# My Turn! Maia - One Month Later



## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Here are update photos of Maia and myself! I have owned her for a little over a month now, and I think she's going really well! Please critique both me and Maia. 
Ps - it was too slippery out to canter, so it was walk and trot only for us today!

Before:








http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaTrotMarch5sm.jpg
^ Please do NOT critique this one.

Now:
Walk:








http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaWalk4.jpg









http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaWalk1.jpg

Trot:








http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaTrot2.jpg









http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaTrot4.jpg









http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaTrot8.jpg









http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/rian_686/MaiaTrot10.jpg

Sorry for all the pictures!


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

shes beautiful! and im horrible at critiquing so im not going to.


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## SonnyWimps (Feb 22, 2008)

oh wow there's a HHUUGGEE improvement! She is sooooo beautiful!!!!

Only thing I see is that your feet are kinda out...I really only see it in one picture though. 

Don't say sorry for all the pictures! I don't know about everyone else, but I love looking at pictures of horses!!! Especially one as pretty as Maia


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## brittx6x6 (Mar 4, 2007)

WOW!!!!

That is a huge difference for just ONE month!!!! 

She looks alot healthier and her color has changed to a deeper chestnut. Very nice top line for what I can see since the saddle covers alot. She tracks up nicely too. She looks like a nice mover, very smooth. And she works through her back very well.

Congrats on the transformation! It took me almost a year to get to where you are with your girl!

By the way I have the same crop ha ha ha


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## Stepher (Nov 5, 2007)

She looks amazing! Good work!


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## Skivvers (Apr 13, 2008)

she looks pretty, I especially love the last picture. hehe, and I agree with gingerrr I am terrible at critiquing. You came soo far in one month! It makes me want to go work on my pony. lol


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Wow, thank you all for your very positive comments! I really appreciate them, and it's definitely a confidence builder!!

Brit - I LOVE my new whip - I just bought it yesterday! I even made up a post about it in the Tack section hehe


Any more and all comments would be wonderful! Thanks!!


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## ahearn (Jul 10, 2007)

Oh my GOD!! JDi it's spectacular!!!!!! You see, at first, everyone said she couldn't be the horse you were looking for, rememeber? She was too this, she was too that...and look at her! It's just amazing! She looks so much healthier. Even her thick neck that everyone just couldn't get over look thinner and more refined. She looks like an over all different horse. Can you come to Texas for let's say 6 months and "fix" all the problems we have around here??

I had a TERRIBLE ride today with 2 of our horses...can't blame them, maybe it was me. SSSOOOO, I can truly say I'm jealous! You've got yourself a beautiful girl there!! And no, she's not chestnut...Dunn's don't even come close to that color, but she's does look healthier and happier. Do you think all this time she just needed/wanted a job? She was probably bored with her life.

You just have got to tell me what you do to get that flexion! We have been working for months and I still don't have that....what's the trick??? (SERIOUSLY!!! :shock: )

WAY TO GO! I'm proud of you!!


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## appylover31803 (Sep 18, 2007)

I can't believe that's the same horse! She looks wonderful now!

Her coat looks amazing, and she has this just beautiful look to her now (not that she didn't before, but she looks even better)

I agree with ahearn, what's your trick for her head carriage. You saw Vega's video of me riding. She doesn't even know what head carriage is :shock: 

You two look wonderful together, and i love your new avatar!

Keep up the wonderful work and keep us updated! Congrats on your girlie doing so well


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Ahearn, and Appy, you guys almost brought tears to my eyes, that was so kind! I'm so happy with her progress - can you believe I've only been really asking for flexion and head carraige for a couple weeks?? I can't believe she's the same horse either... she's even started to move off my legs!!
She's still built downhill and I can tell that, but just... wow. 

Appy, thank you for the comment on the avitar.. I started fiddling with one of my pictures and it turned into that!! I was kinda excited about that!

