cc please on our first dressage test

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cbeebies

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Please be kind though as i have only had a couple of lessons and my ponio is a naturally tense and anxious boy and this was his first ever outing anywhere
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Our first dressage test
 
Bless him - he was obviously very spooky and judge seemed a bit mean not giving you longer to go around the arena and calm him down before you started your test. It alll seemed rather hurried and tense - I'm sure he goes a lot better at home and he is a very handsome chap!

Once you have got a few more outings under your belt I'm sure he'll start to relax and listen to you a bit more.
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He's a big guy isn't he! At least he was going forwards. You just need to make sure you use all the arena to make it a little easier for you both.
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First one down, well done
 
OMG He will do the most lovely test when he gets more accustomed to the arena. What a fabulous trot he has!! OK he was very spooky but in between the spooks I think he shows loads of potential. Honestly!
 
Thanks guys yeh he is 17.2, and i think he was so forward and rushy due to nerves his and mine lol, at home he doesnt walk forward very well but did here and at home he halts like a rock but so wouldnt here lol, is there any tips with my riding him that will help at all, my position, hands ect? i didnt mean be too nice lol as i need cc to go upwards and onwards i just meant dont say we looked like complete poo or anything :-)
 
oh thankyou very much, i know he wants to please and does try so hard but he just gets so tense and nervous, this isnt helped by the fact that i am a complete mess as I am so scared of looking stupid and making him look stupid that i get way to tense myself
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Love love love him!!! Totally reminds me of my first test- except mine was alot worse!

Yes he's tense and having a good look at things- but once you've got a few more tests under your belt you'll both chill. Then you'll feel like you can really ride him and your accuracy will improve and you'll have to find extra storage for all those red rosettes!
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I think he moves beautifully- his back legs spring along! Really think you'll make a cracking team!
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You don't look stupid or make him look stupid!!!!

My boy was very similar when we first started out and completely AWFUL indoors. I thought you did well to get so close to the mirrors. Yes it was a bit rushed and tense but I agree I think in the moments he relaxed a little he did show his what potential.

The way I worked through it with Boo was to just keep taking him out. I think we went out every weekend for 2 months and then dropped it down to every other week. The breakthrough was the first time he didn't stick his head in the air and scream during his free walk I knew we were getting somewhere.

Please keep going out and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your tests in the future.

Jo
 
really sweet, soft test
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considering how unsettled he was before you started i think you both did a super job here-yes he was looky but he stayed *with* you most of the time and you gave him a really nice ride-hands stayed still, body stayed central and most importantly you didnt get hung up on him spooking etc ,you just kept riding him forward, well done you, its so easy to get caught up in trying to make them be perfect, when the first few outings should be all about gaining confidence.

it was clear he was starting to relax and enjoy it as he DID stretch down in the stretchy trot circle and the walk was much more fluid and less *peacocky* in the last walk to halt than the first walk segment, so thats a good sign for the future.

i know nothing about you/horse/level of training at home so please forgive me if im teaching grandma to suck eggs but my 2p worth is that at home i would work on:

*leg yield and turns on the forehand, to teach him to work more to the outside rein, from inside leg, to bend his ribs and to supple him up.

* another good exercise is to trot large and just before each corner make a transition to walk, then ride the corner really deep, almost a turn on the forehand in motion through the corner so his inside hind has to step really under, and he really takes the outside contact and then trot forward trying to keep that feeling of him being on your outside rein until the next corner.rinse and repeat.

* he is built very uphill so i would do a lot of work encouraging him to stretch down long and low, maybe low and round, then back up to his normal frame so you gain control over the neck, then at a comp you can take him a little lower in the neck to stop him spooking and relax the back so he swings a bit more.

*ringcraft tip-on a youngster/green bean, ride the corners a bit shallower as he wont yet know that boards in corner=turn so you get that jinking side to side effect when he turns at the last minute and over corrects and ends up off the track on the next side. rider the corner as a longer smoother turn and think of leg yielding him slightly back in to it to make it all look smoother. (i appreciate that having total control over all his legs may be difficult at this stage, big babies are like steering an out of control ocean liner round a tennis court!!!)

but overall a very nice job indeed. how old is horse and what breed?

xxx
 
WOW! he is gorgeous!
Can't CC, sorry (as I am no position to talk
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and am rubbish at critique
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) but must say he has a fab trot!
 
Thankyou very much for your very kind comments, I was actually worried about the mirrors thinking, bum he isnt going to go anywhere near them, yet this was what bothered him the least?? The weather has halted our outings for the moment but there are quite a few in february at this particular centre, every tuesday evening and sunday afternoon so we shall be going and doing as often as we can, Thanks again
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Thankyou for your comments and advice, I shall definetly try the excersices that you have suggested, and you are definetly not telling grandma how to suck eggs lol, im am a complete novice to dressage as is my boy, i have had about 4 lessons about 20mins to half hr a time, and these are my first lessons ever i am one of those self taught bums, loved horses and got on and done it, this comes into show when you try to seriously take a discipline on especially i find dressage, so every second of advice that anyone gives me is 10000% appreciated, My ponio is 11yrs old and dutch wb, very green and can be quite a difficult ride, If I ask to much of him he either canters or bucks! and is generally very spooky but at home where he feels good he works like a dream as his surroundings are all known to him, when i was practising before the test he done the change rein in a long low walk as change the rein fully in buck
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If he worked out like he does at home then it would all be pleasantly joyfull, I do tend to get very anxious about judges/people watching though too so im aware that as he is sensitive im feeding him all my tension too, I did glug a whole bottle of rr before the test but should have taken it sooner than i did as i was so layed back about an hr after the test
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, i will be taking your advice and others on board thankyou very much
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lol, dont worry we've al been there..."change rein in rodeo bronc and at A rear and exit left......."!!!!!
in my boys first test he kept grinding to a halt to look at things, think it took us about 20mins to complete novice22!!!!


maybe have a glass of wine before your test?! not a totally serious suggestion but i have one client who went through a rough patch with her pony and she swore by a drink to take the edge off her nerves, as pony was then much more settled!!!!
 
