dressage help ideas needed ( also in c&t)

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morrismob

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I hope someone here will come up with some words of wisdom. We have a 16.2 wbxtb who is 11. We bought him 18 months ago for my 15 yr old to event, both pc and be. Before we had him he was a great young event rider who had him for 6 months before this he was a dressage horse gaining points and winning 5 elem.

The reason for the move from dressage to eventing was apparently he got stale doing pure dressage so jumping was brought into his work and he loved it. He is a very scopey jumper and totally loves his cross country proving to be rideable and bold. With us he has taken daughter thru be90's and be100's with only afew jumping blemishes all due to rider. His dressage however leaves them well behind. We have worked hard with him thru the winter mainly looking at the way the daughter rides him and going to unaff dressage comps to gain her experience. Daughter has ridden from a young age and has worked her way through pc gaining qualification to pony club novice champs both in sj and dressage.

The problem now is both of them are ready and capable to start looking at novice be but his dressage is not ! Main comments on his sheet are being tense and against hand. He also nearly always strikes off on wrong lead on left canter. He has always had a fab physio who cannot find anything and great vet dentist who has to sedate him but is more than happy with his teeth. Saddle is ok but we constantly have them checked as he is cold backed, he doesn't bronc but when saddle is put on looks unlevel for 5 mins. He passed a 5* vetting and we have had zero issues with lameness.

He is an easy horse in most ways can be a t*t to load but we muddle through. He hadn't done huge amounts of hacking so was a bit traffic shy but now is great and well behaved alone/company 98 % time. Happy to acept rider faults here but she also has a little TB who she has no problems with on flat and has just started eventing and proving to be great. Any ideas would be much appreciated and wine and pringles to you all for getting this far.
 
Id invest in some dressage lessons. Youd be amazed what can be done with right instructor in a short time. Sounds like she needs to ride this horse a little differently to how she rides the other one. Theyre all different!
 
We have tried several instructors including a well known one who just said pop him in draw reins but I wasn't happy with that. Its very hard to describe him, he can work beautifully when he wants to except for that canter trans which is nearly always wrong even when jumping. My eldest daughter got on him and couldn't get a tune out of him at all.

At events he looks great, warms up reasonably well goes down the centre line and bang it starts to unravel. We go from 34 to 49 in a blink of a eye well 2 events at least.:(
 
Have a look at Balance International - their saddles look traditional but are designed for maximum horse comfort, and they regularly transform the way horses go.
 
A few thoughts, he shows a slight stiffness when girthed up this could just be due to tension but more likely due to something physical, it could be a sign of ulcers. A horse in my yard was similar just being girthy, tense in the arena but no real issues once the adrenalin was up and jumping, he was scoped but actually was clear, I still felt there was something wrong so put him onto an ulcer friendly diet, he has adlib hay even at the events, a supplement and alfalfa, the difference was fairly clear, he is no longer girthy, has relaxed in the dressage and the scores have gone up, or down if eventing.

You have the saddle checked but what about the girth, a wider shaped one or a different material or elastic could make a difference, it is often the little things that can make a big difference, I would continue to look for an understanding instructor that will work with the horse not try and force him to comply.
 
be positive said:
A few thoughts, he shows a slight stiffness when girthed up this could just be due to tension but more likely due to something physical, it could be a sign of ulcers. A horse in my yard was similar just being girthy, tense in the arena but no real issues once the adrenalin was up and jumping, he was scoped but actually was clear, I still felt there was something wrong so put him onto an ulcer friendly diet, he has adlib hay even at the events, a supplement and alfalfa, the difference was fairly clear, he is no longer girthy, has relaxed in the dressage and the scores have gone up, or down if eventing.

You have the saddle checked but what about the girth, a wider shaped one or a different material or elastic could make a difference, it is often the little things that can make a big difference, I would continue to look for an understanding instructor that will work with the horse not try and force him to comply.
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Thanks for reply, he isn't girthy or difficult to tack up but is odd when he first walks with saddle on then is fine. Spoke to vet about ulcers he can see no indications but have moved all horses to ulcer friendly diet but the only thing I haven't looked at is his girth. Any suggestions at the mo he is in a wintec elasticated but both sides. We are very careful about tacking him up and he really isn't bothered by it just walks out unlevel, could this affect him on the flat as he is just great jumping, very frustrating for us all !
 
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