As for the trick for the head carraige, I will be posting a video about it next weekend - I took my camera out today (obviously) but the memory card had room for either 30 seconds of video or 80 pictures (don't ask me how that works, I don't know) so I chose pictures!
The trick, if I can explain it here, is to gather up contact, then on a 20-m circle, keep your outside rein steady, and pull straight back to your hip with your inside rein (no checking and giving, just a straight pull)... keep the horse on the circle with your legs, and anchor your inside hand on your hip; don't let it move from there. Let your horse toss its head and fight the bit - him putting his head in the right spot will relieve all the pressure. It might take a while for him to find it, and both of you will get frusterated with it, but keep going until he figures out that "hey, once I put my head in the right place, it is comfortable!"
The right place not only means he will have his head on ther vertical while being flexed at the poll and jaw, but it will also mean he's looking (flexing) to the inside.
No go large and try it on the rail - outside hand where it normally should be, and inside hand (same rein length as your outside rein) anchored at your hip. Your horse will probably want to follow the rein and turn a small circle, which is where your legs come into play - keep him on the rail. Once he is flexing consistantly with your hand anchored at the hip, you can start bringing your hand back to "normal" position - but whenever he puts his head out of place, you immediately anchor it back on your hip.

Like I said, a video will be posted next weekend  I hope this makes some sort of sense?




Any more comments?


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## jazzyrider (Sep 16, 2007)

she looks lovely  well done

the only thing i can say, and even that is tiny is that she seems a tad behind the vertical in some of the pics but im sure that will sort itself out as she is only learning


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Thank you Jazzy! Yes she is behind the vertical in a few pics... she's still learning where that noggin is supposed to be!


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## im4dressage (Mar 11, 2008)

I love her gaits :!: what level of dressage do you plan on doing with her?


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## love-a-hero (Apr 3, 2008)

She has improved. 
How old is she, im persuming young?


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

She looks so different! Great job!

BTW, just wondering how much you ride her? Every day? For how long?


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Wow amazing transition, she looks great now!


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## appylover31803 (Sep 18, 2007)

JustDressageIt said:


> Ahearn, and Appy, you guys almost brought tears to my eyes, that was so kind! I'm so happy with her progress - can you believe I've only been really asking for flexion and head carraige for a couple weeks?? I can't believe she's the same horse either... she's even started to move off my legs!!
> She's still built downhill and I can tell that, but just... wow.
> 
> Appy, thank you for the comment on the avitar.. I started fiddling with one of my pictures and it turned into that!! I was kinda excited about that!
> ...


Ok i totally understand how to do it! Next time i ride Vega, i'll try that. She did well with the pessoa, so i'll assume she'll do well with the reins.

I still cannot get over her pictures. You two look so professional together


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Im4Dressage - Thank you! I have no idea what level we'll get to.. I don't plan on showing for a while, so it's going to be really laid back haha. Time will tell 

love-a-hero - Thanks. She's not really young - 8 years old, but only had a handful of rides on her before I bought her. (I think the lady who owned her prior "rode" her 4 times total in the 4 years she owned her - and she only jumped on with a saddle and walked around a bit.)

Kitten_val -  I'm so proud of her! And actually I only get to ride about 3-4 times per week at the moment... and each ride is only about a half hour long... she can't handle much more at this point.

PoptartShop - eee... I'm so happy with her!

Appy - that's good that my instructions made sense.. although I have to admit I'm a little surprised, I can't usually explain things like that. And thank you for the compliment, I can't believe what a great photographer Rich is, he got some good shots!


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## Dumas'_Grrrl (Apr 2, 2008)

Can't wait for the video......You looked so darn good... I mean wow! really, wow! Its great to see regular people suceeding! ( not that you are "just" regular... :wink: you obviously have talent!)

Congrats and keep the info comming!


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## free_sprtd (Oct 18, 2007)

ok, all i have to say is WOW :shock: i can't believe that's the same horse! i never saw the before pic (taht i could remember) and too see the difference, omg, it's amazing to me....and because it's only been a month! do tell on your riding routine?? hehehe and how did you get her coat to look that much more beautiful? did you clip her? cuz it doesnt look like it! just wow....

PLEASE SHARE ALL YOUR SECRETS!! hehee


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

JustDressageIt said:


> Kitten_val -  I'm so proud of her! And actually I only get to ride about 3-4 times per week at the moment... and each ride is only about a half hour long... she can't handle much more at this point.


Wow! She should of have really good attitude! I ride mine about same but they are really handful (although they are very young too - coming 4 years old only). 

Just curious, how do you work with her? Something like 10 mins walk, 10 mins trot, 10 mins walk? Have you trail ride her already or just arena work?