You must be based near me as I go to MK often. However I find it extremly dark and spooky in there indoor arena, there is always a lot for the horse to look at with the opening on one side of the arena. My horse is 19 now and he even finds it spooky in there, however he is always better on his 2nd test there as he's got over his fears of whatever he thinks is going to kill him! Did you go back in to do a 2nd test? I also found one of the judges there quite unhelpful, not just towards me but a younger competitor who was struggling with her pony.

Your test has some nice momments and there is definately work to be done but I have no doubt he will come on leaps and bounds in 2010! You ride very quietly and don't seem to let his spooking stop you from riding him forwards which is great! x
 
Oh thankyou, and yes we are in milton keynes, my boys spookiest moment is the opening into the livery area as well, he was actually quite traumatised by it
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no we didnt do a second test is this something you would suggest? We all found the judge that day a bit erm picky and choosey so to speak
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ah bless him, i think he looked really genuine and was trying his best to keep concentrating despite looking at all the "interesting" things around the arena! yes, a little tense and spooky, but no silliness, very promising for the future!

my only comment would be to remember to try and turn him from the outside using his whole body to bend - what i mean is dont just pull the inside hand in to turn and hope the rest of the body follows, as this causes him simply to bend his neck and then drift out through the outside shoulder. he needs to be up to the outside hand and leg and turn from there, keeping your hands up and together in front of you. (believe me i know this is easier said than done when riding a big youngster!).

well done, a great job, hope you are chuffed!!
 
Thanks for your comments, i agree about more leg less hand but at the moment he is not very responsive of the leg and tends to lean on your aid rather than move off it, a friend has suggested i use blund spurs but im not quite feeling that!! and yes thankyou i was and am very very chuffed
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(the smiley is how i looked afterwards lol) i would be gratefull of any excercises that would encourage him to move off my leg more!
 
Hey, well done dvr. Your boy really is a stunner, but then I'm a real fan of 'big softies'
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You go very well together - you are a good size for him and considering how nervous you said you felt you rode him very effectively. He is tense but you ride him calmly without backing off him and I'm sure that with a few more tests under your belt his confidence will improve and at the same time you will feel able to be firmer with him and then you will come on leaps and bounds!
Try not to worry about what everyone else is thinking, we are all in the same boat
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. Also is there a reason why you rise on the same diaganol throughout? Sometimes, from a judging point of view, it can make the horse look a little uneven and the rider crooked when the diaganol isn't changed. As has already been mentioned, don't try at this stage to ride your corners too deep as they end up looking 'square' when the horse resists the bend. Always try to think about 10 steps ahead to what is coming up,then you'll be ten steps ahead of what your gorgeous boy might decide to come up with
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. Well done!!
 
Thankyou very much for your comments, the reason i was riding on the same diagonal throughout was because i was so busy just riding that i didnt even give it a thought to be honest (well actually not strictly true I did give it a thought but just thought sod it
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) I know I have loads to work on and sort out and I really want to make him as proud of me as he makes me so with that I have plenty to work for if that makes sence? and I agree and will try the think 10 steps ahead as i felt because everything was late so to speak it was forced movements rather than flowing, so i was dragging him rather than flowing,
 
Firstly well done, you ept your cool, you rode him through it and got flashes off very nice work
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Secondly, that arena is very spooky. Maybe for your next few tests going to a less spooky venue to build up some confidence. My horse hates dark small indoors and i have had to accept he is genuinely unhappy so i don't compete him at these sort of venues. There is no point, he get's himself in a right flap, ot the point i retired last time he was so unhappy.
Thirdly for your nerves take some rescue remedy, it is marvellous stuff and all natural.
Fourthly, i would set yourself some aims for the year and would also try to have a few more lessons (not because there is anything wrong with how you are doing), but i can def see the potential with you two and think it would be a huge boost having as many lessons as you can.
Enjoy your horse he is a cracker and there is potential to go alot higher in the dressage arena. Well done with him
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That was a really nice test.
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As everyone else has said he will settle when hes been to a few.
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Just make sure you ride right into your corners, use the whole arena.

I'd be very pleased with that test.. with my pony's first test we nearly jumped out the arena at A!
 
Thanks a lot for your comments and ideas, We have only started our lessons and have been on hold for Christmas ect now weather!! but will be returning to weekly lessons asap, I enjoy them and want to develop as best as I can for him so we can hopefully go out and do really well (my dream lol)
Thankyou very very much for your kind words re potential with us, Everyones comments have gave me such a boost, the responces have been kind and saying we have so much potential for the future, i didnt expect this at all (think i will stick to this room as there doesnt seem to be any nasty people in here lol) I dont mind people pointing out my faults as i know they are there and appreciate people with experience giving me advice, My hopes are to do very well at dressage, I have a wonderfull trainer and great responces and advice on here so thankyou very much everyone xx
 
Thankyou very much, we nearly left the arena at A as well but that was my fault not his, i have been given the advice to be forward thinking at all times maybe 10 paces, which i didnt do at all i was just do and dont forget or fail, and kinda dragged him too close to the edge
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so he thought wow whats that, bless him
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