare wants to do pic #3.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Chisamba » Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:46 pm

Chisamba wrote:My goals for the last two months were to ride regulary and to eat healthily. I did okay on both but i need to have more specific goals this month:

Kimba: Add short steps working to ward Piaffe because i think it will really benefit her collection at this time
Accurate canter and counter canter strike off anywhere in the arena
really get the walk pirouettes clean and clear


continue with healthy eating and improve fitness and supplenss in myself


Well kimba is way more rideable and supple in canter and counter canter, she is doing reasonable walk pirouette. Her half pass has improved.

I do in hand work to develop piaffe once a week, and she we ate both improving.

I asked a friend to ride Titanium today and she was so excited about how much he has improved. He was reliable in his canter leads and reaching for the bit consistently.

So July and August were very positive for me. Still eating more healthily and is begin looking to show.

My spring trot I'd improved and were are doing consistent extensions sitting now.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby demi » Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:06 pm

Wow! Thanks MC!

I took her noseband off for the summer because it’s so effen hot and muggy here that it chaffs her thin skinned nose and cheeks. It will go back on as soon as I start lessons with her again.

After watching my vid yesterday I thought I needed to lengthen my stirrups a hole but decided to give it another day. I had them at the length in those pics at the suggestion of my trainer. I am still regaining confidence after a bad accident 4 years ago, and trainer thought it would help to shorten them. Now it looks to me like my heel is jammed down.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:14 pm

demi wrote: I had them at the length in those pics at the suggestion of my trainer. I am still regaining confidence after a bad accident 4 years ago, and trainer thought it would help to shorten them. Now it looks to me like my heel is jammed down.
No, they don't look jammed down to me. The leg looks great. I prefer to ride with shorter irons too, for security and for my hips. Unfortunately, I need the proper saddle to do that w/o my knee going over the roll.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Chisamba » Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:16 pm

Chisamba wrote:My goals for the last two months were to ride regulary and to eat healthily. I did okay on both but i need to have more specific goals this month:

Kimba: Add short steps working to ward Piaffe because i think it will really benefit her collection at this time
Accurate canter and counter canter strike off anywhere in the arena
really get the walk pirouettes clean and clear


continue with healthy eating and improve fitness and supplenss in myself


Well kimba is way more rideable and supple in canter and counter canter, she is doing reasonable walk pirouette. Her half pass has improved.

I do in hand work to develop piaffe once a week, and she we ate both improving.

I asked a friend to ride Titanium today and she was so excited about how much he has improved. He was reliable in his canter leads and reaching for the bit consistently.

So July and August were very positive for me. Still eating more healthily and is begin looking to show.

My sitting trot is improved and were are doing consistent extensions sitting now.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Rosie B » Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:32 am

demi - I agree with MC. Those first two pics are absolutely lovely. The only thing I would say is your reins look a little long and your hands a little too far back, and consequently you appear to be tilting your left hand down slightly.

How unfortunate you're limited to walking.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Moutaineer » Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:14 am

A pretty satisfactory couple of months for us, on the whole:

I've ridden a lot, I've trailered all over creation, I've spent time with my horse. I feel like we've finally become a team.

I've had some very instructive rides down centerline at 2.3, better scores every time out, (except the once, which is just horseshowing, really.)

We had a really good clinic with Mette Rosencrantz--when I ride with her I feel like we' make a step-change in my riding ability.

I feel like, thanks to her, I've finally conquered getting him in front of the leg, which has led to so much more quality in the gaits, a sittable trot (even in the medium) so I'm not up there lurching around like a marionette and can focus on the quality of the movements rather than survival, and a collected canter that we can actually get a flying change from.

I've started putting a bit of focus on the flying changes in the last week or so--just throwing a couple in at the end of each ride. We've now got a pretty nice right to left change, but the left to right is still rough, but it's early days yet and my eyes on the ground have been out of town for the week.

I didn't lose the 3lbs... I'm doing battle with some new medication, so at the moment I'm happy to simply maintain...

