Perfect World Dressage

Perfect World Dressage Copyright (c) 2010,2011 AO Design -. All rights reserved. http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/ Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons en-us Sun, 20 May 2012 06:06:52 -0500 5 Perfect World Dressage 144 60 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/ http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/images/logo.png Another Point of View http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=91 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=91 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 17 Mar 2012 15:38:00 -0500 Another Point of View Copyright © 2012 Robin Brueckmann    Last weekend, I took my two competition horses, Sasha and Whoopee, to a police horse training clinic. It was labeled as a de-spooking clinic, but the presenter, Bill Richey, said that it was actually more to help riders learn to deal with their horses’ reactions, and to help the horses learn to trust their riders even more.    This idea falls right into my philosophy of horse training. I never protect my horses from scary things (see earlier article on Trick Training for Your Horse), but rather I expose them to lots and lots of scary things so that they learn to look to me for direction rather than simply following their instincts to spin and bolt away from whatever it is that seems out of place in a horsey viewpoint.    Bill began with a Powerpoint lecture, teaching us all how the world looks from the horse’s eyes. Horses don’t see the same way we do. Their eyes are set far on the sides of their heads, and they primarily see in a monocular way. They have very limited depth perception. This became important when we faced our horses with smoke bombs; horses perceive the smoke as a solid, and they don’t think they can move through solid objects.    Bill also led us through some basic drill maneuvers. These were designed to get the horses used to moving in close proximity to each other, to help them deal with other horses ahead, behind, and to each side of them, all at the same time.    Mounted, we practiced these drill maneuvers. Bill was not trying to make us into a drill team, but just to get our horses listening to our aids and dealing with the other horses. Several horses were kickers initially, but they soon gave it up as they became more comfortable passing close by other horses.    Bill began to set up questions for our horses. He started with a simple piece of plywood on the ground. Soon, we were traipsing our horses over bridges, tarps, and other obstacles that the horses had to look down to see. Bill then set up things that the horses had to look up to see: hanging tarps. Later, he added mid-range obstacles, pool noodles set up so that the fingers pointed out at the horses and touched them as they passed through. These obstacles were all in a row, so that the horses had to look up and down and sideways, and generally become more aware of the environment.    Bill added smoke bombs. Many of the horses objected to these. When I had done the clinic with Sasha three years ago, he never got over the smoke bombs, but this time he passed through them much more easily. When the horses were dealing with the smoke bombs on their own, he added them to other obstacles. Soon, we were riding over a teeter-totter bridge with smoke bombs underneath it, after passing under the tarp and through the pool-noodle fingers. Bill got his squad car going with the sirens blaring, and his police dog, PD, added volume by barking on command.    Bill got out flares. These burned hot for about a minute at 800 degrees, and poured out black, acrid-smelling smoke. When the horses were OK with these, he put them on either side of the teeter-totter bridge with smoke bombs. He poured gasoline on the sand and set it on fire, and we had to walk through the fire. That was less of a challenge for the horses than it was for the riders; the horses merely perceived something moving underfoot but did not understand that it was hot and could burn them. None of the horses got burned, incidentally.    We ended up our time by pushing around a six-foot ball, sending it through the tarps and around the arena. The horses liked pushing it; it made them feel powerful and in control.    We spent two full days riding our horses and getting them to trust our guidance. My own two horses were stars, if I do say so myself. Sasha overcame his dislike of smoke bombs and gunshots. Whoopee, not yet four years old, dealt with everything playfully. We each received certificates testifying that we had spent twenty hours of training our horses as police mounts.    Now, Bill did mention that he rarely accepts clinic bookings at dressage barns. He has found that dressage riders tend to produce lots of excuses why their horses can’t do these activities. I find it very helpful to my competition horses; they become better citizens, and whatever they see on a show grounds has no terror any more. I recommend attending such a clinic if it becomes available to you!    <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9AMl4nVXw&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9AMl4nVXw&feature=youtu.be</a>  over fire and see-saw   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQmA-H4ziHM&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQmA-H4ziHM&feature=youtu.be</a>  over fire again   <a href="http://youtu.be/Xte0fTUlxn">http://youtu.be/Xte0fTUlxn</a> o smoke bomb   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z7X52cMDyE&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z7X52cMDyE&feature=youtu.be</a>  walk under tarps with siren and smoke bomb   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe3QyNw5SUo&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe3QyNw5SUo&feature=youtu.be</a>  obstacle course with fire and flare   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMBg8kMqYHU&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMBg8kMqYHU&feature=youtu.be</a>  Sasha and Whoopee walk toward a cop car with sirens   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OtKmG0zKdk&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8OtKmG0zKdk&feature=youtu.be</a>  whoopee walks over fire   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv7PMHpi0lQ&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv7PMHpi0lQ&feature=youtu.be</a>  smoke bomb and flare   <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9QdtDL0Hfs&feature=youtu.be">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9QdtDL0Hfs&feature=youtu.be</a>  whoopee and sasha hog the ball    To find more similar videos, go to youtube.com and do a search for chiri302 to bring up more videos I’ve uploaded there A Spring in His Step http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=89 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=89 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:13:00 -0600  A Spring in His Step Copyright © 2012 Robin Brueckmann It’s the time of year that people make New Year’s resolutions. The number one resolution? Lose weight, exercise more. I go to the gym every day, all year, but this time of year brings out the wannabes.  Have you ever watched heavy people walk? They move their legs slightly to the side, with stiff knees hyperextended. They land heavily with each step. Often, this is accompanied by arthritis and knee pain, due to the added stresses of walking this way combined with the extra weight on their bodies. I was teaching Marsha and her horse Castle, who is an Irish draught horse. He’s a big guy. Marsha is a thin woman, and an effective rider, who adores her horse to pieces. She’s let him get even heavier than his genetics, and because she loves him so much, she doesn’t ask him to work very hard. He’s an older horse, but fairly sound. Watching Marsha and Castle trot around, I was struck by how much he moved like an overweight person. He kept his knees straight and landed heavily and stiffly with each stride. His hoofbeats pounded into the earth. I asked Marsha to think of riding on a trampoline, rebounding off the ground with each stride, as if Castle was trotting over rails on the ground. Soon enough, Castle was taking lighter steps, and he began to flex his joints and lift into the air. He no longer looked like he had four flat tires, but rather moved with some elasticity.  Marsha asked me what the aids were for this. It’s not really aids, more of a way of thinking about your riding, I said. Push down with each stride, but then allow the rebounding up into your seat as well. It’s not so much as a specific aid as a way of reacting to the energy that your horse offers. By not pushing him for more effort, she had been allowing him to use himself in a lazy and unproductive way, a way that would create unsoundness in the future if she continued down that path. Once Castle was more active, in a quicker tempo and lighter to the earth, Marsha could feel the energy coming through his back into her seat. She began to grin; this was the way Castle had felt as a younger horse. He could feel that way again. Castle, for his part, perked his ears and stopped looking as if he were lumbering around and began to show more alertness and spring in his step. He no longer looked like the twenty-year-old horse that he was. His back came up, and his strides were longer.  This was a rather amazing transformation. It came about simply with a change in attitude: helping Castle be lighter on his feet, as if he were trotting over poles, a feeling that Marsha had encountered before. She was able to access this same feeling without the poles, and transmit it to her horse. He no longer looked like an overweight person slogging away at the gym; now he looked like an athlete! I challenge you to help your horse travel more lightly next time you ride. It does require concentration and energy on your part, to allow your horse to use himself to his best ability. Even an old draught horse like Castle can do it: so can your horse!   USDF/Perfect World Dressage Challenge http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=87 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=87 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:26:00 -0600 Perfect World Dressage is pleased to announce a new collaboration with the United States Dressage Federation, The USDF/Perfect World Dressage Challenge.  This new program allows riders to achieve recognition for their videotaped dressage tests scored on Perfect World Dressage.  Riders who apply for and receive their USDF/Perfect World - Dressage Challenge recognition will receive a frame-able quality certificate from the USDF and be recognized as a Dressage Challenge certificate recipient on the United States Dressage Federation website and on the Perfect World Dressage website. Certificate recipients will also receive recognition by having the "Dressage Challenge" medal for each level earned placed on their Perfect World Dressage profile page.  We welcome you to accept "The Challenge," no trailer or show clothes required, to see what you and your horse can achieve in a Perfect World! To learn more go to: <a href="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/recognition-info.php">www.perfectworlddressage.com/recognition-info.php</a> Improbable Horses http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=82 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=82 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:13:00 -0600 Improbable Horses Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann I have had the opportunity to train several improbable horses, and my students have also had their share. What is an improbable horse? This is any horse that it seems outside of the general mold of dressage horses. One improbable horse that I truly enjoyed was a ¾ Belgian mare named Peaches. She was out of a half-draft mare, by a draft stallion, not some Belgian warmblood but the original plow horse stock. She was a lovely red roan, hence her name, and four years old when I worked with her. Peaches was improbable because of her build, and also her unique color. It was a blast to ride her, and there was no pressure to show her. If she did well, it made me look like a fantastic trainer. If she did not do well, she was just a draft horse, after all. But Peaches did do well. She was very obedient and light to the aids, although gravity just sucked her down to earth. She had lovely transitions, stayed round and pleasant in the bridle, and had wonderful lateral work. Gravity was not her friend, though. She was completely unable to get enough lift off the earth for lengthenings; gravity just kept her close to the ground. Peaches and I were quite a sight at shows. Everyone on the show grounds could tell when we were working, from any distance. She stood out from the crowd. Her improbability worked to her advantage, and she scored well from all the judges I presented her to because of her obedience and willingness to perform and good work ethic. Another improbable horse I worked with was a small, pony-sized buckskin Quarter horse mare. Twist was another horse who did not fit the mold of a dressage horse. She also stood out because of her unusual color, with her bright yellow coat and dark mane and tail and legs. Her petite junior rider was a very diligent trainer, and she and Twist performed accurate, steady tests at Training and First Levels, to good scores, including at Finals. Recently, I have been showing two pinto warmbloods, who also stand out from the crowd simply for showing up. It’s my challenge when riding an improbable horse to make sure that they stand out in a positive way, and not just as a novelty. I want to make sure that they are exceptionally well-trained, because they are going to draw attention immediately. I don’t want them to be simply cute for their cow-like markings, but I want to make a positive impression on everyone once I have their attention. It never hurts when they’re pretty, but after that first impression it’s up to me to make sure they are memorable for other positive qualities, for their steadiness and good work ethic and outstanding gaits. When I was in the market for a young horse most recently, I had two horses to look at who were very similarly bred, the same age, similarly lovely movers, and the same stage of training (unbroken three-year-olds). What swayed me to choose one over the other was the color: I bought the pinto rather than the plain bay. I like the fact that he is vividly marked; he will always be remembered. My current FEI horse is also in the category of vividly marked horses. He is an unusual chestnut color, neither bright chestnut nor liver but instead is a dark red color. He has high white markings, including over the knee on one front leg. He has a wide blaze, too. His tail is multi-colored, flax and dark chestnut mixed. He stands out from the crowd before he has moved one step, and his gaits are also impressive. Although he’s not an improbable horse by breeding (he’s Trakehner), his markings and color make him stand out from the crowd. He never gets lost in a warm-up arena; you can always find him immediately. An improbable horse can also be one with some easily identifiable physical characteristic. I rode a one-eyed horse for a while. Other horses might have a clear colic surgery scar, or some other old scar that is immediately apparent. Just make sure that the horse’s performance does not suffer because of his physical history, and let those scars draw attention in a positive way because of the way you present his training. A cute kid on a Thelwell pony falls into the category of improbable horses. This cuteness can go either way. If the pony is a sluggy old school pony, scuffing dust and dragging its feet, the impression is not going to be very good. On the other hand, an adorable girl in pigtails riding round circles on a reasonably-obedient and soft pony can outscore those bigger, more talented horses at the lower levels. The other end of the spectrum of improbable horses are the ones you dread seeing. There is the heavy woman on a Morgan with a French braided mane that is falling out, going along with its head in the air and a flat back. There is another on a Friesian, with ribbons in its mane and a swallow-tailed saddle pad, held together with a death-grip on the reins as it canters along with no suspension. There’s another Quarter horse, jogging and loping in its dressage test. Over there, there’s an Arabian proudly flagging its tail over its back as it whinnies across the desert with its neck arched and inverted. The moral of this tale is that if you are going to present an improbable horse, it’s best to make sure that you have also done an impeccable job with your training, so that the first and lasting impression you create is that of harmony and elasticity. On an improbable horse, you are going to get attention. Make sure that the attention you get is always positive to take advantage of the novelty in appearance, whatever that may be. Now go out and be proud to ride an improbable horse! Winter Is For Renewal, Too! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=80 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=80 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 26 Nov 2011 08:43:00 -0600 Winter Is For Renewal, Too! copyright (c) Robin Brueckmann 2011  Winter is coming. For many areas, it’s already here; my sister in the Philadelphia area has already had snow. Winter is a time of hunkering down, but it can also be a time for introspection and renewal.  One of the best things you can do for your riding during wintertime is working on your own fitness. I go to the YMCA every day, and use the elliptical machine or another cardio machine; I do at least an hour every day. This helps my overall fitness, and if I don’t hold the handles, it helps my balance as well.  Weight training is another useful option. Free weights (that means dumbbells) are relatively cheap and you don’t have the excuse of no gym membership to use them! Keep them by your TV chair and do arm lifts while you sit to prevent couch-potato-ness.  My personal favorite activity to help my fitness, strength and balance is yoga. Yoga has been so transformational in my own life that I became a yoga teacher, doing a year of teacher training to become Yoga Alliance certified. Yoga is not for flexible people; it’s for people who wish to become more flexible, so don’t be intimidated at the thought of going to a class of Gumbies. If you choose your yoga studio well, you will be in a class of like-minded people at relatively the same level.  There are as many different types of yoga as there are of riding. Riding offers Western pleasure, saddleseat, dressage, jumping, eventing, and pole bending; there are also many disciplines of yoga. I recommend looking for a studio that follows Iyengar-style yoga. This style of yoga focuses on alignment, balance, and breath, which surely sounds a lot like dressage to me! You can tell if a studio is based on Iyengar style yoga if there are plenty of props around: blocks, bolsters blankets and straps. These become aids to allow you to access poses that your current level of flexibility won’t allow.  To get you started on a feel for what yoga can do, here are a few starter poses. Riders, particularly dressage riders, need to have the ability to open the hip angle, to allow a deep, flexible seat. A simple way to open the front of the hip is to go down on hands and knees, then put one leg forward into a low lunge position. Place your hands on your front knee, and lean into the front leg. Don’t allow your knee to get ahead of your ankle, though; this can damage your knee. Instead, move the foot more forward as your hip becomes more open. Breathe into the stretch. You can shift your weight forward and back, to allow your body to open even more. Hold the lunge for three to five minutes; this means don’t go to your very limits of the stretch. Change sides.  To open the back of the hip, the hamstrings, stand in front of your kitchen counter, about three feet away from it. Place your hands in your hip hinge, where your breeches crease, and lean forward with a straight back. Once you have come to about 90 degrees, place your hands on the kitchen counter for balance. Keep your knees straight. I promise you will find your hamstrings. Hold this for three to five minutes. As you progress with this pose, you can use a chair seat for support, then your shins, then rest your hands on the floor. If you can’t keep your knees straight, go to a higher support, but make sure there is always a support for your hands. As a child, I could never touch the floor, but now I can…and I’m an AARP member! Thanks to yoga!  Another hip opener is Janu sirsasana, or head to knee pose. No, you are not going to get your head to your knee, but you are going in that direction. Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. If you can’t sit with your knees extended, sit on a pile of towels high enough that you can keep your knees extended. Next, place the sole of your left foot  against your right knee, with your left knee extended to the side. Lift your arms overhead, then turn to face your right leg; this is a slight twist. Lower your arms toward your right leg, and lean forward any amount, with a straight back. It doesn’t matter how far you can extend, just go to a place where you feel a slight stretch. The stretch will be in the hamstrings and the adductor of the right leg. Hold this stretch for three to five minutes, breathing into the stretch. It should feel good! This is a great pose for riders. Repeat on the second side.  For the adductors, there are two different poses that are quite effective. Still sitting, bring the soles of the feet together, and allow your knees to fall toward the sides. This is Cobbler’s pose, or bound angle pose. If it’s too much of a stretch, you can sit on folded towels, which will make it easier for you. Again, hold it for three to five minutes.  Wide angle pose is another adductor stretch. Sit on the floor, on towels if you wish, and take your legs out to the sides. Keep your back straight, and lean forward any amount until you feel a little stretch in the adductors, and perhaps the hamstrings. Again, hold this for three to five minutes. I actually hold this one for as long as ten minutes. You can shift slightly from side to side, taking your upper body toward the right leg and then the left leg, for a little different stretch in each position.  To help alleviate crookedness in the seat, try Triangle pose. For this pose, stand with your legs about three feet apart. Turn the right foot completely out to the side, and turn the left foot toward the right about thirty degrees. With your upper body in one line, push your pelvis slightly to the left, and bend at the pelvis toward the right leg. Let your right arm reach toward your right knee, with the left arm straight overhead. Feel the stretch on your left side body and your right adductor. Your entire body should stay more or less in one plane, so no forward leaning to ease the stretch. Only go as far as you are comfortable holding for three to five minutes. Change sides. Notice which side is tighter. There is no need to do anything about this, just notice it. Over time, your two sides will become more equal; this is one of the joys of yoga.  These few poses will give you a hint of the power of yoga. It’s a quiet power; there’s nothing immediately exciting. Sounds like dressage, right? Autumn Is For Renewal http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=81 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=81 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:32:00 -0500 Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann       Fall is upon us. The leaves are changing, and it’s time to get out those turtlenecks and Polarfleece sweaters. Our horses are ready for a change, too. Regional Finals are just about over now; USDF Year-End Awards are finalized; it’s time to shift out of show-mode and return to basics.             After Finals, after the last show of the fall season, I let my horses have a few days off. After their little break, I return to work, but it’s a different kind of work for a month or so. I go back to working on basic gaits and transitions; all the horses are worked in a snaffle now, even the FEI horses. I spend as much time as possible out of the arena. I am fortunate to have access to rolling hills and open fields as well as wooded trails, and I utilize these as my horses decompress from their intensive show schedule.             Remember that a truly fit horse, as mine are, may not immediately lower his head and enjoy a hack outside! Be sensible and careful as you let him remember how to be a horse, and make sure to stay focused and alert as you take him outside the confines of the arena into the lovely sights and scents of fall.             I let my horses have several weeks of this very basic work, paying close attention to anything that might arise to address later in the fall season, when I return to the arena. If a problem has arisen in the canter, for instance, I can spend more time cantering up and down slopes to help clarify the rhythm of the canter and make sure both leads are equally balanced and clear in the footfalls.             Allowing my horses to have greater freedom of the head and neck gives me the opportunity to assess their overall well-being and soundness; sometimes a minor hitch can be camouflaged by working on contact all the time. On a looser rein, I can detect any small irregularities and now is a great time to give the horses specialized veterinary, chiropractic, or massage therapies that might help them return to full well-being.             When I’m not riding, I review my videotapes and test sheets from the year. If there is some comment or remark that I am getting consistently, I want to figure out if it’s something I’m doing, or not doing, or whether it is a genuine training issue to address during the fall and winter down-time.             This is also a great time to get longe lessons, to develop your seat and balance. Unmounted exercise is also useful, and now that the financial and time constrains from showing are eased, it’s a great time to take that Pilates or yoga class to help your own symmetry, strength and balance. I go to the gym every single day that I’m home, and I also have an active yoga practice that I do every day, home or away, to keep me flexible and strong for riding.             The fall is meant for reassessment, and it’s the perfect time to make sure that you put your show stuff away clean and ready to go. My jackets have been to the cleaner’s; my buckets are washed and stacked neatly; I’ve gone through my truck and trailer to make sure everything’s organized for my next show. A bucket with a thin layer of slightly-used grain will be an awful, moldy mess in two months when I get it out again, and it’s always best to put everything away clean and dry. If there’s any maintenance that needs to be done on your trailer, now is a great time to get it done. How are your tires? Trailer tires don’t normally wear out as vehicle tires do, but they are subject to dry rot and need to be replaced periodically for safety. Don’t forget that spare tire!             As we come closer to the holiday season, make sure you have given your horses and yourself the chance to get back to basics before you delve into the new material you will cover to get ready for next spring’s shows. This time spent hacking is not wasted; it gives your horses a fresh attitude and they are more willing to come back to work with a great mindset.             Enjoy those fall leaves, and have a plan for your horses, so that next year they are ready to move up a level with confidence! Is Barefoot Really Best? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=79 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=79 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:40:00 -0500 Is Barefoot Really Best? Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann I admit it, I have barefoot dressage horses. I have ridden barefoot horses at every level through Grand Prix, with great success I might add. I’m not a barefoot snob; I realize that there are situations and horses for whom horseshoes are the best option. I’ve just been quite successful at managing my horses barefoot. As a judge, I can often see which horses are barefoot when they come down the center line. These horses take careful, mincing steps, with minimal suspension or lift. That’s not what I have in mind for my own horses, and it takes skilful management and farriery to maintain the elastic, forward movement that we all strive to produce. There are several schools of thought on barefoot trimming. From Germany comes the Strasser method of trimming, which involves sometimes drastic cutting of the heel area in the process of producing a sound athlete. This technique can take a year or more to result in a happy horse. Most blacksmiths are comfortable with a pasture trim. This is basically trimming the horse as if he were going to get shoes back on, and rounding the edges slightly to reduce chipping. A pasture trim is fine for a pasture ornament, but not necessarily for a competitive athlete. At the farm where I board, there are a number of barefoot pasture ornaments who are not sound enough to trot, but are fine out in the field grazing. I want my horses to perform at peak levels, and to be competitive on the national and international scene. The mustang trim helps me achieve these goals. The mustang trim is modeled after studies of mustang feet, mimicking the wear patterns of feral horses. My horses live outside in a herd, in a big pasture, but even so their hooves need to be trimmed as they don’t get enough exercise to wear them down to mustang shape. The mustang trim, done by a knowledgeable farrier, leaves the sole intact, fostering a thickening of the sole due to partial weight-bearing. The wall is left slightly longer than the sole surface; in contrast, a pasture-trimmed horse is trimmed level with the sole. The heels in a mustang trim are shorter than we might be accustomed to seeing in a shod horse, and because of the shorter heels, the frog expands over time to become a wider triangle than the shod horse has. Perhaps the most important element of the mustang trim is that the walls are beveled or rounded to about a 45 degree angle. This prevents chipping or splitting, and allows the hoof to wear naturally and evenly. Your horse still needs regular farrier visits. Every four to six weeks is optimal; shorter time between visits if you are unable or unwilling to use a rasp between visits, or perhaps you can go longer if you are handy with a rasp. The owner must maintain the balance of the hoof between farrier visits; invest in a good rasp and sturdy gloves. A hoof-jack is a nice investment too, to save your knees when you stabilize the hoof to rasp it smooth. I have not found the need to buy nippers. It’s very hard to damage the hoof with a rasp, but not hard at all with nippers! I leave those to my farrier’s capable hands. I have a hoof knife, but I rarely use it, just to trim any ragged edges on the frog. I make sure that the edges of the hooves stay properly rounded, and if there is any hairline split in the hoof wall, I keep it rasped so that there is no weight-bearing in that area of the hoof. Keratex is your friend in keeping hoof wall quality, and also helping the sole become stronger and harder as a horse transitions out of shoes. The active ingredient is formaldehyde, which is a powerful astringent. That means that it helps dessicate, or dry out, the keratin in the hoof. This makes it harder and stronger. If your horse is a Keratex newbie, you can use it daily for two weeks, then go to twice a week for maintenance. Now, the trim is only part of the path of success. How you ride is extremely important. Any dressage horse must go forward from the leg and seat to the hand, and that’s particularly important for a barefoot dressage horse. It’s up to you, as the rider, to help your horse find his best movement. Just because your horse is barefoot is no excuse for him to lose suspension or activity! If the trim is correct, the hooves are balanced, and the horse is sound, he should go at least as well barefoot as shod, but you will have to be vigilant to keep that happening. How your horse is kept will also affect the success of your barefoot experiment. Optimally, the horse is kept on relatively dry surfaces, in a big field where the grazing is not too lush, to keep him moving slowly all day. Riding him on varied terrain and different types of footing will also help him maintain correct hoof balance, and will help him do some of his own trimming. I have yet to find a horse who wears the hoof walls down so short that he becomes sore-footed; soreness is more likely due to hoof imbalance than to wear. A particularly thin-soled horse may have a harder time adjusting to being barefoot, but the sole does thicken in response to abrasion and weight-bearing. Why barefoot at all? The benefits are many. The horse’s hooves become contracted and narrower in response to horse shoes, and a barefoot horse’s hooves gradually return to their genetic state, which is round front hooves, oval hind hooves, thick soles, and wide, triangular frogs. When a horse is barefoot, it’s much easier to make adjustments to hoof angle. One of my horses came to me as a very crooked-legged yearling, and over two years, with trimming twice a week, his legs are now straight. Couldn’t do that with shoes on, could I? I never have to worry about my horses tossing a shoe in the pasture. I’m not as locked into my farrier’s schedule; a week earlier or later is fine. I feel as if I have much more ability to adjust my horses’ hoof balance. One of my horses grows too much heel, and I can keep it trimmed to correct balance at all times, not just once every six weeks when he gets new shoes (that is, if he had shoes!). My horses are sound and happy. I ride not just in the dressage arena, but I also take them on jaunts to the mountains for trail rides, where their barefoot hooves manage just fine. My horses are comfortable in snow and never get snowballs. I just feel as if it’s more natural for them, and certainly easier for me. I have to manage their hooves between farrier visits; I’m doing something to their hooves several times a week. That way, it’s never a big adjustment, just a few minutes with the rasp to keep everything on an even keel. Barefoot is not for everyone, or every horse, but it’s a useful option for dressage horses. Dr. Hillary Clayton did a study on barefoot dressage horses, and her conclusion was that it is a viable option, just not the traditional way we are accustomed to seeing. It may take a few months to help a horse adjust to going barefoot, and that in itself is a formidable obstacle for many people. There’s plenty of argument in favor of shoes, and most dressage horses sport them. Just not mine! To see videos of barefoot dressage horses: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G304xZb0QJo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G304xZb0QJo</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBbg7hF27g">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBbg7hF27g</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SArjZPZ2Ess">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SArjZPZ2Ess</a> Beautiful Button Braids http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=78 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=78 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:01:00 -0500 Beautiful Button Braids Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann Neat, tidy button braids set off a horse’s neck beautifully, and are easy and quick to put in. I have a system that makes it simple and easy to learn as well. Tools: you will need specific tools to make your job easier. All of them, except the mane comb, are easily purchased at your local big box or craft store. You will need: Mane comb with pick Snub-nosed scissors Yarn needles (metal works better than plastic) Acrylic or wool yarn to match your horse’s mane Seam ripper Clothes pin Braid-aid if desired Spray bottle with braid stuff or plain water A waist pack to keep everything in A rug hook is also useful for putting a hunter braid into the forelock, but you can use your yarn needle for that if you want. Assemble all these things in your waist pack. I put the scissors, seam ripper, needles, and clothes pin in the front pocket of the waist pack; I put the rug hook, mane comb, and yarn in the bigger pocket. <img style="float: left;" title="Braiding Tools" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/1_braiding_items_rubber_bands_braid_aid_mane_comb_rug_hook_scissors_clothespin_seam_ripper_yarn_cut_to_match_horses_mane.JPG" alt="Tools for Braiding" width="408" height="492" />                                   First of all, the mane must be pulled to a reasonable length and thickness. I like my horses’ manes to be around six inches long. To tell if it is thin enough, you will have to put in a trial braid or two. Next, the mane should be clean. I know that some people refrain from shampooing the mane right before it’s braided, but I like a clean mane to work with. I don’t use conditioner, though. Before I start braiding, I take my skein of yarn and cut it into lengths. I wind the yarn around my arm, between my thumb and index finger and then around the elbow. I wind it thirty times, then cut it with scissors. I knot these thirty lengths together for one bundle. I generally do the entire skein at once, and keep the knotted lengths in a bag in my trailer, with two knotted lengths in my waist pack at a time. I generally start at the top of the mane, by the ears, although you can start at the withers end if you like. Part the mane with the pick end of the mane comb, and select the amount of mane you want to work with for the first braid. You can use a Braid-Aid for this, or just eyeball between two and three fingers’ worth of mane. Pin the rest of the mane back with your clothes pin. Wet the mane. You are now ready to braid. Set up your yarn. Unknot the pack of pre-cut strands, and hang it over the last ring of the halter, or on the belt of your waist pack. Get one single piece of yarn, and keep it handy as you begin braiding. Begin braiding. It’s important to keep your thumbs tight against the braid, alternating as you continue down the braid. When you are halfway down the braid, incorporate the yarn, with one end about an inch and a half long and the rest hanging down one of the other parts of the braid. Continue braiding until you can no longer hang onto the hair. To knot the end of the braid, make a big loop above your thumb, and bring the end of the yarn through this loop under the braid. This makes a simple half-hitch. Pull it tight. Make another half-hitch in the same way. This is the only knot in the entire braid! <img style="float: left;" title="Make two half-hitches" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/2_make_two_half_hitches_at_the_end_of_the_braid.JPG" alt="main braiding " width="421" height="229" />                 Now get out your yarn needle, and thread it on the end of the yarn. Send the needle up from beneath the braid, against the neck. Pull the braid up. This doubles the braid into two thicknesses. <img style="float: left;" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/3_send_the_needle_up_through_the_base_of_the_braid_to_double_the_braid.JPG" alt="" width="417" height="539" />                                       Here’s the tricky part: from the top of the braid, send the needle back down, through both thicknesses, ending up about half an inch away from the top of the braid, but on the bottom side. Send the needle through the end of the doubled braid, coming out on the top side. Now go back through the braid at the crest, from below, and pull it through again. This doubles the braid again, making that button. <img style="float: left;" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/4_now_go_through_the_braid_again_to_double_it_a_second_time_to_make_the_button.JPG" alt="" width="408" height="543" />                                       Next step is to secure the braid. Do this by drawing two X’s. The first part of the first X is to send the needle down through the braid at a diagonal. Now go back up through the braid on a diagonal; come down again on the first diagonal and then back up on the second diagonal. <img style="float: left;" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/5_draw_two_xs_with_the_needle_to_secure_the_braid_making_sure_to_feel_lots_of_friction_from_the_braid_itself.JPG" alt="" width="372" height="528" />                                     Come down again. Snip the yarn close to the end of the braid, and voila, a button braid. <img style="float: left;" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/6_the_finished_product.JPG" alt="" width="409" height="268" />                     Important note: stick the yarn needle, still attached to the yarn, in your just-completed braid. Never take the needle off the yarn. Sure as sunrise, it will fall off into the sawdust and you will never see it again unless it’s attached to yarn. Make a habit of leaving a bit of yarn on the needle, even when it’s safely packed away in your waist pack. When you are doing the securing part of the braid, make sure you feel lots of friction from your nice, tight braid. This is what secures the yarn and keeps the braid in place. If you don’t feel a lot of friction from the braid, you might want to take it out and start over, braiding tighter next time. Continue down the neck, braiding and sewing as you go. Each braid should be about the same thickness and the same size. Your Braid-Aid will help you until you get the feel for keeping all the braids similar in size. I generally get three braids out of one piece of yarn. When you are learning, one or two braids from one piece of yarn is fine. Once you have finished the whole mane, you can spray it with hair spray or use a hair gel on it to catch stray hairs. These braids will stay in for many days, although they won’t look as nice after the first day. I braid new every day. If you want to leave it in overnight, you may want to invest in a Slinky or similar neck cover to prevent damage from rubbing. To take the braids down, you need the seam ripper. Wet the mane; the braids come out easier when wet. Take one braid and turn it up, to reveal the underside of the braid. You will see three lines of yarn. Carefully use the seam ripper to cut these. Use the seam ripper with a pushing motion, not a pulling motion; pulling the seam ripper will break the end of it off. Once you have cut these three bits of yarn, the braid should come apart easily. You may need to cut the half hitches at the bottom of the braid with the seam ripper; they may just come apart. The mane will just about unbraid itself once you cut the yarn. That’s it: easy button braids. It takes me about twenty minutes to braid a well-pulled mane. I recommend practice braiding several times before you need to do it at a show, so that you can estimate how long it will take you to do it. You will get quicker and neater with practice, so take the next rainy day and improve your braiding skills! My first income was braiding horses; it’s a salable skill. Here is a video to help you figure it all out: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdy41GcN5Q">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdy41GcN5Q</a> <img style="float: right;" title="A french braid in the horse's tail " src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/8_and_a_beautifully_french_braided_tail_to_end_with.JPG" alt="A french braid in the tail " width="500" height="667" /><img style="float: left;" title="A reverse french braid in the forelock" src="http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/files/115/7_a_reverse_french_braid_for_the_forelock.JPG" alt="A reverse french braid in the forelock" width="434" height="500" />  Tips and Tricks for Easier Showing http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=74 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=74 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:14:00 -0500 Tips and Tricks for Easier Showing Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann  You can make your showing experience more enjoyable by becoming efficient and experienced at the logistics of showing. That way, you can simply focus on riding your horse to his best performance!  