DefinitelyDressage.com

kande50

I have been taking an online training class on R+ training. I've used this over the years with dogs and tried a bit with horses but never really pursued it much. I'm trying to figure out how much you can use this training in the work I want to do. I know it is helpful for things like saddling or mo...

kande50

I put my dentally challenged seniors on as much pelleted complete feed as they need to maintain their weight, and then give them some access to hay. The reason I don't do it the other way around (top up free choice hay with pelleted complete feed) is that I'm not sure how much fiber they get from qu...

kande50

Maybe extend your fence up right in front of the storage shed? Personally, I'd just put a large painting of something I liked to look at in front of the visible part of the shed.

kande50

She ended up hooked up with a new trainer who blew past her budget, talked her into mortgaging her home, and went to Europe and bought a VERY FANCY young horse.....that the owner cannot/is not permitted to ride. When I first started taking dressage lessons (90's) I met someone who had mortgaged her...

kande50

I work on this constantly, and have found that lifting the inside rein works better to initiate the bend (unstick him) than anything else I've tried. Normally I'd just use my inside leg, and I did spend a lot of time trying to get the bend from my leg, but he resisted that and if I put more pressure...

kande50

You can force your horse to keep going, bend them away from the spooky area, kick them on, make them listen and this can work. You can make them obedient to you, but doesn't tend to take away the underlying tensions they have. I also find that you then have trouble catching etc. It's so hard to dec...

kande50

I think part of the problem at least, is that the quality of the light this time of year is just so much worse. So if the horse is worried about what might be down at The Other End, or over there between E and H, their concerns are magnified when they can't see as well. Or at least my spooky gelding...

kande50

Nice indoor! I had a lesson today, first ride since the clinic. We achieved a very nice flying change going Right to left We'd been working on prompt and accurately bent simple changes through a figure 8, shortening the number of walk strides between each strike off, when the old man said "I t...

kande50

I suppose because I have no real goals I do work on some things out of order. I'm not in training anymore and while I'm sure my trainer would think my performance sucks, I know that I have improved some things and also taught the mare some things. Experimenting is a good thing for me. Experimenting...

kande50

I can understand the reasons for not reporting. I can't understand bringing it out decades later. What is the endgame? I mean, what do the accusers expect to achieve? I would think the goal of reporting is to stop the perp from continuing the behavior. But with the older accused, all it does is tar...

kande50

Leaving manure could be an oversight? I've been walking past a pile in my indoor for 3 weeks now, and can't seem to remember to go back in and pick it up. I already moved it over by the wall so it wouldn't get kicked around, but just keep walking past it and never coming back to get it. It'll get pi...

kande50

I know I should wash clothes less. They don't always need it, they will last longer, and it will use less electricity. It's a tough habit to break! I even wash my breeches after every wear... I've mastered that particular energy saver, although now that my eyesight is failing I may need to rethink ...

kande50

When I was teaching my mule to bow he just layed down, so I jackpotted him for it and then he had it. If I stand on one side and put my hand on his girth area he bows, if I stand on the other he lies down. I can't keep track of which side is which, but he knows. He offered to lay down once under sad...

kande50

I taught a lot of tricks when I first started clicker training because I didn't know much about how it worked, or what I wanted to teach, but knew that I wanted to learn how to do it. I did most of it with my mule, who is now 25 and has been clicker trained for 21 years, so he's pretty goofy now. By...

kande50

[Are you talking about this thing: https://www.smartpakequine.com/pt/haas-frank-brush-19739 If so, I bought it and it immediately ripped the underside of my soft mattes pad. Those things are like razor blades. Maybe it's this one? https://www.ridingwarehouse.com/Haas_Essentials_Express_Hair_Removal...

kande50

If it was me I'd clicker train him to keep his foot on a stand while I wrapped it, because my experience has been that when their hoof is on a stand and they can't cooperate any longer they just put it down rather than kicking out. Course the treats for keeping the hoof on the stand probably help wi...

kande50

Well it is not cooling down here in middle Georgia at all. In fact we are breaking high temp records unfortunately. I just cannot face this heat at this time so have whimped many days. Also dealing with the build project (very frustrating) among other familial obligations. Horses are working very l...

kande50

Questions are good. I think if we all just go on the assumption that everyone is just geeking out on talking about what they love and clarifying, we're in pretty good shape. I refuse to assume anyone is being rude or snarky unless they tell me so. It takes some practice, but I try not to react to w...

kande50

Why did you hire a trainer who you don't believe is doing things 'properly' in your opinion? If you believe you know better than your trainer, enough to back-talk them in your lessons, write condescendingly on a public forum, and even look for advice that coincides with your own beliefs from an AA ...

kande50

While *I* wouldn’t consider the root problem behavioral when it’s clearly a side effect of her anxiety, if we’re using Chisamba’s definition, it is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think behaviorists might characterize behavior that comes out of anxiety as emotionally motivated behavior (rather than operant behavior). ...

kande50

The first few times of me being tone-deaf and asking for something she can't handle while anxious are fine. But she gets increasingly short if I don't clue in, eventually lashing out. I've been riding her for 18+ years, and it's happened less than 3 times under saddle, but she does kick and the roo...

kande50

Agree that if going up through the levels is the primary goal then one does need to commit to pushing themselves and the horse hard enough to progress fast enough to get to the top (or as far up the levels as possible) before the horse is too old to do that kind of work, anymore. But, that doesn't h...

kande50

So that is where the pain aspect comes in. Some horses will work while having pain and some won't. How many hobbling horses have we seen still go when asked. But pain doesn't have to mean the horse has a serious issue. Just tight muscles, blockages, etc. so as not to repeat myself. I suspect that m...

