# Zeus again!



## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

Sooo, if you guys remember me posting on here about Zeus and asking for a conformation critique you all should know that I just went to see him this past weekend and rode. He was amazing! And he has the best personality i've ever encountered in a horse. Lovely, lovely guy. Anyway, I'm now asking for a critique of my position as well as his movement and stuff. Please keep in mind that i haven't ridden in about 6 or more months prior to this. Thank in advance! And sorry for the limited amount, and blurry riding pictures, my mom tries her best, ha ha.


Off we go!

His owner warming him up.









Just mounted up, doing his lip flapping thing, ha ha.









Standing around.









Trot.









Really wish this one wasn't blurry, would have been nice. Trotting again.









Badly timed canter picture. Just caught the one moment where he tossed his head, ha ha. 









And adding this on just because it's adorable!









The End!

So, as long as I hold up my end of the bargain and find a job we're going to bring him down. We're going to start out leasing him with eventual buy, or a lease to buy kind of situation. So... yay!


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## english_rider144 (Sep 12, 2008)

I'm doing the whole lease then buy thing with Dude. What breed is Zues? TB? he has a nice extension to him. your wrists bug me for some reason. other then that I see nothing else wrong. But I'd have somebody else who has more experiance look.


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## mayfieldk (Mar 5, 2008)

Number one, get bigger polo wraps or boots. Those things are just silly on him. 

2: Gosh he's adorable! <3

3: Just have to work on getting your back straighter... sometimes we lean forward because we pull back on the reins in order to create contact. This horse does not create his own contact (He goes behind the bit a lot) so some long and low is in order for you both! 

4: Sometimes your toes pop out. Don't just turn at the ankle; let the inside of your thighs be the part that has the most contact on the saddle, not the back of them--this will help turn your feet in to give the cues from the inside of the calf, not the back. Sometimes your feet get a little too far forward too, but it's minimal and actually could be the saddle. 

5: You guys look super cute.


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

He's a WB x TB. Yeah, my wrists are wonky. I usually do have my hands thumbs up and stuff but with my jacket it really does looks weird, ha ha. Oh and I LOVE his stride. He has a huge, powerful stride and is a very forward moving horse. That's why it's been hard for her to find someone who matches with him under saddle. Personally, I LOVE that in a horse, and he is very well behaved, just very, very forward.

EDIT: Just saw you post mayfield.
Thanks! He KNOWS he's adorable. Oh and ha ha, yeah they are a bit silly, those wraps, i have boots at home that i'll be using on him. 
Thanks for the advice. As soon as we bring him on down i'm going to be taking dressage lessons with him and eventually get back into jumping.
And yeah, my toes turn out a lot, it's a bad habit, ha ha.


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## ridingismylife2 (Nov 4, 2008)

He is gorgeous!!!!

i want him! xD


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

I swear i'm not being impatient, ha ha. Just a quick little bump.
I'd really like to know what you guys think of him and more critique on my position.
I haven't had lessons or even ridden in a long time so i'm looking for what i need to work on once i get him. 
I'm already thinking that i need to keep reminding myself to bring my leg underneath me more.
:]


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## PoptartShop (Jul 25, 2010)

Aw, he's a really pretty horse.  You guys look nice together. For a little critique, I think you should lean back just a bit, really bend your knees & sit deep in the saddle (be careful not too lean toooo far back, just a bit). He looks like he moves well, I really like him!  He's adorable. Remember to keep your legs back a little bit too. Overall, not too bad. Like I said, you guys look really nice together.


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

I rarely critique so maybe I'm wrong, but aren't the leathers a bit short?

He sure is a pretty boy! <whistle>


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

I suppose for dressage they could be a bit long, but they felt fine to me.
Hmm, and not really sure if there's any certain length the leathers should be for dressage? 
I have no idea.

Oh and the saddle i'll be getting with him isn't the dressage saddle i'm riding in there, it's a different one, ha ha.
:lol:


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Your stirrups are a hole or two too short for where they should be for someone without a really secure seat and leg. But that doesn't really matter, riding with your knees that far into the thigh blocks is just not a super thing to do to the saddle repeatedly.
Overall, you really need to put some more leg on that horse. You are just kind of along for the ride, and when you sit in the saddle (like in the trot pictures) your legs fly out in front of you and you end up in a chair seat. In the canter, the only reason your leg is under you is because you have tilted yourself too far forward, and are leaning on the contact for support, hence why the horse is pulling away from the bit with his neck.
Put your leg on, sit upright and in the tack and otherwise I see nothing too wrong. I like the feel that your arms have, it looks like you are very nice and soft up front and allow the horse to come into the contact (except in the one canter picture where you're leaning on the bit). Don't let anyone get you pulling on this horse. You don't need to pull this guy around.
I would recommend dressage lessons with this horse because of his build and big stride. You are going to need to have effective skills to collect this guy before a fence, other than pulling. Plus I already think that you and the horse have a good foundation in dressage and just need some refining and more tools in your belt.
Good luck!