I have been showing horses for a very long time, and I have developed a system to optimize my time. I normally show two horses, generally without a groom, so I have to be efficient in order to be able to get the best results. Here are some of my best tips.  When you do your entry, you can request specific stalls. I keep a list of which stalls I like at each venue. Qualities I like in a stall: proximity to bathrooms, muck pit, office, arenas, and water spigot; end stalls to be able to use the corner for hay storage etc., and general ease of use. It’s good to also have backup favorite stalls, in case you are not the first to request your first favorite stalls.  Bring copies of all your pertinent paperwork with you. This includes Coggins, horse’s registration papers if applicable, USEF/USDF verification, and copies of freestyle qualification score sheets. You never know what you might need! In North Carolina, at state-owned facilities, we have to post a copy of each horse’s Coggins at the stall, so it’s imperative to bring extra copies.  I laminate copies of the tests that I am riding, and keep these in my truck. I have another set in my show stuff at the venue as well as a test book. Of course I have memorized my tests beforehand, but it’s always good to review them right before I ride.  When I’m packing my own stuff, I bring two alarm clocks. There’s nothing worse than being late in the morning! I ask for a wake-up call, too. Better safe than late. I pack lots of extra socks, and an extra pair of work boots or shoes. My feet get wet washing horses, and I hate wet feet! I bring an apron or overpants, to keep my breeches clean while I work around the horses. I pack a big laundry bag; you can use a separate one for clothes and horse laundry if you want.  I have a dedicated set of buckets which I use for shows. It’s much easier to have one stack of buckets (all the same brand, so they stack neatly) than to have to empty and wash my day-to-day buckets. I use the same buckets for water and feed unless a particular horse has a specific need for a feed tub. I pack two muck tubs. I buy flexible muck tubs, which are much more expensive but last forever and don’t crack. I use two, so that I can stack them when I muck out, making for half the number of trips to the muck pit.  I bring three small five-quart buckets, for horse washing, tack cleaning, and a spare. I also bring two buckets with lids per horse, for making up grain. You can never have too many buckets.  The same goes for towels. I pack ten or twenty hand-towel sized towels. These are useful in many ways. I keep them in a tote back which I hang up at the stalls. A show organizer in our area offers towels instead of ribbons: a blue towel for first place, red for second and so on. These are just the right size for show towels and of course they look great too.  I always bring two to four tote bags with me. I use them for towels, extra socks and shirts, food…lots of things. They are very handy to keep things off the floor and organized.  I have an assortment of hoses in my trailer. I have a 50-foot curly hose, a shorter fifteen-foot hose to use with the curly hose, and two normal 50-foot hoses. Each venue will be different. There are some venues where I use both 50-foot hoses together to get water to my favorite stalls. If the spigot is close to my stalls, I use the curly hose and the shorter one; a curly hose alone doesn’t like to stay put but the short hose helps it stay where I put it. All my hoses have valve ends on them, rather than a hose-end sprayer; I find these more useful.  I pack crossties. These don’t have to be elaborate, but it’s much easier to braid, groom, or wash a stationary horse than a wandering one.  I save my old bridle numbers. They are great to use on halters; just turn them the wrong way and use a Magic Marker to put this show’s number on.  To put the bridle number on the bridle so it never comes off, take it unfolded, and stick the metal end upwards through the browband, then bend it over on top of the browband loop. This way, it will never come off in the wind or if your horse shakes his head.  You have several options for keeping your stuff organized at your stall. You can use a trunk, an all-in-one trunk/saddle box (sometimes called a Schrank), or a rolling saddle rack with baskets for fly spray, grooming stuff, etc. I have had good luck with using a Stanley-type tack trunk (Tuffbin is another good brand), which sell for under $60, as opposed to $600 for a Schrank. Currently, I am using just a rolling saddle rack which has two big baskets. I cover it with a big towel at night, but there’s nothing particularly valuable in it to attract thieves.  I use a folding saddle bag to keep my tack safe in my truck at night. It looks like a big rolling suitcase, and does, in fact, travel well on planes. There are a number of useful ones available from Dover or Schneider’s, which hold one or two saddles, several bridles, your boots and helmet, and other smaller items that you don’t want to leave at the stalls overnight. When my tack is hidden in its bag it’s less likely to get picked up by someone you don’t want to take it. If you have a tack stall, you can decide how comfortable you are with leaving your tack in a locked tack stall, or whether you want to take it with you at night. I generally take it with me.  Another option if I have a lot of stuff to take with me back and forth is a rolling hay bale bag. I had one embroidered with my name, and I used it to carry my soft goods to Hong Kong. It was a very useful item, and cheap enough, too.  I have another zippered bag for my saddle pads. Western supply places offer these, and they keep my pads clean and together. I use thin underpads as well as my show pads; I can use a clean underpad for each ride and don’t have to wash my show pads as often. Any time I fold my pads, I fold them inside out, to keep the outside clean.  Make sure you bring a knife (or two) for opening shavings bags and hay bales. I keep two in my grooming bag, so that I can always find one.  Once I check into the hotel, I get my ice for the morning right away, if there is a refrigerator in the room. I put the ice in the fridge overnight. The ice right out of the ice machine is not very frozen, but after a night in a freezer it’s nice and hard, and stays frozen much longer than if I got the ice in the morning. I keep yogurt and apples and carrots and bananas on hand for easy eating. I freeze bottles of water before I leave; they serve as ice until they melt, and then they’re just water for drinking.  Make sure to keep a good record of your scores. I have my times posted at my stalls, and I just keep a note after each ride on what score that horse earned. That way, at the end of the show, I just have to take down my time sheet and bring it home to keep those good records. I transfer that information onto my yearly show record sheet at home, and that way I always know what the results are.  I hope these hints make your showing easier and less stressful, so that you can focus on good riding!  Enjoy! Freestyle...For Real! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=73 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=73 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:16:00 -0500 Freestyle…For Real! Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann So my horse Sasha has been doing Prix St. George and Intermediare I for a little while now. I wanted to get him doing an Intermediare I freestyle. I don’t have a dressage arena at the farm where I board, so when I want to put a freestyle together, I have to go somewhere and rent an arena. I wanted to reuse an old freestyle to start off with. My horse Richmond had a lovely Intermediare I freestyle, that we rode to great success six years ago. I dug out his music and choreography, and listened to the music again. I had it well-memorized, and it came back to me easily. Sasha’s name is Radetzky, and his previous, Third and Fourth Level, freestyles had been to Radetsky March. That music suits him fantastically, but I did not want to fork out the money to have it redone for an Intermediare I freestyle right off the bat. I was hoping that Richmond’s music, Crosby/Stills done bluegrass, would suit Sasha as well. In February and March, I started to ride Sasha to the pieces of the freestyle. At first, it was just at the edge of his comfort zone: two-tempis on a bending line, threes on a circle, and pirouettes toward the long side. We continued to practice, and he got more comfortable with these challenges. It was time to begin to ride to the music. I put on headphones and got my MP-3 player out, and rode through the choreography at home, in my wrong-sized arena with no corners. I have two big arenas available to ride in. The indoor arena is 180 by 80 feet, too short and too wide for a real dressage arena. The outdoor is 200 by 100, too long and too wide. I finagled and imagined a real dressage arena, and rode through the sequences. The tempo of the music suited Sasha as well as it had Richmond, which was a pleasant surprise, and the choreography seemed to work out as well.  I entered him to do the freestyle at the Raleigh Capital Classic, June 3-5. I had better get him to a real dressage arena first, though, so I entered him in a schooling show in May to go through it. I entered my three-year-old, Whoopee, as well; it would be his first experience at a horse show. The forecast was grim, with a huge chance of thunderstorms. My first time was 1:00 in the afternoon for Whoopee. I got the two horses to the show grounds, an hour and a half from home, and asked if I could use Whoopee’s time for Sasha’s freestyle. That was actually the most important part of the show for me, the chance to ride through his freestyle in a real dressage arena in front of a real judge. The show manager was accommodating. I had brought my boom box, with new batteries, but when I tested it at the show the batteries had run down already. A helpful volunteer offered to park her vehicle near the arena, so that we could use her sound system to play my music. I gratefully accepted. I warmed Sasha up. He felt great. The judge blew her whistle, and I signaled for the start of my music. The whole thing flowed smoothly. I got the information I needed; where to speed up and where to slow down to fit the music perfectly. I felt much more prepared for the big show at Raleigh. Whoopee got a ride at the show, but not in competition. It was enough to ride him around the warm-up arena; he had stood quietly on the trailer for hours, and by the time I got on him, he was ready to move! It took him a while to settle under saddle, but I fulfilled my goal with him before the rain began. Now it was time to go to Raleigh. I brought Sasha and Timmy, my six-year-old, to show. Timmy is doing First Level this year, and Sasha is doing Prix St. George and Intermediare I. I had a good day on Friday; Timmy won one of his two classes and was third in the other, and Sasha was fourth in the Intermediare I class. Saturday was freestyle day. Timmy had early rides; Sasha was due to perform his freestyle in the coliseum at 4:50, late by my standards. The announcer called three of us to the show office: myself, Elly Schobel, and Tristan Hardy. I recognized that the three of us constituted the FEI Freestyle class, and I was sure that we were being called to the office in conjunction with this class.  Sure enough, the class had been moved to the evening session. I was to go first, at 7:10. Now, I had already not been thrilled with the 4:50 time, and I was even less delighted at this much later time. But wait! It gets worse! There was going to be a color guard of the 82nd Airborne from Fort Bragg to open the evening session, immediately prior to my ride. Now Sasha is a very timid horse, and the thought of a color guard was not going to make him a happy camper. The secretary assured me that the color guard was unmounted, but it did still include flags and marching. I knew, too, that there was going to be a display of medieval jousting during the evening performance, and I queried whether Sasha was going to have to deal with the jousters. No, I was assured, Sasha would be safely back in his stall before the jousters came into the arena.   I should mention: Sasha is a very timid horse. I have done a lot of bravery training with him, including police horse training and desensitization leading up to our long journey to Hong Kong. Even with all this training, though, Sasha remains a timid guy, easily flustered with strange or unusual sights and particularly sounds. Flags and jousting are not on his list of acceptable distractions. It was hot. Hot as Raleigh in June hot; well over ninety degrees. It was not a great though to put my wool tailcoat on to warm up, but I had the happy thought that the FEI warm-up was in a covered arena. Tristan and I headed to that warm-up around 6:30. We didn’t get far, though: the jousters were indeed in there, doing their jousting thing. Neither Tristan’s horse nor Sasha were going to get any productive work done around jousters. We stayed in the hot sun, outside. Eventually the jousters retreated, and we were able to get into the FEI warm-up. I now had fifteen minutes to warm up. The color guard was assembling and beginning their march, with flags, into the coliseum. Sasha was actually OK with this, which made me happier.  It was not my finest warm-up, because we were both distracted by the “stuff” that had already interrupted our warm-up. I was glad that Sasha was fairly experienced at this level, even though this would be his first official freestyle at this level. I waited in the breezeway as the color guard presented the flags and sang the national anthem. Sasha noticed the jousters’ standards, poles with flags and rings on them that they were going to stick their lances in, and he wanted to run backwards away from the flags. I kept him moving more or less in place as we waited. Our preparation for this ride was just sub-optimal all around. The color guard finished and trooped out, around 30 soldiers. Sasha watched intently, less relaxed now. We went into the coliseum. It was crowded; there was a good audience for this night of freestyles. Sasha, who has been around the world, forgot his trip to Hong Kong and he was flustered and backed off, shying at the judges’ stands and flowers. I pushed him on, and he responded by going very forward indeed. I had hoped to get him all the way around the arena before the judge blew his whistle, but he was too quick for me. I signaled for my music, and started my ride. Before we were on the third movement, I realized that I was ahead of my music. The combination of softer footing and Sasha’s adrenaline had made him more forward than he had been at our schooling show, and we were about three or four seconds ahead of the music. It’s always easier to be a little behind the music; you can always cut a corner or two and catch up. It’s much harder when you’re ahead of the music. Because I know this music so well, I was able to fudge it so that the spectators just saw a seamless performance, but I knew that I was ahead. Sasha had a lot of adrenaline, which added to getting ahead of the music. He was an odd mixture of backed off because of all the people, and running forward from the excitement. It gave him even more expression than he normally shows, and he’s a pretty fancy thing anyway, so I knew that the ride was presenting well. He was flawless in his execution of all the difficult sequences, although I had to ride him very positively and carefully to keep him focused on me and not on the environment. I was very pleased with how the ride ended up, even though we got ahead of the  music. I took Sasha back to the breezeway to watch the other rides in the class. I had helped Elly with last year’s freestyle, and this time she had new music and new choreography, so I was interested to see what she had added and shifted. My score was announced: I had gotten 69% for my ride. I was very pleased with that score for a first-time Intermediare I freestyle. Tristan ended up with 65%, and Elly with 63%, so I won the class. There was an awards ceremony as soon as the last score was announced. Sasha was even more on his toes for this. I had mentioned to Tristan that Sasha did not yet understand passage, and she suggested that he might learn it tonight, with the jousters on our heels. I thought she might be right! Sasha led the victory lap. He was very excited now, and did huge expressive two-tempi changes around the arena. We did our solo lap as the victors, and he was even more excited. I was glad that he was looking to me for help in this stressful scenario; his inclination was just to run away back to the barn.  All in all, it ended well. The lead-up had been just a comedy of errors and almost-errors and potential disasters, but Sasha and I pulled it off. I was very proud of him! Next time will be even better, although probably not such a good story as this first time. Sometimes boring is good…             Seeing is believing: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba6B5nASSVA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ba6B5nASSVA</a>               Enjoy! Discipline, Discipline http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=72 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=72 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 26 May 2011 14:53:00 -0500 Discipline, Discipline Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann Many riders, including myself, work alone some or much of the time. In order to keep each day’s work sessions productive, it’s important to have a mindset of discipline to keep everything going in the right direction. The first step to deciding on a discipline is to go over your lesson notes. You are keeping a lesson journal, right? If not, review my article on journaling. Look over the notes, and make a new list of short and sweet snippets of ideas, things that crop up over and over during several lessons. Some examples are: look up, hands together, keep elbows bent, legs under your body, keep tempo faster (or slower), keep the neck up, go into the corners…the list grows longer and longer, doesn’t it? Pick one single item to start with. Now write it down on an index card, and tape it to your tack box or locker, so that you look at it right when you are getting your stuff out to groom and saddle your horse. Write it on your wrist if you wish; indelible ink is good! As you do your ride, keep that one thought at the forefront of your mind during every moment of your ride. You might find it easiest to remember it if you key into it at every letter, or every corner. If this idea made it to your list, it’s something you don’t remember regularly, or your trainer and instructor would not be telling it to you over and over again! You can continue doing whatever topics you are planning for your ride, just keep that one item in mind at the same time. Make sure that your choice of topic and your choice of exercises are congruent. If your key idea is to keep a half-bridge with your reins to keep your hands still, it might be a challenge to be practicing canter zig-zags. On the other hand, it may be that a half-bridge is just the ticket to keep your aids precise. I have chosen, at various times, some pretty challenging disciplines for my own riding. I spent a month riding with my reins in one hand, to make sure that my seat and leg aids were more effective and dominant over my rein aids. I graduated to using a half-bridge with my reins, which did allow me to be more accurate in my figures. My horses liked this discipline far more than I did! I have also used looking up as a discipline. This is particularly challenging for me, and because it’s a challenge it shows that I need to practice that discipline! For this discipline, I chose four different points in the arena (or four trees along the fenceline if I was riding in the field), and made sure I was looking at one of these points at all times. My horses liked this discipline, too, and it did great things for keeping my pelvis aligned. When I look at my horses’ beautiful necks and ears, my pelvis tends to tip forward and so does my upper body. Another discipline I have practiced is to shorten my reins in each corner. Somehow, my reins lengthen themselves. I have noticed this same peculiarity in my students. My job during this discipline is to keep training those recalcitrant reins to stay short. I have rein stops on all my reins, including on my double bridles, so that I can keep track of their length when it escapes. In order to be effective, it’s best to practice each discipline for at least a week at a time. A month is better. Research shows that it takes at least 21 days to develop a new habit, which is approximately a month of riding. Believe me, from experience I can attest that a month doing each discipline will seem like a very long time, and if you have chosen a good discipline your horse will blossom as you absorb this concept on a deeper level.  It’s worth it! Make the effort to review your lesson notes and decide on a single discipline to start your practice, and see what else happens as you solidify new habits. You will like the results, even if you aren’t so fond of the process. I promise! Spring Training http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=71 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=71 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 16 Apr 2011 11:47:00 -0500 Spring Training  Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann  Judges have to attend continuing education seminars, just like doctors or other professionals. This spring, I attended both a Dressage Judges’ seminar and also an Eventing Judges’ seminar.  The Dressage seminar was held at the Kentucky Horse Park, March 22-23. It was a very large seminar this year, around 125 participants. Judges of all levels, “L”, “r”, “R”, and “S”, are eligible to attend; there are no auditors permitted. This year, this was the only dressage seminar offered; on alternate years, there are seminars offered in various parts of the country. This year’s seminar focused on the new tests and new rules in place for this season’s competitions.  My big goal for this seminar was to get vocabulary to use on the new Harmony part of the collective remarks, and I took avid notes each time I got new input on that subject. I was not due to take this seminar until next year, but I thought it was important enough to come this year because of the new tests and the new directives.  The biggest new rule is the Helmet Rule. It’s complicated for dressage. If you are competing at USEF levels on a horse, you must wear an ASTM approved helmet at all times while mounted. If you are competing a horse at only FEI levels, you are permitted to wear a top hat if you desire, although helmets are recommended for all riders. The complication arises when you are competing a horse at both USEF and FEI levels, such Fourth Level and Prix St. George or Fourth Level and Junior: then you must wear a helmet at all times on that horse, even in the Prix St. George. It makes it interesting for stewards to enforce! I noticed at shows that each horse’s number has a designation to indicate which type headgear that rider must wear. One show had an extra sticker on the number to indicate that the rider could wear a top hat. Another show used different color numbers to designate the difference.  We reviewed legal and illegal bits. We had actual bits laid out for us on a table. There are an astonishing number of new bits on the market, some being legal to use and some not. The bottom line for competitors is that if you have to ask, don’t use it! If you have a question, a judge might have a question, and it’s a dumb reason to get eliminated.  There are a few other new rules that affect us judges. The deduction for errors in Young Horse tests has changed to be a deduction of 0.5% for the first error and 1.0% for the second error. This can be a significant change in the placings for a class: at Dressage at Devon one year, I had an error in a Six Year Old test which dropped me from third to sixth in one class. Fortunately, I did not have an error in the class that was most important, the National Champion NA Six Year Old Class, in which my horse Richmond and I were Reserve Champions!  Another new rule is that a fall of horse or rider eliminates them from that class, rather than simply affecting the score for that movement. I was instrumental in getting this rule change proposed and worded, and I am very grateful that it got passed!  Jayne Ayers and Lois Yukins led discussions on the use of the scoring scale. The feeling is that a movement starts with a “7” and goes up or down from there. That’s different from what I was taught in the dark ages, when I went through my initial judge’s training, and it’s a refreshing change.  Starting December first of this year, we will be allowed to use half-points for all scores. There were a number of Canadian judges here at this forum; they use our tests for the national levels. In Canada, they have already begun to use half-points, and the Canadian judges reported that they were becoming more familiar with using them. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds next year.  We watched videos of horses performing individual movements, and scored these. The advantage of using video is that we can review each movement both in real time and in slow motion to make sure we are all catching the details of each movement.  We reviewed the new tests. I was pleased that Lois referenced my article on perfectworlddressage.com about the new tests as a useful guide, with many important points.  We had live horses to demonstrate the new tests. We were grouped into sets of five or six judges, and each group included judges at all levels. We judged one horse at Test 3 of each level, Training through Fourth, and we were assigned different tasks while we judged. With the five horses, each group got to do each of the tasks. These were: judge basics only, with scores and comments on each movement; judge collectives only, with comments and scores; judge all movements with the comments to address why the score was not higher; and judge only the criteria of the movements, with scores and comments. It was interesting to break down each subject separately. In real life, of course, we have to evaluate all these different elements at the same time, and come up with scores and comments which address the most germane part for each movement.  While we judged the rides, they were being videotaped from two perspectives: from C and from B. When all five rides were completed, we headed to a meeting room and reviewed the tests. Each group reported on their scores and comments from their assigned task for that ride. It was interesting and useful to hear the input from all the different groups on each subject.  It was a useful seminar, covering a very specific topic. The day after I returned, I headed off to compete myself at the March Magic show in Williamston, NC, where I showed my two horses at new levels for them. Radetzky debuted at the FEI levels, earning 65% marks at both Prix St. George and Intermediare I, and Lord Baltimore began his First Level career, with all his scores between 66% and 68%. I was able to put into use all the new information I had learned at the seminar!  Two weeks later, I went to Fairburn, Georgia, for a “R” eventing seminar. This was for Eventing judges, technical delegates, and course designers. This forum was held during the Chattahoochee Hills Horse Trials, so we got to evaluate courses that were all prepped for competition. This was a far smaller group of officials than the dressage seminar; here there were only about ten Eventing judges and a smaller number of technical delegates and course designers.  The day before the seminar started, I did my assigned homework: evaluate the Intermediate cross-country course for flow, appropriateness, and safety.  One jump on course was particularly interesting. It’s a table jump, constructed with new technology. The MIM system allows a jump to collapse if a horse hits it in a certain way. This technology is to minimize the occurrence of rotational falls. The jump is sturdy and solid unless a horse hits it with precisely the direction of force that might otherwise result in a rotational fall. During the seminar, the course builder demonstrated how the technology works. He activated the collapsing function by removing the MIM pin; the huge table fence simply folded down to the ground. Three men were able to put it back in place. A horse that hit it in such a way to activate the MIM pin would be able to walk away unscathed, and the jump judge just needed to replace the pin. The course designer said that this was the only such table jump in the US at this time, and it seemed likely that it will become more prevalent in the coming few years.  There were several jumps on course using frangible pin technology. This technology is now mandated on the back rail of all oxers. The frangible pin is made of an alloy that will fracture with a predetermined amount of pressure over a scored area. The back rail is secured over this scored area by roping that will allow the rail to drop 16” when the pin is broken. Again, this technology is to minimize the occurrence of rotational falls and prevent horse and rider injuries.  The first day of the three-day seminar focused on dressage. Linda Zang, one of our US FEI O judges, was our presenter. It was interesting to hear her input so soon after the dressage forum.  Linda gave a very useful way to use the score scale. A score of 5 means: must be better. A score of 6 means: Should be better. A score of 7 means: Could be better. I found that helpful as a way to assist riders in improving their scores.  We reviewed a DVD of horses performing whole tests. Interestingly, the DVD was of the five horses we had as demos for the new tests at the dressage forum. Since this was a “R” eventing forum, we used the Second, Third and Fourth level horses as equivalent to eventing’s Intermediate and Advanced tests.  We had the opportunity to watch quite a number of willing demo riders. Some of these did movement sequences and some did complete tests. It’s always useful to have live demo riders at seminars, because that’s more like real life. We split into two groups for the demo rides, so that one group sat at C and another at B. After each ride, we compared notes to make sure we were all looking for the same things.  The next two days we reviewed cross-country, stadium, and general rules. We went out as a group to walk the Intermediate course, and the course builder showed us more details on the frangible pin and collapsible fence technology.  We walked the Stadium course with the course designer. It’s important that the stadium course reflect the relative degree of difficulty of the cross-country. As this is an early-season event, the cross-country is relatively easy, so the stadium course was straightforward, with few technical questions.  We got to watch a few stadium rounds on Sunday morning, and then continued our discussions of general rules. As with dressage, there are some new rules this year. Roger Haller and Marilyn Payne gave us quizzes throughout all three days of the seminar, on rules and concepts. We had to do the quizzes without looking up the rules, and later we did rule questions that we had to quote both USEF and FEI rules. Mostly, the rules are the same, but there are a few areas where the USEF and FEI differ, and as “R” officials, we have to know both sets of rules.  It was another useful and informative seminar. I feel renewed in my understanding of both old and new rules for dressage and eventing, and it’s a great way to start the competition year. Schooling Shows Rock! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=69 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=69 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:30:00 -0600 Schooling Shows Rock!  Copyright © 2011 Robin Brueckmann  I just returned from my competing in my third schooling show of the year. In my area, North Carolina, we are very fortunate to have the availability of well over a hundred schooling shows each year, spread throughout the state. If you are lucky, you have similar access to these golden training opportunities.  I take advantage of schooling shows for my horses and students, particularly in the off-season, December to late March. Schooling shows are a fantastic opportunity to practice a new level of tests, to get a student’s feet wet with the idea of competition, and to give my horses the change to practice in a show environment. The biggest advantage of schooling shows is that my horses and students can get this valuable practice for much cheaper than going to a recognized show (often by a factor of ten times less expensive!), and any mistakes don’t go on my horses’ official show record at USDF or USEF.  Back in the dark ages, before the invention of the telephone, I did not understand why professionals would show at schooling shows, or why upper-level horses did either. Now I get it. I want my horses to have the chance to practice these harder tests in a less-stressful environment. It’s just as important to get a fledgling FEI horse into the ring as it is for that baby horse who has never shown.  