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby piedmontfields » Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:23 pm

Wow, Demi. You and Rocky look wonderful. Love the way her neck muscle "pops" in the first two photos.
Mountaineer, those are huge developments. It is amazing what really good help/trainers can bring out of their charges!
Ponichiwa, you are an inspiration on the fitness front. Go you! I need to get back on the spin bike.
Rye, I think it is adorable that you call tall cavalletti "jumping" (but then I'm in a barn filled with flying horses). I do agree that these are very fun and really help the canter and with the release of the horse's back.

Appreciate the updates from all. It has been quite the summer for many.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:33 pm

Flight wrote:edited to add pics. I think I also consciously shortened my reins, because in the past if I let them a bit loose I get the comments 'not into the bridle' and I pushed him a little bit too much for impulsion. So, it might have looked a bit tight. I'm ok with it, just something more to work on :roll: :D
Nice pics. I'd still like to see your hands more forward, still keeping the same kind of contact.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby demi » Sat Sep 01, 2018 3:35 pm

Thanks for the pics, Flight. I always enjoy seeing what you are doing. I follow your progress and appreciate that you share it. I’m glad you found a classical trainer and it will be really interesting to see how you like it.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby kande50 » Sat Sep 01, 2018 3:37 pm

musical comedy wrote:[Nice pics. I'd still like to see your hands more forward, still keeping the same kind of contact.


What I like about those pix is that so much is so close to ideal that any changes would just involve small tweaks. My eye says that hands a couple inches up and forward in the 2nd pic would improve the "look", but whether or not it would improve the work is a whole "nother issue. But your soloshot may be able to give you that info.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby piedmontfields » Sat Sep 01, 2018 10:27 pm

Flight, I really appreciate that you share photos and reflections from your journey.

From my POV, your photos offer us a demonstration that classical training just plain works! Interesting comments, but more interesting is your own reflection and assessment on connection and habits.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby musical comedy » Sat Sep 01, 2018 10:43 pm

piedmontfields wrote:From my POV, your photos offer us a demonstration that classical training just plain works! Interesting comments, but more interesting is your own reflection and assessment on connection and habits.
What's 'interesting' about the comments?
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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby heddylamar » Sun Sep 02, 2018 12:39 am

I met 4 out of 5 goals. Maia's picking up the correct lead nearly every time now (only one misfire across the last 3 rides), and we've been riding out both in the pasture, and along the road. Haven't hit the trails yet, per-say, but we'll do that this week. And I'm cantering her over cavaletti in an effort to break both of our necks :lol: ... or gather those legs and go forward?! She's a hot mess.

We've been free jumping, but nothing under saddle. I've been having a moment of "but what if I break her?" since I haven't had a jumper in a few years. Never mind that jumping has always been my comfort zone .....

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby khall » Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:29 pm

Demi very nice pics of you and Rocky. I do agree with you on your ankles, IMO a bit too forced down. As for contact, have you ever tried bridging the reins to keep them from slipping? Another help in rein response is to rotate the thumb out a bit, that activates the bit in the mouth more on the corner and can really help with rein/bit acceptance and softness. You can rotate just the inside hand to ask for inside flexion or can rotate both if needed for better bit/rein acceptance.

I'm pretty happy with how Rip is going, have been able to ask some more difficult questions all the way around (transitions in lateral work, more CC, difficult CC, transitions and lots of them, better mediums through SI, riding through pieces of 2nd level tests, Spanish Walk and jambette in hand, half steps and more holding the half steps in hand) holding off on the FCs with wanting to show 2nd this month.

Filly is a bit hotter than she had been, but still nothing compared to what Rip did as a young horse and can still do!!

Gaila is doing very well with the WD trainer, she really enjoys my horse. One more month with her, hoping she will sell. If not will bring her home, ride her and market her from here.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Flight » Sun Sep 02, 2018 11:20 pm

MC - I agree, my hands are backward and I'm not sure why I had a bit of a stranglehold on him that day! I think I get a bit 'competitiony'
I've got another one this Sat, and they are unofficial tests, so I'm going to try hard to relax and ride as close as I can as I do at home.

Thanks for everyone's kind comments. I"m such a slow learner though, I wish I could have another lifetime after this to carry on with. It takes so long to learn it all.

NIce pics Demi - after the last clinic I watched, it really made me aware of looking at the shape of the horse behind the saddle and the base of the neck. Looks good to me :)


Khall, would love to see some vid of your work with Rip. Our spanish walk is getting better. I learned about a school halt recently, and would love to aim for that!