(PS, as a guideline the dressage length of stirrups is to stretch your legs down so they are comfortably long, and then the top of the stirrup should rest around mid ankle. Riding without stirrups and just generally practicing more dressage and getting a more secure seat and leg will allow you to stretch the leg down further and lengthen the stirrups slowly.)


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

What a gorgeous horse, man can he move! Impressive how the owner can just get on after 6 months off and get him to move like that, a really nice horse.
Do you know why they are selling him? it almost sounds a bit odd that he's been for sale for that long and no one has bought him already. He's quite the looker.


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

CacheDawnTaxes said:


> What a gorgeous horse, man can he move! Impressive how the owner can just get on after 6 months off and get him to move like that, a really nice horse.
> Do you know why they are selling him? it almost sounds a bit odd that he's been for sale for that long and no one has bought him already. He's quite the looker.


Nooo, ha ha, *I* haven't ridden in about 6 months or more. :lol:
And he's not officially on the market. He was for a while but she took him off and decided to work with him more. He means a lot to her and so the right owner is a must. That's why she really wants him to go to me, because we've known each other for a while, so she knows he'll go to a great home and she can easily keep in touch with me.

And thank you for the critique anabel.
As i said i won't be riding in that saddle once i get him and will be taking dressage lessons from a great trainer. So now i have a question. Since he's such a forward moving horse, how exactly do i keep my leg on him while still having him at a nice pace? Is it a matter of shortening my reins a bit and asking him to move up while still remaining collected and engaged? His owner usually rides him with shorter reins than me, and that may be part of it. So how exactly should I go about that? Anything specific we could work on to improve that? I'm sure it'll be something i can figure out soon enough once he's down here and i'm riding him regularly, just wondering. 

The horses i've been riding the last few years have always required me to ride rather defensively, and i'm not making excuses, but that combined with little to no lessons has killed my equitation. And that's why i'm super excited about Zeus, because i know he can take me far and make me a much better rider.

And, yeah. I want to be taking dressage lessons for a while before getting into the jumping. I know he can jump, so it's all about getting myself to the point where we're ready for it. He really is a wonderfully trained horse. All the buttons are there for me to push, i just need to figure out how to ask and where i need to be.

Thanks again!


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

To ride the correctly and keep our bodies in the right place, we have to have a solid leg. With a sensitive horse, contrary to what one might think, the more we have our leg on and solidly in one place without auxiliary movement, the more accepting the horse will be to the leg. There is a subtle difference in the rider's passive leg and the rider's aiding leg, and it is different with every horse and rider. You are going to need to experiment with this, because he is a new horse with you, your aids will not be in tune right off the bat.
As far as the long stride and him going too fast when you put your leg on, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First of all, when you put your leg on, it is probably unsteady and wavering, and he is interpreting this to be a "go" aid. The quieter you can make your leg, the less he will respond to it as a "go" aid. From here you can work out the buttons (aka leg placement for aids). The second thing to keep in mind is that this horse seeks the contact well, and obviously doesn't respond well to pulling (like in the canter picture). This leads me to believe that he has been very correctly trained, so you need to learn how to half halt with your seat and leave your hands completely alone. Riding with your seat, and applying this aid is going to require you to really sit in the tack and use your body. I like this video because the guy really sits in, and activates the horse a lot with his leg, while restricting too much forward movement with his seat, leading to the horse jumping up well underneath himself with his hindlegs and raising the forehand considerably (this is collection). 



 The reins have nothing to do with it, they only control where the neck ends up, a long rein and the horse will stretch lower into the contact, and with a short rein the horse is going to raise his neck in order to stretch into the contact. I can ride my horse w/t/c, transitions to and from the gaits and lengthen and shorten the paces on a long rein without my hands moving from in front of the saddle. It requires a lot more strength on my part to keep the horse together and listening, but it can be done with only the seat and leg.
Dressage lessons should help a bunch with your understanding of this. Really listen to this horse because I think he has very correct training. If he starts backing off or tossing his head, listen to him and stop touching his face. If your dressage instructor wants to get you more handsy, then find a new dressage instructor. I really like the horse and think he will teach you a lot.
Good luck!


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

Thank you soo much anabel. I understand what you're saying completely, and agree. He has been very well trained, so it is all up to me. As soon as we bring him down i'm going to start working on just riding him from my seat and trying to use the reins as little as possible. He has a very good woah and his owner told me that he'll pretty much go just from voice aids too so i bet that'll help a lot too.

I agree also about the dressage trainer and am super excited to start taking lessons and learning all i can. Thank you again, i really appreciate your explination and awesome critique. I'll definitley post again once i've been riding him for a while and hopefully i'll have improved heaps. 
:]


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