The Art of Natural Dressage

Danny, I have done fun shows with my horse, Cisco, as well. Why? Because they are exactly that...fun.

You do not have to explain yourself in the same way here as in other possible forums. Perhaps because the focus here is different. What you are doing s wonderful...showing others the possibilities of imagination and creativity. Who would say that is wrong?

I would love to hear more about how you started Nikita, and how you help others to start. This may help all of us to help others as well...so the circle continues to grow, and grow.

You are doing a great thing. Thank you for writing here!

Please start a topic somewhere and tell us more...this isn't the right topic...this isn't about eventing, it's about starting a wave of change. I would dearly love to hear more.

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

Hi,

I will reply here to both Bianca and Karen.

Bianca, I am not sure why you are talking about a wooden box without windows. Here Trailers are well constructed, made of solid metal, with double-axles, brakes etc, and they do have windows and ventilation vents.
They are inspected for road-worthyness just like a vehicle does, so it is a far cry from being a "wooden box".

When I tow, I constantly see the horses in my side and rear-view mirrors.
They have well padded supports and partitions combined with non slip matts that make the ride comfortable.

A lot also depends on how you drive, wide, gentle turns combined with very gradual speed changes and slow speeds go a long way toward making the ride more comfortable and less scary.

Something tells me that if my Nikita was unhappy about it in any way she would not walk (each time) into the trailer on her own.


Karen,
I did start a new topic this morning, but then another member of the forum asked me to post here exactly what I have written, so that another view could be shown.

Thank you so much for showing me the door.

Good bye to you all.

Danny

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Cape Town

Danny, I think Bianca was talking only of her own fears of trailers. I have fears about things as well, but my horses too ride comfortably in trailers as we really have no choice. I don't know anyone with a horse van (how cool that would be though!)

No one is suggesting that Nikita is not happy.

Sometimes it takes a bit of getting used to here...that you won't be blasted for doing things with your horses. We are all different. No one would suggest that you should not use a horse trailer.

I found the other topic and am reading it. Thank you!

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"Ride reverently, as if each step is the axis on which the earth revolves"

????? Danny, I think there is a small misunderstanding going on here. Karen surely did not try to show you the door. It´s quite the contrary, she just said that she was interested in your work and asked you to write about it a bit more - and she only suggested to do this in a new topic as the things she would like to know are not eventing-related but more about general riding. If you want to talk about eventing a bit more, then you are of course free (and very welcome!) to do so in exactly this topic.

I would also love to read more about your work.

Hi All,

Sorry, I do not have much to say about enventing.

I have only started working seriously on dressage with Nikita about 3 months ago, until then I was never taking it too seriously (also here we only ride with neck-string) we are doing well but nothing spectacular, and I have not yet done any dressage tests in a show. ( not sure I will)

Cross country jumps are pretty much part of every day riding, we have built many along the trails where we ride, but nothing too big that coud endanger horses or riders .

Regards,

Danny

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Cape Town

Ohhh I didn't mean trailer are no good, I only say I'm scared to put my horses in them, it's in between my own ears
So Danny, nothing negative about you and your use of trailers at all Noooo just the contrary ... just a story about my own fears and impediments

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Hello Bianca,
I did not take offense, I was just worried that we may be using an unsafe and horrible kind of trailers to move our horses around here.

Kind regards,

Danny

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Cape Town

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*Zoe + BJ*

Hi Sparky,
It took some convincing for a formal show, but in the practice shows it has actually been easy to get accepted. reactions vary, although most people comment that seeing a horse do everything without a bit or halter has given them a new perspective, and although it does not drive many to ride like that , I am sure it does give them second thoughts about using harsher bits as a solution to what is most times a communication problem.

I am also lucky to have great trails just out of the gate of the yard where I keep Nikita, and the beach is only 15 minutes away (driving slowly) so it is really nice.

Whether you end up riding your horse bitless in a show or not, it does not really matter, I think that this is such a personal thing between the rider and the horse, that even if you only ride like that in a close arena it is still a great feeling ( for both), and rather than stress about what you can't do ( for now) enjoy what you are doing, most lilkely it will bring your relationship with your horse further, faster.

All the best,
Danny

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Cape Town

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*Zoe + BJ*

Danny, Rosettes from me! No arrows! How wonderful!