Surprises may show themselves up at schooling shows. This winter, I realized that I had not shown my FEI horse since November, and sure enough, he got tense and anxious in the show environment after several months at home. My younger horse is learning a new level, and I can smooth out his performance at schooling shows before I fork out the big bucks to take him to his first recognized show of the year at that level.  I have students who don’t show regularly. For them, a commitment to go to a schooling show is just as important to them as it is for me to prepare for a championship competition. If a rider is just going to one or two shows in a year, each one becomes a big event to them, and it’s important for me to support that effort for them.  There is one caveat to keep in mind at schooling shows. In our area, most of the schooling shows are judged by “L” judges. At a schooling show, at least one party is learning the ropes. It might be the horse, learning a new test or trying out a new level; it might be the rider gaining experience, or it may be the judge who is gaining practice. In North Carolina, NCDCTA allows judges of any level to judge horses at any level. This means that an “L” judge may be out of her comfort zone judging a Prix St. George test. Keep these elements in mind when you get your test sheets back. Hopefully, your scores will reflect the “real world”, but even if they seem high or low, you can use the comments to help you further develop your horse’s training.  Overall, I find the schooling show experience to be highly valuable for both horse and rider. It’s closer to “real world” than just practicing tests at home or during a lesson, with that added pressure of competing, but it is still a reasonable cost and generally closer to home than a recognized show (at least for me). I am willing to drive two hours, one-way, for a good schooling show, but I don’t have any hotel bills or stabling fees to contend with. My horses benefit, my students benefit, and it’s just generally a good idea.  I hope this inspires you to seek out and patronize schooling shows. If you don’t have any, why not organize one? They are fairly easy to organize, as usually they are just one ring, and the overhead and paperwork are minimal.  Now go out and enjoy your horses! Time for more changes? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=68 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=68 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 06 Feb 2011 14:42:00 -0600 Now that the rules are changing for helmet use, does anyone have opinions about thinking about changing the dress requirements for shows?   Should we really be doing an athletic sport like dressage in 90 degree heat while wearing black wool coats and white pants?  Does it seem a bit ridiculous or is it important not to change the ingrained, long-standing traditions of this great sport?  Opinions out there? New Helmet Rules in Dressage Competition http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=66 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=66 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:00:00 -0600 The new USEF helmet requirements are out, and do not require riders over 18 riding Prix St. Georges and above to wear helmets in competition.  Is this really sending the right message:  riders over 18 on FEI level horses can't get hurt?  Really?  I think the horses at that level are the most athletic, strong, and most are slightly crazy (you have to be a little bit crazy to achieve the brilliance required to do well at those levels, in my humble opinion).  Sounds like a dangerous brew to me, even if you are an excellent rider.  So is this enough right now? <a href="http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/newsdisplay/viewPR.aspx?id=6571">http://www.usef.org/_IFrames/newsdisplay/viewPR.aspx?id=6571</a>  See full rules at this link.  AAs - what's an ideal horse? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=64 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=64 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:38:00 -0600 What kind of horse do you ride?  Are you in the "just warmblood club" or do you think Adult Amateurs could learn more by at least starting dressage on non-warmblood ( the "un-ideal" dressage conformation/gaits/breeding) breeds?  I wonder if it helps or hurts someone's riding development to have to fight a little harder to reach the dressage ideal? Are you afraid of changing Dressage? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=63 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=63 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:42:00 -0600 Online Dressage Test Judging...where do you stand? When I created this website I was very naive about the dressage world as a whole and especially about how people would feel about the concept of videotaped dressage testing.  I have had many different responses when I discuss my company, from extremely positive to horribly negative.  I think for the most part amateur riders like myself have been really happy with the idea of an opportunity to film themselves riding at home and have the ride judged by a licensed judge.   Most of my negative feedback has been from judges and those involved in the business of showing.   The negative criticism seems to center around this concept taking riders from shows who are already hurting for competitors (the economy is rough on everybody).   I was a bit surprised by this at first, because it really was the farthest thing from my mind.  I still like to compete when I am able, and plan to ride in shows for many years to come, and I OWN a videotaped testing service.  What I would love to do is start a dialog about the positives and negatives of this new technology, I really want to hear from people about if online showing could alter their "real" showing plans...or if they view this as an adjunct to their training and riding development.   I would love to hear from professionals and amateurs, and value every one's unique perspective.    Secrets to Brilliance http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=62 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=62 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:15:00 -0600 Secrets to Brilliance   Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann   I have been the lucky (?) owner of two grays, two pintos, and a horse with high white stockings. My horses live outside in red clay soil. Guess what their favorite activities are?   This gives me plenty of practice in getting, and keeping, white markings white. It's a constant endeavor. I get the horses clean and white, and the next day they have given me the opportunity to practice that skill again. If I don't keep up, the red clay actually stains the hair and skin. When I went to Hong Kong, it took a month of daily scrubbing to get all the stain out of Sasha's white knee. I am highly motivated to keeping everything white, even if I won't be showing soon.   My day-to-day routine is to rinse those white markings with plain water. To get them clean, I use Dawn detergent with Oxy-Clean. The blue color to the detergent comes from blueing, and the Oxy-Clean breaks down any organic stain.   Before I have a show, I start with the detergent routine the week before, and scrub all the white with Dawn daily. On the day before I leave for the show, I bring out the big guns. I use a solution of Wisk laundry detergent, a quarter of a capful in a bucket of water, and scrub with that after the Dawn treatment. The final step is to wash again with a solution of your favorite brand of blue whitening shampoo (I use Quicksilver) in water, two capfuls to a bucket of water. For white tails, I use blue shampoo full-strength. I leave the blue shampoo on for five minutes, and then rinse it very well.   This gets everything brilliantly white. If the white is on the mane or tail, I follow that with a diluted conditioner, half and half with water. I leave this in, even if I am braiding the mane the next day. The conditioner keeps the hair happy, and it is less likely to break off with repeated braiding.   These treatments work equally well with my gray and pinto horses, and should work equally well with yours!     Bling and Things http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=61 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=61 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 14 Jan 2011 15:14:00 -0600 Bling and Things copyright (c) 2010 Robin Brueckmann I'm just coming home from a competition. Now, this is a normal thing for me to be doing on a Sunday evening; I attend about thirty competitions a year in some capacity or another. I judge an average of 2,500 horses a year, and that's a lot of browbands, braid types, and saddlepads that I have the pleasure of watching come down the centerline. For the record, not all choices are created equal. Some pieces of equipment that look fabulous in the tack shop and wonderful on your tackroom wall just don't have the impact you visualized when you laid out all that moolah. Crystal browbands, for instance. A crystal browband glistens and shines in that tack shop. Pretty colors dance around when it catches the light. Once you put it on your horse's head, though, it beacons every time he moves a muscle, even breathing at the halt. I have yet to see a horse who is steady enough to carry a crystal browband well. It draws attention to his head, and makes him look unsteady even if he's not. Here's a real-life scenario I observed recently. A heavyset woman on her heavyset horse were decked out in matching crystals; he wore his on his browband, and she had a matching belt. I know it was a matching belt because it hung out below her bulging coat, and sparkled and gleamed everytime she moved, which was constant as she valiantly tried to sit to her horse's trot. Meanwhile, her horse endeavored valiantly tried to carry her, head nodding with every stride. Not a pretty picture, I might mention. As a judge, when I see such crystal-laden presentations trotting down the center line, I hope that the rider is getting her ride (it's never a male rider with a crystal browband or belt) videotaped, and that she will watch that video. Carefully. Often. Beautiful brass bits. These look so becoming on tack store walls, or gleaming in catalogs. People buy them, and put them on their horses' bridles, and they glisten and shine. Months go by, and so does that lovely sheen. They turn green with patina, and dull. The whole point of brass is to demonstrate that you know how to polish it. Never-Dull and Simichrome and elbow grease are your bits' best friends. The same truth goes for those nice brass browbands as well: polish them! Now there can certainly be too much of a good thing. There are bridles out there (and you know if you have bought them) with brass buckles, brass keepers, brass runners, brass browbands and nosebands. See above about bling: there is no horse alive who can carry that much brass unless you let it get dull (see above about brass bits). A few strategic brass buckles is plenty to give your horse that bit of shine in addition to his shiny coat, but beware of going overboard. What does set off a horse well? A single crystal in the middle of a browband can be striking, and accentuate the head of an otherwise plain horse. There are browbands popular in Europe that are V-shaped, which is an interesting look here. A muted lining to browband or cavesson, in a conservative color or white, can distinguish a horse. Horses with a lot of white markings need less bling to stand out in a crowd. I have a pinto and a horse with a wide blaze and high white leg markings, and they get understated tack. They already draw attention; they don't need Swarovsky to sparkle. The rule about decorating saddlepads is simple, but apparently not well-read. Saddlepads can bear sponsor logos, the logo of your farm or club, the breed logo of a horse registered to that breed, or the flag of your country. That does not include your name or initials, your horse's name, a saddle pad you won at another show, or crystal linings. The size of the logo must not exceed 200 square centimeters, about the size of an index card. The color of your pad can be white or conservative color, which includes black and off-white and pastels. Purple is not likely to be well-received. Generally, wear white or off-white gloves. Black gloves seem to be popular at the lower levels, worn by riders who wish to hide busy hands. Do you think it's not a signal to the judge to watch even more vigilantly? The same goes for breeches. White, cream, or light tan breeches are the norm. Originally, breeches were made of deerskin (no, not deerskin seats; the whole thing was made of deerskin). Deerskin was cleaned with fuller's earch, which is an off-white clay. That's why we wear white or off-white breeches, however impractical that particular shade is around horses who will slobber green goo all over you as soon as you don those whites. I have heard heavier women plead to wear dark breeches. Do you think that will hide you in a crowd? No, it makes you stand out more. Is that what you want? Your stock tie should be pale, white or off-white, with a nice pin that means something to you. If you like bling, here is where it is most appropriate. You can buy lacy, fancy stock ties or use a plain, traditional one. Your shirt should match the stock tie, or vice versa. I prefer to wear a long-sleeve shirt all the time, particularly in hot weather. I get stuck in my jacket in a short-sleeved shirt, but my jacket peels off a long-sleeved shirt much more easily than a short-sleeved one. Your jacket should be well-fitted and of a conservative color. That means black or navy. It's legal to wear other colors now, but you must be aware that you are drawing attention to yourself and your riding skills. Make sure that's what you wish to do before you plunk out that dough for a new, mod jacket. Think carefully about lovely piping and linings before you select them. I'm just saying. I choose to wear small replicas of my USDF medals on my lapel. Once you have earned your Bronze, Silver and Gold Medals, you can purchase these small replicas from USDF. I see Pony Clubbers with Pony Club pins, and adults with small US flag pins. You can decide for yourself if you wish to use a small white handkerchief in your breast pocket; I don't like it for my own look. Small stud earrings are best for showing. Dangly things make it look as if it's hard to sit the trot. Makeup should be understated, and not so much to run if you sweat. I judge a lot of events. Some competitors use the same bridle for dressage as they do for the jumping phases. Green rubber reins with matching green lining in the browband and noseband are not the most becoming choices for dressage. Rubber reins in general indicate that you need help pulling your horse into submission. Fork out for a different bridle for dressage, or at least different reins. It goes without saying that your horse should always be clean and have a shiny coat that bespeaks the hours of grooming that you have done with him. His hooves should be clean, and polished if you wish. His tail is combed out, and thick from years of diligent benign neglect, and it is banged neatly across the bottom. You have trimmed the top bit, or pulled it if you want to be perfectionist or British. His mane is pulled and then braided into tidy knots or hunter braids. White tape used to be popular but is not seen as often now as it was twenty years ago; white tape, the original bling, looks best on an extremely steady horse and accentuates any deviation from that. I like a braided forelock; I think an unbraided forelock makes the horse look unfinished. Everything should be clean. That means your horse, your boots, your coat, your tack, everything. Polish those boots! Kiwi is cheap; elbow grease is free. Make sure you have paid attention to all those visible details, which are an indication that you have also paid attention to the details of training and riding that are the heart of dressage. In conclusion, it's a detail-oriented sport. That means all the details. Go to a schooling show and get videotaped with all your gear, to make sure it gives the impression you want, and that your horse is fully prepared to do a great job at the test(s) you have selected for him to perform. Then you are ready to go to recognized shows and shine, in every sense of the word! Sparky's Exercise http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=60 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=60 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 11 Jan 2011 13:45:00 -0600 Sparky’s Exercise   Cpyyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann   The first year of a horse's training is critical. During this year, he learns the work ethic which he will have for the rest of his career, and he learns critical skills and ways of moving which will determine how easily he will be trained and how far he is likely to progress.   The very first months are spent in extremely basic tasks: accepting the saddle and bridle, steering and brakes, learning how to balance under a rider, understanding very simple aids. Once the horse has mastered the rudiments of being a riding horse, he can begin learn actual exercises. He learns transitions and something about bending. He learns how to respond to his rider and he develops some strength and coordination while he figures out what he is supposed to do.   After several months of riding, the horse can begin to put concepts together. I have developed a specific sequence of tasks that include all the ideas from First Level, in a way that each element provides the idea for the next element. I call it Sparky's exercise, as Sparky was the horse who was the guinea pig to help me figure out how to help the horse understand these elements. Together, Sparky and I discovered which sequence was the most logical to a green horse. Sparky was three, and then four, when I solidified this sequence.   I have used this sequence with every horse since, both horses that I train and with horses I help clients train. I have used it with various types of horses, including traditional Dutch, Oldenburg, Trakehner, and Hanoverian warmbloods, and also with less traditional dressage horses including Morgans, Friesians, Andalusians, mustangs, Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Saddlebreds, and Quarter horses. It works equally well with all types of horses   So, what is this magic sequence   It consists of four elements, two in the trot and two in the canter. The four pieces are done in each direction, for a total of eight movements making up one set. I do four sets of the exercise to complete it, although when I am teaching it I do fewer sets   Beginning on the left rein, the horse does a lenthening in the trot across the diagonal of the arena. That's the first element. Now take the horse down the center line, and leg yield back to the track with the same bend, the right bend. As soon as he reaches the track, immediately pick up right-lead canter. On the next long side, lengthen the canter, and at the end of the line do a ten-meter circle to return to working canter. On the second long side, make a shallow loop of counter-canter. That completes one side of the exercise: two trot movements and two canter movements. Now do the same sequence in the second direction to complete one full set, eight movements   The beauty of this sequence is how easily the horse realizes what comes next. The trot lengthening gives energy to the leg yield. The leg yield loosens his back and improves his engagement, making the canter depart easy to perform in good balance. The canter lengthening rejuvenates his energy, and the ten-meter circle at the end of it teaches him how to rebalance into working canter without requiring strong aids from the rider. The energy from the canter lengthening helps his balance for the counter-canter loop. The canter gives him more energy for the trot lengthening. And so the sequence begins again, with each element leading logically to the next part of the sequence   I do four complete sets. This takes about fifteen minutes or so. This provides a complete work session, if you wish; the horse has played with all the elements from First Level. Once you and the horse become comfortable with this initial version of the exercise, you can begin to tweak it   I tweak only one part at a time. The first part that I tweak is the counter-canter. Gradually, during the four sets, I make the loop deeper, only going as deep as the horse is comfortable with and can maintain his balance. If he makes a mistake, I notice what the mistake is. There are three basic mistakes that horses make in counter-canter. They break to trot, cross-canter, or do flying changes. If the horse makes a mistake, I gently bring him back to the original lead and continue, without any semblance of punishment. Never object to a flying change, even if you didn't want it, or you will discourage him from offering it when that time comes in his training. Breaking or cross-cantering are signs that you challenged his balance too much, and you should make the next loop shallower until his strength and balance improve   If I get to a full serpentine on the fourth set on Tuesday, I go back to the shallow serpentine on Wednesday for the first set. I don't assume that his balance will begin where it ended the day before. I set the horse up so that every single day feels successful to him   The next element for tweaking is the leg yield part. Now, I finish the leg yield on the track, and continue a few strides down the track in shoulder-in. When I can get shoulder-in reliably for half the long side, I will substitute shoulder-in on the quarter line for leg yield. As time progresses, I will add a few strides of haunches in on the long side, and then gradually morph it into half pass. None of it should feel like new information to the horse. I want to set it up so that it all feels familiar, because it is presented to him within the context of a very familiar exercise, Sparky's exercise   Next, I can use the small circle after the canter lengthening to introduce the idea of canter-walk-canter transitions. The small circle is a perfect way to help the horse's engagement and balance, and I can use much smaller aids to elicit the downward transition. Once I am back in the canter,  I continue the sequence   Now, understand that all this tweaking takes place over at least a year, as the horse develops better understanding, strength and balance. Using Sparky's exercise as a base exercise gives the horse predictability in his work, and this facilitates relaxation. Nothing feels new; everything feels familiar. I can do other exercises before or after Sparky's exercise, such as stretching circles, work on halts, walk exercises and so on, but I include Sparky's exercise in almost every day's work session. I use it at shows as a warm-up, too; it gives the horse confidence in a new situation to have something so familiar as a primary task.   I have tried other ways to sequence these individual pieces, but this sequence makes the most sense to horses. Sometimes, I may just do the trot part, or just do the canter part, but horses thrive on the entire sequence. It's interesting yet predictable. This sequence, in its entirety, is frequently an entire day's work session for a young horse   I start this exercise as soon as I can sketch through it with a youngster. Of course it is rough and unbalanced, but the sequence fosters improvement in balance and understanding. Each transition is in a logical place. Soon the horse begins to anticipate in a good way what is coming, so my aids become lighter and easier. I use it to help riders learn how to help a horse balance. Because the elements follow each other in quick succession, it teaches a rider how to set the horse up correctly, and to think ahead and to think quickly. Since the horse figures it out fairly quickly, the rider does not need strong aids, and she learns how to be more accurate and subtle   Play with this sequence, and see how you and your horse like it. I have yet to see a horse that it does not benefit. Have fun with it! Energy and Intent http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=57 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=57 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:58:00 -0600 Energy and Intent copyright (c) Robin Brueckmann 2010 At the barn where I board my horses, there is a new boarder. I mean new in every sense of the word. She is a beginning rider, and has not been around horses very much. Her reactions are colored by her dogs rather than any experience with horses. She is leasing a ten-year-old quarter horse gelding named Sandman, who is a pleasant fellow, generally ridden western-style. Margaret rides him in a western saddle. But all is not well in Sandman-land. Margaret is timid and unsure of herself. She does not know what to expect from this easy-going horse, and consequently he is unsure of her. He won't stand still when she grooms him. Margaret ties him to a post with a long lead line, and she ties him low on the post. Sandman is a cribber, and he cribs while she chases him around the post. Generally, the people I deal with as clients have much more experience with horses, but there are a lot of Margarets out there, too. I step in and help Margaret learn about horses, even though she is not my client. She needs help, and is grateful. Horses are not dogs. They don't think like dogs, and they don't react like dogs. Horses are prey animals, and their first instinct, when in doubt, is to run away. If Margaret acts like a predator, moving quickly or unpredictably, Sandman is unsure if she is a predator, and he startles. This startles Margaret, and sets a chain in motion of the two of them scaring each other. It takes time for Margaret to learn how to move more slowly and predictably around her horse. Margaret generally arrives at the barn around 9:30, when I have already worked with two horses. Yesterday, she came a little earlier, when I was playing with my two-year-old, Whoopee, in the round pen. I suggested that she watch what I was doing. She was interested, and watched carefully. I narrated what I was doing. I have been working Whoopee in the round pen for about three months. I have taught him to turn towards me when he changes direction, rather than turning to the outside as any sensible prey animal would turn. I had Margaret watch my body language and energy intent as I had Whoopee trot (clucking to him) and canter (kissing for canter). I reinforced each directive with a longe whip. Whoopee is a pinto, and he has the fortunate markings of a clear line between white and black spots right at the girth line on both sides. When I keep my body behind this line, I send Whoopee forward. If I step in front of this line, he stops or turns toward me, rolling back over his hocks. After a number of changes of direction and transitions between trot and canter, I call him toward me by backing and beckoning with my hand. He walks in toward me. Our next exercise is for him to do a turn on the forehand around me. I call his head and neck toward me while pushing his quarters away with the whip. Margaret watches, fascinated. She is amazed at how responsive he is, for a two-year-old. Actually, he is responsive for a horse of any age. I suggest to her that she come into the round pen, and send him out with her body language. It's a chance for her to practice clear intent on a horse who is demonstrably responsive to it. Margaret comes in and takes the whip, and I step outside the round pen. Margaret is tentative with both her body language and with the whip, and Whoopee stands and stares at her, unresponsive. I coach Margaret into more effective body language, and eventually she gets him to trot around. Margaret has a hard time keeping him going. She uses different vocal signals than Whoopee understands, and he does not understand her when she says, Go out, Giddyap. She keeps getting in front of the girth line, so clearly demarcated by his spots. Her movements are tentative, unclear, confusing. Her energy is passive. She shifts the whip to the front hand unconsciously, and Whoopee stops and just looks at her. Gradually, she becomes more confident and has better success. When she loses clarity in her body language, Whoopee tells her he's confused, and he thinks she wants the second activity, so he just circles her in a turn on the forehand. I go back into the round pen, to get Whoopee forward again. He believes me when I indicate something. My energy and intent are much stronger than Margaret's, and I point this out to her. She sees the difference, but she needs practice. Her confidence will improve with experience and practice. She has been playing with Sandman in the round pen, and she is more confident with him since she knows him better. I hope that she is able to apply what she has learned with Whoopee to her interactions with Sandman, to keep her safe and give her positive experiences. Her learning curve is still very steep, and every day is better for her. Watching Margaret interacting with Sandman reinforces to me the importance of using personal energy for positive results. Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer from National Geographic Channel, talks about using your energy to affect dog behavior, and it's just as imperative for working with horses. Cesar talks about using calm, assertive energy to help dogs behave in a predictable, civilized way Horses, as prey animals, are incredibly sensitive to their surroundings for survival's sake. Using active body language, and calm, assertive energy tells the horse that he should take some action. Passive body language indicates to the horse that everything's fine, don't change what your're doing, ignore potentially scary objects or movements. The work I am doing in the round pen with Whoopee has nothing to do with traditional longeing, although I will do that with him, too. This work is about teaching this young horse to look to his rider, or handler in this case, for instruction and verification. I want Whoopee to learn at this tender age that I am a good leader, that I will watch out for wolves and keep him safe from becoming lunch for some predator. This learning will serve us both well in years to come. Any time we are interacting with our horses, we are either leading or being led, in the sense of looking-out-for-wolves. If I prove to be a good wolf-looker-outer, the horse will trust me no matter what happens around him, or what scary objects come into his life. I can't desensitize my horses from every possibility that may occur in his life, but I can teach him where to turn for guidance. That's my most important role in my horse's life, to be a good leader for him. That does not mean domination but just clear leadership. When we observe horses interacting with each other, it's easy to see how they communicate. Most of the communication is visual, with body language. That's built into the horse's survival instinct, to watch fellow herd members for information that leads to continued survival. The lead mare uses her head and neck to direct her mates, pinning her ears or biting if that is ignored. Horses demonstrate affection toward each other by mutual grooming. We don't want to be the recipients of such mutual grooming because it feels to us like biting. Instead, we teach our horses that our version of this is grooming with brushes, or patting or rubbing. That is a secondary reinforcer; patting or rubbing is not a primary, or instinctive, source of affection from horse to horse. Margaret is slowly learning how to present herself as a good leader. She still tries to use her dog-skills rather than her new-found horse-skills, and it will take her time and diligent practice before she reacts and interacts with her horse in horse-friendly body language. She is smart about it, and is seeking information and training from professionals as she follows this new path. All of us can continue to learn more about communicating more clearly with our horses, and it's a rewarding project to pursue for a lifetime. Horse communication was not invented by the Natural Horsemanship practitioners, but their popularity and success has brought it to much greater awareness. These practitioners have helped clarify and codify these techniques, and have made it much easier for newcomers like Margaret to understand and apply useful communication skills in a way that horses already understand, because they are based on information that horses use to communicate with each other. It's useful to utilize natural horsemanship techniques to supplement classical training. Once you become familiar with using your body language in a horse-friendly way, classical training makes even more sense, and you will be able to clarify your communication skills and use of your body language for ever-lighter aids. Be open to new ideas, and pay attention to what your horse is telling you! It's a Balancing Act http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=56 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=56 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:51:00 -0600 It’s a Balancing Act Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann A horse’s balance changes with training. We have the lovely Training Scale, but to me it all boils down to strength and balance. You never say, Yes, I have my horse in balance, now let’s move on to something else. The balance is always changing, moment to moment and stride to stride, and also year to year. In the beginning of training, the horse has a horizontal, base-wide balance. We teach a Training Level horse to use a stable balance, with his weight evenly distributed over all four legs. He must learn how to keep himself in vertical balance as well. A loose horse will always lean in and bend out on any turn, and the sharper the turn, the more he will lean in and bend out. We teach dressage horses to keep a more vertical balance so that we have options to turn left or right, or to continue going straight. This is stable balance, balanced from front to back and from left to right. One of my favorite exercises for a young horse, or a new student for that matter, is to set up a gate of two cones or other markers, about three feet apart. I have the horse perform two twenty-meter circles which meet at the gate. The task is to have absolutely vertical balance in the middle of the gate, without any tendency to lean in either direction. It’s a much more challenging exercise than it reads! It teaches horse and rider to recognize vertical balance, which becomes ever-more important as the training progressed. As the horse continues his training, he learns to shift more weight toward his hindquarters. He also learns to shorten his wheelbase, becoming shorter from front to back, and narrower from left to right, still maintaining vertical balance but now doing it from a smaller, narrower base. This balance is more precarious, and it is also more maneuverable. A horse with a narrow base is easier to shift into lateral work or to make transitions within and between gaits. Some movements are particularly tests of balance. In particular, changes of direction and lateral work require specific demands of the horse’s understanding of balance. In the new First Level Test 1, the second movement is a test of vertical balance: make an S-turn between B and E. Right over X, the horse must demonstrate understanding of vertical balance as he shifts from left bend to right bend without leaning into the new turn. Riding sequences such as shoulder-in to half pass require that the horse and rider have a good understanding of balance. Counter-changes of hand in half pass are also demands for vertical balance, and also require that the horse has a narrow base of support, in order to be able to make smooth changes of direction and bend within the movement. Some movements require very specific balance. Flying changes need a particular balance, very straight from front to back and very vertical left to right, with a good jump in the canter and enough energy to leap into the air to make the change happen. As the horse learns tempi changes, this requirement becomes even more stringent. Right now, I am teaching Sasha to do flying changes every stride. This movement requires a specific balance. At first, he was unable to get into this balance, and the changes were scrambled and unpredictable. Now he understands the correct balance to execute the one-tempi changes. He can’t always do it, but he does understand the balance and he helps me get him into that particular balance. When he is in that particular balance, he is ready and willing to do the one-tempi changes. He cannot yet maintain that specific balance for very long, and the instant he loses that balance, I must be quick to stop asking for the changes as he will be unable to comply. The transitions between piaffe and passage are perhaps the most difficult in all of dressage training, and it’s because of balance. The balance for piaffe and the balance for passage are quite different, and it takes practice and strength for the horse to be able to shift quickly from one balance to the other as he transitions between piaffe and passage. Piaffe requires more weight on the hindquarters than passage, and passage has more lift and elevation than piaffe. That’s what makes the transitions between them so difficult for the horse to achieve. As a trainer, it is important to keep track of what balance your horse needs in each movement, and to help the horse find that balance. The horse begins to realize what movements are likely to happen when he is placed in a particular balance, and then the rider’s aids can become softer and smaller and more specific. Next time you ride, pay even closer attention to your horse’s balance. You may be surprised at how much easier everything is if you make sure that you have the correct balance for each movement! Helmet Safety http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=55 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=55 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:20:00 -0600 Helmet Safety copyright (c) Robin Brueckmann 2010 Yesterday afternoon, our next-door neighbor's fifteen-year-old boy died, less than a day after a skateboard accident when he hit his head. He was in a coma, but died before recovering consciousness. His parents were always insistent that he wear a helmet. His parents are too much in shock to ask if he had a helmet on at the time of his fall. Helmets help protect us all from terrible consequences like this one. Last year, a trail riding buddy took a spill and hit his head. He was not wearing a helmet. He lapsed into a coma, and was vegetative for months before life support was stopped. Helmets help protect us all from terrible consequences like this one. My sister-in-law fell off a rental horse and hit her head on pavement. She was not weaering a hemet. After several years in near-coma, she remains barely