ADVICE PLEASE - being more active

[Peterpan132]

I'm after some advice please.

I have ex show hunter-who I am now taking down the dressage route.

Being used to the show ring, he knows his job and does well at looking good, but it is not the lovely dressage outline I need to achieve.
Despite this we have always done well – just comments like needs to work more from behind, more up in front and his poll is too low.

So I have a new instructor who has been brilliant- we’ve slowed everything down, got him working with his poll higher and his canter work is definitely more ‘up infront’ rather than long and downhill. So feeling it is going in the right direction.

However, we were out at the weekend at a local dressage comp and got our worst scores ever!!! I feel he is going much better- and we didn’t get any comments like poll to low etc like we have previously, it was just very much – ‘canter needs to be more active’, ‘needs to be more active’! And feel this is what let us down.
Not being very experienced, I’m therefore after some advice, as a feeling a little disheartened!! – is the ‘activity’ something that will come with time – him needing to build his strength in carrying himself correctly before we can improve activity­ – or does it sound like I am doing something wrong now that needs correcting. I will try to upload a video later, but any thoughts appreciated!!!

 

[dianchi]

Ok dressage is subjective and you need to learn when you are happy with how your horse went.

It sounds like progress if you aren't getting the same comments, but you have changed his entire way of going, so that is going to take some time to adjust to. Once he has adjusted to the way of going then you can build the activity back in.

Hopefully you have taped previous tests so that you can sit and look at them both and see the improvements yourself.

We all have test sheets that come back and we are disappointed with, or tests you come out thinking are awful and you get a good mark.
Read the bad ones once, take the bits you agree with and move on!

Good luck

 

[Peterpan132]

Brilliant - thank you for that.

I definitely felt it was a better way of going to previous tests - and yes I have recorded all previous tests to watch them back - Just not being very experienced, I just wondered if I was doing anything wrong. Whether it is right to almost go backwards when changing his way of going - but even as I'm writing that last sentence - it makes sense that we would!!

Thank you again for your comments!!

 

[chestnut cob]

If you were happy with how your horse went then I wouldn't worry too much - you felt he was improved which is great. It takes about 4 months for muscles to change once you start correct work (according to both my equine and human physio's!), so it will take time for this to be reflected in your scores.

 

[oldie48]

Dressage can be quite subjective, I've done 2 tests on the same day at the same venue but with different judges, mostly the same horses in both classes. I won one and was last in the second, horse went pretty much the same in both tests. As a spindly, rather flashy TB, he's not everyone's "cup of tea". If you feel the horse went well, then he probably did. It's also worth looking at how generous or not the judge has been as particularly at the lower levels there can be some inconsistency particularly if it's unaffiliated.