Quote:

Lightness, cadence and collection are not restricted to trotting horses.

This is very true, but the breed specialty shows aren't in the same realm as international or even regional competition. I've seen a Quarter Horse who kicked butt competing in dressage nationally at the Quarter Horse shows, but completely scrubed out at a regional dressage show when up against other breeds, (btw, I like Quarter Horses). I've even done a little dressage on a Percheron. Was it fun and helpful training? Absolutely. Would he stand a snowball's chance in hell competing on a level playing field (like NOT at a draft horse show)? No way. But that's okay because the training methods are certainly applicable and helpful to any horse and training really is the goal in dressage.

Christi, I have a good friend who breeds/raises Friesians. If you are interested, PM me and I'll give you her contact info.

I do know that is true. I'm just talking FEI. For me Dressage is my work, it's what I do for a living. All the time I see people that go trotting down the long side of the areana with the reins as really tight and than they make the horse step sideways and the say there are doing dressage half pass. It's almost insalting to my work. you can not call a horse that is stepping high and smoothly and has a rounded head dressage, it dose not work that way. Alot of people thing that a good reach from the hind and a nice rounded neck is colletion, trust me it's not. And I see that in a lot of riders. They need to understand that dressage is a style, not a mix of fancy movements. You can't just get a spanish horse, ask them to trot and hold them back alittle and tuck there but and call it dressage. It looks cool but it's not dressage.

In dog terms, you can't get a dog that will play bite your friends arm when you tell it to and go around calling him a PP dog. That would put the work you do with your dog to shaim.
Do you get what I'm saying?

Were you speaking in general terms Christi? or to me? I was kinda agreeing with you .

I have 35 years invested in the sport as well, and have been frustrated by students who couldn't tell the difference between a leg-yield and a half pass, or thought their horse was working in the proper frame because his neck was bent, even though he may be tripping over himself or falling on his forehand. But it's complicated as we well know . in the last 15 years or so the greatest lesson I've learned is to take myself less seriously, just do what I do, and have patience with the vast majority who aren't familiar with (and don't care to be) all of the subtle and complex nuances of something that I've studied in depth.

Most people aren't interested in 'all that', they just want to appreciate the beauty of a balanced, athletic horse, doing his job with finesses, and that's okay. It doesn't make light of anything.

I've been involved with horses MUCH longer than dogs, and I've been very grateful for the advice and patience that have come my way from more experienced dog-people when I've needed help, and it was offered without frustration or judgment, and I'm having FUN.

I know that the FEI is the shizit in the competition world and most of us scramble to meet those standard, but dressage as a training method can't be beat for ANY horse; and visually I still prefer the Baroque style of the Lipizzaners and the airs above ground. I could pick them apart and say that maybe their extensions aren't as expressive as they could be, but I would rather just watch and 'oooh and aaah' and enjoy every minute.

Sometimes knowing too much can suck the fun out of something, so I try sometimes to forget what I know and just observe, learn and appreciate. It keeps it fun. When it's your job it's a little more difficult to look at it from that perspective (which is why I'm glad it's not my job anymore) but you know what you're doing. What other people do isn't a reflection on you at all.

Great post Kristel. I have a friend who is currently doing Prix St George with her Appaloosa. I showed/trained horses for 15 years and the skill and training it takes to get a horse to the FEI level just boggles my mind.

Thanks Ingrid . A friend of mine boarded her Appaloosa at my place a couple years ago, and he was trained to second level. It was just cool. She bought him from a local barn that breeds warmbloods, and it seems they wanted to try and keep the Appy up to speed. It must be neat to see one training Prix St. Georges.

One of my favorite things to see is the very young children on their ponies (with varying degrees of beauty and talent:-) working their butts off at the schooling shows. I love to see that level of dedication and to watch as their abilities develop. They are just so CUTE.

At the FEI levels the training IS very intense, but it builds on itself and it's a gradual progression up the levels over a period of years and EVERYONE starts at the beginning .

Christi, who are your instructors? I'm familiar with many of the German competitors/instructors and I'm curious to see if it's anybody I know .

I showed Appys for years so it is neat to see one do well. Her horse is the #1 Appaloosa in dressage right now. The neat thing about Diamond is that his owner raised and trained him herself for Dressage. Her parents bought a stud fee at a fundraising auction for a 100 bucks to help support the fundraising cause and bred a mare. She actually competed as a youth at appy shows as an all around on the gelding before focusing on dressage :-p Here is a picture of them that I took several years ago of them just warming up at a show:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/505376501_de055ee277_o.jpg

Not the best picture of her position wise but it is all I have on-line :-p

Christi, I can tell you're speaking from the European warmblood world. I've watched tons of FEI rides/Olympic caliber riding. Sorry, but I prefer the Spanish horse loftiness and baroqueness to the warmbloods I see working. A Spanish horse's passages and piaffes can put the warmbloods to shame. And I mean "correct" passages and piaffes. Sure, there are circus trained horses in every breed...and in the US we have a lack of folks that know how to train the high school movements.

I like the Spanish horse style for dressage. It's just a personal preference. Warmbloods certainly have set the standard for dressage over the years, but Spanish horses were the original war horses and were bred to do dressage "naturally". Whether you want to call "it" (that round look, easily on the bit) dressage or not, a well-bred Andalusian excels at dressage really easily. especially the collected movements.

They obviously have more difficulties with the extensions and throughness that the warmbloods can achieve. However, they are very easy to train in all respects and just superb horses all around to own. Nobility is their main feature. You never hear the things said about Spanish horses that you do about warmbloods on the circuit. Like they wouldn't spook at nothing and jerk away from their owner and run off and kill themselves!

The definition of dressage is "training". Oh, and another thing, I rarely see warmbloods doing the airs above the ground! now THAT is dressage to me! If the European warmblood people want to claim the dressage world belongs to "them" - that's fine! however, a change is happening. Many clients come to me from the warmblood world wanting a change. And Andalusians have made it to the Olympics/FEI levels. They haven't SPECIFICALLY been bred in the past to compete against warmbloods but the Spaniards are planning to do just that. The hard part is to make competitive Andalusians and keep their traditional conformation.
Alot of people are against making them into warmbloods...

As for dressage not being a mix of fancy movements. Actually, isn't it? Fancy and done correctly. Beautiful to watch. And when fancy and done "out of the realm of pure competitive dressage" those fancy movements are still a blast to perform and well within the reach of an average person if they so desire to own a Spanish horse. They also can bring a crowd roaring. Not so for your typical hush quiet boring dressage routine. Not everyone wants to be a ring/arena expert in dressage. Some people like to have fun

And I would like to second the opinion that gaited horses CAN perform dressage. They might get a "0" score on certain movements... but they can do just about anything a non-trotting horse can do. And some gaited horses can be made to trot.

I have a bad back/neck from past injuries. I couldn't ride a big trotting warmblood if I wanted to. So I'll settle for a smooth Peruvian that I can work on dressage with at my own speed.

No one is putting the work you do to shame. There are different choices for different people. Most people looking to buy a "dressage" horse I bet will never ride past a level two anyways! It's a testimony to your hard work and study if you can ride at the higher levels. And if you can train a horse to those higher levels, you're one of a few.

D

That was amazing. I'm in awe.

The video Cindy posted was awesome as well.

wow.

Thanks for posting them.