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## upnover (Jan 17, 2008)

She's really looking nice JDI! It's hard to tell with just a few pics but it looks like she's starting to round and use her hind end more. Looks like she's reaching underneath herself? Like I said earlier, finally starting to get rid of some of the chub and form some muscle! Great job!


Funny how she got so much darker too! Love it!


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Dumas'_Grrrl - Thank you!! The video should be done next week!  

free_sprtd - You are too sweet! I actually only get to ride 2 or 3 times per week.. I'd say at this point I have less than 20 rides on her..  she's just a super quick learner, and has a very soft mouth. She's not clipped, just shedded out really quickly - it's amazing what a blanket can do! 

kitten_Val - my routine is usually a 5 minute warm-up on a loose rein, doing some big circles and big figure-8's.. then ask her to flex her head into a frame and bend inside, and do some more circles etc at a walk, then up to a trot, work her at a trot for a while, then if the ground is good enough, do a bit of canter work... then finish off with a nice stretching trot to a walk
...or any variation... 
No trail riding yet.. there aren't trails around my place, just roads 

upnover - yes, she's staring to work though herself really well. I'f been great, when we're working on figure-eights I can now feel her actually switch from bending one direction to the other...  such small accomplishments, but they make me feel so good.


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

You guys look good. She's cute. You need to bend those elbows and relax your upper body, you look quite stiff. Not sure if its because you are nervous riding her? was she misbehaving?

You guys look great!


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

My2Geldings said:


> You guys look good. She's cute. You need to bend those elbows and relax your upper body, you look quite stiff. Not sure if its because you are nervous riding her? was she misbehaving?
> 
> You guys look great!


Nope not nervous at all. Just got a bad back  and yes I do need to bend my elbows - I have a habit of keeping them low on green horses.


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## Cheval (Jan 1, 2008)

Thumbs up! She looks a little tense in a few pictures...almost like she's hollowing her back (it's not horrible). She's behind the verticle in a few pictures. 
All these problems will work out with some more training. But wow - she looks AMAZING for only a month into her. You've got a special girl!


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## Feathers (Dec 22, 2007)

She's absolutely beautiful JDI!!! I love her face and her markings (not to mention that red duns happen to be one of my absolute favorite colors  ) What a doll. 

I too can see a huge improvement !!! WOW!! You're doing a wonderful job! 

Keep it up


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Thank you Cheval - She's just learning, so it'll take a while for her to stay on the vertical instead of behind or in front of it. Thumbs.. yea, another bad "greenie" habit of mine - I tend to keep my hands low and slightly turned down.

Feathers - thank you so much! I love red duns too, but the color with her is just icing on the cake


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## downthecenterlinetheycome (Apr 17, 2008)

Good job. She looks nice right now, but I'm a little concerned about the way her upper neck is bulging, her throatlatch is closed, and her head is behind the verticle. See if you can give a little and let her fill up the reins til she's on the verticle or slightly in front of it. If she doesn't meet the contact, she's evading, and you need to start over again with some things, because she's not truly reaching into the contact, only holding her head. When you flex, try to give a little when she does, so that it's an active, elastic contact and she learns that when she releases, you will soften and she can fill up the reins comfortably without shrinking back. A good thing to judge her willingness to move into the contact is the free walk and stretchy trot. How does she do then?

Also, make sure you try to keep her frame fairly low at this point - don't try to force her into collection. With my gelding, he has to get really comfortable at a certain point before moving on - at all. Now that he's happily stretching right into contact on the buckle at the free walk and stretchy trot, he can maintain the stretch in a higher frame, just above level with his withers. Make sure you allow her to take stretchy breaks often, and don't just throw the reins at her, gently let them slide down so she keeps an elastic contact all the way down.

Sorry if that was too much information.  Sometimes I feel like I can say it better than I can do it! :roll: :lol:


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## downthecenterlinetheycome (Apr 17, 2008)

Oh, just read about the hands habit - that's my bad habit too. It's the main cause of my gelding occasionally ducking down. Try to carry your hands just above the line with a horse who is prone to pulling down, leaning, or ducking behind the verticle. When they give up on that habit, you can resume a perfect straight line, but for now it will help you with your habit and your mare with hers.  Lovely mare by the way. I probably missed it, but what breed?


