I’ve been thinking about going from Hunter/Jumper to Dressage and in looking for a horse, I’ve been considering a Friesian. I’m besotted with Jane Savoie’s Moshi (which is probably why I want a Friesian). I know there’s a big stink over Friesians being used as riding horses instead of cart horses. So, I’m kind of wanting some arguments for and against it.
If you don’t think Friesians should be ridden, please make a valid argument as to why not. Thanks!
Thanks! This is the one I’m looking at. She’s not broke yet.
http://www.dreamhorse.com/show_horse.php?form_horse_id=1571864&share_this=Y
Or these specially if you are considering dressage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zclp9_LSEX8
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Right ok I have a project that I have to do for my stables. I have to find out about the horses in my favourite riding discipline – dressage 
I have to imagine I’m buying a young horse to train to be a dressage horse. I need to find out
1. Breed – I did some research and found that Hanoverians are very popular as dressage horses, with riders like Anky van Grunsven and Carl Hester competing hanoverians. can anyone tell me what makes them so good and suited to dressage?
2. What to feed my hypothetical dressage horse – during training and then during competition.
3. How to train a dressage horse! I have never trained a horse before so I have no idea what you do, let alone what you do to train a high level dressage horse capable of crazy dressage movements!
As much info as possible on this one if possible, I’m totally bewildered D:
Thank you for any help
Although some people like Hanovarians there are many different breeds and cross breeds used forthe sport. Others prefer the Trakehners. Most of the warm bloods used for dressage have a certain amoung of TB in them. Carl Hester also has KWPN and Oldenburg horses.
What makes a dressage horse is its movement which, from a foal, should be free, forward and the ability to move with its hocks under it and open the shoulder. They need to be built slightly uphill in that when they more their quarters are slightly lower than the withers this encourages them to have their hocks under them more.
As for feeding your hypothetical dressage horse is like asking how long is a piece of string! Each horse is different and as such should be fed differently. Some might be a bit lazy and need higher amounts than a ‘gassy’ type horse. Also growth comes into it. A three year old will need different nutrients to a grown horse.
The first thing that top riders will ask of a young (ridden) horse is free forward movement, this is allowing them to adjust to a rider being on them by going forward with their head lower than would normally be expected. Then as the horse strengthens and builds up the head will raise naturally and it will come onto the bridle. For the first couple of years there is very little collection asked for. movements are performed at working paces. As the horse learns the basic movements, strengthens and is stronger and is working collected so, the higher movements are asked for.
It all takes many years to teach.
What breed of jumping horses can be the best jumper in the world? (exclude Thoroughbred & American Quarter horse)
I like Hanoverian, but he is a Dressage horse so I have another question
"How to choose a good Hanoverian jumper?"
QHs are not the best jumpers as a general rule because they are usually bred for Western Events, which doesn’t make it as easy for them to do the big fences than a warmblood or TB bred for it. I’m not trying to annoy anyone, but if you compare this horse: http://racehorse-studs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Scrutinizer-qh1.JPG to this one: http://www.theequinest.com/images/dutch-warmblood-2.jpg and choose the QH for a jumper. So, that being said, I don’t think you have to worry about people telling you "QH".
No one breed is best at jumping. Some dominate, true- TBs and Warmblood-TB crosses dominate Eventing, and various warmbloods dominate the Dressage and Jumper diciplines as well. Past that, however, no one breed truly dominates. Research any warmblood breed and you will find both Dressage horses and Jumpers, and the trend toward a more "modern" type in warmbloods is making them more versitile still, even in breeds that have, in the past, always done dressage. Most of the warmblood registries include a Free-Jumping score when a stallion is tested for approval, as do test like the 100-day, which they are jumped under saddle in. If a horse is by an approved stallion, the sire could, in the very least, jump somewhat or else he wouldn’t have been approved.