cognizant and quadriplegic. Her accident was in 1979. She has a normal lifespan but little life. Helmets help protect us all from terrible consequences like this one. I have had two serious falls in the past four years, breaking a total of eight bones. Both times I fell, I was walking on a loose rein on a horse I trusted. I had a helmet on both times. I always wear a helmet. It should not take a horrible accident like Courtney King-Dye's to bring awareness to the dressage population that helmets are important. They may not look cool, and they may muss your "do", but they are cheap insurance against catastrophic disaster. At worst, they may only mitigate injury; at best, they prevent head injury altogether. The time is coming when rules will be passed requiring protective headgear in competition. No one can legislate common sense at home, though. Use your head, and keep it safe so you can continue to use it for a long, long time. Piaffe for Dummies http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=54 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=54 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 07 Nov 2010 13:19:00 -0600 Piaffe For Dummies Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Do you admire Grand Prix riders as their horses piaffe effortlessly, but think your horse could never do that? Your horse may never piaffe like Ravel, but he can certainly do his version of piaffe. I have a photo on the desktop of my computer of a foal piaffing. It's part of his heritage as a horse. Horses piaffe and passage effortlessly on their own under influence of strong emotions, such as a stallion approaching a mare. Our goal as trainers is to teach the horse to piaffe in a peaceful way, without benefit of those strong emotions. Horses know how to do it, but they don't know how to be asked for it, or how to do it without those strong emotions One of the most common problems in teaching piaffe is that the horse feels trapped and claustrophobic by traditonal training techniqes, which generally involve several people, sidereins, and long whips. I can remove any tendency to claustrophobia by teaching the horse that he has a place to go I use a step-by-step approach to teaching piaffe, starting almost as soon as I start the horse under saddle. Sometimes I even start it before the horse knows how to be ridden. I begin by teaching the horse to yield sideways to pressure, starting in the crossties when I am grooming him. He should yield to the pressure of my fingertips on his side when I push or poke at his ribcage. This sounds easy, and it is, and it's a first step toward piaffe It doesn't look like piaffe yet. The next step is to have the horse in a snaffle bridle, with the reins on his neck. I stand next to him, on his left side, with a normal dressage whip. I take contact with both reins in my left hand, bridged in my hand, so that I have even contact with both reins. The right, or outside rein, crosses his neck just in front of the withers. I have a pocket full of sugar cubes. I cluck to the horse, and begin to move toward his girth area. If he doesn't immediately begin to yield to my body language, I tap him rhythmically on the quarters with the whip, tap tap tap Watch carefully as he yields the hindquarters in a big turn on the forehand. He brings his hind legs closer to his midline, and offers to lower his haunches and tilt his pelvis into engagement. Now watch his footfalls. As the horse learns the exercise, the walk rhythm changes. Instead of the normal four-beat rhythm, the horse begins to offer a more diagonal rhythm, more like a rein-back rhythm. You don't have to teach him; he will offer it. That diagonal rhythm is what I'm looking for. I do sets of about five or six steps, then give him a sugar cube. I do three or four sets on each side, and that's it for the day, and I go ahead and ride or whatever I have on the horse's schedule for the session I do this turn on the forehand in hand, every day, for a year. It doesn't take long for the horse to understand the exercise. Sugar helps him like it, even if he doesn't understand why we are doing such an apparently pointless exercise. I also incorporate big turns on the forehand in the ridden work as well Fast-forward a year. I have done the exercise about 3,000 times now, and the horse finds it old-hat. Now it's time for the next phase. I begin to speed up the steps in the turn on the forehand in hand, until the horse is almost trotting. I gradually move him closer to the fence or wall. By coincidence, he finds himself against the wall, unable to move any more sideways. I prevent him from taking big steps forward, and there it is, piaffe for dummies. I let him do two steps on the wall, and then let him finish the set away from the wall in the more-familiar turn on the forehand Under saddle, I use the same idea. I trot on a twenty-meter circle. On an open side of the circle, I transition to walk and initiate a turn on the forehand. Before I trot off, I hold him with my seat, and generally the horse will give me one or two steps of almost-piaffe. Gradually, over many weeks, I do less and less walk, and more and more half-steps both within the turn on the forehand and in the transition to trot. I don't try to put the horse on the wall until I am fairly sure he will understand what I want By spending a long time, at least a year, leading up to piaffe using turn on the forehand, I have removed any tendency toward claustrophobia. The horse has never felt trapped between the whip and the wall. There is always sugar involved, too, which helps. I am still not at piaffe proper, but I have laid a strong foundation of performing a diagonal gait, with collection, without strong emotion. Over the course of the next year or so, the horse gains strength and balance, and gradually the half-steps become piaffe. From piaffe, I return to trot-walk transitions. This time, I ask for half steps before the trot. The horse knows trot is coming, and he wants to move forward in the half-steps. I hold this energy in my seat, and the half-steps become more like passage. Again, the horse needs to develop strength and balance to perform true passage, but this is a replicable technique to teach any horse how to access his inner Grand Prix nature. It takes a very long time to teach piaffe and passage this way, so I start very early in the horse's training, at around age four. By the time he's seven, piaffe and passage feel normal and natural to him, and he never stresse about it, becasue it all feels familiar to him. It's how I like to train, very methodically and very gradually, so that the horse never feels that a task is completely new. All the tasks I ask him to do are based on either something he knows from his own inner horse-ness or on something we have already done. I have a long-term plan that requires that I am paying close attention at every stage, to build strength, balance and understanding for the life of the horse Try it, and you will be surprised. You can teach your horse the first step in one session. Don't be in a hurry to get to the next stage, and you will be amazed at how quickly it goes. If you are in a rush, the horse will feel rushed and hassled and he will be anxious and tense. Go slowly; that's the short-cut Silent Partner "2" http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=53 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=53 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 31 Oct 2010 11:57:00 -0500 I wrote this article entitled “Silent Partner” which was published in USDF Connection magazine in 2006. I love the article (my one and only “publishing” ever!) and thought I would re-post it here. Looking at my life now compared to 2006 things are even busier…two horses (one young one needing lots of training and one older one needing lots of care!), an up-start business, and two kids who have lives of their own with school, sports and friends....Whew!! I need to go give my husband a big hug!!!! [U][B]Silent Partner[/B][/U] Like a lot of Amateur Dressage riders, I have a very full life away from the barn: two kids, a career, and a husband. My career gets my full attention 30 hours a week (I have to pay the board bill, after all) and my kids and my horse get most of my remaining waking hours. That, of course, leaves one very important person out of the mix. I know a lot of women riders whose husbands love to come and watch them ride and show. I even have a friend whose husband helps her muck stalls and tack up and cool down horses on his days off. I don’t have one of those kinds of husbands. My husband, Eric, likes to boast he couldn’t pick out my horse from a field of two. He has actually responded (several times) to the question “what level does your wife ride?” with “Um, fifth, I think.” That would make sense to a non-dressage person, I suppose, if you took into account the training and lesson bills over the years. However, my horse and I are actually riding First Level. Eric does have a pretty good excuse for his lack of equine involvement: a documented allergy to horses. His allergist advises that, when I come home from the barn, I should remove all my clothes in the garage (“Hello, Neighbor!”) and go directly to the shower before even saying hello. I have tried to be good, but I still often send Eric into a sneezing fit when I return from a ride. One might expect that, given all of this, Eric would be pretty bitter about my horse habit. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite. I consider my husband my biggest supporter. To five me the time to get out and ride, he alters his schedule so that he can watch the kids. He always asks with genuine interest how my rides went. He at least pretends to try to understand my frustration with my horse and things like the leg-yield. He attempts to justify my passion to our friends and family, even though, like many riders, I have gotten hurt doing it and it definitely cramps our style financially. Most of all, he willingly tolerates my love for the “other man” in my life, which not many husbands are secure enough to deal with. Often, when I am showing, it makes me sad to see all the “horse show husbands” waiting outside the ring with their boot rags and cameras. When I feel this way, I have to remind myself how much my husband supports me behind the scenes. He happily takes charge of my kids on the weekends that I am gone at a dressage show and is smiling and in a good mood when I return, tired and smelly from the day. I know that, even if he doesn’t have a clue about what is really involved in this thing called Dressage, I could never do it without him. The New 2011 Tests Are Here! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=52 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=52 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 27 Oct 2010 18:31:00 -0500 The New 2011 Tests Are Here! Copyright © Robin Brueckmann 2010 The new tests are finally available. They have been a well-guarded secret, and only rumors have been available. Well, now they are up on the USEF website. You can access them by logging in to your Authorized User Account, or you can purchase paper copies directly from USEF. As an overview of the new tests, they are, in general, more demanding than the previous rendition. Although you are now allowed to post at First Level, things get challenging sooner. There are only three tests at each level now, and the tests are shorter in duration, with fewer movements. For most of the tests above First Level Test 1, each test begins with something forward, a trot lengthening or medium trot. The only exceptions are Third Level Test 1 and Fourth Level Test 2. Let’s look at each level individually. Training Level Right away, it’s clear that there are different requirements starting at Training Level Test 1. Now there is a stretching circle at movement 6, much earlier in the test than it’s ever appeared before, and it has a coefficient. Training Level Test 3 is much meatier now, with concepts that have previously appeared at First Level. The horse has to canter around the short side, after a circle, and continue cantering onto the diagonal after the circle. This is an added requirement of balance and energy. Note, too, that the Directive Ideas have changed wording. In most boxes, Willing, balanced transition appears. Now, we judges have always looked for that, but now it says so right there in the box for everyone to see. Most of the movements feel familiar, though. The patterns for Training 1 and 2 are similar to the old one, with the addition of the stretching circle. Training 3 maintains the loop from the old Training 4, but the addition of cantering around the short side is intensified. All three tests at Training Level can be ridden in either the Small or Large arena. First Level Now things get interesting quickly. As I mentioned before, you now have the option to post or sit the trot throughout the tests. However, right away at First Level Test 1, there are more challenging movements to encounter. Movement 2 is an S-turn between E and B. The movement says, E-X, half circle left 10m; X-B half circle right 10m. This idea formerly did not appear until First Level Test 3. Too often, I see this movement ridden as if it means, Go 10 meters down, then turn. That’s not it. Half circle left 10m means do half of a ten-meter circle until you get to X, then do half of a ten-meter circle to get back to the long side at B. At movement 7, you have the two transitions into canter. Suddenly, there’s a coefficient there! Two movements later, after the canter lengthening (yes, a canter lengthening at First Level Test 1), there is a coefficient on the canter depart. The canter lengthenings and the transitions in and out are included in a single box, which does not have a coefficient in this test. First Level Test 2 begins with a trot lengthening, and then a long long trot on the long side before a half circle to leg yield. In the canter, this time there is a mark, with coefficient, for the downward transition from the lengthening. There is no halt within the test. First Level Test 3 contains a very compact sequence: leg yield from the track to X, two ten-meter circles, then leg yield back out to the track. This feels like a sequence from a freestyle rather than a test. Pay close attention to your riding if you want a good score here! There’s no room for mistakes or loss of balance. In this test, the canter lengthening and the transition are included in one box, which has a coefficient. Second Level Second Level has changed the least of any level this time. Second Level Test 1 feels much the same as before, with the subtraction of the trot ten-meter circles. The familiar canter serpentines are there again. Second Level Test 2 feels similar as well. One change is that the change of rein between the two travers is now an S-turn (B-X half circle left 10m; X-E half circle right 10m) rather than a straight line. Second Level Test 3 returns to an old idea; now there is a 20m half-circle in counter-canter, returning to true lead by a short diagonal. This tells the judge a lot about your horse’s balance and collection. Does he speed up and lean in on the circle? Hopefully not. The simple changes are in logical places for this test, using a circle to help the horse find the right balance before the transition to walk. Third Level Now things get even more challenging. The release in canter is removed from Third Level Test 1 this time, but otherwise the test feels familiar. Third Level Test 2 feels familiar, too, until you get to the last bit. Now the horse has to do two additional flying changes, on the same pattern as the old Fourth Level Test 1; two short diagonals with a flying change crossing the center line. It’s good, I think, to give Third Level horses the opportunity for a second set of flying changes. Sometimes a Third Level horse will get anxious and make mistakes in the changes the first time around, but now there’s a chance to do them again for a better score. Third Level Test 3 introduces a completely new concept for Third Level. Two of the flying changes are on the center line, facing the judge. Placed here, it’s easy for the judge to see straightness but not always so easy to see if the change is clean. It’s a harder question to ask a Third Level horse to do changes here, rather than on the long side or on a short diagonal, and it will require careful, accurate riding. Fourth Level Fourth Level seems harder in some ways and easier in other ways than before. There are no counted changes until Fourth Level Test 3. In Fourth Level Test 1, there are only two flying changes, as opposed to the four at Third Level Test 3. In Fourth 2, there are five flying changes; in Fourth 3, seven. If your horse has good changes, you will like Fourth 2 and 3 better; if they’re still an issue, you will like Fourth 1 best. In Fourth Level Test 1, the two flying changes are situated the same as in the Prix St. George test: at C after a corner of counter-canter. This is quite a challenge for a green Fourth Level horse. Otherwise, the test is similar in feel to the old Fourth 1, but this one change makes it much more challenging to the horse’s balance. There is no opportunity to recover if your horse misses a change; there only are the two changes in this test. The collected and extended walks are performed on a 20-meter circle rather than on straight lines, a new concept. Fourth Level Test 2 has some old Third Level ideas in the trot work. Movements 6-7: shoulder-in on the long side, then medium trot on the short diagonal. The canter work includes working half-pirouettes, as before. There are three flying changes on a diagonal line, but they are not counted. They are at the quarter-line, X, and the second quarter-line. This allows the rider to concentrate on setting the horse’s balance up correctly rather than focusing on the count of the changes. There are five flying changes in total in this test. Fourth Level Test 3 has seven flying changes, two after the half-pirouettes, one after a medium canter on the diagonal, one between two half passes, and three on a counted line of four-tempis. There are no changes every third stride. This is to distinguish Fourth Level Test 3 from the Prix St. George; in the past Fourth Level Test 3 has actually been more difficult than PSG. Now it’s clearly less demanding. That’s your overview of the new tests at the five USEF levels. Look them over for yourself, and decide where your horse’s strengths are best highlighted. Go over the tests carefully, diagramming them on paper and looking for the patterns of each test. Refer to the previous article on learning new tests to help you with that task. Ride well! Hey, Baby, It's Cold Out There! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=51 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=51 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:49:00 -0500 Hey, Baby, It’s Cold Out There! Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Fall is certainly here. The leaves have changed, and so has the temperature. We’ve touched frost here in North Carolina, and in other parts of the country it feels more like winter is actually here. Horses grow coats in response to changes in light. In practical terms, this means that with shorter days, horses grow longer coats. And longer. For horses who are turned out and not in work, this provides a perfect insulation against winter’s cold. For horses who are working, though, this means wet, soggy, cold coats after each ride. Unless you have the time to devote to getting your horse completely dry after work in cold weather, you will have to devise a plan to deal with a winter coat. The Quarter horse people deal with it by keeping their horses under lights. Longer days=less coat. This is not always practical, though, and certainly it’s not an option for my own horses. My horses live out in a pasture all year long, and it’s not likely that they will have access to artificial light to keep their coats short. Another option is to blanket early, and blanket often, tricking the horse’s system into thinking that it has enough coat to get by. This is a useful option for many horses. You have to start sheeting and blanketing before the winter coat comes in, though, and in most parts of the country that means September at the latest. Make sure the blanket you choose fits well, to avoid the dreaded shoulder rubs. You can use a Sleazy under the blanket to minimize rubbing, or spray the shoulders daily with Show Sheen or equivalent product. If you choose to blanket your horses, you may want to invest in duplicate blankets and sheets, so that you can run one through the laundry and not leave your horse naked. In my neck of the woods, North Carolina, blanketing in a boarding situation is tricky, because the temperature often swings from 30 in the morning to 65 or 70 in the afternoon. The workers at the barn where I board are not going to be switching blankets around, so I have to decide what to leave on my horses until I come out again the next day. It’s also important to check the horses every day, to make sure the blankets are still on top of the horse, and have not twisted around or come unfastened. In general, a horse with more than a trace clip will need to be blanketed. To keep T-locks fastened, you can buy rubber rings for that purpose from a tack shop, or you can use my cheapie trick of buying rubber castrating rings from the local feed and livestock supply; these work great and are 100 for $2.00, as opposed to $3.00 for ten at a tack shop. Put the rubber rings over the T-fasteners, and this makes it harder for the horse to unbuckle himself when you’re not looking. Blanketing may not be enough to keep your horse’s coat under control. My rule of thumb is: when I feel guilty turning my horses out wet, it’s time to clip them. Some horses need clipping every month, some can get by with once or twice a winter. I have a Cushing’s horse that I clip year-round, just on general principles. Another horse I ride grows more coat than a grizzly bear, and I clip him every month during hunting season (he’s a field hunter). My competition horses get clipped three or four times during the fall and winter. I have only had one horse who did not need to be clipped when he was in work; he was a Thoroughbred with delicate, thin skin and a thin coat. Blanketing sufficed for him. If you decide to clip your horse, take the plunge and get body clippers. I like Clipmasters; I’ve tried other types of clippers but these work best for me. Don’t get excited and get Extra Wide Blades for your ear trimmers; these do a miserable job and leave your horse looking moth-eaten. Be brave and spend the money for body clippers. I have a set of Clipmasters that I have used for nearly thirty years. I did have to get them serviced two years ago, but that’s it for service. I get about 3-6 horses out of a set of blades. If you can, give the horse a good bath the day before you want to clip him. This makes clipping much easier on you, the horse, and the clippers. If it’s not possible to do a full bath, run over him with hot towels, to get as much natural grease out of the coat as you can. Do this the day before, too. So, the big choice of clipping patterns. If you are unsure of how much to take off, you can do a bib clip, which is just taking off the front of the neck and chest. Ride for a day or two, and see if that is enough to keep him from sweating too much. If that’s not enough, you can do a trace clip. This is so-called because originally it was a clip of everything below the traces on a harnessed horse. Generally, you would take off the lower half of the neck and the lower half of the shoulders, ribs, and haunches. You can finish it with a straight line, or you can get creative with the pattern. A trace clip is purely pragmatic; you won’t win any beauty pageants with a trace-clipped horse. It’s like giving your horse a vest instead of his ski jacket; he stays mostly warm, and can be turned out naked most of the time, but he doesn’t sweat so much when you ride him. I like to take off the face line below the cheeks of the bridle; that way I don’t have to bother him about his face or ears, but he looks somewhat more kempt than the normal fuzzy winter look. To finish the back line, sometimes I just go straight back. Sometimes I have given the horses racing stripes on their haunches. This past year I did flames. It really doesn’t matter; I just want it to look more interesting than a plain boring trace clip. I have been using a modified blanket clip in the past several years. For this, I take off everything in front of the girth: shoulders, neck and chest. This is a good compromise for my climate; the horses don’t get overheated, and I don’t have to blanket for most weather. I put rain sheets on them when it’s cold rain or extremely windy, but most of the time they are naked. A blanket clip takes off the area where a blanket goes, and the horse then wears a blanket to replace the missing hair. This is a useful clip, too, although I find that I need to take the neck off for my horses. They just get too sweaty unless I take it off at least half-way. A traditional hunter clip takes off the neck and body of the horse, leaving the legs hairy to protect them against mud and muck. Sometimes a saddle patch is left on, to protect the saddle area. This is a good clip for horses in heavy work, like field hunters, but those hairy legs can be unattractive. A full clip is just what it sounds like; everything must go. This takes the most skill of any clip, because it is so clear when lines are unsteady or the pressure was not even during the clip job. I learned how to clip by giving school horses trace clips. These horses were not going out in public, so I could make my mistakes and learn from them without much trauma. To handle clippers, it’s best to use moderate pressure, and clip against the direction that the hair grows. Sweeping lines work best. Clip from the bottom to the top of the horse, starting at the left shoulder where the horse is least likely to object. Use even pressure on the blades for a clean cut. Keep the blades oiled; I use diesel or kerosene to dip the blades every ten minutes or so. This keeps them from overheating. I wipe them after each dip so the horse’s skin doesn’t get irritated from the diesel. You can use commercial clipper spray or oil, too, if you prefer. You can clip the legs when the horse is standing on them, or you can flex the leg and clip when the tendons are relaxed. I usually do the front legs flexed and the hind legs standing. Once the horse is as clipped as he’s going to get, run over him with a rag wetted with alcohol. This takes any remaining clipper oil off the coat, and gives him a nice, clean shine. Most horses come up shiny after a new clip job. Now you can enjoy grooming and riding your horse in cold weather much more. Both of you will be happier with whatever solution you choose to the problem of a long winter coat. Oh Good Lord, That's What I Look Like? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=49 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=49 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:47:00 -0500 by Sarah Jorgensen Last month the barn where I board my horses recently had a schooling show and I took the opportunity to show my 5 year old Lipizzan, “Leo” for the first time. I have been concentrating most of my spare time and money (yeah, not much to be had of either given my current life situation) on my little Leo in the past year and a half. Luckily I can afford to have my trainer ride him once a week and we can usually squeeze in a lesson once weekly also, without this help I shudder to think what a huge hot mess the two of us would be (right now we are just a mini-mess, mostly due to his wonderful temperament not because of my riding abilities). Any hoo, back to the show. I signed up for one single class, Intro A, the lowest of the low because we really aren’t cantering that much. I even convinced my husband to show up and film the event –kind of a requirement since I own an online videotape dressage judging business- and the ride went off fairly well. I wasn’t surprised at the score of 54, I struggled to keep him steadily moving forward and in front of my leg and our geometry was sketchy at best. About a week before the schooling show I had mentioned in an email to one of the PWD judges (Robin Brueckmann) that I was going to do this schooling show and would be uploading the video for her to judge. Of course I had to watch the video before uploading it…..and upon viewing my ride I was completely horrified. I couldn’t believe that that was me up there. My eyes were glued to my unsteady hands and legs that seemed to creep ever more towards my horses flanks (I think in an attempt to get him “in-front” of my leg). I actually didn’t see much of anything positive about the ride what-so-ever. What was even more mortifying is that I had promised to upload the catastrophe for an excellent accomplished dressage rider and judge to view and critique. Yeah, right, like that was going to happen. This thought made me ponder my very own website business a bit. I wonder how many times this has happened, a rider filming themselves with high hopes , only to have them dashed by the dose of reality that videotape delivers. Perhaps this is why this business has been so slow to start. How many have looked at their videos and been afraid to upload them? After working through this thought for awhile I decided I would upload the video for judging (if I couldn’t do it, who could?). I cringed a bit before viewing the score sheet, but I was pleasantly surprised that the score was almost exactly the same from both judges (within a point), and I did gain some valuable insights from the comments on the score sheet. Over the last few weeks I have worked hard to correct my unsteady hands and rear-ward creeping feet (the latter has been accomplished mostly by backing my leg aid up with my whip so he actually responds to the aid). I also took to heart one of the comments from Robin, which was that I needed to establish now in my young horse the work ethic that he would carry through his entire career. I think, and my trainer thought, that we have improved as a team since the viewing of the painful tape. Last weekend I took Leo to a recognized show, telling myself it was for his experience and education only and trying not to get too worked up about riding in public. Our scores were improved compared to the schooling show ride, which was a pleasant surprise. So what did I learn? Sometimes reality is painful to stare at (no matter how nauseous it makes us) but necessary for change to occur. [I]Just to clarify, I am an amateur dressage rider and the founder of the PWD website, [U]not[/U] a dressage judge...so take my comments for what they are..the ramblings of a DQ-wanna-bee![/I] The Scooter Saga http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=45 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=45 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:39:00 -0500 The Scooter Saga Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Im headed to Selection Trials for the World Equestrian Games. I have qualified to compete two horses, my own Radetzky (I call him Sasha, for Sasha Radetsky the famous ballet dancer), and Elly Schobels Raison dEtre (Ralee). Since last fall, I have been going to the Williston, South Carolina, several times a month to work with Elly and Ralee; I generally bring Sasha and my five-year-old Oldenburg Lord Baltimore (Timmy) for Ellys assistance as well. While Im at Ellys, I help her with her other horses, including the Bakers Andalusian stallion Oyente (Oye). Its a 275-mile journey, one-way, and I generally spend the better part of a week with Elly each time I go down there. Ive shown Ralee three times this spring, each time getting good scores with him, as well as introducing Sasha to the wonders and challenges of Fourth Level. I feel confident about our performance at Selection Trials. These will be the weekend of June 25-27, at Lamplight Equestrian Center in Wayne, IL, near Chicago. The past two weeks have been a flurry of activity for me, getting prepared for this important show. The trip itself is a marathon. First, I have to take Sasha to Williston, work with Elly for several days, and then get ready for the two-day drive to Wayne. To complicate matters, I committed to judge a dressage show in Vermont the weekend before Trials, which shortened my training time with Elly. I have a wonderful electric scooter, and I wanted to bring it out of storage to use at Lamplight, which is a venue with a lot of walking. Since my mobility is impaired, I thought the scooter would be just perfect for that show, which is in fact why I bought it in the first place. I hadnt used it in several years, though. So. Getting the scooter functional after its vacation was on my (long) list of things to accomplish before I left for Lamplight. Two weeks before my departure date, I packed the scooter into my car, intending to take it to a scooter repair facility and get it going again. I knew that both tires were flat, and I thought it needed new batteries. I called a scooter place in Greensboro, and then drove there. No, in fact, they dont work on electric scooters. I went to a second scooter place in Kernersville. No, they dont work on electric scooters. I should take it to Northern Tool. I drove to Colfax to Northern Tool. No, they dont work on electric scooters. By now, I have driven nearly sixty miles, with no improvement in the condition of the scooter. Next stop was a specialized battery store in Greensboro (20 more miles). Yes, they had the batteries, they thought, but the batteries were under the footplate. We began to unscrew the eight Phillips screws before discovering that one was stripped. The manager said that she would try to drill it out, so I left the scooter there. Next day, I got a phone call. Please take this $%^&&* scooter away. She had been unable to drill out the screw, and she was bruised all over from the scooter falling over on its flat tires every time she tried to drill the screw out of the footplate. Would I please take it away? I drove back to the scooter place (20 miles), and sat down on the floor. Sure enough, that screw was stripped out. I unscrewed the other seven screws and was able to manhandle the last recalcitrant screw off. Now the batteries could be replaced. Credit card in hand, I packed the scooter back in the car. I went to Lowes, to buy flathead screws to replace the Phillips, so that this did not happen in the future. I took the scooter to a gas station to inflate the tires, but the front tire made insistent hissing sounds. The valve stem was leaking. I went to Goodyear, my normal tire repair place. The attendant said that she could replace the inner tube if I got it myself. I drove to Walmart and bought two new inner tubes, then returned to Goodyear. No, said the mechanic, it was a BICYCLE TIRE and they dont work on bicycles. Now I drove to a bicycle shop (20 miles). Yes, they could replace the inner tube, but the mechanic had gone to assist his mother, who had broken her hip. Could I come back tomorrow? Yes, I could. Back to the bicycle place. I took the scooter home and drove it up and down the driveway, happy that it was now functional. I put it back in my car, so that I could take it to my trailer the next day and at last have this ONE ITEM checked off my long list of things to do and pack to get ready for this upcoming trip. I went to judge a horse trial that weekend. The scooter was still in my car, and I thought it would be perfect for touring around cross-country. Alas, the front tire was flat as a pancake. On Monday after the horse trial, I drove back to the bicycle place. Yes, the mechanic was home from his trip, but he was at lunch. Would I like to come back later? Sure. After lunch, the mechanic examined the new inner tube and determined that it had a hole in it. He replaced it with another new inner tube, and I drove home. I was not ready to check the scooter off my list just yet, in case something else arose with it. I again drove it up and down the driveway; it was peppy now with its new batteries, and the tires seemed to be holding air. Finally, I took the scooter to the barn and loaded it into my trailer. I checked it off my list. My list was two pages long; this was ONE ITEM. I was amazed at how many miles I had amassed on my car getting this blessed scooter ready to go: over 200 miles. So far, so good. I was able to complete my packing and get ready for my trip to Wayne via South Carolina and Vermont with no further incidents. Yet. A Breath of Fresh Air http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=44 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=44 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:36:00 -0500 A Breath of Fresh Air Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Once upon a time I had a student who was an eventer. I helped her with her dressage on several horses. During an early lesson, she admitted that her cardiovascular fitness was too low, and as evidence of that she said that she had to stop and catch her breath frequently as she rode. She did run out of breath easily. She thought she needed to get to the gym more often and work on the treadmill. Perhaps that was true. What was definitely and for sure true was that she was breathing shallowly, in the top of her chest, rather than taking deep breaths in to her whole body. I could see this in the way that her trunk looked stiff and tense, with her shoulders hunched up close to her ears. This created a stiff, tight contact, which made her horse harder for her to sit as he declined to bring his back up underneath the saddle. I had her think carefully about her breathing as she continued her ride. When she remembered to breathe more deeply into her abdomen, her trunk softened. Lo and behold, she no longer ran out of breath, and she could sustain an exercise for ten minutes or so, a more normal time, rather than stopping every few minutes to catch her breath. She was amazed at the immediate difference, and this inspired her to think more carefully about her breathing. Now, the standard remedy is to breath from the diaphragm. While this worked very well in normal life, it doesnt go so well while riding, particularly sitting trot. The diaphragm is busy as part of your core strength and cant do such a great job of assisting breath while you are sitting the trot. What other options do you have? Try this. Put your hands on the sides of your waist, and breathe in such a way that your hands grow farther apart as you inhale. This is breathing into your side body, using your outer abdominal muscles to help while your diaphragm is busy. Now put your hands in the small of your back, and again breathe so that your hands fill as you inhale. This is breathing into your back body. These are concepts from yoga, and they are equally important for riders to master. These types of