Dressage People - please can you tell me why ......

Felicity_09 said:
All SJing and about 50 to 60% of DR here is on grass and people don't use stud except at the higher levels. I would say our conditions on average are probably worse than yours - ie rock solid

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From one fellow Aussie to another and all due respect, our grass is not the same as yours. Well, at least not the same as the grass in WA, I know you are from NSW but where I was near Sydney too, the soil content is very different to that here. Grass in WA is far thicker and courser than here in the uk. Also a big factor too is the soil which in WA is mainly sand so in my opinion, is easier to ride on :)
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"From one fellow Aussie to another and all due respect, our grass is not the same as yours."

OK, I did wonder if there was something like that going on, thanks.
I reaslise soil type etc will play a big role - my local showground is helpfully built on clay! :)

PS I object to being called Aussie I'm a true blue Pom that spent most of her life in Chile... so nationality challenged :)
 
I have only had a quick scan of this thread but I agree with Felicity_09 - if you have a balanced horse it can do a nice test on grass without studs (which i think are just becoming a fashion now! like five point breastplates?!?!).

I am like only_me - I have no surface to ride on but have an acre of flat field which i use as my school and jumps area in the summer. I also school in stuble fields by circling the bales etc too. I do use a surface which is owned by my horses neighbours and they are super kind to let me use it. This is the best of both - I think that you have to consider the venue you are going to compete at and factor that into your training. My very limited BE experience showed this - my horse and I are not dressage divas but are used to grass and open fields, this has meant we have some how gotten sub 40s at dressage at BE level.

A good grass arena can be better than many surfaces which can be too deep, too heavy etc, I have seen more horses slip on surfaces too. Sometimes its more an issue in the riders mind that anything else.
 
janey said:
Orv said:
I don't trot on concrete either (I feel another debate happening lol) and definitely planning a pleasure type ride to get mine out a bit more in a non dressage environment. I can tell Otto we are hunting, he'll never know the difference as he's never been and never will! :)
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Why not hunt? - if you are anti chasing an animal there are plenty of bloodhound packs.
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s4sugar said:
janey said:
Why not hunt? - if you are anti chasing an animal there are plenty of bloodhound packs.
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Well I wouldn't like them to catch the fox but definitely wouldn't hunt on my dressage boy (another cause for debate lol) I wouldn't want to risk hurting him (tendons etc).
I don't think he would be a safe ride for hunting anyway, after reading lots of stories on here about how it effects schooling etc.
Give me a nice safe plod to hunt and then yes, I would go but probably with the bloodshounds :)
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I have done dressage on both surfaces and grass this year. I found in general my 6 year old went better on a surface. I did dressage on grass this weekend (btw my horse is a barefoot han 17hh). by the time the afternoon had come around what was a lovely springy surface with a good covering of grass had become greasy. My boy slipped around the corner and i proceeded to ride him cautiously for the remainder of the test.

With a lot of venues in my area if faced with an option i will always choose a surface (yes i understand these can also be deep and just as bad but you get the know the venues and choose accordingly). Im not saying i wont do dressage on grass again but if the option is available to you i feel why shouldnt i minimise any risk to my horse and any added nerves or anxiousness to myself.
 
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