That being said, I don’t know where you’ve gotten the idea that Hanoverians are only dressage horses. http://www.jamiesweat.com/gottleap2.jpg http://www.canadianwarmbloods.com/2007news/images07/Han-HJP_Freispri05.jpg http://gimcrackequestrian.webs.com/TOC50233.jpg http://www.superiorhorse.net/Stallions/For%20Play/for-play-jump.jpg these are all hanoverians.
You don’t look for a breed to buy unless you want to be breeding horses and need that breed. You look for the horse that can perform, not the one that has a certain brand. If you had an Arab that had competed up to Advanced in Eventing, and then you had a Oldenburg that was maxing out at 3′, you wouldn’t buy the Oldenburg because you’d heard Arabs can’t jump. (Which isn’t all that off- They can jump pretty, and do hunters, but you don’t see any in the highest levels of Jumpers or Eventing)
Hi. I was just wondering how to teach my horse Cappy dressage movements ssuch as:
Flying Change
Piaffe
Leg Yeilding
Seat Aids
And More
He is pretty well trained, he ggoes round and straight, and has already learned the basics of leg yeilding. He is 8 years old and has strong muscles, so strength isn’t really a problem.
Get an instructor or go to some clinics! Or at least buy a dressage training book for the more advanced movements (the flying changes and the piaffes). Training leg yielding is fairly simple, but your horse needs to be able to yield laterally to leg pressure. You can start teaching this on the ground, simply by applying pressure to the horse’s side where you would apply leg pressure if you were riding. A dressage whip can be helpful for this, using it to provide a gentle reminder of what you are asking. Once you get the horse yielding to pressure on the ground, practice it under saddle. The main thing is that the horse has to learn to move sideways but keep his body straight and parallel to the wall, crossing his legs over one another to move correctly. Seat aids, as you put it, are not a "movement", but a necessary method of communication between you and your horse in order to perform any movement of dressage, along with leg and hand aids. Piaffes require far more detailed ground training, so you would definitely need an instructor for this.
Good luck!
I see so many dressage horses nowadays (even Grand Prix level horses!) way behind the vertical. Most of the time they’re also flexing incorrectly instead of at the poll. Now, correct me if I’m wrnng, but I was always taught that your horse is supposed to be around 5 degrees in front of the vertical, NOT with his chin practically perpendicular to his chest.
I actually found this video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUUeRFZt8ec
Does that horse look happy or relaxed to you with his switchtail and pinned ears? OMG, someone yank Anky off him NOW. My horse would throw me off if I ever did that to him.
Can anyone explain the reasoning behind this (I guess the actual term is ‘rollkur’)?
The simplest answer is Anky rides like pants. My nine year old stepdaughter rides better than Anky, and has her ponies going a lot nicer!
Incorrect movement in dressage starts at the grassroots levels. Riders are punished for having their horses going above the bit, even if the horse is stepping up beautifully, so the trend is to encourage (ie, force) the nose down which is to the detriment of the steps. Now, everyone can crow on about how dreadful that is, and I have seen and heard countless riders do just that – but actually, few people know when their horse is moving properly and when it’s not. They don’t have lessons, or they get lessons from other people who don’t really know. The situation is not helped by judges who are too ignorant, too lazy, or too scared of being different, to actually mark someone down for riding like sh!t. You can get a lot of marks in dressage for being precise: if your circles are perfectly circular, and you canter exactly at the marker, you will gain marks. Nothing to do with actually riding well or having a nicely moving horse, and you can win by being precise and riding like sh!t.
I know grand prix dressage riders who can’t let go of the "ideal" of the lower head, and bring on their novice horses to have the nose down before doing anything about the legs. Of course it’s wrong, and people are lazy and can’t be bothered to ride. Rollkur is the big buzzword at the moment, and it’s very fashionable to be all het up about it, but nothing is going to change until people can be bothered to learn to ride correctly – and why should they, if you can win by riding really badly?
If so, how do you tell?