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## Merel (Apr 17, 2008)

Talk about imporvement!
This is really good  
I'm Dutch, and since i'm not near as good in all these words I will never learn in school i'm not even going to try to give some critique  

But it looks really good


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

downthecenterlinetheycome said:


> Good job. She looks nice right now, but I'm a little concerned about the way her upper neck is bulging, her throatlatch is closed, and her head is behind the verticle. See if you can give a little and let her fill up the reins til she's on the verticle or slightly in front of it. If she doesn't meet the contact, she's evading, and you need to start over again with some things, because she's not truly reaching into the contact, only holding her head. When you flex, try to give a little when she does, so that it's an active, elastic contact and she learns that when she releases, you will soften and she can fill up the reins comfortably without shrinking back. A good thing to judge her willingness to move into the contact is the free walk and stretchy trot. How does she do then?
> 
> Also, make sure you try to keep her frame fairly low at this point - don't try to force her into collection. With my gelding, he has to get really comfortable at a certain point before moving on - at all. Now that he's happily stretching right into contact on the buckle at the free walk and stretchy trot, he can maintain the stretch in a higher frame, just above level with his withers. Make sure you allow her to take stretchy breaks often, and don't just throw the reins at her, gently let them slide down so she keeps an elastic contact all the way down.
> 
> Sorry if that was too much information.  Sometimes I feel like I can say it better than I can do it! :roll: :lol:


Rich managed to catch quite a few pictures where she was behind the vertical, which I realize is wrong - she is still learning - and although she is behind the vertical, she is not evading the bit, and still keeps contact with my rein. 
When she first started going into a headset, it was unintentional - I was actually just asking her to bend and flex to the inside, not give her head to me, but lo and behold she both flexed and gave, so I went with it.
We have started with stretching as well - and it is coming along. She is the first horse I've owned that would rather carry herself in more of a collected frame, and I am actually working on getting her to get more long and low rather than have her head set the way it is. It's taking quite a bit more effort to get her stretching into my rein (forwards and downwards) than it did to get her flexing her poll to the inside in the first place.
She is an 8 year old Morgan/QH cross, and before I bought her a month ago, she had been ridden a grand total of 4 times for 5 minutes each (max) in the past 4 years. 
Thank you for the honest critique.

Merel - your comments were much appreciated, thank you. Your English is very good, if I do say so myself. 

Welcome to the HF, both of you.


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## Cheval (Jan 1, 2008)

JDI - I realize that she's still in training, but for a month....that's amazing!


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

Cheval said:


> JDI - I realize that she's still in training, but for a month....that's amazing!


 I'm beaming, thank you Cheval!


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## Gingerrrrr (Feb 12, 2008)

yea it really is amazing. i love the way she looks now, she looks so much healthier!


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## downthecenterlinetheycome (Apr 17, 2008)

Yeah, I know what you mean JDI. My gelding was like that for a while, except he would break worse farther down the neck. Alot of stretchy trot helped him, and now I have to look out for leaning! :lol: One or the other, I swear. Pushing him forward was good too, because he had alot of difficulty mincing along BTV if he was forward. Good job with her though.  She's really a lovely mare.


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

downthecenterlinetheycome said:


> Yeah, I know what you mean JDI. My gelding was like that for a while, except he would break worse farther down the neck. Alot of stretchy trot helped him, and now I have to look out for leaning! :lol: One or the other, I swear. Pushing him forward was good too, because he had alot of difficulty mincing along BTV if he was forward. Good job with her though.  She's really a lovely mare.


 Thank you for your posts, I do appreciate them  I can't wait to see pictures of your boy!


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## Dave (Nov 4, 2007)

*1 month*

JDI wow wow What a job you have done. Well i guess im not to wrong on my thinking when i say you are good. Thanks a great job and she is going really well think about the day you started her then today that is quite an inprovement she is georgous good job trainer rider ect


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## JustDressageIt (Oct 4, 2007)

*Re: 1 month*



Dave said:


> JDI wow wow What a job you have done. Well i guess im not to wrong on my thinking when i say you are good. Thanks a great job and she is going really well think about the day you started her then today that is quite an inprovement she is georgous good job trainer rider ect


Dave, you are too kind... that made me tear up.. thank you


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