The Art of Natural Dressage

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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 1:29 am 
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Nice Josepha!

I'm working on this with Sunrise at the moment, and unless she's standing in an actual "goat" position, it's hard to 1: get her to stand with her feet square, and 2: not move her feet when she transfers weight back. Karen, so true what you say. I'm making progress when I reward more quickly, when I don't wait for the right thing, but mark that she hasn't started doing the wrong thing yet. There are some beautiful words in Bill Dorrance's big book where he talks about IMAGINING that the horse is doing the right thing as a way to help them out, if they just can't quite get to doing the right thing yet. It seems to so reverberate with CT and with AND.

I'm impressed with where you've got to with Owen. There's a really clear transferal of weight backwards.

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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 12:31 pm 
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Thank you Sue :)
Well, I worked on halt really for a very looooong time. Since December in fact. Halt is probably one of the most important exercises and at the same time the one most overlooked (by me anyway ha ha !).
Correct halt has cured most of our 'problems'.

I never use goat on the mountain. For me this exercise puts the front legs towards the point of gravity which I do not want to aspire or make a habit of in any way.

Now the next step to this video would be to bend the hocks, for that the abdominal muscles need to do their thing. So, I shall proceed by asking Owen to back and then from back go into walk and when he can do that, trot. The next vid will probably be in december :funny:

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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 6:12 pm 
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nice :yes:


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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2011 6:55 pm 
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nice video josepha and O... :yes: :applause:
It looks realy good

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PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2011 4:41 pm 
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KyKe8W4NAM

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqtnnbFH-Ms

Let me know your thoughts and questions :)

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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 1:51 am 
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Nice to see you back on your horse! The Espaniola saddle looks good on him! And he seems very happy about you mounting. I guess that means he's giving it the thumbs up? What do you think of it compared to the Barefoots? Is it the short flap or the long flap model? (Sorry, lots of saddle questions.. I'm looking at buying a discounted one at the moment!)

O is looking lovely and bendy with his lateral flexions. :love: I often train this without the hand cue as well, keeping my body tall and upright so that I don't lean to lure to me, and just turning my body from the hips very slightly as I would when riding a bend, and wait for my horses to get it. Then put my hand down with the treat. This still gives the benefit of the lateral flexion, but adds an extra polish up of tuning them to my seat and leg cues so I can ride tackless. It makes a really "wow" inspiring trick too when you get people to name left or right for you and your horse does it with seemingly no cue! :funny:
xxSue

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I have not sought the horse of bits, bridles, saddles and shackles,

But the horse of the wind, the horse of freedom, the horse of the dream. [Robert Vavra]


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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 3:23 pm 
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I admit I spent quite alot of time drooling over the saddle. 8) :D

And now I'll be working on our "halt" alittle more too. ;)

Question though...
With flexions what do you do in the case of having a horse like Diego who can't even reach up that far to take a treat from me while mounted? :sad: He also tilts his head alot, like Karen mentioned on my videos (uneven ears). I notice even while bending around Owen keeps his ears nice and level. :yes:

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PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2011 9:58 pm 
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Owen has beautiful flexibility. Cisco used to tip his nose too.

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 10:29 am 
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Quote:
Nice to see you back on your horse!

Thank you, oh you can’t believe how happy I am finally to be able to work like that again! Aah! I never knew I missed it so much, after 6 years. But my seat is horrible, horrible! I could lengthen the stirrups one whole last time, so I am getting there slowly but surely, just like the O master. :yes:

Quote:
The Espaniola saddle looks good on him! And he seems very happy about you mounting. I guess that means he's giving it the thumbs up?

Yes, you are so right. It is the first saddle ever he actually loves and I can’t be more thrilled for it is my dream saddle! Just the sight of this saddle each day makes me smile like an idiot! And I love the feel of it… so secure and yet all Owen is doing can be felt through it like through butter! :ieks: :love:

Quote:
What do you think of it compared to the Barefoots?

There is no comparison. Well in my mind. I do like the barefoot type of saddles. They should probably be standard worldwide for general riding. But it is no comparison to the feeling of the Espaniola. Also O dislikes the barefoots but he choises them over any treed saddle though.