My personal preference as far as "better for the horse" would be eventing over showjumping.. Low level eventing is great I reckon..In NZ it's a huge sport, and I think mostly, the horses that event are in far better overall general condition than the ones who only showjump. They don't usually suffer the same hoof and leg problems as the showjumpers who are going tight and high. (According to my Dr Rooney book!) And I do believe there are plenty of happy horses, who are getting all their needs met (including most importantly social) who are in good physical health, and don't mind too much that they don't have too much choice of the way that they have to earn their daily bread. I want to explore something different with my horses, so am working on myself to see if I can introduce riding as something that is free choice in all respects as well.. but I don't think that everyone who doesn't choose my way is evil. It would be wonderful if more people could go bitless and make life just that bit (sorry) more pleasant for their horses. My hat is off to those who show the way. Not many are going to be influenced by my whacky ways... but I'm sure there are many who sit up and take notice when they see people competing bitless and looking good

Competive trail riding sounds like a fairly nice sport.. even better than Endurance. Have you all seen the 37 year old horse, Elmer Bandit, who has just broken the record for distance miles? He and his rider/owner have been together since he was born. http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/news/2008/04/095.shtml Now he has the new record: http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.asp ... =11&src=RA

I have a really nice horse truck.. some of my horses actually LOVE going on it and beg to be first to get on because they know where we are going. One just absolutely stresses the whole way, although she doesn't fuss about loading... Depends on the horse....

Cheers,
Sue

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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]

HI Sue, I totally agree with what you say.
In some instances I also allow Nikita to choose what she wants to do; sometimes when we are riding our in the bush I let her make the choice of pace, and let me tell you, most of the time her preference is the faster gaits.
Also, in many of the trails we have low (never higher than 70 cm) jumps that we build from thin branches ( so that in the event that a horse hits it he will not trip over it but the jump will disintegrate) and each jump has a bypass possibility, so that is not forced to jump them. I usually let her choose and she has yet to choose to go around a jump.

Btw, in the interest of preventing all sorts of maladies and because I feel that it is more than enough, I never asked and never will ask Nikita to jump anything higher than 80 cm. many photos that people have taken have showed me that she clears those with a good 20 cm between her belly and the pole, so it is not taxing her strength too much either.

All the best, and dont forget to give your horses a huge treat for new year' eve!

Cheers,
Danny

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Cape Town

Hi Danny, you sound like a wonderful owner and I'm sure that I wouldn't mind being your horse!

When I was a kid, sometimes I used to keep my horses in a ten acre "rough" paddock. It was full of gorse bushes, streams, fallen logs and other obstacles. And sometimes, my horse would be Waaaaaaay down the back of the paddock on the bottom flat.. And I would have to trudge all the way down to find him. I couldn't be bothered carrying the gear.. he lead by his mane hair anyway. And when I did find him, sometimes I couldn't be bothered walking all the way back either. Sooooo.. I would jump on and let him choose his path and speed. Speed usually started at gallop and (hopefully) had slowed to canter by the time he was up the hill and at the gate. I could control him somewhat, but didn't bother. And.. I'm sure you're going to guess the punchline.. he ALWAYS chose to jump the gorse bushes that didn't look too high... even when it seemed just as easy to go around ...both my consecutive horses!

My little shettie of the moment is showing an inclination in this direction too.. She's Sooooo sassy and gets totally jazzed on jumping. The obstacles are about twenty cm high! Bella also will choose to go over the jumps in the paddock if the kids ride her without a bridle.. in a bridle she absolutely REFUSES to steer for a jump. In her case, I think she's doing it not so much because she loves jumping, as because she thinks humans WANT her to jump, and she's showing her appreciation of having her head free by trying to go out of her way to please.

Christmas day is my horses birthday! Maybe there'll be some carrot cake left over for New Year!

Cheers,
Sue

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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]

Hi Sue,
It is nice to see that I am not the only one who lets the horse choose the pace sometimes.
As for the way I treat my animals, I guess your are right, my wife says that my German Shepherd will have a terrible shock if she ever discovered that she is not human after all .

I could like to wish you and all your loved ones a great 2009!
Cheers,
Danny

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Cape Town