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby khall » Mon Sep 03, 2018 3:34 am

Flight I plan on getting some when Cedar comes back in October. Will probably have a bit from schooling show this month, but won't be working SW or jambette there. Mark did something similar to the school halt but without the raised foreleg. He would rock the horse back at a 45 deg angle to the arena fence to get the horse to flex the LS. Karen Rohlf (I joined her video classroom and am enjoying it) uses the jambette for something similar. But she does not have to horse rotate on the grounded foreleg. She uses it to really change their posture. I'm using it to show Rip he can use his forelegs/shoulders better and to change his posture then I have been able to use it to get more expression in his SW. Still just in hand, not US yet.

Flight I'm not so sure your hands are thinking backward or if you have pushed Ding past the tipping point a bit and he is out of balance and leaning on your hands. Such a fine line with some horses.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Tue Sep 04, 2018 2:52 pm

I believe we have a nice uphill jump to the canter

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Tue Sep 04, 2018 2:54 pm

.
Last edited by Ryeissa on Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:22 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby khall » Tue Sep 04, 2018 2:56 pm

Rye gymnastic jumping is FUN with the right horse! (don't know how fun it would be on Rip) Great for strengthening the HQs

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Tue Sep 04, 2018 2:57 pm

khall wrote:Rye gymnastic jumping is FUN with the right horse! (don't know how fun it would be on Rip) Great for strengthening the HQs


The more I do it, it gets easier. Keep in mind i had no jump background. I have a really good seat but I need to just trust it. I get too much in my head about it and get fearful. However, I have a good program. Just need to see how I want to proceed.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby demi » Wed Sep 05, 2018 1:20 pm

Great picture of Riot! Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby StraightForward » Wed Sep 05, 2018 2:10 pm

khall wrote:Rye gymnastic jumping is FUN with the right horse! (don't know how fun it would be on Rip) Great for strengthening the HQs


It also really helps them get smarter with their feet. Annabelle used to be just awful with awareness of where her feet were, or any concept of how to adjust gait. She was pretty chuffed with herself this weekend getting over a 3 cross-rail combination. Sometimes she still has a moment and forgets what she's doing, so we haven't dared try a vertical yet. I had to jump Maya once a week just to keep any concept of forward motion in her head.

I'm hoping Tesla is the type to jump small things; Rosette didn't seem to think anything under 3' was worth more than stepping over awkwardly, and I'm a big chicken, so I don't want to go that big just to get some jumping gymnastics done.
Keep calm and canter on.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby Ryeissa » Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:54 pm

StraightForward wrote:It also really helps them get smarter with their feet.


agree....and to add...
My horse went through a mental process where he learned to be independent. he had a hard time making his own decisions at first since as a dressage horse I always tell him things. He would hesitate and then need to learn to just keep going and try things. He is a very curious playful horse but he also wants to do the right thing

I think every horse should learn jumping, even if it's just longing or small stuff. It teaches them a lot.

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Re: Are we ready for the July August goals thread?

Postby DJR » Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:58 pm

StraightForward wrote:
khall wrote:Rye gymnastic jumping is FUN with the right horse! (don't know how fun it would be on Rip) Great for strengthening the HQs


It also really helps them get smarter with their feet. Annabelle used to be just awful with awareness of where her feet were, or any concept of how to adjust gait. She was pretty chuffed with herself this weekend getting over a 3 cross-rail combination. Sometimes she still has a moment and forgets what she's doing, so we haven't dared try a vertical yet. I had to jump Maya once a week just to keep any concept of forward motion in her head.

I'm hoping Tesla is the type to jump small things; Rosette didn't seem to think anything under 3' was worth more than stepping over awkwardly, and I'm a big chicken, so I don't want to go that big just to get some jumping gymnastics done.


My daughter and I have been enjoying long hacks through the forests around our place. We do off the trail and "bushwhack". It's tremendously helpful for teaching the horses to look where their stepping, using their brain & body differently, and even calming them down (it works magic on Pan who can be uppity at times). And, they love it! (So do we.)
formerly known as "Deanna" on UDBB -- and prior to that, as "DJD".


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