Quote:
Is it the short flap or the long flap model?

It is the short flap, I am a really tiny person… :alien:

Quote:
(Sorry, lots of saddle questions.. I'm looking at buying a discounted one at the moment!)

Don’t ever be sorry asking me about this saddle…! :love:

Quote:
O is looking lovely and bendy with his lateral flexions. I often train this without the hand cue as well, keeping my body tall and upright so that I don't lean to lure to me, and just turning my body from the hips very slightly as I would when riding a bend, and wait for my horses to get it. Then put my hand down with the treat. This still gives the benefit of the lateral flexion, but adds an extra polish up of tuning them to my seat and leg cues so I can ride tackless. It makes a really "wow" inspiring trick too when you get people to name left or right for you and your horse does it with seemingly no cue!
xxSue


That is a great idea!!! Thanks! I do use my inside leg to ask for just a little lateral flexion for later when we can leave the cavesson out completely. But that is an excellent idea Sue! Please show a vid :)

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 10:33 am 
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Colinde~ wrote:
I admit I spent quite alot of time drooling over the saddle. 8) :D

So do I :green:

Quote:
And now I'll be working on our "halt" alittle more too. ;)

Great! trust me, I overlooked that a lot with O and boy does it present one with problems later on in everything.

Quote:
Question though...
With flexions what do you do in the case of having a horse like Diego who can't even reach up that far to take a treat from me while mounted? :sad: He also tilts his head alot, like Karen mentioned on my videos (uneven ears). I notice even while bending around Owen keeps his ears nice and level. :yes:


Well, this did not come over night, believe me. In the 6 years O and could do very little else, this was one of the things we did a lot. So if you can not do it mounted, you have to work on it on the ground, preferable daily.
Also, there could be problems in the hip and or jaw area.
How does he do his ramener?
And can he bring forward his hips on both sides?
These exercises are sort of combined with the flexions.

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 10:35 am 
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Karen wrote:
Owen has beautiful flexibility. Cisco used to tip his nose too.


Thank you Karen :) All these years of only being able to do standing exercises most of the time, when O had no breath paid of with this at least :)
He could not bend to save his life when he came to us in 2003.

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 12:15 pm 
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Nice to see videos of Owen again :).

I've started doing this with Bear, he finally steps forward with his back legs on the flat (he was great at doing it on the pedastal). Now I'm just rewarding him for not stepping back when I ask him to lean a little. I think he almost gets it and he sure loves getting carrots for standing still and looking pretty :D.


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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 6:28 pm 
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Josepha wrote:
Well, this did not come over night, believe me. In the 6 years O and could do very little else, this was one of the things we did a lot. So if you can not do it mounted, you have to work on it on the ground, preferable daily.
Also, there could be problems in the hip and or jaw area.
How does he do his ramener?
And can he bring forward his hips on both sides?
These exercises are sort of combined with the flexions.

I think there are probably problems with both his hip and jaw areas. The chiropractor says his left side of his pelvis is higher than the right (lumbar injury sustained some 8 years ago). So bending around to his left is easier... but the right is much harder.

His ramener depends, sometimes I can get him to do it without tilting his head at all, but many times he wants to tilt his nose sideways toward me as he's doing it. Trying to keep him from doing that by not asking for as much flex right now... I'm trying to help him recover but sometimes I feel like I don't know how.

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 7:08 pm 
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Do not lunge then now. Do not ride circles but rectangular voltes. Work in yielding along the fence. (Head to the fence, outside leg taking quarters in). When that works, work on shoulder in. After that, when in shoulder in put your leg back and change to travers (Haunches in). Contstantly keep changing lead.
Only go to trot from shoulder in, only go to canter from travers or renvers.

Take aaaaall the time it needs.

6 months at least... but you will see improvement within months.
Now... I should see how you use your reins and seat to help any further.

Also, the works of Anja Beran, Philip Karl and Bent Branderup might shed some light :)

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PostPosted: Sat May 28, 2011 8:15 pm 
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a little more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHYj3aFEJOk

These are still our first steps... thought you guys would like to watch our beginnings :)

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