breathing must be practiced before you try to apply them to riding. I find that driving time is a great opportunity to practice breathing into my back and side body. The seat of my truck or car gives me the feedback that my hands provided, and I have the chance to solidify that feeling before I get my horse saddled. Once this is mastered, you can use breath for more things. Its extremely helpful to exhale during downward transitions; the horse feels your out-breath and he relaxes into a smooth transition or halt. This allows your other aids to be softer and lighter. Exhaling also allows your seat to settle more deeply. During extended trot, you can use your breath to help the horse elevate and sustain the suspension; it feels as if you are inhaling him into more expression, bringing his trunk up and helping him cover more ground, more smoothly. Exhale into the down transition, and allow the energy to remain while he returns to collection. Play with your breath; become aware of your breath. Use your breath as an aid, an aid to help you ride better and an aid to help your horses balance and mental state. Its cheap, easy, and elegant, and it may help your scores improve as your horse responds to the breath of an aid. Enjoy! Steps to Elegance http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=43 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=43 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:35:00 -0500 Steps to Elegance Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Trot-walk transitions. You have done these since you cant even remember. Your horse has done these since he was started under saddle. Did you know just how powerful and useful these transitions can be? I am very particular about my trot-walk transitions. The horse must stay soft and round and supple, and respond to my weight for both the upward and downward transitions. I need the horse to follow my seat aid as I send him actively forward for the upward transition, and then receive his back as he squats down behind and elevates his trunk for the downward transition. I make an exercise of trot-walk transitions; my general prescription is 50-100 a day for at least a month, and then 25 or so every day for the rest of my horses career. That seems like a lot, but even 100 takes only about twenty minutes. I ride them on a twenty-meter figure-eight, three per circle: thats about seven figure-eights for 50, not so intimidating. After I have made this routine, my horse is more secure on my seat. Now I can begin to change how I do the transitions. In the beginning, I make sure to have clear, distinct trot-walk, a clear walk, then a clear, distinct walk-trot transition. I morph this to fewer walk steps. Then I do even fewer walk steps, until the horse merely sits back on his haunches and lifts his trunk, then powers back into a more elegant trot. I stay with this rendition of the transitions for days or weeks, although each day I begin again from the beginning with clear, distinct transitions. The next step in the horses education is to simply use this idea as my half-halt. When I teach, I rarely use that term; I have my students practice the trot-walk transitions often enough that their bodies communicate the effect to the horse without any apparent interruption of the trot. The horse just simply appears better balanced and more active. This result occurs after the trot-walk transition has been practiced thousands of times; remember that if I do 100 transitions a day, it only takes ten days to do 1000, and three to four months to do 10,000. Isnt math fun? I continue this work as the horse gets stronger. These transitions are very strengthening. The downward transition teaches the horse how to step underneath himself and tuck his pelvis. The upward transition teaches him how to elevate his trunk and develops the strength for thrust and balance. Together, the two transitions educate him about collection and extension. I do these transitions on curved lines. This helps the horse learn about lateral balance as well as longitudinal balance. The inside hind leg has to carry more weight, and the outside hind leg has to create that strong thrust as it travels a longer distance around the curve. After a year or two of this work, the horse becomes ready for the next stage of his training. Now I emphasize the hesitation right before the downward transition, as the horse offers the greatest possible tucking of the pelvis, the squatting that allows for a smooth downward transition. I prolong the downward transition, until the horse can barely stand it, and he will begin to offer piaffe-like steps. After a few walk steps, I return to a normal trot, then repeat the piaffe-like steps to develop into true piaffe. This is one exercise. The second phase of this part of training is to prolong the upward transition, as the horse develops maximum upward thrust of the trunk and power from behind. I hold this power in my seat for an extra step; the horse gives me one step of passage as he returns to trot. Gradually, I expand both these exercises until I develop true piaffe and true passage, just a few steps at a time. I dont try to combine these exercises until each one is solid and the horse develops the strength to carry himself in better balance. When he can sustain ten strides of each part, I may allow him to combine them into passage-piaffe-passage transitions. This takes several years; Im in no hurry. It takes as long as it takes. Because I know it takes a long time to develop this strength (you never say to yourself, Now the horse is as strong as he can be!), I start on this path quite early, generally in the horses four-year-old year. That way, by the time hes six or seven, he has a good understanding of the requirements of the two movements, and has enough strength accumulated to be able to actually produce clear piaffe and passage. Its exciting, in a quiet way. There is no stress in teaching piaffe and passage this way; the horse thinks its just another way to do trot-walk transitions, something hes now done for a number of years. Now go out and ride those transitions with a new eye toward the future! Take a Look-See http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=42 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=42 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 18 Jun 2010 15:33:00 -0500 Take a Look-See Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann When you are riding, what are you looking at? Chances are, you are focused somewhere between your horses perky ears and his lovely, flowing mane. Can you see anything else? Where are you in the arena? Can you see the letters? This type of vision is called in Centered Riding terms, Hard Eyes. This means an intense, singular focus. The benefit to riding with hard eyes is that you can see one thing very clearly; this is useful if you are finding a distance to a jump, but far less useful to a dressage rider. The downside to hard eyes is that it tends to bring your body weight forward and down, and makes all your muscles just that bit more tense and tight, particularly your arms and hands. This results in your horse going more or less on the forehand. A different type of vision is Soft Eyes. This occurs when you raise your head and allow your peripheral vision to operate. Soft eyes allow you to take in more of your environment, and it lets your muscles be softer and more relaxed. Try this experiment. Put your hands, palms facing each other, on the sides of your head. Focus intently on something. Now move your hands apart until you can just barely see the palms. Leave your hands where they are, and look at your hands, to see where they are. Leave your hands there. Next, look at the same thing you focused on before, but allow your gaze to soften. Move your hands to reflect this change; move them until the palms are just within your vision. Leave your hands there, and look at them. Are they in a different place now? Most people find that their range of vision is greater when they use soft eyes than hard eyes. Next, practice using soft eyes while you walk around, on foot. Check your posture; are you able to stay taller and more balanced? Change your gaze to hard eyes, and feel any change in your posture or balance. Change back and forth from soft to hard eyes several times, to feel the difference in your body. Do you suppose your horse can tell the difference? Yes, he can. Here is an advanced thought about soft eyes. Look at an object with soft eyes, and mentally record how you feel in your body. Now think that the area of your brain that records vision is located in the lower back portion of your skull, near where your neck emerges. Look at the same object again, but this time allow your vision to originate in the back of your skull (where it is, in fact, processed.) How does this differ? When I was first taught this salient fact, it changed my perception entirely. The timing of this learning was right before I went to judge a show, and I practiced judging from the back of my skull. I was able to observe more details without strain. What I also noticed was that, in order to have this kind of soft eyes, my facial expression was also very soft, so soft that I could not smile back at the rider. In order to have eye contact with the rider, I had to go back to ordinary soft eyes. I could then return to the deeper feeling of looking from the back of my skull. Experiment with this, and see what it does to and for you. Your first major test of using soft eyes will occur in the warm-up arena at a show, where there are a dozen or more horses marching around doing various exercises, mostly ridden by riders with hard eyes. Cant tell where theyre going, can you? Use your own eyes softly to stay alert to the other horses and riders in the arena with you, and practice watching the riders centers to see where they are likely to be headed, since you cant tell by their hard-eyed gaze. Notice the effect on your horse in this crowded situation; most horses stay better focused on their riders when the riders use soft eyes. A useful application of hard eyes during a test is when you are giving the horse a clear direction, such as setting up a half pass or getting him straight for an extension. Once you have the intention set, you can return to soft eyes to complete the movement. Its easy to get into a hard-eyes mode, so remember to release the hard eyes when that gaze has fulfilled its immediate purpose. Horses can be hard-eyed or soft-eyed, too. You can mainly tell this by their ears. A horse with soft, flopping ears, or one ear turned softly to the rider and the other turned softly forward, is in a soft-eyes state of mind, and he will be relatively easy to ride. A horse with both ears pointed stiffly forward is using hard eyes, and his next likely maneuver is to shy and bolt at whatever caught his attention. His body will be stiff and rigid so he is better prepared forwhatever. Hard eyes in a horse is a precursor to flight, which is rarely a good thing. Its in your best interest to keep your horses focus soft and light. See what using soft eyes can do for your riding. Your horse thanks you! All's Well That Ends Well http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=41 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=41 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Fri, 18 Jun 2010 06:08:00 -0500 Alls Well That Ends Well Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann The care and feeding of a beautiful tail takes time and a modicum of effort. Mother Nature gives your horse the tail that she decides, and then its up to you to help your horse maintain and improve upon that genetic tail. Tails do best with benign neglect, most of the time. I dont do anything to my horses tails six days a week. Once a week, I do give them attention. On Tail Day, I first spray the tail with a detangler, such as Show Sheen or Laser Sheen or some similar product. Next, I carefully comb it out, using a pin brush. I start at the end, holding the rest of the tail above the portion I am combing, so that the hairs are not pulled out to the roots. I comb out several inches of the length of the tail at a time until I have the entire tail free of tangles. Every tail hair in your comb or brush will take three to five years to regrow. The acceptable number of tail hairs to pull out or break is ZERO! The next step is to wash the tail with a shampoo. Use whatever shampoo pleases you. I go deep to the roots at the dock, making sure to get the entire tail lathered and then rinsing completely. The tail is now vulnerable in its squeaky-clean state. I apply a conditioner (any brand will do), cut in half with water; I save the old conditioner bottle and fill it halfway with the new bottle, then fill both bottles the rest of the way with water. I shake the bottle to mix it well, and then put it on the tail. I work it in with my fingers, so that all the hairs are well-coated. By cutting the conditioner in half with water, I can leave it in, not rinsing it out. Your choice of detangler and conditioner is more open if you plan to bag the tail. Cowboy Magic is both a detangler and conditioner, and you can use that amazing product if you are bagging the tail. If you dont plan to bag the tail, Cowboy Magic tends to attract dust, so its not a great choice to use right before a show. At this point you can bag the tail if you wish. If you want to bag it, split the tail into three sections, then braid each section. Finish each braid with a standard office-type rubber band, not a braiding band or a human hair band but a much sturdier and larger rubber band. It has to grip the hair well enough to withstand repeated swishing of determined horses swatting flies. Put each section into one leg of a pair of panty hose (cut the legs apart first, of course: three pair of panty hose will make two sets of tail bags.) Now braid the three sections together, and then tie the ends of the panty hose together at the end of the braid. There are pros and cons to bagging the tail. A bagged tail doesnt tangle, but the hairs above the bag may fray and break. The hairs that are safely within the bag will grow longer, but the whole tail may become thinner because of this breakage of the hairs above the bag. My horses enjoy lots of turnout, and they are allowed to have their tails free. Its a personal choice, and is definitely related to the horses general living conditions. The more fly-free you can keep the horses, the easier it is to keep the tails nice. Its important to keep the chestnuts on the hind legs cut close to the skin, so that there are no rough edges to catch the tail when its loose. Simply peeling the chestnuts is rarely enough to get them smooth to the skin; I pare them with a hoof knife. After I have washed and conditioned the tails, I do nothing with them until the following weeks Tail Day, other than picking out any obvious leaves or twigs that the horses bring in from the field. This is the discipline of tails: not doing anything. Improper combing or brushing is the worst enemy of beautiful tails, followed in second place by shaggy chestnuts. If there is a tail-eating pasture-mate, you can follow the conditioner treatment with a lashing of cayenne pepper; that definitely discourages the tail-eaters appetite, but perhaps not in time to rescue your horses tail. I do tails more often than once a week at shows, of course. On the day I leave for the show, I do my weekly ritual. The next morning, I spray the tail with detangler, then carefully comb it out. After my days showing, I braid the tail to keep the worst of the shavings out so that I have less combing to do in the morning. Now as to the finishing touches of a beautiful tail: a dressage horse traditionally has a pulled or clipped top. I clip the sides of the first few inches of the dock, to the widest part of the point of the buttock, leaving the hairs on the outer dock alone. The look creates a lovely negative space between your horses active hindquarters and his relaxed and swaying tail. The bottom of the tail is normally banged straight across. This is achieved by holding the tail away from the buttocks, as if he were trotting, and then gathering the end of the tail to cut it straight across with scissors. It helps to have an assistant, to hold the tail in just the right position while you gather and cut. Its up to you how long or short you want to present the tail by banging it. If the tail is thin, it looks thicker if you keep it relatively short. A full, bushy tail looks great on the longish side. Your horses tail reflects your overall care and attention. Take the time to enhance your horses elegance by taking care of his tail. Now be proud of your horse! Think Like a Judge http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=40 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=40 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 31 May 2010 15:33:00 -0500 Think Like a Judge Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann There is an easy, free way to get into the mind of a judge. Sounds great, right? Its true. Its available whenever you are willing to devote a day at a show. Heres the secret. Sign up to scribe at a show. Dont be intimidated by the job description. Most judges are easy to scribe for; that makes their service to the competitors better. If the scribe cant write it all down, the competitor does not get the feedback she paid and worked for. The duties of a scribe are not onerous. The most important job is to faithfully write down the comments and scores as the judge dictates them. Most judges will have a clear system: I give a comment and then a score, and then the next thing I say will either be the next comment or the next score. Some judges give the score and then the comment; either way is fine as long as the scribe understands the system that this particular judge is using. If a judge is particularly wordy, the scribe can use abbreviations, but preferably should stay away from using mathematical or medical abbreviations that might not be understood or interpreted by all riders. Its not a spelling or grammar exam; the rider has to be able to decipher what the judge meant. The scribe must make sure that the paper she is using has the same number on it as the number on the horse in front of her. This is usually on a sticker on the front of the test. Write the number down again on the inside of the test once you have checked the horses number. You would think that a bridle number would be on a bridle, but thats not always true. Sometimes riders make it a treasure hunt to find their number; it can be on the saddlepad, the bridle, the riders boot, or on the breastplate (common at events). Once you have identified the horse and rider, check their number off on your order of go. You are ready to begin. The judge blows her whistle or rings the bell, and its off to the races for the scribe! Its best if you look up periodically to make sure that you, the judge, and the horse are all doing the same thing. If you get behind, say so, and the judge will have you catch up to the horse and fix the test later. The earlier you can catch this the less messy it is at the end of the ride to fix the mistake. And looking up is why you are sitting in the judges box! You want to have the benefit of seeing horses and riders perform and getting the immediate feedback of the judges evaluation of each movement. The judges job is to first of all, mirror to the rider what happened. Next, the judge compares this mirror to the ideal performance of this movement (the comment), and then she gives a score that matches how well this performance compares to the ideal (10). Each movement gets this evaluation. If the judge seems to be slow giving her feedback, you can prompt her for it. Make sure that there are scores for transitions when these occur in the test, and again, try to ensure that you and the horse and the judge are all looking at the same movement. There are collective remarks at the end of each test. Usually, the judge writes her own comments and scores there, as you prepare for the next ride. Sometimes, the judge dictates these to you, and as usual, the scribe then writes them down. This makes the scribes task somewhat more complicated, since the next horse is now circling the arena and the scribe has to catch her number and get ready for this ride. Thats about all there is to the job. Its not intimidating after the first few rides, and you will get to see more than you expected. Its fun to have that immediate feedback; the riders have to wait until the conclusion of the class to get their test sheets back, but you get that information right away. I make my students scribe for me. Its great to see how riders support their horses for better scores, and its instructional to see riders taking points away from their performance by cutting corners, moving horses during halts, or giving poorly timed aids. The scribe can observe mistakes that might be her own when she rides, and see the effect it has on performance when she has no emotional investment in the ride. If they are her own habitual mistakes, she can see why they are mistakes, and hopefully minimize them in her own riding. I know that judging helps me be a better trainer and rider, and I know that scribing helps my students ride better as well. Call up your local friendly organizer, and volunteer to be a scribe. It can be a schooling show or a recognized show; the more license the judge has, the more experience she brings to the competitors, and by extension, to you, the scribe. Its the best seat in the house! Strength Training for Your Horse http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=39 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=39 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 31 May 2010 15:29:00 -0500 Strength Training for Your Horse Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann We have the lovely Training Scale to help our horses develop. The entire Training Scale boils down to developing strength and balance. As the horse progresses and matures, his strength and balance are also hopefully progressing and maturing. We can help our horses with this process by taking him outside the arena walls. The most effective tool for developing strength and balance in our horses is to ride on a slope. If you are lucky enough to have a big pasture, mostly free of rocks and free from holes, that has a modest slope, that it a great place to work your horse. If the slope is mild, you can practice your usual exercises and movements outside. The slope challenges your horse to keep his balance, and he develops more strength as he negotiates the uneven terrain. If the slope is steeper, you can trot up and down it on straight lines, to the same effect. Just to feel the effect of terrain on your horse, stand him on a fairly steep slope, facing down. Notice that his torso is tilted down in front. What you may or may not be able to feel, but you could certainly could see on your friends horse in the same position, is that he has to tuck his pelvis strongly to maintain his position. He engages his hind legs and stands with his hind feet closer to the girth. Now turn around, so that he is facing up the hill. Now, his torso is tilted up, and his hind legs are pushed out behind him. What these two positions mean in relation to normal work is that going down a slope increases engagement, and going up a slope increases thrust. By working up and down a hill, you are developing the horses understanding and ability to collect and extend, and the actions he uses on the hill correspond to a years advanced training. He will not be able to collect this much on flat ground, nor extend, but he experiences what it feels like, and he develops the musculature he will need as he continues to develop. I teach clinics in areas of the country that have no hills to utilize. If this is you, there are other ways you can access similar effects. Right now, the grass is tall in the fields. Tall grass serves as cavaletti that are always precisely spaced for the trot your horse is producing right now. The horse has to pick his legs up higher than usual, which activates his back and slows his tempo slightly. As with hill work, this similates a higher level of training than the horse currently has, no matter what level of training that is. You can use really tall grass to help a horse learn the idea for passage in addition to creating a more majestic trot. Deep sand or shallow water will have similar effects. You dont want to spend hours and hours working in deep sand, for fear of soft-tissue injuries, but short periods of work in deep sand will encourage your horse to greater effort, and strengthen his back and belly muscles so that he is capable of better work once you allow him back on flat land. Cavaletti will also produce this elevation and strength in your horses trot. The limitation of cavaletti is that you will only have a finite number of them. Working on hills, in tall grass, or in deep sand provides the incentive for the horse to use himself better for much longer periods of time. I find that once I get students out on the hills, I have a hard time getting them back into the arena. The horses go so much better outside that it is tempting to just stay there. I normally do three days in the arena and three days on hills in a given week. This seems to be a good balance between addressing movements and addressing strength and balance alone. So get outside the box, and go help your horse exceed his own expectations! Time is of the Essence http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=38 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=38 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 31 May 2010 15:26:00 -0500 Time is of the Essence Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Rhythm and regularity: this is the first stage of a horses training. How do we achieve this? As soon as a horse has any semblance of steadiness to the most basic aids, the trainer can begin to establish regularity in the paces. The easiest gait to work with is the trot. At first, the rider establishes the beginnings of regularity by making sure that his or her posting is regular. The very green horse is still busy trying to catch and manage the additional weight on his back, and a steady, consistent rider helps him learn how to do this. The green horse is not expected to balance perfectly on turns, even if he was fairly successful on the longe line; this skill comes with increased strength in carrying a rider. When the horse has learned enough to be obedient at basic walk, trot, and canter, and can perform big circles without breaking or losing balance, the rider can advance the horses understanding of regularity by adding the use of a metronome. I like a clip-on metronome; the model I use most is the Seiko DM-50, which costs around $30 and can be ordered online (use digital metronome in the search line) or from your favorite local music store. I start using a metronome very early in the horses training, after a month or so of basic riding. I use the metronome primarily in the trot, since that is the gait I spend the most time riding. I want to set it at a tempo that is appropriate for this horse at this stage of training. If I pick a tempo on the metronome that is too slow, the horse does not have to push. If the tempo is too fast, the horse doesnt learn to carry. I want to pick a tempo on the metronome when I think the horse is pushing and carrying the same amount. The same horse will have a slight variation in tempo as he matures; the correct tempo is slower for a more-trained and stronger horse than for the same horse as a youngster. A note on vernacular: Sometimes people use TEMPO and RHYTHM as if they mean the same thing. Tempo is the rate of repetition of the strides in a given gait. A metronome measures tempo. Rhythm is the sequence of footfalls in a gait. Rhythm problems in the walk include pacing or a lateral walk. Rhythm problems in canter include being four-beat or lateral, or lacking suspension. Rhythm problems in the trot are called lameness. Tempo issues are not gait problems, but more generally are balance or strength problems. The confusion in terminology arises because, in German, there is one word, Takt, which includes both concepts. Tempo is a perfectly good German word, but it means speed, which is a different definition than tempo in English. If you are unsure what tempo to pick, start with the metronome set at 79. This is a fairly common tempo for many horses. If it seems too fast, bump it down one number at a time; a single digit is significant. If it seems too slow, bump it up one notch. This number, 79 or whatever seems to suit your horse, is actually half-speed. If you set the metronome on the actual footfalls, you will never be able to discern the horses tempo. When I offer a metronome to a student, I first watch the horse go. I turn the metronome on, and adjust it to the tempo that I feel matches the horse when he is both pushing and carrying. I write down this number, and then give the metronome to the student. I tell them, Every single metronome I have ever bought is broken. Its your job to train the metronome to keep steady time. If the metronome speeds up, you need to speed up the horse. If the metronome slows down, slow the horse down. It really does feel as if it is the metronome that varies, not the horse. Dont depend on your own sense of timing to be good enough to do this without a metronome. I have had music teachers insist that they know tempo, but once I get htem to wear a metronome they become converts. A metronome allows you to adjust the tempo when it varies slightly, before it becomes a big deal to address it. Once you have figured out a good tempo for a particular horse, leave the metronome set there. As he continues his development and begins to be able to do figures and movements, the tempo should stay the same throughout all the ride. Its amazing how much horses like to vary the tempo. They slow down on the short sides or on turns or in lateral work, and speed up on long straight lines. The benefits of riding with a metronome are many. Since you can easily determine when the horse slows down or speeds up to avoid the challenge of an exercise, you can help him develop the strength and balance he needs to do each exercise well. A metronome is particularly valuable when teaching the lengthened or medium trot; at a much later stage of training, the horses tempo will actually slow during an extended trot, but at first you must be satisfied that he does not speed up and dump on his forehand when he pushes for a longer trot stride. The metronome helps you keep him using his back correctly, provided you have chosen the correct tempo for him; if he is both pushing and carrying, he will offer to use his back well for you. I get comments on my test sheets: Clock-like regularity. Confident and steady. Well-balanced. All of these comments reflect hours and hours of work with a metronome while we are doing other things. I use the metronome while doing hill-work as well as working in the arena. Its all good. Getting students to ride with a metronome is a hard sell initially. By the end of the first ride, though, everyone wants to get his or her own to use every day. Its a great tool to help your horse develop. Take advantage of cheap technology, and get your metronome working for you! Take a Deep Breath! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=37 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=37 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 19 May 2010 17:14:00 -0500 Take a Deep Breath Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Breathing: we take it for granted, right? If were not breathing, were dead. So why is it that so very many riders get out of breath while theyre riding? They are breathing, but not very much. Too often, riders forget to breathe while theyre riding. I had an eventer student who swore that she had to get herself to the gym more often. While that may be true, what she needed to do more desperately was to remember to breathe while she was riding. When she did that, suddenly she didnt feel the need to hop on a treadmill. The treadmill wouldnt help her, anyway, if she wasnt taking deep breaths while she rode. Today, it seems that using your core is a catchphrase. Of course you need to use your core to ride well, particularly for sitting trot. If you keep your core solid, it can then be hard to figure out how and where to breathe, since your diaphragm is an essential part of your core muscle group. Where to breathe, then? Typically, riders select breathing with the upper chest muscles, which is an inefficient way to take in oxygen. Its more effective to use your back and side body to help you take those important deep breaths. Try this now: hold your hands on your sides, between your ribs and your pelvis. Now breathe so that this area of your body expands as you inhale. Thats breathing into your side body. Now put your hands on the small of your back, and practice breathing so that this area expands when you inhale. Thats breathing into your back body. This feels strange, so its best to practice this when you have some time off the horse before you try to implement it while riding. I practice breathing this way while I drive, of course without putting my hands on my back and sides. I can feel the expansion as I move into the seat of my vehicle. Notice that you can breathe into your side and back body and maintain the integrity of your core. This is key to good riding. If your core is wimpy, so will your riding be wimpy. Now notice your balance, either sitting on a chair or on the horse. When you breathe into your upper chest, your center of gravity tends to move upward, and you become unstable and insecure. When you breathe more deeply into your body, your center drops and you become more solid on the horse. Feels better that way, doesnt it? It takes practice and diligence, and it helps to have someone on the ground, even a non-horseperson, to remind you to continue breathing as you have now practiced. Its not difficult to see where people are breathing from the ground. Watch riders in the warm-up arena. You can see stiff, tense bodies that are breathing from the upper chest, and you will also see supple, solid riders who are breathing more deeply in their bodies. Notice the relationship between where someone is breathing and how they are able to use their aids. Eerie, isnt it, that you can see it so easily? Now go practice your breathing. Its easy, since you are breathing night and day, right? Takes practice to breathe from deeper within your body, and its worth your attention and effort. Two Thumbs Up! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=36 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=36 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 11 May 2010 15:16:00 -0500 Two Thumbs Up! Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Your instructor hammers home that your hands need to be nearly vertical. Puppy-dog paws or piano hands? No place for these in dressage. Why not? There is a very solid anatomical reason that you need to keep your hands vertical, or nearly vertical. Try this. Hold your hands in a riding position. Now roll your wrists so that your hands are flat (piano hands). Feel how your shoulders begin to roll forward and your chest begins to collapse. Stay there a little while. What else happens? How is your breathing? Shallow, huh? Where are you looking? Looking down, are you? Where are your elbows? Anywhere close to your sides, or out in space? An entire cascade of things begins with the simple rolling of your wrists to a horizontal position. Now roll your hands so that your palms are up. Of course you would not ride like this, but just do it to feel what else happens with your body. The bottom tips of your shoulder blades begin to come closer together as your shoulders draw back and down along the back of your ribcage. Your elbows hang down, alongside your ribcage. This allows your breathing to deepen and soften. Its easier to look up now. Next, allow your hands to come back to a normal riding position. Does this feel different now? Practice these variations off the horse enough that you get the correct feeling all the time when you are riding automatically. Heres another useful activity to allow you to feel the engagement of your upper back muscles, the muscles that support and direct your shoulder blades to their correct placement along your back. Stand with your back on a wall or door. Feel how your pelvis touches the wall. Notice where your upper back touches the wall. Does your head touch the wall, or is your head position habitually forward? Place the back of your head against the wall. Now draw your shoulder blades together at the tips and feel your upper back muscles supporting this movement. Does this movement feel familiar or strange? Practice it enough so that it does begin to feel familiar. Notice your breathing. Can you breathe easily with your upper back activated? Widen your collarbones: this action allows the upper wing of your shoulder blades to draw apart as the lower tips draw together. Allow your shoulder girdle to rest comfortably on top of your rib cage. You dont need to hold your shoulders up, although this is a pattern that is often familiar to people who sit at computers all day. It may take practice to allow the big, strong muscles of your shoulder girdle to release and let go. If your hands simply turn so that your thumbs are the highest point, that simple action will help place your shoulder blades in the optimal position for light, effective aids. If this is too hard to remember, you can carry a whip across your hands, under your thumbs. This feels very restrictive, but it is an extremely effective activity to create the feeling of keeping your thumbs the highest point of your hands. Unfortunately for my students, horses like it when their riders carry the whip across their thumbs; it creates steadier contact. Its very sad, for my students. Now to the thumbs themselves. I was taught to hold the reins between my thumb and index finger, with the middle and ring fingers available to communicate with the horse. The thumb and index finger regulate the length of the rein but do not actively communicate aids. This means that the thumb does not rest on the whip handle; this puts tension on the forearm and removes the thumbs job of maintaining the length of the reins. When this happens, that job gets relegated to the fingers, which are less adept without the thumbs help and guidance. I much prefer to let the whip rest between the webbing of my thumb and index finger, and keep it in place by pressing it against my thigh by slightly turning my hand out. This way, my thumbs can do their job, and my shoulders and arms stay softly in place to do their jobs. All is well. Make a Good Impression! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=35 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=35 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 11 May 2010 15:16:00 -0500 Make a Good Impression Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Your turns onto the center line provide the first and last impressions of your performance. Make sure that you are accurate and confident as you make these turns and the halts that are part of this important movement. Too often, I see riders giving points away by not planning their entry and final turn and halt. You dont buy a horse because it is talented for fantastic turns down the center line; that is trained and ridden rather than genetic. Therefore, its under the riders control! As you trot around the outside of the arena waiting for your signal to start, take the time to make sure that your horse is in front of your leg and attentively listening to all your aids. Do a few transitions. Dont just trot around and around and around, while your horse gets duller and heavier. Take control of your test, starting as soon as you are within eyesight of the judge! Making a good first impression, even before your start your ride, is an easy way to demonstrate your pride in your horse and in his training and preparation for this ride. If there is a letter A in your path, plan to make your turn inside the letter. Dont try to go around it first; you will have a better shot at making a straight center line if you turn inside the letter. Know ahead of time which direction will be better for your horse; if the horse has a pronounced stiffer side, enter on that side. That way, the horse will be straighter. Come down the center line straight. This is easier said than done, particularly with a greener horse. The horse must stay within the corridor of your aids, and you need to practice that ahead of time. Give yourself enough time to set up the halt, and dont allow yourself to feel rushed. Settle the horse into the halt, and take a deep breath before you salute. Gather your reins back, and then ask for a prompt move-off. Again, move straight down the center line. Prepare the turn at C with some care. Know how deep your horse can go into turns and corners; dont go deeper than that or your horse will lose balance and confidence. Continue riding your test as you had planned and prepared. At the end of each test, there is another turn onto the center line. At Training and First Level, this turn is expected to take the shape of half of a ten-meter circle. If the turn is at A, begin the turn just as you pass the final corner letter, and bring your horse smoothly onto the center line. Some Training and First Level tests have this turn at B or E. The test reads: B, half circle 10 m to center line. This does not mean: Go 10 meters down from B and then turn. It means make half of a ten-meter circle until you get to the center line. In order to get this to come out accurately, practice riding ten-meter circles, even with your Training Level horse. A good exercise for this accuracy practice is to make ten-meter circles at each letter all the way around the arena, then change direction and do the same thing. This should give you the feeling for riding the ten-meter half-circle. At Second Level and above, turns onto the center line for the final halt are expected to take the form of square turns, the same as you would ride when you do a turn across the center from B to E. To get the feel for this type turn, practice riding across the arena at each set of letters down the arena, then return making the same type of turns. To make it into the turn onto the center line, do the first corner turn at B or E, then a straight stride, then the second corner turn at X so that you come straight down the center line. Make sure that you read your tests carefully, and ride the correct turns down the center line. Its under your control, and a cheap way to enhance your score. Its an expensive way to steal points from your horse, and unnecessary. Now go out and ride correct and accurate turns! It's Show Time! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=34 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=34 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 05 May 2010 19:07:00 -0500 Its Show Time! Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann So the daffodils are up and the grass needs mowing. It must be time for the spring shows! Its time to gather your paperwork and make sure that you have the information in order so that your visit to the show secretarys office to check in is smooth and painless. Make sure that your Coggins test is current. That seems so basic, but too often last years Coggins expires at just the most inconvenient time. When your horse gets his spring shots, get a new Coggins pulled too. Is your horse registered with USDF and USEF? If not, its time to get that done. You can do this online now, which is painless and quick. If you are not a hard-core dressage competitor, you can get an HIDHorse Identification Number. You will need to do this for both USEF and USDF. Again, you can do this online. You can get your horse registered with both organizations either year-by-year or lifetime. If you plan to show the horse for several years, its cost-effective to get him lifetime registered. It will also be important if you ever wish to sell him. Getting that lifetime registration is one less thing that you have to remember every spring, and Im all about uncomplicating my life. You need to check your own memberships as well. If you are a member of a GMOGroup Member Organizationthat will provide you with enough of a USDF membership to show with, but if you want to go to Regional Championships you will need to be a Participating Member. At any rate, you will need to have a regular (junior or senior) membership with USEF. Some areas of the country want your GMO membership number as well, so make sure that membership is current too. If you are an amateur, you will need to get an Amateur Card from USEF, for which there is no charge in addition to your membership. You will need to provide a copy of the Amateur Card with your entry if you enter Amateur classes. Once you have your USEF and USDF paperwork in order, go to eqverification.org to get it all printed out on one piece of paper. Organizers like this much better than a fistful of copies of all your membership cards. You will need to send your membership verification in with your entry. If you want to enter a freestyle, you will have to include a copy of a test sheet documenting a score of 58% or higher, either from the highest test of the level of your freestyle, or any test at a higher level. Now to the entry form itself. Have a copy of the prize list in front of you. Choose the classes you want to enter. Make sure to look up the entry fee for each class; some classes may have higher entry fees than others. If you want your ride to be eligible for qualifying for Regional Championships, you will need to include an extra $10 per qualifying class. Make sure to fill out the entire entry form, starting with the show name and date. Many organizers are responsible for multiple shows, and you dont want your entry to go into the file for a completely different show. Fill in your horses name exactly as it appears on his USDF and USEF registration. Dont use nicknames or abbreviations. In the same vein, fill in your own name as it appears on your USEF and USDF membership cards. If you use your maiden name sometimes and your married name sometimes, you will have trouble at the secretarys office and your horse may not get credit for his efforts. For example, Mary J. Smith and Mary Jones-Smith are completely different people as far as computers are concerned. Dont let confusion happen if you can avoid it. When you fill in your horses description, use common abbreviations. I judged a Haflinger horse recently who was listed in the program as Black. I was pretty sure that the rider had entered the horse as Bl for Blonde, but in most of the country Bl stands for Black. The same idea goes for breed abbreviations. If its important to you to indicate the breed association, you can do that: AWS and AWR are two different American Warmblood associations; And and PRE both indicate Andalusian horses. Dutch horses may be listed as Dutch, KWPN, or KWPN-NA. Show secretaries prefer that you use simple abbreviations if possible. If you are the owner-rider-trainer of the horse, make sure to fill in all the spaces. Conversely, if these are different individuals fill in for each one separately. On the back of the entry form, there are separate releases for owner, rider, trainer and coach. Each box requires a signature. Writing Same is not sufficient. If your horse has an absentee owner, you can sign the entry form as Agent, but there must be signatures for owner, rider, and trainer, and for coach if you will have someone coaching you who is not your trainer. These are legal forms, and everyone who signs obtains legal responsibility for that particular role. Back to the front of the entry form, fill in the classes you want to enter. Double-check the class number and the name of the class, as well as division if that is applicable (junior/young rider, amateur, open). Include the office fee, number fee, association fee (drugs and medication), stabling fee, and camping fee if applicable. If there is a ship-in fee put that in the place of the stabling fee if you are shipping in. Golf cart rental? Make sure you put it down, with the appropriate fee. If you want to order extra bedding, follow the directions on the prize list. Sometimes this goes on the entry form, and sometimes its separate. Subtotal your class fees, and then add in the other fees. Double-check your math. Check it again. Write the check, and then make sure you have included all those different pieces of paper to go with your entry. Drive to the post office, pay the extra postage, and then go to the barn to ride and get yourself and your horse ready for a fun and rewarding show! I'm Gumby, Dammit! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=33 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=33 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 29 Apr 2010 15:36:00 -0500 They say life is what happens when you make other plans. (I know...there I go quoting "them" again. One day, I'll figure out who "they" are.) Recently, I heard someone comment that dressage is a metaphor for life. It seems Sammie caught wind of the concept, because my grand plans for Sammie's debut into the local dressage show scene have gone to hell in a handbasket. At the beginning of the year, I vowed to set the dressage world on fire. My [URL="http://www.icccds.org"]local chapter[/URL] of our [URL="http://www.california-dressage.org"]state's dressage society [/URL]holds four shows a year: schooling shows in March and October, and recognized shows in May and June. Scores from recognized shows may be used to qualify for the annual Regional Adult Amateur Competition ("RAAC"). While I didn't plan on competing at the 2010 RAAC, I secretly hoped to qualify. It's always nice to be invited to the party, even if you don't plan on attending, right? I figured if I could enter the March schooling show at Intro level, we would be ready to show in June at Training Level (the lowest level for qualifying). Oh, and you'll remember that I had previously gathered the gumption to put my name in the hat, for a chance to be selected at my chapter's rider at the April Adult Amateur Clinic, conveniently held at my barn, where my dressage idol Debbie McDonald was the clinician. [B]Yes, I had grand plans for my little debutante.[/B] By the end of January, I was already lamenting about the lack of progress, due in part to an apparent change in Sammie's attitude, and a lack of saddle time for me. The latter was, of course, related to the former, though sprung shoes, bad weather, and busy schedules intervened as well. I maintained high hopes, however, of riding more in February and readying Sammie and I for Intro A and B in March. Since the March show was being held at our barn, I figured it would be optimal. How scary can show grounds be when you're on home turf? By the end of February, it had become clear to Meg and I that Sammie's slow-to-mature baby draft brain needed more time to absorb the things Meg was trying to teach her, so we dialed back the training a notch. Sammie's attitude improved immensely, and I felt good about the decision to back off my plan to show her at the March schooling show. I decided it would still be a good opportunity to expose her to the hustle and bustle of things, though, and to that end, got her comfortable with the judge's stand in the arena after it had been set up, the day before the show. I wish someone had been there to capture the scene on video. Sammie was so cute. Our judge's stand is a table and chairs set up on hay bales, with pretty potted flowers adorning the front. Rather than risk a freak out under saddle, I hand-walked Sammie into the covered arena and up center line, heading straight for the scary object. Sammie stopped about 10 feet shy, puffed herself up, and started snorting. I wanted to laugh, but needed to keep a good grip on the reins in case she opted to bolt! Just then, Kathy walked up with her granddaughter. [I]What's this? A tiny human?[/I] It was almost too much for Sammie to bear. She's never quite understood the concept of minis...whether they be mini donkeys or mini people. Kathy and her tiny charge each grabbed a small handful of the judge's platform, and offered it to Sammie. That's all it took for Sammie to understand neither judge's box nor mini human is to be feared. Now my only worry was making sure Sammie didn't equate the judge's box with eating! New Intro test movement: [B]Enter arena at A. Proceed down center line, rising trot. Halt at X. Salute. Proceed to C, rising trot. Halt suddenly and put on cute face in hopes of being fed a treat. [/B] Luckily, once our lesson commenced, Sammie understood that there would be no further dalliance at C. The day of the show, I donned riding clothes, hoping to perhaps walk Sammie around the grounds, and then ride a bit in the warm-up arena. My hopes were quickly dashed, when in an attempt to just hand walk Sammie around the barn, prior to heading up the short hill to where the arenas are, turned into a therapy session. Sammie didn't just spook at every turn...she exploded. Clearly, I was not going to get her away from the safety of her stall that day. After several attempts at reasoning with her and trying to reassure her, I caved in and put her back, where she quickly and happily resumed her planned activities for the day: eating and pooping. (A girl's gotta do what she's good at, right?) With March's show plans dissolved, I still had the potential to ride in the April clinic. The drawing for the rider from our chapter took place at a Board Meeting on March 3rd. I tried not to visibly display the great relief I felt when my name was drawn in 9th position, from a pool of 10 hopefuls. As it turned out, Sammie started displaying signs of discomfort in her hind end and was tender on her back, and by the end of March, Meg and I were taking the steps to figure out why. Between equine massage therapist, equine chiropractor, saddle fitter, and our regular vet, we narrowed the location of the discomfort, and agreed with recommendations by both the chiropractor and vet that it was time for Sammie to start wearing shoes in the back. (She had been shod in the front for a year, but I had held off on the back, since she seemed to have such tough feet.) The farrier put on her new shoes just last weekend, and she's still getting used to them. The vet will come out in a couple of weeks to recheck her. I am hoping beyond hope that he finds the shoes did the trick. So, here it is, April 30th, and it's clear we are by no means ready to show in May, at a different barn. And while my initial goal had been to show at Training Level at the June show (again conveniently to be held at my barn), I have yet to have started cantering Sammie. Did I mention the June show is going to be judged by my former trainer, Brent Hicks? Brent trained me and Cuatro, my first horse. I really wanted to be able to show for Brent, but I wonder if (a) we'll be ready to show at [I]any[/I] level, and (b) whether it is worth it to me to show in a recognized show at Intro level. Horrible, I know. Ego should have nothing to do with choosing a class to show in. But I can't help it. I don't just want to show for Brent...I want to [I]show off![/I] I guess the lesson in all this (and there has to be a lesson, doesn't there?) is that if dressage is a metaphor for life, and life is what happens when you make other plans, then I need to be more flexible in my plans. So there it is. If flexibility is called for, just call me Gumby. From my blog: [URL="http://www.greenongreen.wordpress.com"]Green on Green[/URL] Crime and Punishment http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=32 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=32 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:32:00 -0500 Crime and Punishment Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann How do we invite and reinforce behaviors with our horses? We all know to use inside leg to outside rein, but that is not enough to create everything we want our horses to do. There are several techniques to shape behavior. [B]Shaping[/B] is a psychology term that means to change behavior from what is offered to something else, usually by gradual increments. The most common way that we cause our horses to change behavior is by applying aids, and then releasing the aids when the horse complies. Sound familiar? This type of reinforcement is called [B]negative reinforcement[/B]: the removal of an annoying stimulus when the behavior is changed. There is no negative connotation to negative reinforcement; it just means that we remove the aids once we get the response we want. Negative reinforcement, or rather the application of the pressure that results in negative reinforcement, does create changes in behavior, and the timing of the release of pressure teaches the horse what behavior is rewarded. Here is how this works: Aid -> behavior change -> aid goes away Legs close -> horse increases energy -> legs become quiet Horses learn from the release of pressure. Make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard. These are different ways to express the same idea of negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement can only strengthen a behavior that is already occurring, after the fact. Giving treats is an example of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement does not cause the behavior to occur, it just makes it more likely that the given behavior will occur again or more frequently. Behavior occurs -> something positive -> horse repeats behavior Horse does a flying change -> rider gives cookie -> next time, horse is more likely to offer a flying change Most training is done by way of negative reinforcement. All our aids are variations on this theme. The reward we give our horses most often is the cessation of the aids; the horse seeks peace, and quiet aids are peace for the horse. We can only give [B]positive reinforcement[/B] for behavior that has already happened. Examples of positive reinforcement are patting the horse, giving treats, giving verbal praise, and stopping work. Our biggest reward is one that we give once each ride: we get off the horse. Its important to look at reinforcement from the horses point of view, not just our own. Leaning forward to pat the horse on the neck when he has just accepted contact is not a prize to the horse; we wanted steady connection, and we break the connection to give him that pat that we thought hed like. Instead, he feels the connection drop and he feels less balanced because of the positional change of the rider. Instead, its better to give verbal praise, or to stop to pat the horse on the neck if that is appropriate. If a horse does something spectacularly well, or something difficult for the first time, it is a great time to bring out the big guns of positive reinforcement. For the first flying change, dismounting and going back to the barn is a great idea. Working on piaffe goes much smoother if there is sugar involved. Lots of verbal praise for more mundane successes is appreciated, too. Often, we give multiple forms of reinforcement. When I work a horse in hand, I use voice and taps with the whip to prompt the behavior (half steps or piaffe). After each effort, I give four different reinforcers. I stop the exercise (negative reinforcement.) I pat him on the neck (positive reinforcement.) I say Good boy (positive reinforcement.) I give him a sugar cube (positive reinforcement.) I want the horse to enjoy the process of being trained with this most difficult movement, and I want to be sure to touch on whatever is most important to this particular horse in the way of reinforcement. Its also important to remember that we can only reinforce a whole behavior. If the horse does his first flying change, and he bucks at the same time, we have to reward the entire behavior, and selectively reinforce closer approximations as the training progresses. A Grand Prix horse that bucks in a flying change will understand it if you reprimand him for bucking, but if you reprimand a horse for bucking when he is just learning flying changes, he will deduce that flying changes are bad, and he wont do them any more. I had an occasion, fairly early in the flying-change process with one very intelligent horse, when I was working on the change to the left. I set it up by asking for counter-canter on the right lead, then asking for the flying change to the left. The horse made a few mistakes, and I after each one I brought him back to the walk and asked for right lead again. After a few repetitions, the horse figured out what he was doing wrong, and he wouldnt pick up the right lead for me. Was he right? He thought he was. I just walked and left the exercise until I could explain it more clearly on another occasion. In any case, remember that the reinforcement we give most often is the removal of the negative reinforcement of the active aids. We do this many thousands of times each ride, and the horse appreciates this. This is how he knows what he is expected to do on a moment-to-moment basis. Unless the aids are conflicting or harsh, he does not resent these pieces of information; the aids tell him whether he is on the right track or whether he still needs to figure out how to get those aids to go away. If the horse is still in the process of learning something, its important not to escalate the aids; the aids need to be consistent and predictable. The horse will continue to seek what behavior gets the aids to go away, and its our responsibility to catch him doing the right thing and immediately soften the aids and give verbal praise: negative and positive reinforcement at the same time. The softening of the aids is negative reinforcement, and the verbal praise is positive reinforcement. The horse appreciates both. Over time, we create the behavior that we want by [B]successive approximation[/B]. This means that each time the horse makes a slight improvement, we reinforce that and no longer reinforce behaviors that are not as close to what we ultimately want. A Training Level horse is rewarded for making corners that are far less deep than is expected from a Grand Prix horse. By using successive approximation, we gradually change a leg yield into a shoulder-in: we increase the bend, decrease the angle, and increase the engagement and energy. A last resort to change behavior is punishment. Punishment is only valid in safety issues: the horse is standing on your foot. Punishment does not create the behavior you do want; it only tells the horse what behavior you dont want. Punishment can take many forms; the most common is using the whip or spur if the horse does not respond to softer aids. In this case, the punishment reminds him that he really should listen to those softer aids, in his own best interest. If the horse is not doing what you ask him to do, there are four basic categories of why, assuming that the behavior you are asking for is physically possible for the horse at this stage of his training. [B]The horse is afraid The horse does not understand what you are asking for The horse is in pain The horse doesnt think he has to do it[/B] It is important to rule out the first three categories before going to the whip or spurs. The horse cannot learn if hes afraid or in pain. This means that you must check tack fit carefully, and pay attention to any soreness or grouchiness when you groom and saddle him. If he does not understand, punishment will not teach him anything, nor will escalating the aids. If you go to a foreign country where you dont speak the language, speaking louder does not make you better understood. Its not fair to punish the horse for rider mistakes, mistakes in timing or clarity of the aids. These lead to confusion for the horse, which is not cause for punishment at all but rather better skills and more attentive riding. There are other ways to change behavior as well. One is to [B]train a behavior that is incompatible with an undesired behavior[/B]. It is very important to me that my horses stand for mounting at the mounting block. I train a behavior that is incompatible with moving while I mount. I stand on the block and lean over the horse to feed a cookie from his right side. The action of bending his neck to receive the cookie is incompatible with moving, so he stands still for mounting. Another technique is to [B]make the undesired behavior inaccessible[/B]. An example of this is putting a cribbing strap on a cribber. The cribber does not learn not to crib, but the behavior of cribbing is inaccessible as long as he wears a correctly-adjusted cribbing strap. Another example: we once had a horse who learned how to unlatch a particular gate. The solution was to move the latch to the other side of the gate, where he could not reach it. He still knew how to unlatch it, but he was unable to access the undesirable behavior. A great resource for more information on shaping behavior is the book Dont Shoot the Dog, by Karen Pryor. Its a paperback and eminently accessible information. This book teaches you how to shape behavior, to diminish unwanted behavior (the most severe example of which is to shoot the dog), to increase wanted behavior, or to shape behavior into something else (to train a behavior). I recommend it to all my students, and I recommend it to you, too. Have fun training! I hope this gives you a fresh take on your training techniques! Courtney King-Dye's Legacy http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=31 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=31 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:47:00 -0500 Donna Richardson "S" Judge By now, everyone in the dressage world has heard of Courtney King-Dyes unhelmeted fall and subsequent devastating head injury. Our thoughts are with her and her family in this difficult time and we all hope for her recovery. In her honor, many people at last weekends Del Mar CDI wore green ribbons and more importantly, helmets. Even professionals such as Stefan Peters and Guenter Seidel showed their national level horses wearing helmets and warmed up their FEI horses in helmets before changing to top hats just prior to entering the show ring. What a pity it took a tragedy like Courtneys to get everyone to do what they should have been doing all along. As an emergency physician for 31 years, I have seen hundreds of times what happens when an unprotected head meets a solid object. Death or lifelong disability is the all too frequent result. And while not every traumatic brain injury can be prevented by a properly fitting helmet, many of them can. The severity of the others can be greatly reduced. So, please amateurs, pros, juniors, WEAR YOUR HELMETS. Every day, every ride. No one says, Well, today, I think my horse will trip at the walk and fall so Id better put my hard hat on. The quietest schoolmaster can be sting by a bee and take off bucking. Anyone can come off, any time. There is no longer an excuse for not wearing protective head gear. Hat hair can be washed or covered with a baseball cap, the new helmets come in a variety of sizes and weights so everyone can have a comfortable fit, and the cost of the helmets is within the reach of everyone owning a horse. As for the uncool look of the helmets, you have to decide for yourself what your brain is worth. I look forward to the day when we will see a hatless rider and think not how cool they look or how well they must ride to forgo head protection, but how foolish they are being. I spoke to one well known professional this weekend who told me he was wearing his helmet out of respect for Courtney. I hope this will not be just a one weekend resolve. If all of us, everywhere, would determine never to get on a horse without a helmet, we would do honor to Courtney. We will remember her elegance and skill on a horse, but if because of her tragedy, one more life can be saved, one more disability prevented, she will have given us a legacy more enduring than any Olympic medal. Self-talk http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=30 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=30 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:14:00 -0500 Self-talk Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann What do you say to yourself as you ride? Your words have a powerful impact on what you do, and on how your horse reacts to your aids. Have you ever told yourself that everyone else in your class is better-mounted, or their horses are better trained, or cost more than yours, or that they are better prepared than you? Have you ever beaten yourself in the warm-up, or even at home? Its important to monitor your self-talk. For a few days, write down what you have said to yourself during your rides. You may be surprised at what you hear yourself say. After you have written down several days worth of self-talk, you can evaluate it for validity. Is what you told yourself true? If it isnt, it will be if you continue to tell it to yourself. Your brain tries hard to fulfill all your stated goals, and it will recognize your self-talk as a goal. It behooves you to take charge of your self-talk to make it congruent with the goals that you have for yourself. here are some examples of what not to tell yourself: Ill never remember my test! I know Ill go off course. My horse is so resistant today. I wish I hadnt come. I know Ill make a fool of myself. I dont have enough time. I hate it when everyone is watching me. I can never score well with this judge. Make a new list of things that you wish you said to yourself. Write or type it out on index cards, and stick one on your locker or tack trunk, and another one on your bathroom mirror, and on your desk: anywhere that you are going to see it many times a day. Practice saying these things to yourself at any spare moments during the day. It doesnt matter if it sounds silly; you are only talking to yourself, after all. Phrase each thought in the present tense, and say things as if they are already true if they are not yet. Here are some sample things to tell yourself: I know my test. My horse is well-trained and well-prepared. I belong here, at this show, in this class. I am a very accurate rider. I love competing! I am confident at this level. I love it when everyone watches me ride! My horse and I flow easily through all our rides together. We are a perfect partnership. When I was approaching Grand Prix with my first horse, I made a list of affirmations that I wrote down and posted in my tack trunk and in my bathroom, and I also made a tape of them that I played as I drove. One of the affirmations was, This is even easier than I expected! to help me overcome my apprehension over my first Grand Prix ride. When I actually did that ride, I heard myself saying, This is even easier than I expected! as I rode. This was a tremendous confirmation of the power of self-talk, and I was glad that I had done the mental rehearsal to prepare myself for this daunting challenge, in addition to the hours (decades!) of training that it took to get there. Be pro-active with your self-talk, not sabotaging. Take the time to get the voices in your head on your side, and dont let the voices be destructive. Make your affirmations positive, in the present tense, and as if you had already accomplished your desired goals. This is a very powerful tool for riding, and its free! Ride well! How to Learn Tests http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=29 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=29 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:13:00 -0500 How to Learn Tests Copyright ©2010 Robin Brueckmann Once upon a time, I had a wise instructor. I was going to ride a Training Level test, and I asked if I could have it read. Yes, said the Wise Instructor. You may have it read. But if you ever want to ride at the FEI levels, you need to learn to learn tests when theyre easy. This hit home for me. Although at the time I had never ridden above Training Level, it was my aspiration to progress up the levels. I resolved to learn how to learn tests. The first thing to remember about tests is that they are, for the most part, symmetrical. What you do on one rein, you will repeat on the other rein. There are a few exceptions; the walk generally only occurs once, for instance. Have a diagram of a dressage arena in front of you as you begin to learn a new test. You will also need a pad of paper and a pen or pencil. Maybe you want different colored pencils, for the different gaits. I have made a test sheet blank page, with thirty dressage arenas on each page; I make copies of this blank and use them to diagram each test on. You dont need this, however; a single blank dressage arena diagram is enough to start your test-learning journey. The next stage is to look carefully at the test you want to learn. Well use First Level Test 1 as an example. You need to look carefully at what is included in each individual test box. Each movement continues until the next box starts. The first movement, the entry, continues until the next movement starts, which is at C. The first half-circle and return to track, movement 2, continues until B, all the way around the short side and halfway up the next long side. Although the meat of the second two movements are the two half-circles, the two movements are not precisely the same size; the first half-circle movement actually includes more trot on the long sides and short side. Continue to diagram the test out, movement by movement. You will get a feel for what the questions of this test are and begin to learn how it flows together. Once you have the entire test diagrammed out, begin to draw it over and over again, all on the same arena diagram. This will look like a bad doodle, but it will give you more of a feeling of how the movements flow together. Here is what First Level Test 1 looks like diagrammed out: Its particularly important to notice the shape of the walk in each test, as many tests have imaginative walk patterns. Once I have learned the basic flow of a test, there are a few places that I memorize actual letters; the walk movement is one of those places where learning the actual letters is vital. For most of the other movements, I memorize the shape of the movement rather than actual letters. For First Level Test 1, this is how I say the test to myself. Enter at A, turn left at C, half circle, half circle; lengthen; serpentine, walk at C. Walk is free walk M-E, medium walk E-F. F trot, A canter, 15m circle in the middle of the long side. Diagonal, trot at X. Canter at K. 15m circle in the middle of the long side. Diagonal, trot at X. Diagonal, lengthen trot. C, stretchy circle. Half circle at B then halt at G. This is a much shorter way to tell the test to myself than actually learning every single letter. You do need to know what is included in each box; that way when something goes wrong, you can contain the mistake in a single box and not smudge it on into the next box or two. Once I have gone over the test in this way several dozen times, I am ready to learn a different test. At home, I learn all the tests I will need to know, one at a time. I go over them at any spare moment in the day, and make a point to review them before I got to sleep at night. When I am at the show, however, I have only one test in my head at a time, the test I am going to ride next. That way, I dont get confused and begin one test and finish a different test. Notice how each test ends. Many tests are fairly simple: turn down the center line and halt at X. Tests that end with a turn at B or E can be either a straightforward square turn, or a half circle turn. Training and First Level tests use the half-circle figure. This is ridden as half of a ten-meter circle, not going ten meters down the track and then turning. A square turn, from Second Level on, is ridden as if you are going to go straight across the arena to B or E, but then you turn down the center line just before X to get to G for your halt. Once you have learned your test or tests, its time to ride through them. You dont want to ride through the test patterns very often, though, as your horse will begin to learn them too and may take over the directors role. Learn the sequences, and then ride them in bits and pieces rather than the entire test, once you get the feel for how the whole test flows together. As you memorize your test, you can also begin to practice your accuracy. If you are unsure of what the correct geometry for a movement is, you can draw it out on graph paper scaled to 20x60 units. That will give you the best opportunity to ride it accurately as well. Accuracy can enhance your score; conversely, being inaccurate steals from your horses performance. Dont waste points needlessly! You want to be completely prepared each time you come down the center line, with your horse supple and well-trained, groomed to perfection, ridden by a thinking, neat and tidy rider who has done all the preparation she can to make this a winning performance. Having done all this homework before you get to the show, in learning your test, you can still have it read if you need it for moral support. You still need to know your test; the reader does not absolve you of needing to learn your test. What happens if your ride is scheduled just as the 10:12 train comes by? You need to do the mental preparation no matter what. Knowing your test fully will give you the confidence to ride your horse, not worry about the test pattern. Its a great feeling to know that you are fully prepared to put in a confident, accurate, error-free ride on your well-prepared and well-trained horse. Have a great show! Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=28 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=28 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:44:00 -0600 I love this blog entry! I can totally relate. I have a young horse who I am learning to trust, and I have to psyche myself up before every ride to be brave, and confident, and be the rider I know I can be. I have to take it day by day, some days we do great things (by that I mean trot around the whole arena and do 20 meter circles and serpentines!) and others we just walk. And walk badly. But, we are building trust and confidence in each other. My next challenge, the canter (on purpose...off the lunge...). I like the quote from Jane, if you have gratitude, fear just can't take hold. I think that could apply to lots of areas of one's life! My Ride with Jane Savoie http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=27 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=27 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:07:00 -0600 I had a birthday last weekend, and I got the most incredible gift. It was given to me by Sammie, but when I really think about it, the gift was made possible by [URL="http://www.janesavoie.com"]Jane Savoie[/URL] (For those of you who have been living under a rock, Jane is one of the most well-known names in dressage, with a list of accomplishments too numerous to detail here.) You already know that I have had my share of challenges with Sammie, and it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that recent setbacks in my confidence are grounded in fear. Fear, and mistrust. I have had a hard time trusting myself, mostly, to do the right thing in all situations, particularly those where Sammie is expressing her more "opinionated" side. That, of course, leads to fear of the unknown: what will Sammie do if things go south? Buck? Bolt? Rear? My imagination was painting some ugly scenarios. Luckily, the planets finally aligned and I have been able to have regular lessons again. My last two lessons were wonderful, and as a result, I floated the idea past Meg that maybe, on my birthday (when she would be away at a show), I would ride Sammie alone. All by myself. (Why did talking about it make me feel like a small child asking to cross the street for the first time without Mom holding my hand?) Meg felt confident that there would be no problem, and recommended using the time to work on transitions to keep Sammie listening to and respecting my seat and leg. I would love to say that Saturday dawned bright and full of promise. But of course, the weather gods deemed Friday night and Saturday to be worthy of another rainstorm. Not to be deterred from my mission, I enlisted my hubby to come with me and keep me company. I explained to him that everyone would be gone, and riding alone was scaring me. I pulled the "birthday" card and told him I would consider it one of my presents if he came along as moral support. And I reminded him to put his cell phone in his pocket. In the event of an unplanned dismount, I told him job #1 was for him to catch Sammie. Job #2 was calling 9-1-1. He was not amused. Anyway, we arrived at the barn and noted the outdoor arena looked more like a small lake. No longeing any excess energy out of Sammie. Taking a "fake it 'til you make it" attitude, I confidently tacked up my girl and walked up to the covered arena. Though the sky was gray, the wind was calm and there was presently no rain. I hand-walked Sammie around the arena for a few minutes as an attitude check, and she seemed calm enough, so I hopped on. (OK, I just turned 47...I supposed "hopped" is a bit overstated...let's just say I crept into the saddle without too much creaking of joints.) After a few productive minutes of warm-up, we started in on transitions. Walk/halt. Halt/walk. Walk/trot. Walk/trot/walk/halt. Sammie was being so good! After about 15 minutes, I heard something. "Did you hear thunder, honey?" Nope, hubby told me it was my imagination. Less than 5 minutes later, I heard the rumble again. Hubby still disclaimed hearing anything, but when you are on top of 1200 pounds of young horse, well, your hearing [I]has[/I] to be sharp. Sure enough, we came around the long side of the arena and Samba spooked. It was one of those "jump away from the scary monster lurking in the tall grass" kind of spooks, and though she broke into a canter ("I'm gonna run, Mom, really I am!"), I sat deep, told her to come back to a trot, and then immediately put her on a circle. And she [I]listened![/I] Now if this had happened two months ago, I would have crumpled into a timid mess and jumped off. But not on my birthday. Instead, I heard Jane Savoie in my head, reminding me that fear and gratitude cannot co-exist. (No, I have never been fortunate enough to actually meet Jane in person, or ride with her in a lesson or clinic...but she generously shares such nuggets of wisdom on her Facebook pages.) So I said a quick prayer, thanking the horse gods for my wonderful baby, who actually seemed to look to me (for the first time!) for reassurance, instead of losing her little mind. There would be one more good spook a few minutes later, but it was justified. This time, I [U]knew[/U] the spooks were about the rapidly changing weather. There was a flash of lightening in the distance, and the "scary" side of the arena was turning quite dark. I again rode the spook, and Sammie again calmed quickly. I walked her around in the center of the arena for a few seconds to clear her mind, and hopped off. (This time, I really did hop...I felt 20 years younger!) No sooner did we walk back to the barn aisle and get Sammie situated in the cross-ties, then the sky opened up with a loud bang and rain [B]poured[/B] down. And my girl? Stood there like a statue, patiently waiting for me to finish taking off her saddle, reminding me to be grateful for the wonderful bond we are continuing to build. Jane is so right. When you have gratitude, fear just can't take hold. Thanks, Jane, for putting me in the right frame of mind to accept Samba's generous birthday gift of a great ride, all by myself. (If you want to read more about my journey with Samba, check out my blog: [URL="http://www.greenongreen.wordpress.com"]Green on Green[/URL]) Training for Counter-Canter http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=26 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=26 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:12:00 -0600 Training for Counter-Canter Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Counter-canter first shows up in USEF tests at First Level Test 4, and in FEI tests in the Five Year Old Test. Its an exercise that demands strength, balance, obedience, and suppleness from the horse, and practicing counter-canter improves all of these qualities as well. There are many benefits to counter-canter, and also a number of pitfalls that a trainer may encounter along the way. To avoid these issues, its important to first know what they might be, and to have an approach that minimizes problems and improves the likelihood of success. Even on the minimal degree of difficulty from First Level Test 4, horses still exhibit problems. They fall into several categories: Leaning in on turns Becoming heavy in front Losing the line of the figure Breaking gait Cross-canter or flying changes Of these mistakes, the most serious are losing the canter lead, either by breaking to trot or doing some version of a flying change. Leaning in, or becoming heavy in front: these are both balance issues, and to a certain extent, strength issues as well. When you train for counter-canter, you can completely eliminate any potential for making gait mistakes by practicing the questions of counter-canter in the trot. I take my young horse onto a serpentine, starting with a three-loop serpentine, in the trot, and I maintain one bend for the entire serpentine. For instance, if I start with a left bend, I maintain the left bend throughout the entire figure. The horse will present balance and steering issues in the same way that he would if we were cantering, but there is not potential for losing the lead. By using this figure, I allow the horse (and the rider, when Im teaching) to experiment with steering away from the direction of bend, and the horse learns how to balance when counter-bent. This is really the origin of the gait problems; when the horse does not feel he can maintain his balance, he will break to a lower gait to regain his comfort level. The one-bend serpentine is a great exercise on its own, just done in the trot. It requires that the horse develop greater strength in his inside hind leg, which takes a longer path when he is on the counter-bent loops yet has to step under his midline to maintain his balance. This teaches him how to engage himself without being dependent on the reins for balance. When steering becomes independent from bend, the horse must listen to the riders seat and weight aids rather than the reins, which has positive repercussions throughout the rest of the horses training. Its a great rider exercise, too, for the same reasons. The rider can no longer steer by the reins alone; she must use all her aids together to help the horse understand the exercise. As she becomes more proficient within the exercise, the horse listens to lighter aids as he develops the strength he will need to perform the exercise in the canter. I have the rider perform gradually more and more loops, until the figure resembles the extreme loopiness of the old six-loop serpentines that we used to do in the Grand Prix, or even eight or ten loops along the length of the arena. The horse will have more tendency to lean into the turns as the loops get tighter, and that gives the rider the opportunity to address how to ride so that the horse learns to do it on his own. When it is time to do it in canter, the loops suddenly become much shallower. I go to a very shallow loop at first, going from the corner to the quarter line and back. I aim in quickly so that there is more time to get the horse back to the second corner without losing his confidence or balance. Often, the horse demonstrates a more or less marked preference for one lead over the other; perhaps he can maintain balance in a deeper loop on the right lead than the left, or vice versa. This is normal, and is a part of the gymnastic progression of training. Keep the loops shallower for the harder lead until he becomes stronger and better balanced. Gradually, I let the loops become deeper, first going to the center line, then the second quarter line, and finally going the entire width of the arena, for the figure required in Second Level Test 1. On a given day, I may progress from quarter line to center line to far quarter line, but the next day when we start again, I go back to the quarter line. I dont expect the horse to magically be able to replicate what we achieved yesterday; I make sure he experiences success, day after day. If I take my time with this sequence, I end up with a horse that never experiences breaking or cross-cantering. It may take a month or a year, depending on the horse, to progress to the full three-loop serpentine in the canter; whatever time it takes, it takes that long. Stiffer horses generally have an easier time maintaining the canter lead, but they will have a harder time with the one-bend serpentine in trot as the loops get tighter. More supple horses will want to pop their shoulders into the turns, and they are more likely to offer flying changes. I never want to reprimand a horse for offering a flying change, so I want to make doubly sure that I have done my preliminary preparation thoroughly in the trot before I make any effort in the canter itself. By understanding and anticipating the challenges of counter-canter, I can prepare my horse effectively so that he understands the exercise and answers the questions it poses correctly. Its much easier, and faster, to take the time to prepare the horse fully, than to just ask for the test movements and then fix problems that crop up. Its easier to develop the horses confidence in the first place than to regain it once hes lost it. Ride well, and enjoy the benefits of counter-canter, without any problems! Trick Training for Your Dressage Horse http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=25 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=25 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:10:00 -0600 Trick Training for Your Horse Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann What does trick training have to do with dressage? My horses all do some kind of tricks. I like to train tricks for a number of different reasons. The most important reason is that I want to ask the horse to listen carefully to me, and to enjoy the process of being trained. Tricks equal treats, always. The best tricks are perceived by the horse as various techniques to get free carrots. Start with simple things. The easiest trick to train is Pretty Neck. Take a piece of a carrot and hold it under the horses chin. When he realizes its there, move the carrot closer to his neck, until he arches his neck. Give him the treat and pat him. Repeat as desired. This can easily morph into side stretches. Horses are remarkably flexible in the neck. They can reach around to their stifles if they want to. Dr. Hillary Clayton recommends baited carrot stretches, and she has research demonstrating that practicing these baited stretches does indeed improve a horses flexibility. You can begin to take the carrot bait between the horses front legs. Its not too hard to get the horse to begin to rock back and put his head closer and closer to his hind feet in a bow. Its more stable if the horse bends one knee and bears weight on that knee, but bowing with both front legs extended is a good trick to. Watch how he has to use his pelvis to take a deep bow: he folds his pelvis into a flexed position, just what we want him to do in piaffe. He has to arch his back up and engage his hocks, and he does it willingly and repeatedly for his carrot treats. I have a playground set up for my horses, consisting of ten 6 plastic sewer pipes in a pile, several barrels, and cavaletti set up at odd and unrelated distances. I walk the horse through the snake pit (the sewer pipe pile) in-hand first, then its a mounted exercise. The snakes move unpredictably and erratically; they make odd sounds; they feel funny; and theyre unstable. They are safe, safe, safe, though, and the horse learns confidence and willingness to encounter strange stimuli. My horses interact with the barrels, too; my horse Sasha hugs them with his front legs. You can teach the horse to side-pass over barrels or to push them with his nose or knees. Again, he learns confidence in the face of odd requests and strange sensations. The cavaletti are set up not quite randomly, but they are staggered in a zig-zag shape so that when my horse walks over them, his front feet are experiencing a different distance than his hind feet. This teaches eye-hoof coordination. There is also a wooden trail bridge. It makes hollow sounds when the horses walk on it. Sometimes I put four car tires underneath it to make it unstable. Horses that walk confidently over this unstable bridge never have any trouble loading into a trailer. I let my horses play with a big gymnastic ball. Like the snake pit, this is often scary at first, but when the horses learn that they can push it around, they enjoy it. Somehow, it is a different experience than pushing the barrel around; my horses have told me that its different. I teach my horses to smile: to do the flehmen response of curling the upper lip up. To begin this trick, I have the horse in crossties, and I make sure he knows I have a delicious treat. I take the hand that does not have the treat and scratch his upper lip until he twitches it away. I give him the treat. Gradually, he learns that I only want the upper lip, and I reward gradual approximations of the flehmen response until I have the horse lifting his lip in response to my index finger wiggling in front of him. With three of my horses, I have extrapolated this trick into the Gaping Maw. For this trick, I encourage the horse to open his mouth to its widest, and I toss the treat into the Gaping Maw. Right now I have two horses that do this trick, at varying levels of proficiency; when they are together, its like a nest of baby birds with their mouths open, waiting for the mama bird to feed them. Its always good for a laugh. Hey, if it makes us all happy, whats not to like? My horses also have responsibilities that are seemingly unrelated to their dressage training. They must learn how to be Gate Man. I am responsible for the gate-opening skills that require opposable thumbs, but the horse is expected to push the gate open and then to close it himself. Again, I am teaching broad concepts of training and our roles: I am the supervisor, and the horse is responsible for the actual behavior. I take a lot of time teaching my horses about what I expect at the gate, but for the rest of our time together, the horse does most of the gate-opening work for me. This goes for the mounting block, too. Because of my disability, its vital that the horse stand absolutely still when I mount. I train a behavior that is incompatible with moving off while being mounted. I reach over the saddle, and give the horse a treat from the right side; he is highly motivated to stand still and get his treat. Once I have the standing-still behavior taught, I can give the treat after Ive mounted. I repeat the same sequence for dismounting. I must admit that I have a very high mounting block; its mobile home stairs, about three feet high. Hopefully that gives you some ideas about teaching your horse tricks. I want to give the horse a sense of empowerment and fun in conjunction with the serious business of learning how to be a dressage horse. Use your imagination, and build on what your horse likes to do, and make it into a trick behavior. Play with your horses! You can cut and paste these addresses if you want to see samples of these tricks with my horses. Timmy with barrel [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFgb1rDzHBs[/url] Timmy with snake pit [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Cn1OXGfAjM[/url] Timmy with snake pit and barrel 1 [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWz2-M0COHc[/url] Timmy with snake pit and barrel 2 [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgrLrafwYa8[/url] Timmy eats cookies [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9CorWj8PfQ[/url] Timmy asks for treats [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcaKQVKyXSY[/url] Timmy bows [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUC-a3eMCmo[/url] Timmy over bridge [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WU99dmsv0U[/url] Timmy over unstable bridge [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt_IwWvg-CM[/url] Timmy with ball 1 [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qfeudmIO0I[/url] [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esX1ZqW4Osc[/url] snake pit [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_-aubo934E[/url] tarp and barrel Roxie over unstable bridge [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgv5BRhwKCA[/url] Training for Counter-Canter http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=24 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=24 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:35:00 -0600 Training for Counter-Canter Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann Counter-canter first shows up in USEF tests at First Level Test 4, and in FEI tests in the Five Year Old Test. Its an exercise that demands strength, balance, obedience, and suppleness from the horse, and practicing counter-canter improves all of these qualities as well. There are many benefits to counter-canter, and also a number of pitfalls that a trainer may encounter along the way. To avoid these issues, its important to first know what they might be, and to have an approach that minimizes problems and improves the likelihood of success. Even on the minimal degree of difficulty from First Level Test 4, horses still exhibit problems. They fall into several categories: Leaning in on turns Becoming heavy in front Losing the line of the figure Breaking gait Cross-canter or flying changes Of these mistakes, the most serious are losing the canter lead, either by breaking to trot or doing some version of a flying change. Leaning in, or becoming heavy in front: these are both balance issues, and to a certain extent, strength issues as well. When you train for counter-canter, you can completely eliminate any potential for making gait mistakes by practicing the questions of counter-canter in the trot. I take my young horse onto a serpentine, starting with a three-loop serpentine, in the trot, and I maintain one bend for the entire serpentine. For instance, if I start with a left bend, I maintain the left bend throughout the entire figure. The horse will present balance and steering issues in the same way that he would if we were cantering, but there is not potential for losing the lead. By using this figure, I allow the horse (and the rider, when Im teaching) to experiment with steering away from the direction of bend, and the horse learns how to balance when counter-bent. This is really the origin of the gait problems; when the horse does not feel he can maintain his balance, he will break to a lower gait to regain his comfort level. The one-bend serpentine is a great exercise on its own, just done in the trot. It requires that the horse develop greater strength in his inside hind leg, which takes a longer path when he is on the counter-bent loops yet has to step under his midline to maintain his balance. This teaches him how to engage himself without being dependent on the reins for balance. When steering becomes independent from bend, the horse must listen to the riders seat and weight aids rather than the reins, which has positive repercussions throughout the rest of the horses training. Its a great rider exercise, too, for the same reasons. The rider can no longer steer by the reins alone; she must use all her aids together to help the horse understand the exercise. As she becomes more proficient within the exercise, the horse listens to lighter aids as he develops the strength he will need to perform the exercise in the canter. I have the rider perform gradually more and more loops, until the figure resembles the extreme loopiness of the old six-loop serpentines that we used to do in the Grand Prix, or even eight or ten loops along the length of the arena. The horse will have more tendency to lean into the turns as the loops get tighter, and that gives the rider the opportunity to address how to ride so that the horse learns to do it on his own. When it is time to do it in canter, the loops suddenly become much shallower. I go to a very shallow loop at first, going from the corner to the quarter line and back. I aim in quickly so that there is more time to get the horse back to the second corner without losing his confidence or balance. Often, the horse demonstrates a more or less marked preference for one lead over the other; perhaps he can maintain balance in a deeper loop on the right lead than the left, or vice versa. This is normal, and is a part of the gymnastic progression of training. Keep the loops shallower for the harder lead until he becomes stronger and better balanced. Gradually, I let the loops become deeper, first going to the center line, then the second quarter line, and finally going the entire width of the arena, for the figure required in Second Level Test 1. On a given day, I may progress from quarter line to center line to far quarter line, but the next day when we start again, I go back to the quarter line. I dont expect the horse to magically be able to replicate what we achieved yesterday; I make sure he experiences success, day after day. If I take my time with this sequence, I end up with a horse that never experiences breaking or cross-cantering. It may take a month or a year, depending on the horse, to progress to the full three-loop serpentine in the canter; whatever time it takes, it takes that long. Stiffer horses generally have an easier time maintaining the canter lead, but they will have a harder time with the one-bend serpentine in trot as the loops get tighter. More supple horses will want to pop their shoulders into the turns, and they are more likely to offer flying changes. I never want to reprimand a horse for offering a flying change, so I want to make doubly sure that I have done my preliminary preparation thoroughly in the trot before I make any effort in the canter itself. By understanding and anticipating the challenges of counter-canter, I can prepare my horse effectively so that he understands the exercise and answers the questions it poses correctly. Its much easier, and faster, to take the time to prepare the horse fully, than to just ask for the test movements and then fix problems that crop up. Its easier to develop the horses confidence in the first place than to regain it once hes lost it. Ride well, and enjoy the benefits of counter-canter, without any problems! Rainy Day Ideas #3 - Rider Fitness http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=23 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=23 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:39:00 -0600 Rainy Day Ideas #3 Donna Richardson You spend countless hours getting your horses fit. How many hours do you devote to your own fitness? Be honest: if you’re like most people, you probably spend less than 10% of the time you spend on your horse, right? A rider, however, must be at least as fit as the horse if the partnership is to succeed. On rainy days, spend a little extra time getting yourself fit to ride. The first component of fitness to address is that of bone strength. Unplanned dismounts do happen and strong bones can be the difference between a sore butt and a fractured pelvis. If you are still in your twenties and thirties, do everything you can to build or maintain bone mass. Consume plenty of calcium and stress your bones daily with weight bearing exercise . Avoid excessive dieting.. Ever wonder why elite female gymnasts have so many stress fractures? In their quest for the perfect body, they consume so few calories that their bodies are actually starving. A starving body knows it is not capable of supporting pregnancy, so menstrual cycles stop. The drop in estrogen then causes bones to weaken. That super thin, super fit teenager does one last double twisting back dismount from the beam, fractures her ankle, and winds up sitting in the stands watching the Olympics instead of competing in them. Past menopause, riders must be even more vigilant about their bone strength. The focus shifts from trying to build bone mass to maintaining what you have. Risk factors for thin bones (osteoporosis) are Caucasian race, slender build, female sex, smoking (you aren’t doing THAT, are you?)and a positive family history. It is a good idea at this time to get a bone density test to see where you stand. If your bone density is low, your doctor may recommend one of the bone building medicines such as alendronate. Continue to get more than the RDA of calcium as you may not absorb it as easily as you once did. Be sure to get Vitamin D, either from 15 minutes of sun exposure or from a pill, to help increase calcium uptake. And stress your muscles with weight bearing exercise such as walking or running. Swimming, while great for the heart, does little to protect your bones. The second component of rider fitness is muscle strength. No, you do not need to look like Arnold Swartzenegger. You want to develop the muscles of a ballerina.: strong but flexible. Especially address the core muscles of your back and your abdomen. Pilates and yoga are great ways to increase your awareness of your center. Half halts and driving aids can be invisible only when delivered from a strong, stable core. So if weather prevents you once again from getting on your horse, check out your local gym and try a kickboxing class. Or do a new exercise video at home. You can see results from an exercise program in as little as six weeks. And your horse will probably feel his “new rider” even sooner than that! Should I do the Young Horse classes? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=22 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=22 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:15:00 -0600 Should I aim my young horse toward Young Horse classes? Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann The USEF and FEI Young Horse classes are very attractive if you have a talented young horse. Is it a good idea for your young horse to do these classes? The Young Horse tests were designed to showcase the most talented young horses of a given age group (currently there are tests for 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and the Developing Horse tests for horses from 7-9 years of age). These tests are open to horses of any breed (including ponies) as long as they have breed papers giving the date of birth. Technically, mules would also be eligible. However, that does not mean it is appropriate for every young horse to participate in these classes. The tests are designed to demonstrate a horses potential, not just todays performance, unlike regular tests. There are only five scores given for the whole performance: Walk, Trot, Canter, Submissiveness, and General Impressions, on a scale of 0-10 for each of the five scores. They do not have coefficients; all are equally weighted. Errors count as a .2% deduction of the total. As the test progresses, the judge (or judges, if there is a panel) give comments in each part, and then decide on a single score for each box. Points may be given in tenths, such as 7.6 or 6.8. At the end of the test, the judge, or the spokesman for the panel, gives an oral synopsis of the ride via a microphone and loudspeaker, to make the scoring educational for everyone who watched the ride as well as for the rider. The judging itself is also different, not just the score sheet. Minor problems, such as shying or breaking gait, are not as important as the potential for this individual horse to become an FEI star. These minor problems are weighted differently for the different age groups; shying in a four-year-old is judged much more leniently than in a six-year-old horse. Because marks on the individual movements are not given, it is the overall impressions that form the basis for scoring in these tests. In regular tests, the judge sits as a mirror, commenting on what happened today. In the Young Horse tests, the judges role is prognosticator: what is this horses potential for upper-level work as demonstrated in this test, today? Thats a very different mindset than judging a normal test. The goal of the young horse program is to showcase horses who are likely to be ready for Prix St. George at the age of seven to nine, the level of the Developing Horse test. Starting with the Four Year Old test, these tests require that the trainer be on a structured training program from the time the horse is started. The Four Year Old test is fairly simple, demonstrating working gaits and lengthenings but no lateral work. Its considered equivalent to First Level, and bears close resemblance to First Level Test 1. The Five Year Old Test, considered equivalent to First Level, is much more challenging, with a difficult counter-canter to simple change sequence. This requires that the horse has developed a fairly sophisticated understanding of balance and considerable strength as well. A five-year-old horse should demonstrate the potential for collection. The Six Year Old Test is considered equivalent to Third Level, including single flying changes and lateral work. A six-year-old is expected to demonstrate the ability, not just the potential, for collection. The Developing Horse Test is equivalent to Prix St. George and is for horses seven to nine years old. Its not the right route for all horses. Many horses mature at a slower pace than others, and many find that the tests are too demanding mentally or physically. If a horse has a training setback, such as illness or injury, he may be behind his peers in the young-horse program, and it might be better for him to pursue regular tests at his own pace. Horses with one weak gait are not good candidates for the Young Horse tests, either, as one low mark will bring down the entire score. On the other hand, truly talented horses who are on a systematic training program can showcase their talent with these tests. Usually, such horses will also be doing equivalent-level USEF tests as well as the Young Horse tests. The Young Horse classes are fun and rewarding when you are riding an appropriate, and appropriately-prepared, horse. Theres no need to feel pressure to fit your horse into the age-mandated tests, though; choose your classes carefully and mindfully to help your horse in his training program. At the end of the day, your horse will most benefit from your careful choices, no matter which path you guide him down. So look over all the tests, and help your horse understand what his job is and how to do it. Keep it fun for him, so that he stays fresh and eager to work. Dont overface him, so that he trusts you and enjoys his work, whatever that ends up being. Now go out and ride well! I Got an Error! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=21 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=21 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 31 Jan 2010 14:22:00 -0600 I got an Error! Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann So you are riding through your test at a show, and the judge blows her whistle. You stop, stupefied: you have gone off course. People do this even with readers, but there is no blame to the reader. You are still responsible to know your test. Dont yell at your helper (husband, trainer, groom, etc.) if you cant hear him or her calling your test. A reader may repeat a movement if it seems that the rider hasnt heard, but its still your own responsibility to know and ride your test. Once you go off-course, the judge will tell you where to pick up again, and you had better hope that you know your test now, because its easy to get flustered when your concentration is disturbed. You know that you may be asked to repeat a movement that youve already done, to get back in the flow of the test; any movements that you repeat will not be judged again. The judge allows you to repeat a movement to get back on track. One error=2 points taken off that movement. If its a coefficient movement, the 2 points get taken off before the coefficient, making it very expensive. The second error costs 4 points, for a total of 6 on the test. A third error, horror of horrors, earns you the big E: Elimination. For another ride, you get your test sheet back and there is an error marked on it, but the judge never blew her whistle. This is known as a silent error. Typically, its for riding the wrong shape figure in the walk, making a circle in the wrong place, or something else that does not disturb the flow of the test. If the judge does not stop you, and you make the same error in the other direction, the judge cant penalize you twice for it. For instance, you make your leg yield from D to E in one direction, and then D to B in the second direction, when it was supposed to be L to R and L to S; this can be a silent error. Again, you should only be penalized once for this type of error. If a rider posts instead of sitting the medium trot, I will stop the rider after the first line. I tell her that the medium trot must be ridden sitting; if she wants to post, I will dock her for a second error if she does it again. Another kind of penalty may show up on your test sheet. Use of voice is to be penalized by at least two marks off each movement in which it occurs. These penalties accumulate, but do not get more expensive as you repeat the offence. In other words, you might have a voice deduction on ten movements; you will never get eliminated for use of voice. Its just expensive. Usually the judge will differentiate this from an error by marking the score that the movement would have earned, slashing it, and putting in the lower score. In the comment box, she will write Voice. I usually circle this, to make it clear to the rider what happened. Often, the rider is unconscious of using her voice, and its a kindness to bring it to her attention. There are many reasons for getting errors or voice deductions on your rides. Practice and review your tests well before actual competition, so that you dont get any kind of deduction! I never use a reader; I find that I can concentrate more on my horse if I am not distracted by worry about whether the reader will call the test correctly or in a timely way. In the last cycle of tests, I had ridden all the tests except Intro and the Grand Prix Special, all from memory. Its a learnable skill, and worth your time. Training the Halt http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=20 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=20 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:14:00 -0600 Training the Halt Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann The centerline and halt are your first and last impressions in a dressage test. From the very beginning of training, your horse must halt, or at least stop on command. When I am training the halt, the first part of the exercise that I teach is to stand still. Immobility is what differentiates halting from not-halting. After an active trot exercise, I halt the horse, and we stand there for quite a long time. I wait until the horse takes a big breath, or sigh, and then I let him walk off and pat his neck. I repeat this halt, with no correction about contact or squareness, until the horse stands still as long as I want him to. I always walk out of the halt. I had a young horse tell me that if we were just going to trot on, there was no real point to standing still, and I got his point. In training, I walk out of the halt. I know that when I am in competition, I can trot or canter out of the halt just fine, but preserving that immobility is my first objective. Once the immobility and sigh are confirmed, I can begin to address other qualities of the halt. Volker Moritz, a now-retired O judge, said: Square in front is submission. Square behind is impulsion. This corresponds to what I learned long ago in my initial judges training: a First Level horse is expected to halt square in front; a Second Level horse should halt square front and back; starting at Fourth Level, the horse is expected to halt square front and back from the canter. Dr. Moritz comment means that it is fair to expect an obedient horse to halt square in front, but to get the horse square front and back requires more activity and throughness from behind. With this in mind, I train the general balance and energy within movements, and the halt becomes a reflection of just how correctly I have been riding my horse. I dont find it particularly helpful to tap the horse on the hind leg that lags out behind. This only serves to teach him to fidget in the halt, precisely antithetical to the requirement of immobility. Instead, I focus on the horses rideability throughout the more active movements if I am having trouble getting the horse to halt squarely. A horse who is cognizant of his own balance and using his back well will tend to halt squarely. Once the horse has halted in a test, I make sure to sit quietly. I dont adjust my position or fiddle with the reins. Again, this often results in the horse readjusting his balance, and thus moving in the halt. Whatever halt I get, I stay with it. If I think its a particularly wonderful halt, I will stand there for much longer than I think necessary. When I watch the video of the ride afterward, I often think that I could have stayed in the halt even longer than I did. The halt is also an important component of the reinback movements. In the Eventing tests, the halt gets a separate score from the reinback itself, which tends to make the riders think about the halt as a separate entity. I ride into the halt as if it is indeed a separate movement, and I make sure I have the immobility established before I give the aids for reinback. The halt is considered a modifier to the score for the reinback, and I want it to be a positive modifier to the movement. By paying attention to the quality of the halt, I have a useful tool that reflects the overall quality of my training and riding. It never hurts to get a 10 right off the bat! Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=19 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=19 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:09:00 -0600 Just have to say that Nancy and Hot Spot are a fabulous team! It just goes to show how great the bond can be between horse and human. Those Pesky Letters! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=18 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=18 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:47:00 -0600 Those Pesky Letters! What Do Those Initials Mean? Copyright © 2010 Robin Brueckmann When you enter a show, you see judges listed. They all seem to have initials behind their names. What do these initials mean? At a schooling show, you might see Suzy Q, L, or Jane Doe r, or even, if youre lucky, Mike Jones R. You enter anyway. These initials signify how much training, and experience, a judge has. Each designation represents at least a full year of training to achieve that level, and probably many years. Before someone can even apply for training, there are standards that he or she must meet. The candidate must demonstrate competence through Second Level, and must also be recommended to the Licensed Officials Committee of the United States Dressage Federation and US Equestrian Federation before he or she can be accepted into a training program. Each candidate is already familiar with competition, and with judging from that side of the judges box. The initiation into judge training begins with the L program. This is an intensive training in the basics of judging. It includes sessions on biomechanics of horse and rider, how to use the marks, protocol for judging, and many more topics. The training is divided into at least four sessions of several days at a time, usually over a period of a year. There is also an optional section covering freestyles. At the end of the training, there are several tests that each candidate must pass, including oral, written, and practical examinations at a competition. Candidates who graduate With Distinction may be allowed to continue their training, after gaining some experience as a judge. All candidates who graduate become L judges. L judges may judge schooling shows, generally through Second Level, although individual GMOs may permit L judges to officiate at higher levels as well. L judges may not judge at USEF recognized competitions, but they gain valuable experience at schooling shows. Entry into a r program is the next step. In order to be allowed into a r program, the candidate must show proficiency in his or her own riding through Fourth Level, and he or she must be recommended to enter a program as well. This program covers the material of dressage tests through Second Level in a more in-depth way than the L program. As a part of this program, the candidate scribes for as many licensed judges as possible, and also logs sitting hours, being in the judges box with a licensed judge to increase vocabulary and become even more familiar with using the scale of marks accurately. The candidate must also co-judge classes with a licensed judge at a licensed competition; the official judge reviews the candidates marks and comments and gives a review of the candidates methodology. Again, at the conclusion of the program and the fulfillment of the other requirements, there are examinations to ensure that each candidate is prepared and confident enough to judge licensed competitions. Successful candidates become r judges, and are licensed by USEF to judge USEF-recognized shows through Second Level. They may also judge the dressage portion of USEA-recognized events at the lower levels. The next step is the R program. Candidates for this program must demonstrate personal expertise through Prix St. George level competition, and must have judged a minimum number of rides at Second Level Test 4. The program now covers the information that the candidate needs through Fourth Level, including flying changes, half pass at trot and canter, and pirouettes. In addition to participating in an upgrading program, the candidate must scribe, sit, and co-judge classes through Fourth Level with a licensed judge at recognized competitions. The final step under the USEF umbrella is to become an S judge. Now the candidate must demonstrate his or her proficiency in competition through the highest levels. The program for S judges covers all the movements, and also covers special competitions that an S judge will encounter, such as Young Rider, Young Horse, Junior, and Pony classes. As before, the candidate must practice scribing, judging, and must sit with licensed S judges before taking the final examination. Once graduated, S judges may judge any class at USEF-recognized shows. All USEF judges must continue their education throughout their active career, with written testing and judges seminars every three years. Many judges choose to attend judges seminars more frequently to stay sharp and become familiar with new classes and rule changes. But wait, theres more! There are also C, I, and O judges. These licenses fall under the dominion of the Federation Equestre International, or FEI. All FEI judges may judge the same classes as S judges, and may also judge FEI competitions (CDIs). There is additional training for both C (candidate) and I (international) licenses, and these two classifications designate what level of CDI a judge may officiate. The O (Olympic) classification is granted rarely, and only a few O judges are permitted per country. O judges officiate at the very highest levels of CDI, such as the Olympic Games. Currently, the US has four O judges in dressage. Its helpful to judges when competitors fill out Judge Evaluation forms at the competitions; these forms are available at the secretarys office or from the Technical Delegate. They may be filed anonymously if desired. These evaluations go to the Licensed Officials Committee, and are kept on file. Positive evaluations are forwarded to the judge, and negative evaluations are reviewed by the Licensed Officials Committee for possible action and feedback. This is a brief overview of the world of judges training. Each judge for whom you ride has extensive training to sit at C. It is worth your while to read your comments carefully, as judges are trying hard to help you and your horse improve for the next ride! The Power of Journaling http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=17 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=17 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:46:00 -0600 The power of journaling Copyright 2010 © Robin Brueckmann One of the most powerful training tools is keeping a journal. Its not important what form the journal takes; a simple spiral notebook is just as powerful as a fancy-schmancy leatherbound book. When I started keeping a training journal, it was just a few lines on a calendar each day. Now I tend to write a full page or more about each days activities. What makes a journal powerful is simply that you take the time, after each ride, to jot down what happened in the ride, and what you plan to do about it. Write down the good stuff and also the stuff that did not go so well. You can use complete sentences to describe your ride, or just use an outline form. I have kept a training journal since I got my first horse, almost forty years ago. Its been my companion through all the trials, tribulations, and rewards of my riding career, and it has helped me keep track of progress and also to discover where I am getting stuck in my training. I write down something about every horse I ride, and every lesson that I teach. It keeps me fresh and alert. The most powerful part of keeping a journal is what happens while you are riding. If you know you are going to write something down at the end of the day, you think about that while you are riding. What makes today different than yesterday? Why is todays ride important? What specific topics are you working on? What did you remember today that you forgot yesterday? Maybe you want to start by taking notes on your lessons. Thats a good start. I like to have my lessons videotaped, and I write in my journal before I watch the video. When I do watch the video, I journal again, picking up what I did not process during my ride. Its interesting to compare what I thought I remembered with what I hear for a second time on the video. That helps my powers of observation become more acute. During a regular ride at home, I come to my horse with a plan in mind for todays session. I warm up, and then begin to address todays lesson plan. If things come up, as they invariably do, I change the plan to accommodate the horses needs. When I am done, I write down what happened, both how my plan worked, and also how I had to change it to meet my horses needs for today. Writing down todays ride helps me formulate a clearer plan for tomorrows ride. I also have a written outline for each horses training on a longer scale: for this week, this month, this year, the next five years. I keep this outline in view, where I see it every day. This also helps me stay focused on my short-term and long-term goals. Having a clear focus, thanks to my journal, means that my horses get to have playdays as well as work days. Hillwork is part of my training plan, and I also take my horses for long rides in the mountains and shorter trail rides closer to home, without guilt because I know how this fits in to my whole training program. Here are some sample ways that you might use journaling. Saturday: schooling show, Training Level test 1, a little shying in the corners. Training 2, smoother test. Work on keeping his neck up and his poll the highest point. Warm-up time was too short. Sunday: day off Monday: trail ride Tuesday: lots of transitions today to get his poll up and his energy level up Wednesday: work on movements from the tests. Warm-up was very nice today. Shied at other horses in the pastures but came back to focus well. Thursday: transitions again, then a short trail ride. No shying today. Friday: lesson, work on transitions and accuracy in the figures. Sitting up straighter today. Goal for next week, work on exercise for trot lengthening, leg yield on half a circle, then lengthen on the other half of the circle. This was a great exercise for him. Or you can get more detailed: Monday, April 12 I got up at five for yoga. It was a dreary, rainy, cold day I went to the barn, and fetched Rocky. He was soaking wet. I toweled him off as he ate his snack, and my towel was drenched. He was cold. I covered him with a cooler to help his back warm up before I rode him. Lisa had offered to come videotape this morning, but she wasnt here yet. I saddled Rocky, and put his snaffle bridle on. We went into the indoor to begin our ride. I could tell that Rocky had plenty of energy. I began with Spanish walk and piaffe, and then began our lateral work. Lisa arrived, and I had her take my long whip to help me with piaffe. Rocky looked askance at her; he knew what a person with a whip meant. He did not know that Lisa was clueless as to how to use it, but it was enough that she was there. Rocky did his best to piaffe for me. I patted him; it was good. Lisa put the whip away, and got the camera out. She stood at the far end of the indoor, so that the light would be better. I picked up canter. Rocky felt tight in his neck, and I was not able to convince him to release it fully. I knew that his back was cold and his muscles were stiff. I rode canter-walk transitions, and then went to shoulder-in at the canter. I continued with half pass and counter-canter. Rocky was obedient, in front of my leg, uphill, in front of the vertical, but not as soft or light as I expected to feel. I did not fuss at him. He would soften when he could. I let him have a short break, and then rode canter-trot transitions. I did not expect to be able to sit the trot, with the canter warm-up not being as good quality as I hoped, but the trot was not too bad to sit. I stayed in trot when the transitions were good, and rode lateral work sequences. I was not satisfied with the half pass, so I reverted to long leg yields instead, and this helped loosen his neck and shoulders. It was good. I rode shoulder-in to medium trot; the up transitions were good but he jammed down into collection. I persevered. I gave Rocky another break, and then went back to canter. This time, I rode individual changes on a big circle, placing the changes so that the camera angle would give me feedback. I did not have Rockys balance just perfect, but even so the changes felt clean. I ended that exercise with two lines of tempis, threes and fours. Now I wanted to practice the canter zig-zag. I set up a new exercise to give him more opportunities to understand and practice the concepts without actually doing the zig-zag. I took him on the quarter line, and rode haunches in, then straightened for a change, and rode haunches in the other direction. Rocky was confused, and he did not respond to my aids right away. I continued with the exercise; it was clearly going to be a good one for him. I rode the zig-zag a few times. Now it was easier for him to do, although it was not yet ready for prime time. I would have to get it much more secure this month, to use it in his freestyle at trials May 1st and 2nd. How you use your journal is up to you. The actual writing of it is generally more important than reviewing it later; the act of writing will change your riding as you ride. Its an amazing tool, and the price is right! Now go out and get a spiral notebook and sharpen your mind! Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=16 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=16 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:33:00 -0600 I was reading through my blog and realized I wasn't giving any credit to so many of my personal friends, family and barn mates who have helped me along the way. Thanks everybody for allowing me to film you, post your tests, allowing me to vent, and keeping me positive through all of this. I literally couldn't have done it without you. Sarah More Rainy Day Ideas http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=15 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=15 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:05:00 -0600 More Rainy Day Ideas: Walk Turns Donna Richardson When your footing will only hold up for a walk, why not try working on your turns on the haunches? As a judge, the most frequent problem I see with this movement or with the related walk pirouette is that the horse stops WALKING. You can avoid this by introducing and schooling the movement properly. Make sure that your horse is familiar with haunches in on a straight line. You must keep your inside leg on at the girth (to give the horse something to bend around) and the horse must move easily away from a light outside leg. When you are sure your horse understands and performs well on a straight line, turn onto a 10 meter circle. Be sure you can ride a straight circle. By that I mean the horse’s hind foot steps into the hoofprint of the forefoot on the same side. On a circle, most horses will tend to put their haunches to the inside. We are going to ASK the horse to do just exactly that in a moment, but this should ALWAYS be the rider’s idea and not the horse’s. If you are satisfied you can be straight on a circle, keep your inside leg on at the girth and with your outside leg slightly behind the girth, ask the horse to move his haunches in. He should continue to walk and to make a slightly smaller circle with his hindlegs than his forelegs. Keep your upper body exactly as it was on a circle. (Don’t twist your shoulders to the outside.) If the horse doesn’t move away from your outside leg, don’t think you can fix the problem by putting the leg farther back. Use a briefly sharper aid with your leg position unchanged – maybe a tap with the whip or a touch with the spur. Keep your horse walking in haunches-in for a circle, then straighten by bringing the shoulders in front of the forelegs. If everything goes perfectly, you will now be on a straight 8 meter circle. Once your horse understands this, you are 80% of the way home to walk turns and pirouettes without the dreaded “sticking.” All you have to do now is to decrease the size of the circle the hindlegs make. Any time, however, that you feel the horse stops walking (sticks a leg into the ground and doesn’t pick it up)., go back to a larger turn. Once you can make a regular turn that is about five feet in diameter from a circle, start approaching the turn from a straight line. Always ride shoulder-fore to prepare. You want the shoulders leading into the turn, not the haunches. Think about turning the shoulders. Your outside leg is slightly behind the girth more to keep the haunches from swinging out than to push them in. Now you can really start to have some fun. Do a walk turn, end it by continuing forward in shoulder-in, do another turn, come out in half pass, straighten, change bend, repeat the sequence in the other direction. The possible combinations are limited only by your imagination. You and your horse can have a very productive workout at the walk until the skies clear and the lands dry and you can once again get back to trot and canter. Naming babies http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=14 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=14 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:44:00 -0600 If it ever stops raining in California, flowers will bloom and foals will be born. I'll wish then I had bred. At least, though, I won't have to stress about naming a foal. It's amazing the rules and traditions that regulate naming those little guys run the gamut from tight control to nothing at all, and they often reflect national history, tradition or character. They might be geared to reflect information about a horses breeding and breeders. For example in their naming process the Trakehner breed honors the women in the family while the whole family gets into the act with a Lipizzan name. Its a numbers game related to the year of birth with Dutch Warmblood related breeds while American Warmblood organizations leave the decision to breeders. Arabian names often carry on the front or the back of the name initials representing the breeder. Rainy Days and Mondays http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=13 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=13 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:20:00 -0600 Rainy Days and Mondays Donna Richardson It’s that time of year: inclement weather – snow or rain – renders your (outdoor)arena unsuitable for “real” training. Do not despair. Much can be accomplished in a long driveway, the aisle in between barns, or just about anywhere the footing is not too slippery or deep for a walk. Yes, the walk, that much neglected and so easily spoiled gait. The walk, however, is a wonderful gait in which to check your horse’s responses to both your driving and lateral aids. Mount up, pick up the reins, and close your legs. Does your horse immediately step forward into an active walk? If not, you can bet he will not be honestly on your aids at the other gaits either. Halt again, close your legs, and ask again for the walk, this time with a touch of the whip or spur. If he jumps forward, great. Praise him. Then halt again and ask for the walk with the original, softer aid. If he has “gotten the message” from your correction and moves forward off your light aid, that’s good. But chances are he may need to be reminded again with a little sharper aid. Always go back to asking for the walk with your light aid and when he responds correctly, reward! Your goal is to teach him to respond to almost invisible aids. He can feel and react to a fly on his flank, so he can certainly learn to answer your light leg aid just as well. Because the walk is the easiest gait in which the horse can find his balance, it is a great gait in which to introduce new movements such as shoulder-in, haunches-in, and half pass. Establish an active walk, be sure to follow the motion of the horse’s head with your hands, and close one leg. The horse should move forward and away from light pressure.. If he doesn’t, halt and try a turn on the forehand. Ask lightly with your inside leg once, but if you get no reaction, ask again with more insistence. When the horse responds, return to the softer aid. Once he moves away from your leg at the halt, try again to move him away from the leg in the walk. Be careful not to overbend the horse’s neck or to cross your hand over his withers in an attempt to get him to move sideways. Leg yield is just that – a response to the leg – not a “hand yield.” Combining an active walk with leg yields and turns on the forehand – and of course working on those pesky square halts (again off progressively lighter and lighter aids) can occupy your horse’s mind and yours on those rainy days when the footing is unsafe for trotting or cantering. More advanced horses can combine all sorts of shoulder-in to half pass to walk pirouettes – the possibilities are endless. So get out there and go for a good walk! HotSpot http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=12 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=12 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 20 Jan 2010 19:07:00 -0600 One of the things I have loved about creating this website is the different people who I have been able to meet. I have to clarify the use of the word meetI have actually met very few people involved in this venture face to face. I have developed email and phone relationships with so many wonderful people. From my web designer in Texas, to the two women from California who own the media company promoting Perfect World Dressage, to judges from all corners of the US... the list goes on and on. Its actually been an amazing process; if someone had told me two years ago (before the birth of this idea) that I would know the marketing director of the FEI in Switzerland on a first name basis, I would have told them they were off their rocker!! Each of these people, and so many others, has been instrumental in the process of developing this venture in their own special way. I have so much gratitude for the kindness of all of these former strangers who have helped me create Perfect World Dressage. One such former stranger is Nancy. She emailed me out of the blue to tell me about her horse, HotSpot, who is the Pinto pictured in black and white in the slideshow on the home page (Nancy is the one riding HotSpotthe pretty lady grinning from ear to ear in the picture). I had purchased this picture from a local photographer without knowing the horse or rider; I just loved the picture because it so clearly showed such joy in the duo. Nancy writes [a friend] mentioned that a photo of HotSpot (a NSH pinto) was on the site. A little history: HotSpot (reg The Dragon Master) came to me 6 yrs ago at age 16 as a fried saddle seat horse. His owner got tired of riding with "mane in my teeth" and sent him from FL to MN in hopes that I would find something for him to do. Sight unseen, we connected immediately. I spent my first year with him helping him lose his fear of the clippers (previous owners had to 'Ace' him to clip), trail riding and teaching him trust; finally starting to work him in a dressage frame. It took some patience, but finally this photo was taken in '08, when I took him to a Class A dressage show to accompany my usual mount. He garnered >60% in all four of his training level tests and won all four classes. Needless to say, his history makes this photo so much more special!!! You probably didn't need all of this information, but gosh, I love this horse!! Nancy went on to tell me that HotSpot was a breeding stallion for many years of his life and was not even backed until he was gelded. So he comes to her, fried and untrusting, and through patience, love, and dressage becomes a happy boy who will now be retired from the show ring and be the fabulous trail horse he wants to be. Who among us hasn't heard of a story like this one? Not only does dressage athletically develop the body, when training is correct, it can help heal the mind. One more thing I have loved about developing this website.promoting this great sport! Why Dressage? http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=5 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=5 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:09:00 -0600 I often wonder about what draws people in so deeply to this sport. Most dressage riders share a love of horses and a desire to live their lives around these amazing creaturesbut this is a common thread that binds all types of riders, from weekend trail riders to elite eventing stars. What makes dressage riders stand out as some of the most obsessed and dedicated in all of the horse sports? What are we working for, or yearning for, when we take up this sport with such ferocity and single-mindedness? What makes us decide that dressage is to be our chosen pastime/profession/lifes work? As this is my blog, I might as well open myself up for examination. My most important hopes for my life and my future can be broken down to just a few basic things. One, I desire a close, loving, fantastic relationship with my children and husband. Two, I want to be surrounded by lots of good friends (human and non-human) and joy, laughter, and happiness. Three, the one Ive never admitted out-loud until now, I want to be a great dressage rider. This last wish has been present since the first time a saw a horse and rider performing a grand prix test. Even as I write this I am unsure of what my definition of a great dressage rider is, and my general idea of dressage greatness changes on a daily basis. I certainly dont have pie in the sky aspirations to ride in the Olympics, or even compete at the high profile shows. I actually dont care much if I ever compete in a show at the upper levels (if you have seen the video of me and my horse on my profile you will see that is probably a good thing!). Truthfully, this wasnt always the case. When I began taking dressage lessons I was enthralled by riders performing upper level movements and watching an extended trot made my heart skip a beat. I purchased my SWB gelding on the advice of my then- trainer because he was in my price range (um, what I mean by price range is the absolute most money my husband would allow me to take out on a home equity loan) and she said he had the talent to compete at the local shows and I could probably earn my USDF bronze medal on him. I figured he would be a good stepping stone for me to rise up the levels. Looking back, I am so ashamed of my thought process and the mistakes that I made at his expense in my attempts to hurry through training and get to riding real dressage. Unfortunately, Im not alone in the way I started my dressage journey. Ask any trainer and they will tell you this sport is dominated by riders who are control freaks and people who are successful at many aspects of their lives and fully intend to be just as successful at dressage. Luckily for people like me, dressage will not allow itself to be learned on demand. We all sign on initially for an education in how to make our horses perform beautifully, and instead what we must all eventually discover (one way or another) is that beauty cant be forced, or coerced, or extracted. It must be cultivated, nurtured, respected and allowed to grow at its own pace. While I have in the past chosen to fixate on developing my seat, my core and the correct geometry of my figures and the timing of my aids (all tremendously important), what has been slowly, almost insidiously growing is the realization that the development of trust, respect and admiration for my horse (and vice versa) has been just as important in our progress. In the past years my love for the process of dressage has grown, but my desire for future championships and metals has lessened. My attempts to be a great rider have changed who I am. Dressage, and my relationship with my horse, continues to teach me to be a better, more understanding, more connected and more compassionate person. So, Why Dressage? Like most people, my obsession was probably caused by a multitude of factors. The beauty, history and pageantry of the sport caught me at first, but after many years of the highest highs and lowest lows in the saddle, it has really become centered on my desire for a better relationship with my horse. I know I am not alone, you can find quotes from all types of people, from the dressage Masters down to the wanna-bees like me, about how the process of learning dressage changes a person and how your core riding skill is actually a positive caring connection with your horse. I would love to hear your comments about my blog. By becoming a member of Perfect World Dressage you too can start a blog and let everyone know whats going on in your dressage life. Register today, and check out the forums and start blogging! Sacrifice and Reward http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=10 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=10 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 13 Dec 2009 21:11:00 -0600 I was reading the December issue of News From Jane Savoie ([url]http://www.janesavoie.com/ezine/issue21.html[/url]) and found this poem. It touched my heart for a lot of reasons, and I thought I should share it. I believe it will resonate with a lot of different types of riders for a lot of different reasons. Anyone who is a horse lover and who makes sacrifices of their time, money, confidence, health, or sanity for their horses and this sport will find it moving and inspiring. Yesterday, for the first time, I was too tired to ride Yesterday, for the first time, I was afraid I would be hurt if I was thrown Yesterday, for the first time, I heard someone say my barn was too shabby Yesterday, for the first time, I let someone tell me I was too pudgy to ride Yesterday, for the first time, I realized I was old Yesterday, for the first time, I had to face that I could no longer keep up Yesterday, for the first time, I had to let go of my dreams Yesterday, for the first time, I knew I was done Today, for the last time, I felt warm, braided leather in my hands. Today, for the last time, I ran my stirrups up so they wouldn't bang my mare's sides Today, for the last time, I released the buckles on the girth and watched my girl sigh Today, for the last time, I slowly dropped the bit so it wouldn't hit her teeth Today, for the last time, I buried my head in her soft, warm neck Today, for the last time, I inhaled the sun and the dust in her long winter coat Today, for the last time, I tracked hay and horse hair into my house Today, for the last time, I pulled off my boots and felt the sting of warm blood returning to my cold toes Today, for the first time, I cried after my ride Today, for the first time, I waited for the new owner's trailer to arrive Today, for the first time, I set my boots in a box to go to the Goodwill Today, for the first time, I sighed at the wear on my riding gloves Today, for the first time, I had no hay in my hair Today, for the first time, I did not hear nickering when I opened my back door Today, for the first time, I felt worse leaving the barn that I did when I entered Today, for the first time, I had no one to check on before going to bed Tomorrow, for the first time, I won't have to buy hay Tomorrow, for the first time, I can stay in bed longer Tomorrow, for the first time, I won't see the poop pile grow Tomorrow, for the first time, I won't be able to fly on four legs Tomorrow, for the first time, I will regret letting her go Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be angry at God Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be angry at myself Tomorrow, for the first time, I will be glad to die Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will awaken in tears Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will know I was wrong Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will defy all the judgement Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will ignore my old bones Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will return the buyer's check Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will bring my friend home Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will take my boots out of the box Day after tomorrow, for the first time, I will be reborn For the rest of my life, I will have a horse in my yard For the rest of my life, I will ignore the naive judging For the rest of my life, I will watch the poop pile grow For the rest of my life, I will have hay in my hair For the rest of my life, I will track mud in my house For the rest of my life, I will bury my face in her soft neck For the rest of my life, I will let my soul fly For the rest of my life, I will never be alone © Kris Garrett 2009 I would love to hear some comments and thoughts that this poem inspired. Happy Riding! Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=11 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=11 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:51:00 -0600 Thanks for the comments! The site went "live" just before Thanksgiving last month. Thanks for taking the time to look it over. Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=9 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=9 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:04:00 -0600 I am excited to use the site. It gives you great feedback to help you achieve your goals before showing so you can be the best you can be. Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=8 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=8 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:37:00 -0600 I think it is a great idea as well. How long has this web site been up? Perfect World Dressage http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=7 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=7 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:24:00 -0600 Great Web site. I am excited about the potential! Looking forward to more. Thanks, Kathy Mueller Welcome! http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/blog_article.php?id=6 http://www.perfectworlddressage.com/rss.php?id=6 Dressage Tests,Training and Lessons Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:43:00 -0600 Welcome to Perfect World Dressage! Im so pleased you have chosen to check out our new site. The central purpose of Perfect World Dressage is to provide dressage riders with quality judging of their videotaped USEF and FEI dressage tests. I came upon the idea for this site while sulking and soaking in the bathtub after a disappointing dressage show. It had been raining for three days straight prior to the show, and the show grounds that day were miserable, muddy, and cold. The rings resembled ponds, which had increased the normal show tension exponentially for me and my mud-phobic horse. Given the amount of money I had paid in entry fees and the time I had taken away from work and family to be here, I stubbornly refused to scratch my rides. It had to be somewhat comical watching my horse jump over puddles and scoot around the lake at x while I tried to keep him obedient, supple, and forward..something I failed at miserably that day. Much later, while I warmed up in the bath and rehashed the horrible tests in my head, I thought.I just want a score. I know Im not in a place right now to try to qualify for regional championships, or even work towards a USDF metal. All I want right now in my riding is to have a judge give me a score after I ride a test so I can tell if I am moving in the right direction. I want to be guaranteed good weather and safe footing, and have the comfortable, confident, attentive horse that I ride at home judgedall of the things I have so rarely had come together at a dressage show. I simply want a SCORE! Well, here is the answer I have come up with for riders who are looking for some educated feedback from a new set of eyes. I believe all types of dressage riders will benefit from videotaped dressage testing. For those of you who live too far from a showground to show regularly, this is an option to increase your time in front of a judge. Some riders have never shown, and would like some practice prior to the real thing. Others may choose to ride a dressage test at a new level on video to gain some feedback about whether or not they are ready to move up to that level at a recognized show. Maybe you have a horse like mine, who is pushy and naughty in a show environment but obedient at home. I encourage you to try us out and see how it can improve your dressage skills (and its really fun!!). I am so proud of this website and thankful for the judges who have agreed to work with me on this venture. I hope you take the time to look around and to become a member of this new dressage community. Our Perfect World Dressage team has more work to do in the next few weeks, including adding classified ads and horse sales ads, so I encourage you to stop back and see all the developments. I would welcome and appreciate feedback about the site. There are a few questions to comment on in the forum area, or feel free to email me with your comments at [EMAIL="sarah@perfectworlddressage.com"]sarah@perfectworlddressage.com[/EMAIL] .