The horses you see performing well are breed to want to work and please their rider. When they get something right they are praised, even if it’s a small thing and only gets a release on the contact they are quite satisfied with it. Besides, if they were in pain or aggravated they would hardly perform at all. They would pin their ears, shake their head, swish their tail, act as though they would kick, and a number of other things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdb7qAtTLbc This horse is so happy with it’s job it is jumping even though it is not forced to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eet-Vbg-YJ4 This horse is currently the world record Grand Prix Freestyle holder. He is absolutely content in the ring.
I want a dressage saddle but all the girth i see don’t look right. some have a leather overhang that makes sure the buckles don’t touch some are made out of cotton and the buckles look like they would touch. can any one inform me about what kind is best and what is standered size and all that stuff.
thanks
Dressage saddles and girths were made to be so that the buckles are lower down and do not interfere with the rider’s leg. As a result, the girths usually have (And should have) a flap of material between the buckles and the horse’s skin. If it doesn’t, I would’t use it- I’ve never seen a dressage girth used that doesn’t have them. If you do end up with one like that, I’d get (Or make- it’s basically just a tube) a girth cover. Make it a little long, so you can pull it up over the buckles. That should protect the horse from rubs or getting pinched sufficiently
If you can, get something leather. It should match your saddle in color. If you get neoprene or something, keep in mind that some horses (Like mine) are allergic to it, so you want to make sure yours isn’t be fore you buy. Get one in good repair- As for sizing, I can’t tell you. Here’s a little chart that is an extreme GUIDELINE. A 15 hand Arab has ha different body type than a 15 hand Draft cross, and a chubby horse will need a larger girth than those said on these charts: http://www.saddleshop.com/extras/conversion_girth.htm It would be best to borrow a friends girth, or perhaps a trainer’s, to see what size fits your horse, especially if you are buying online.
I am learning how to train horses and break them and everything and I thought it would be kind of cool to teach dressage. I don’t have a lot of money for lessons in that kind of training but I was wondering if there was a website that would tell or if there was a dvd or book that had a professional trainer who would explain step by step like Clinton Anderson. Thanks.
I would like to learn to teach piaffe
Dressage takes many (many many) years of hands on experience and education. It would be impossible to have someone explain to you step by step since there is so much theory involved, as well as feel, timing, understanding, visually being able to see what is correct, etc. It has to become a second nature to you.
Instead, look into becoming someone’s apprentice or assistant who has been in the discipline for many years (and truly understands it!). Basically become a working student so you wouldn’t have to spend more than you can afford.
Training the Piaffe takes great skill and although it looks like a piece of cake (I don’t know how it could, but I’m not everyone else), it takes the highest degree of collection, strength, suppleness, impulsion… and so much more. Not to mention understanding equine biomechanics, psychology, and the like. I hope you look into it more!
like shows that have just gaited horses doing movements that are breed specific
the TWHBEA has it inthe Versitlity part of there shows.
below is a description fro mthe TWHBEA versitility page
Dressage TOP
Dressage has been approved as a versatility division and competitors may accrue points toward the year end high point award. Points from this division will not count toward the achievement of Champion, Supreme or Superior Champion.
Points accepted from any recognized dressage competition under a licensed judge, such as AHSA, USDF, Trophaeum Mundi International; or from open or TWH shows at which TWHBEASM approved dressage tests are used and a licensed judge presides.
English tack and attire are acceptable, either hunt seat, saddle seat or traditional dressage attire. Snaffle bits are required. Exhibitors should check with other organizations for their rules before competing.
Exhibitors must turn in a copy of their score sheet along with a copy of the class sheet and the test used when submitting their point book.
Complete dressage rules will be available from TWHBEASM for their recognized tests. For rules from other organizations, exhibitors should contact those officials.
In the event a show does not offer separate classes for youth and adult competitors, a horse may be shown by only one youth and one adult in any event.