Just a general question, but are their any arabian horses that do top dressage, and if so who?
Just wondering as i can’t see why they couldn’t but i’ve never seen any. Just allot of warmbloods and what not.
Thanks in advance 
Arabs can do dressage but it takes 10 times more patience then a warmblood, because arabs are very springy and hot headed. They don’t have the self discipline to "cool down" and focus. I’ve started my TB in dressage but its proving difficult because of his breed, I probably will go far because I have the patience to work with him. Some people just don’t.
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do you think KWPN (Dutch) horses are the best for dressage. I think so noticing all the horses in the past that have won, most are KWPN!
They are doing well at the moment but many of the top dressage horses are Hanoverians and other warmblood breeds. KWPN’s have been noticed lately because riders from the Netherlands are now good enough to be at the top level. Most of the top sires are actually Hanoverian/Oldenburg/Holsteiner and KWPN uses many of these outside sires to create their horses so it’s hard to say that one particular breed is "the best". There is a lot of bloodline sharing.
I like style of Dressage horses, but I really enjoy with jumping.
So I would like to know that which Dressage horse can jump the best?
Between Hanoverian and Friesian (In this time, I am goin’ crazy with Friesian, but I also like Hanoverian 555+)
There are many warmbloods, particularly Hanovarians in the professional jumping world as well as in the professional dressage arena. Take your cue from them, if it’s good enough for the professional rider it’s good enough for us
how do you get a horse to perform a leg yield, what signals do you use and how do you keep the movement flowing? Also the same questions for pirouette. I’ve just started dressage and I’m having a little trouble, I’ve been riding for more than 6 years but only basic dressage.
hard to explain but here we go
First, begin at a collected trot, horse must be on the bit (if you cannot maintain being on the bit, as the horse will fuss with you when you attempt this that is ok, but do try your best to improve in that area as to achieve a very good mark), with the fence of the ring on your left side
gently, using your body weight, and a SLIGHT turn of the head, go down the center-line from C (or A)
(you will be going to your left, your whip on the right)
at about 3-5 paces, keeping horse collected, and on the bit, making sure your seat bones have an equal balanced weight, and you are sitting perfectly straight in your saddle with your arms gently tucked against your waist, leaning gently back, you must be relaxed for this, as in anything,….
press with your left leg downwards in the stirrup, WHILE your right seat bone presses down on the right side of your saddle
this step, while difficult, is crucial, it takes much practice
while leg-yielding your whip can be gently tapping your horses right hind-quarter, your right foot (with spur is preferable at this stage) gently tapping horse’s side (without losing the grip of your saddle and thigh), slightly back than normal, keeping left leg pushed down
DO NOT TURN HEAD OF horse TO LEG YIELD!!!!! the horse must remain STRAIGHT, the horse will want to either drag his/her haunches you need to correct this with the equality of your weight and your whip tapping
it is also essential that you look forward, straight forward, not down, but up, and YOUR SHOULDERS MUST BE SQUARE TO THE HORSE’S
the horse needs to be kept at a consistent tempo and maintain good composure and frame (as do you!) you can do this with whip, leg and seat drive
your leg yield, depending on the size of the ring, with a proper Olympic sized ring the leg yield should end at or just before F (starting at C)
at F use body weight to shift back onto the rail and resume
your reins during this must be steady, clam, and remain at your waist
of course, I’m sure you know what a leg yield should look (if not look it up) in terms of what the horses’ legs are doing, so remember: the larger the extension of crossing your horse and you perform the higher the marks
this takes much time and practice, remember to reward your horse! it helps to watch yourself in a mirror if you have one and also video yourself to help improve on things
if you have any questions about this or any dressage movement add onto this or add me as your contact and i will look for your questions
i would suggest completing this before your move onto pirouettes
pirouettes require much leg work from both you and your horse during the movement and collected canter, try this first.
i hope this helps you! good luck!
I have a jumper/dressage horse and I’m now at a barn who has trails / does trail clinics at other barns so I thought this would help keep work more fun for my TB.
My question is, what type of boots is best for trail riding (and not like the trail rides at state parks, these will be longer and more demanding)? I currently have open front boots and some old galloping boots (that need replacing). My horse is barefoot it that helps any.
Thanks!
depending on the terrain on how good/bad your horses fet are you may want a pair of easy boots or eventually shoes depending on how often and long you will be riding your horse on the "demanding" terrain. my horse who normally has great, rock hard feet had to get shoes once i started trailing more often with him.
also, depending on what kind of terrain you will be one and if it will be tall grass/rocks/dirt/mud/sand etc. you may not want boots. they may cause rubbing from stuff getting into the boots etc. you will also want to avoid boots with fleece etc. so they dont get heavy with water and so that stuff doesnt "stick" to them. try a pair of neoprine boots or these, by davis.
fit well, nothing fancy, good price, wont weigh down with water etc.
http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=690
here is the easy boot link as well….
http://www.smartpakequine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productclassid=4845
if you decide to keep him barefoot because he can handle it i would still try and apply iodine or something similar to keep his soles tough and to prevent stone bruises, lameness, etc.
as the above answerer said…i LOVE the SMB boots for arena etc. but on the trails…EVERYTHING STICKS TO THEM. like…EVERYTHING. and if wet they will add some weight. i prefer the smb elites. they are AWESOME for my dressage horse my hunter my jumper and my eventer.
