Dressage Today

petition against rollkur

DTEditor — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:20:02 GMT

Here are some things you can do if you want to protest against the use of rollkur, especially in the warm-up before shows. These are from emails I received:

Dear Friends,
I have just read and signed the petition: "Ban usage of Rollkur".
Please take a moment to read about this important issue, and join me in signing the petition. It takes just 30 seconds, but can truly make a difference. We are trying to reach 50000 signatures - please sign here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/ban-rollkur Once you have signed, you can help even more by asking your friends and family to sign as well.
Thank you! Helyn

Dont know if you have seen the video of Patrik Kittel of Sweden riding his stallion Scandic at the World Cup Qualifier in Denmark, with the stallions tongue hanging out and blue, being ridden for 90 mins in rollkur. The video has really sparked huge anger, and as soon as I saw it I started a facebook group. We now have over 2000 members, and it is really kicking off. Would love to have you as a member too! Have a look:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=181093975134&ref=nf

cute video - horse and goat!

DTEditor — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:06:58 GMT

Hi everyone, alert reader Ute sent me this video. I know you'll enjoy it. Ute says, "Oh my...there's human shiatsu massage, but I think this is goatsu massage :-)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wi_9n_BxDI

buying a used saddle

653439 — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:34:01 GMT

Given the cost of the lessons - there are 2 choices here, 1: take lessons from an amateur (been there done that ddn't go past trotting) or 2 pay through the nose for a professional. Just started back in dressage and can only afford one lesson a month. But am thinking about buying a dressage saddle which must be a used one.

I know all the things to look for but was wondering - is there any way to refurbish an older saddle and make it look better or darker so good for a show (something beyond a schooling show)? I am looking in the $500 range - I know, good luck! But did see a possibility, an older Passier that looks to be in good condition with wrinkles on the knee rolls and usual wear other places. I wonder how much of it would be covered up by my body so it wouldn't matter anyway?

November issue of DT - We want to hear from you!

DTEditor2 — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:59:14 GMT

Check out November's Dressage Today. In it, Anne Gribbons gives advice on getting into the industry when you're "just a kid." Please tell us your experience. Whatever your role in dressage - rider, trainer, working student, barn manager, show manager, paid or volunteer - tell us how you got "in."

training break through

874019 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:18:59 GMT

At my lesson yesterday my horse wa so much more forward , on mel, round and just better it was amazing. I have been having a sinus infection and he had been having alergic conjuntivitis that made him head toss and shake. So I have been just free longing him over cavelltis and raised cavalettis. He was so much better I pan to continue this work !! He was using his back and hocks a lot better and he was softer and more on the bit. Plus he was actualy infront of instead of behind my leg. I have always free longed him to see how he is moving before practicing but added the raised cavellittis just because I could not ride and had seen them metioned in some articles. Instructor said he was movoing at 2nd level. I am showing intro and training level.

Have my WEG 2010 Dressage tickets!

dressagedude — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:36:16 GMT

Today, about 1/2 hour after they went on sale, I bought tickets to both halves of the Grand Prix Special and tickets to the Grand Prix Freestyle at the 2010 WEG!!!! I am beside myself with excitement and now have to survive for a year filled with anticipation! All of my little sleep night working on a huge freelance project paid off today!!!!

protective top hat

48northfarm — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 05:03:40 GMT

When I began riding again as an adult I took up dressage. As Iprogressed I began to look at the future, when I would wear a top hatand a shadbelly (tail coat) for shows, but I knew that top hats did notprotect the head and I would NOT ride without a helmet. Velvet helmetscan be worn at the upper levels of dressage--when you would normallywear a top hat--though I felt the uneducated might see the wearing of ahelmet as a sign of an unruly horse. Of course, that's not what a helmet means, but I know human nature and I didn't want to be looked down upon by those who don't have the sense to safeguard their heads, also. But where could I find a protective top hat? I hadn't seen one, anywhere. Then I saw a saddle seat derby made to be worn over a helmet, and it looked pretty good. I called Troxel, the derby/helmet maker, to see when the top hat/helmet would be ready for market. After all, if they had something for saddle seat riders, they must have plans for something for dressage riders. Unfortunately, Troxel said no interest had been shown in a top hat/helmet and they had no plans to design one.

So, that left me having to get one made for me. And I did. It's a fur felt top hat that fits over a skullcap helmet. The helmet is by Troxel and meets ASTM standards. A woman in FL is wearing a similar tophat/helmet at the upper levels of dressage, though I haven't seen hers. When I got the first prototype top hat/helmet, I thought it looked too much like a derby, so I asked to have the brim narrowed, and sent it to a hatmaker in LA to have the upper corners made more square.

