Retraining a Hunter for Dressage ?

Flibble

Flibble

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 September 2007
Messages
4,282
Location
Gloucestershire
www.annamason-art.co.uk
Ok so nobody knows the horse in my other post.
Would it be reasonable/feasible to buy an 8 year old Hunter and school to do dressage as well as jump or is 8 too late to start. We are not talking Grand Prix here just unaffiliated in a nice outline?
 
No, not too late at all. Depends on the horse though but with a bit of consistent schooling it should be fine
smile.gif
Good Luck
grin.gif
 
I see no reason why not. We have a Hann x TB who mainly jumps but we have trained him to do dressage & he scores 70%+ in Prelims. He was 8 when we started his schooling so it's perfectly possible. It's really great when your horse can compete in several disciplines, it keeps you busy most weekends.
 
My TB is doing well at affiliated dressage. We only started properly 2 years ago, because I managed to get some money together for a trailer. Before that, we only hacked. She is 14 this year, and she improves month by month. In fact, now we are doing Elementary and Medium movements, she seems to find it easier.

So it is never to late for a horse to learn new things.
 
Good answers I am beginning to wonder if as I love flatwork schooling so much a good honest jumper that needs a bit of work on the flat might be better as although I love jumping my confidence does take a beating when I lie on the floor on the wrong side of a cross country jump looking up at my horse who has chickened out and is straddling the jump trying to decide wether to reverse off or scramble and use me as a mattress ( yep it happened but he missed me when he landed)
 
My hunter does dressage - infact he does everything! Hunts all winter then RC all summer, and he gets good marks and nice rosettes! It does take him a couple of weeks to get out of the hunting yob mode after the season, but then I have to remember to attempt to ride like a dressage rider not with really short stiruups like out hunting!
 
8 is still very young! I have retrained polo ponies older than that to be great all rounders and let's face it, a hunter goes in a way that is far more *natural* for dressage than polo ponies!
 
My friend has just qualified her hunter (who's hunted since he was four and done 6 seasons with the Cotswolds) for the Prelim Regional Championships - so it can be done. And he's not built for dressage... is a bit croup high. But is very trainable and she rides an accurate test.

So go for it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top