I need some ideas for a dressage competition (a horse event thing) where you have two people wear crazy costumes with matching music while doing a routine on a horse? It’s called Pas De Deux.
For example, a pair could wear tutus while music from ‘Billy Elliot’ plays (you know that ballet movie?!)
Fun, interesting costumes with matching music would be great… any questions, just ask in your answer and I’ll get back to you. Thanks so much.
How about using some of the music that’s popular for reining? Riders on the Storm. Ghost Riders in the Sky. Then, you could dress up like cowboys (can you do Dressage in a western saddle?) or desperados and be really different.
Another thing: some of the Beatles music has great possibilities. Eleanor Rigby. Sgt. Pepper. You could have a great Sergeant Pepper type uniform, or just dress up like hippies.
How about a Broadway thing? Do a song from "Cats", and dress up like cats (I’d love doing that). Or dress like operatic divas, with lowcut gowns and massive hair.
Play square dance music and dress up like square dancers. Or flamenco, with flamenco costumes.
Sounds like a lot of fun! Good Luck.
how do you get a horse to perform a leg yield, what signals do you use and how do you keep the movement flowing? Also the same questions for pirouette. I’ve just started dressage and I’m having a little trouble, I’ve been riding for more than 6 years but only basic dressage.
Hi, the canter pirouette is a very advanced movement and can actually cause injury to the horse if he is not advanced enough to attempt it.
The leg yield is a more simple movement and this website gives details of how to perfom it & common faults:
http://www.artofriding.com/articles/leg-yield.html
This website also gives info on lateral movements in general
http://www.kearsarge-meadows.com/lateral.html
Walk pirouette is also known as turn on the haunches and is less advanced especially if you only ask for a few steps or a quarter turn to begin with:
http://www.classicaldressage.net/members/lesson_pages/the_school_movements.html
However all these exercises are best done with the aid of an instructor who will help correct any problems and instruct you so that you can match what you are feeling with what the horse is actually doing.
Hope this helps and good luck!
I would really love to teach my horse some dressage so we could bond more, but she just is way to hyper to go easy. Every timee I ride her she just wants to run! When I just try trotting her, she gets the wrong idea and thinks we are going to run, but all i intended to do was just a nice easy trot instead of her outta control trot :p. She is a mustang/quarterhorse…dont know if that really matters but please help!!
dressage horses are schooled for many, many hours over years of training. A lot of it is just repetition and gradual, incremental improvement.
You don’t give any indication of your horse’s background. If she was used for gymkhana or other "speed" events, or was ridden/trained by someone who wanted her to run a lot of the time, then you have to be patient because you’re going to have to "untrain" her and that isn’t going to happen overnight. It’s going to involve teaching her to relax and just getting her to slow down, praising her when she becomes relaxed, and never, ever revving her up and making her get "hot."
It can also happen that she does not have the basic temperament of a dead-calm dressage horse. Not every horse can be dead calm and do well in dressage; the ones you see in the show-ring are the ones that have the temperament to be calm and level-headed. My dressage trainer rejected many horses on the basis of temperamental unsuitability for the demands of dressage; that doesn’t mean they were bad horses, it just meant they couldn’t excel.
Your horse can undoubtedly become calmer than she is, but she may not be able to be as dead-calm as a top dressage horse. The key is patience, patience, patience and a lot of work.
I am looking for a new horse to try to get to the dressage portion of NAJYRC (in the Junior division) in the next show season. I am looking for a horse that is competing at least PSG and still in training for (eventually) Grand Prix. I would like a horse that I can move up the levels and show. I would like to be able to earn my medals with the horse. I know I am making trips to Wellington, Florida and Colorado this summer.
So to make a long story very very short, I’m looking for a great moving schoolmaster that can still train up. I need safety and a sound horse. If you know of any sites that can help me find a horse to fit this criteria, please share.
horses who are ready or nearly ready to compete at international level rarely come up for sale on the open market.
You should speak to your instructor and the other contacts you have made throughout your time competing. Once people know that you’re on the lookout for a potential top class horse word will spread and you’ll be far more likely to find what you’re looking for than if you spent hours wading through sales websites.
I am thinking about shareboarding this 10 year old quarter horse. I posted an ad looking to shareboard a dressage horse that I could learn on, but someone answered to my ad about their quarter horse. They live within 10 minutes of my house, it is the cheapest offer and I can ride whenever I want.
The only thing is, he isn’t trained in dressage. Neither am I. I want to learn and is it possible to teach this horse dressage with a trainer and at the same time learn myself?
Piggydog, do you really need to make a comment like that? Haha.
At your level, a quarter horse will be fine. They are usually built very "downhill", so the horse will need to learn to sit back and lift his front end. It will be tough, but it’s definitely possible. Quarter horses can easily show to first level, and some can go higher. They’re fine to learn on. The best idea would be to bring your trainer out and try the horse to see if it’s a good fit for you. At this point in your riding career, the most important thing is that you have a good, solid, trustworthy horse to learn on. And yes- you can both learn dressage at the same time! Just make sure you have a great trainer.