An article on the top hat/helmet development is scheduled to be in DRESSAGE TODAY soon. If you are interested in getting one of your own, call Troxel and tell them what you want. Troxel is planning on offering the top hat/helmet, but I'm not sure how you need to proceed to get one. Just call them: if enough people show interest, they might have one you can buy right off the shelf.

The horse I'm riding is Athene CDP, my 4 year old Lusitano filly, just started this summer. She came to me as a yearling from Owl's Nest Farm near Houston.

How are you coping with horse expenses?

DTEditor — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:15:54 GMT

Hi folks, I would like to know how you are coping with your horse expenses during these economic times. Are you buying things like tack used? or making due with what you have? Have you had to economize more in other areas of life to afford your horse? What are you doing that could help others?

Thanks,

Patty

October Dressage Today - need your feedback

DTEditor — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:41:01 GMT

Hi everyone,

I'd love to hear more about how you like the magazine's features and departments. For example, in October, did you like the Lisa Wilcox article? Did it help you? Do you enjoy Homework with Hilda? Would you like more international news? What experts would you like to hear from? What is your favorite part of the magazine? What is your least favorite part? On the lighter side, are you trying the new photo caption contest that is online as well as in print? Do you like Pam Stone's Remember to Smile?

Thanks for any feedback.

Patty

smartest horse in the world

DTEditor — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:57:35 GMT

Hi everyone, I thought you'd enjoy seeing this news clip Elizabeth McCall sent me about an OTTB horse who can do amazing things.

http://www.kmir6.com/global/Category.asp?c=169134&clipId=4155526&flvUri=&thirdpartymrssurl=&topVideoCatNo=0&autoStart=true&activePane=info&LaunchPageAdTag=homepage&clipFormat=flv

Patty

difference between French Link and others

Laurie_horse — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:06:50 GMT

Could someone explain the difference between a FL and a Dr. B please?

I have seen bits with a large flat center, a small bean, a small round ball, a really fat bean, some have a noticiable curve to the canons, some have a slight curve.

I just saw a bit, it was a three piece, there was a slot on the cheekpiece for a chin strap?? Since when do snaffles require chin straps?

Help please.

Pariani jumping saddle

Laurie_horse — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:59:43 GMT

Has anyone heard of a Pariani jumping saddle?

I am also looking at a County, does anyone have experience with that brand?

thank you.

dusty arena, any ideas?

48northfarm — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:03:52 GMT

I live in the 2nd driest town in Western Washington state--17 in of rain a year, compared to Seattle's 44 in--and I can't water my 20x60 dressage arena without draining my well too much. Winters are fine--that's when we get our rain--but during the summer, when it rarely rains, the arena gets PRETTY dusty. What is the best product or technique you have used to keep the moisture in your footing for the longest? My footing is natural soil: sand, some topsoil, a lot of small rocks. I've seen chemicals that are purported to hold the moisture in, but have not heard which is the best, or if any of them actually work. I suspect other forum members have the same problem, especially those who live in the south and southwest.

While we're on the subject of footing, tell me how you deal with the rocks. I've gone over my arena with a rock-picker machine, but rocks continue to rise to the surface. Every time I harrow the arena I pick up the larger rocks, but the smaller ones are too numerous to throw out. Is there a better rock-picker on the market that I haven't heard of?

Any thought on these subjects would be greatly appreciated.

ANOTHER video you would enjoy

48northfarm — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:39:57 GMT

I just watched a DVD last night from the horse video club I belong to-- http://www.barnsweetbarndvds.com/index.php --and it was wonderful. It was called ELEGANT DRESSAGE TRAINING and it's about the classical dressage trainer Anja Beran and shows her riding many of her horses. Most are Iberian horses, but not all, showing that her techniques work on all horses. What impressed me the most was the demeanor of all of the horses: they were doing upper level maneuvers, and they were HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY! No pinned ears, no tail switching, no heads behind the vertical, no tight nosebands. Her horses were doing elegant piaffe and passage on a slack rein, with ears flicking back and forth from a happy forward to a sideways "listening".

At the end of the DVD was a segment about the transformation of a gelding named Flamingo--Trakehner, I think--who went from an injured, lame horse that mistrusted humans to a nicely-muscled, nicely-moving horse doing a perfect piaffe, way back on his butt, in a snaffle with a loose rein.

I also have Anja Beran's book--CLASSICAL SCHOOLING WITH THE HORSE IN MIND--and the way the book was written indicated that the DVD would be good, too, but even though I was ready for it, I was STILL impressed.

I watched the 1st of her DVDs, and a 2nd and a 3rd will be coming out next month. I've already got them on my rental queue and I can't wait to watch them. I may have to actually buy them to keep in my equestrian library, they're that good. After hearing Beran say that piaffe is a wonderful exercise for any horse, not just an older, more educated one, I think I'll teach my 4 year-old filly piaffe sooner rather than later. :)

Cover shot

Frizzle — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 23:57:52 GMT

So, it turns out that the September Dressage Today cover was shot at my friend's barn! (Well, okay, I have only met her a few times, but she is the very close friend of one of my friends, so that counts, right?)

