# Dressage Paint



## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

Nice for a beginning BUT dressage is not " ride a quietly as possible and not make ripples".

All your gaits are too slow and too short.


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## AllyKatSki1 (Apr 2, 2008)

Oh I know Spyder  he is very fussy and gets very uptight easily, right now we are working on relaxing. He has two speeds which are uptight freight train or the speed in the video  He's a work in progress. Any other critiques?


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## BaileyJo (Aug 23, 2011)

I'm no expert but to me it looks like in the first video you are riding around looking down at his ears. Pick your chin up a little and look forward. I do this alot and notice that when I do think about it, looking up and more forward brings my shoulders back and allows me to sit back more. 

He's a nice looking horse!


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## FoxyRoxy1507 (Jul 15, 2008)

the more you push them out they more relaxed they get. you also look like you have a very off on off on contact, it needs to be steady steady steady which helps promote relaxation from the horse and your left arm tends to chicken out instead of staying at your side


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

I think you're making progress with getting him relaxed, but do you really need a flash(crossed) noseband to keep his mouth closed? I'm not sure that he's really on the bit, since he does fuss a little. Regarding your hands, experiment with planting your knuckles in front on the pommel on his neck after you ask for a trot, and see if he stays quiet on the bit. This will keep _you_ from hitting him in the mouth, IF that is what is happening. You seem have a nice seat. I say this a LOT, but work without stirrups will give you a nice, weighted, deep seat. Dressage is an art, but it is ALSO a means to an end. If possible, work him without jumping poles and any other parphenalia in your ring, unless you are using them to get your horse to pick up his feet. I prefer to have an empty work area. I like to be able to mix up the schooling, add a half pass here or there, or take my horse into a corner and do a haunches in or back into a corner and do a forehand in there. Hope this helps, and keep working on it!


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## HalfPass (Jun 12, 2009)

Hi there. 
I do not normally comment or critique. So here goes it.

I would like to say I agree with Spyder and with Foxy.

Not knowing a ton of this horses history or your history I can only comment on what I see in the video.
While I like that your seat is quiet it seems from the video your riding mostly from your hand and not your seat and core. You have lovely long legs! Use your leg seat and core more than your hand! Your horse is nice and quiet but he is really not active behind! Forward forwwar forward for this guy. Push him up into your contact! If you are uncertain on how to acheive this I suggest taking regula lessons or having your horse in full or partial training. As foxy stated the contact is lost sometimes. 
We all have to learn how to use our bodies while riding. I like the comment about having your eyes up and shoulder open and back. I think many people do this (looking down)when schooling I even catch my self doing it when i am concentrating. But the reality for me is when my eyes and chin are up my shoulders stay straight and open. I am also able to keep my body and the horse much straighter. And, it is sooo much easier to use my core strength to help my horse.
When the contact is lost I think of it as the horses support being lost. Steady contact! Your horse needs your support and direction. If you do not know how to support the horse properly when he or you falls apart then again I suggest working with a qualified trainer if your not already

One thing I noticed with the trot to canter transition is the contact is totally lost. The horse throws his head into the canter. More training and correct contact in the trot will improve the trot to canter depart.
It seems the horse needs to gain some strength and balance.

Do you have a trainer? It is important to work with a trainer! They will help guide you through all the things that need to be worked on. If you cannot afford full or partial training it is very very important to take a lesson a week at the very least.
After all that I feel your moving in the right direction. Progressing with your horse is so much fun! remember to keep it all fun and take things as they come. We all have things to learn and improve upon. Your horse seems like a nice horse to get going and I wish you all the best!
hp


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## Allison Finch (Oct 21, 2009)

You have him teetering on the edge of being behind your leg and out of the bridle (seen when head goes up or roots down) and being forward enough to go into the bridle and carry himself.

You don't need to speed him up, at all. You need to ENERGIZE him and send him forward into the bridle. since he is still learning to balance himself speeding him up will make it harder for him to balance. Sending him forward, not speeding him up, will help. It is like putting your foot on the gas pedal when the car is in neutral. Revving the engine does not make the car go faster.

Every time the horse puts his head up, he has backed out of the bridle. Use your leg and send him forward again. At the canter, the horse still needs balance, especially on the left lead. He needs to be much more forward BUT not faster. Leg to send him forward, half halt to keep him from speeding up. Leg and half halt every other stride at canter to bring him forward, energize, and still allow him to start engaging his haunch. Start with big circles and spiral in energizing as he spirals in.

I, personally, really like this horse and see his potential. While he does seem to paddle slightly with his left front, it is minimal and will not limit him here, IMO. Keep up the good work. You have done pretty well getting him working with you, now add some energy that will help him progress.

I hope this helps.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

In the first video, I do see bits and pieces that suggest the beginnings of it all starting to click for both of you. Like others said, he starts to reach for the contact only to suck back behind your leg again. I also see you trying to keep your arms still, but fussing with your hands to coax him into suppling into the contact. I would suggest relaxing your elbows and think of the contact as reaching from his mouth all the way up your arms to your shoulders instead of just your hands. Start playing with his gears within the trot, using lots of half halts to adjust his tempo until you've got a slightly more active trot. Wake him up, but not to point of him losing his balance. He can do it. It's definitely in there. You just have to find that next gear. Good luck!