The barn is the gorgeous Joshua Tree Stables in Loxahatchee, Florida and it is owned by Karen Harris, one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Anyways, I had always heard that "a dressage rider" rented out the barn during WEF, but I had no idea it was Jessica Tate. I was just up there earlier today and saw the magazine - too cool! :-)

a video you will enjoy

DTEditor — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:56:26 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHQczRbBHxI
I

Moorland's Totilas

dressagedude — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:40:17 GMT

I guess I am missing something. I won't deny the horse moves well but some of the transitions in the freestyle at Hickstead were really abrupt and the walk was less than desirable. 89.4%? Really? Has anyone else watched the video on Horseandcountry.tv? I would just like to hear some other opinions. His passage and piaffe are beautiful but the rhythm in the passage was not alway consistent and it's hard to tell his passage from his collected or working trots.

The Best List of Dressage Blogs!

DTEditor — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:38:28 GMT

Dear forum folks,

I don't want you to miss our great list of dressage blogs on DressageToday.com,. There is something for everyone. So check them out.

thanks

Patty

They are:

need advice!

Live4Horses85 — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:33:24 GMT

okay so im home from the summer from school with my horse. and i am boarding my horse at a beautiful barn. it's been a week since he's been there but i feel like he's having a hard time adjusting..well mostly because of the goats and lambs that he sees when we are riding in the outdoor arena. he is petrified of them and so far when we are riding i get him to pay attention to me when we are riding..so i try handwalking him to the pen and he wants nothing to do with it. i want him to see them and maybe he'll see there's nothing wrong..and now he's scared of wash stalls and he was never scared of the wash stall up at school. maybe it's because its in a new barn and i'm trying to walk him around the barn to get him more used to it and settled down...maybe i should try some ttouches on him?

Philippe Karl petition

48northfarm — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:56:53 GMT

Have you seen or signed the petition Philippe Karl sent to the German Equestrian Federation (FN)? It's on his website-- http://www.philippe-karl.com/ -- if you want to see it and read of the FN response to it. Pretty enlightening. I signed his petition, along with 10,000 others. Christoph Hess of the FN and Karl do not see eye to eye, so the FN reply was no surprise. If you've seen the DVD Classic vs Classique, you know what I'm talking about. If you didn't get a copy of the petition, it's worth the time to read it.

Having More Fun with Dressage

DTEditor — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:43:39 GMT

Hi Everyone,

Are dressage riders too serious? Janie Rentz has a new blog on DressageToday.com and it's all about what we all do to make our training more enjoyable. Go there and add your suggestions. Let me know how you like all the blogs we are assembling for your enjoyment.

Thanks

Patty

Lisa Wilcox responds

DTEditor — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:35:14 GMT

Several readers have asked about Lisa Wilcox's focus on turnout in her monthly column Clinic with Lisa. Here is her reply. It will also be in our October issue.

Lisa says:
"For those of you who read Clinic with Lisa each month, I understand if it seems repetitive when I mention things like: wear white gloves, have polished boots or the horse should be neatly braided for shows. First, repetition is an essential factor in our learning process. At times, one would be surprised how long it takes, regardless of the amount of repetition, for a concept to sink in. There isnt a lesson with my own students in which I dont repeat somethingperhaps in several different waysbefore they have an "aha moment. Second, keep in mind that there are many people who pick up this magazine for the first time each month. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be if they were required to look into past issues to find what was previously explained? For those of you who do read my article every month, I thank you. I will continue to strive, all repetition aside, to give fresh, new insights for each photo I critique. Enjoy!"

Also, don't miss the October issue of Dressage Today because there is a report from Lisa's Michigan clinic, and she gives a how-to checklist (with explanation) for gaining a correct deep seat. I know you'll find it useful.

Patty

Ravel and Steffen!!!!!

dressagedude — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:00:34 GMT

Steffen Peters and Ravel have become the first team from the USA to win the Grand Prix at Aachen!!! And they did it with a 5% lead over 2nd place having all 5 judges place them #1!

old online extras

Laurie_horse — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:03:20 GMT

I am wondering if it is possible to read the online extras that are available each month for past issues?

thank you.

This Is Sad

percheronrider — Sun, 03 May 2009 07:42:50 GMT

I saw this tonight in the local paper, the passing of a French Dressage master who lived in Lexington Va. This obit does not do him justice. My instructor has taken training from him. He wrote many books, including, Another Horsemanship, among others.

http://www.rockbridgeweekly.com/obits/obit.php?action=3&id=2678