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## MudPaint (Aug 14, 2010)

Halfpass and Allison pretty much covered it. But I just wanted to add. When you go to ask for the canter, sit and as with your seat. In the vid you tipped forward, planted your hands and lost all connection. Sit back, push the canter with your seat, keeping your hands up off his shoulders and support him through the canter. I know it's hard with a horse that is still learning to give to the bit (I'm right there with you), but a lower hand doesn't equal correct carriage. Though it may give you a lower headset. I think you're starting to get it, you just need to add the energy so transitions are smooth and he's really working from behind.


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## horsehorse (Sep 14, 2011)

He's cute, but you need more horse!! He needs to be going forward more, he's hardly tracking under himself at the trot, and he's very behind the leg at the canter. Really work on getting him to stretch out and move forward. I wouldn't be as concerned about his head set right now, I would try to work on getting him more forward, then he can start using himself better, and develop his neck and headset and really move onto the bit and round his back. Does he cross canter like that on the lunge line? A good exercise is working on the lunge with side reins, really pushing him to move forward, and strengthen his back end, so that he can canter on the correct lead in the front and back. Your seat looks pretty good, I think once you work out some of his issues, you two will look great!! I know you said his training has been a little rocky, but keep at it, it will work out!! Do you work with a trainer regularly? Weekly lessons will help you work through your issues and give you the focus you need!! He is really cute though, love his color, can't wait to see updated photos and video!!


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## AllyKatSki1 (Apr 2, 2008)

Thank you all so much for the critiques!! Sorry I didn't reply sooner, I was at a show all weekend.
I definitely agree he needs to go forward, so many things to work on at once!  
Someone mentioned I throw away the contact in the canter and he cross canters. Canter transitions are still REALLY rocky and I know that  This spring we had no canter transition at all. I do give him a looser rein in the canter because he is SOO fussy about contact at first and if I straighten him with the outside rein even a little bit he starts swapping leads on me (He'll be very easy to train flying changed on someday ahhaha) So the no contact and cross cantering kinda sorta go hand in hand. 
We had quite a few break threws this week in terms of going forward and contact (I rode him with a whip and wollaa brand new horse ;-) ) 
I showed him in Intro A,B and C today and he won both A&B with a 69% and C he got a 63% 
And I do work with a trainer, I am a working student and ride 3-4 of her horses 2-3 times a week and bring Tee (horse in video) down for lessons regularly as well as show her videos every chance I get 
Any more critiques would be wonderful!!


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

AllyKatSki1 said:


> We had quite a few break threws this week in terms of going forward and contact (I rode him with a whip and wollaa brand new horse ;-) )


Hee hee. Funny what carrying a little black stick can do for forward motion, ain't it? The other sure fire way to find out if they're putting you on it take the act out into a big open field. Suddenly a horse who was practically trotting dead lame in the confines of ring is producing a trot that would score a 10 at any show! My TB pulls that one all the time to try and trick me out of doing ring work. Glad you made some progress.


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## AllyKatSki1 (Apr 2, 2008)

So here is a video from a show this past weekend (9.25) 




This is intro C. What do you guys think any improvement?


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## Spyder (Jul 27, 2008)

AllyKatSki1 said:


> So here is a video from a show this past weekend (9.25)
> Cruising for Trouble Intro C 9.25 - YouTube
> This is intro C. What do you guys think any improvement?


You probably got a decent score because it was a fairly quiet test.

Beyond that you will not succeed in the higher levels without producing a more inspired test.

You still have a way to go but a quiet test is the starting point.


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## MudPaint (Aug 14, 2010)

I think once you start riding forward you'll have some even better scores. Once he's actually engaged, your transitions will be so much better and not be an interuption in the cadance of the test. 

Were you nervous that your horse was going to act up? I only ask because you looked like you were trying to not "rock the boat" the whole test.... posting really shallow/not really touching the saddle, staying light in the canter. It just looked like you were ready for an explosion.


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## BaileyJo (Aug 23, 2011)

I just seems like he is going through the motions - riding just as quiet as you are. Like you are trying to sneak up on him. And he is reflecting that. He is an attractive horse. But would love to have some kind of movement that says wow, look at him! Right now he is just a little flat. 

It's like you are so afraid of making a mistake. Have you ever tried riding to music? Might get both of you moving.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

Careful with the elbows. There is some tension there. Let them hang by your sides as if they were wet sacks of flour. Otherwise, I still think you need to get him out of his comfort zone a bit and playing with his trot gears, but I do like that you are not doing anything to knock him off balance. I actually like your strategy. Most of use work on forward/forward/forward first only to end up with a horse traveling on the forehand and then having to spend the next year or so working on getting them properly balanced. You're just addressing the balance part first, and hopefully planning on mixing in some impulsion into the act. Still like him!


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