kande50

I will see if my bum lets me ride today. My husband actually took a picture of my butt cheek with the purple/black crazy hematoma to remind me to not wear socks on the steps. I have to admit it is impressive >;-> I've seen some impressive bruises on butt cheeks, although I haven't contributed to th...

kande50

There is kicking at the whip and/or leg and there is reluctance to go a certain direction or not to go at all. They can be two different things. I have seen many times horses kick at whip or leg. I have also personally had one young horse give me some significant trouble going in the more unbalance...

kande50

Still no rain since beginning of August and non forecasted through the end of this month. This is a serious situation imo. This time I got lucky and am getting a load of hay from a NY dealer that I have previously purchased from. I had to pay $15/bale (50 pounds) for this stuff. It's local 2nd cut ...

kande50

piedmontfields wrote: I can't imagine suddenly having an extended trot in the arena because she is shod all around!

Me either, but have been told that the reason dressage horses who aren't ridden out of the sandbox "need" shoes is for added traction.

kande50

My vet also warned me not to accidentally dose myself with it. She said to put it between the gums and the tongue, but maybe under the tongue might make it harder for them to swallow it?

kande50

Someone bought the place across the road from us and started a doggie daycare. We didn't oppose it because we had no reason to. Over the years they've expanded to way over the agreed upon number of dogs on their permit, which hasn't been a problem because they're cooperative, responsible neighbors. ...

kande50

I'm trying to add pictures through attachments below and it keeps saying "file too large." You have to resize them in a photo editing program (less than 200KB, if I'm remembering correctly). I checked the faq's and couldn't find that info, but maybe you'll have better luck? I think I also...

kande50

That said, I never understood the argument that hind shoes help with slipping. Can someone explain? I think that shoes can help with traction on some surfaces, are neutral on some, and can cause more slipping on others. If it's possible to keep the surface the same, such as in an arena, it should b...

kande50

Baristone shot his client. There is no justification for shooting someone. Except self defense, for one. To be clear, I'm not saying it was self defense because I wasn't there so don't know, but there are quite a few circumstances in which someone can get shot and there is at least some degree of j...

kande50

I'm not important enough for anyone to take an interest in ruining my reputation, so the risk for me is anonymous internet people potentially being mean. Maybe I'm naive because I haven't experienced it, but the internet is so flooded with content that I think the risk of someone latching onto my p...

kande50

I don't understand the change in her behavior. She was done in a different section of the barn than usual, so maybe that contributed to her anxiety. I know she's not in any pain, and was fine for her hind feet trim. Would it be too difficult to take her back to the part of the barn where she was co...

kande50

Kande, which complete feed to you use? Does the manure get soft without long stem forage? I'm feeding her Nutrena Triumph, and her manure is normal. In fact, I'm surprised at how much manure she makes because I don't think she gets much out of the forage and is only getting 10 lbs of pellets a day ...

kande50

Kande, a few years ago we spent 7k on fertilizer, seeding, and weed control. A professional farmer did it. There was no improvement whatsoever. Money down the drain. Right now, my fields look lovely from a distance. When you get up close, there is this 'stuff' growing that isn't grass. It's probabl...

kande50

I find keeping my pasture mowed helps to control the weeds. I cut the bermuda before irrigation but do not bag it. The seed heads end up germinating and make the grass thicker. Otherwise with our harsh climate we would be overrun with weeds. I find my horses will not eat the grass when it is very t...

kande50

Yes, but my understanding is the shorter grass is sweeter and more nutritious. If I didn't mow my pasture, it would be high but not with great grass. Mowing keeps the weeds down. Mowing does help keep the weeds from taking over, but I think it also prevents the grasses from going to seed so they co...

kande50

I think plenty of people would highly criticize an owner that put a horse down if there was the even the slimmest chance of recovery, even if that recovery meant pasture ornament forever. There are always plenty of opinions available. Some are horrified when someone else doesn't put their horse thr...

kande50

These scores blow my mind. Imagine coming in dead last in a class of 15 with a 76%. What are they going to do when the scores reach 100? I suppose they will have to add an 11 on to the numbers. They've already gone to half points, so eventually will likely just give all 9's and the rankings will be...

kande50

Maybe it's my old age or maybe I'm just seeing the light. I like to think we've gotten older and wiser, although it may be that everyone just projects their own issues onto their horses? So if we love to ride we like to believe our horses love it, too. Or if we're tired and sore maybe it makes us m...

kande50

Currently I’m 0 for 4 in the farrier department. I have left voice mails, texts, and FB messages. Texts and messages have been seen. If worse comes to worse, I can give Miss A. Ace and have the school horse farrier do her, but I hate the thought of putting her through that. Is it possible that your...

kande50

Yes, although the easy keepers still act like they think they're starving because the pickings are not plentiful. I no longer worry about them overgrazing the sacrifice areas though, and that makes it a lot easier for them to find something to put in their stomachs between meals without getting too ...

kande50

My neighbor's minis are drooling like mad, and have been for several weeks now. They're dieting though, so are eating the white clover in their very small pasture.

kande50

Please don't regret sharing! Everyone sees something different depending on their experiences, and I personally think that it's good for people to see the realities of training and learning. It's not always easy or pretty. Keep slogging on, it'll come! There's also that pesky perception thing that ...

kande50

What I really like about feeding treats under saddle is that I'm forced to stop and wait while my horse chews, and that makes me slow down and think about what exactly it is I want to reward. Most of the lessons I've been forced to learn from clicker training have had little to do with the kinds of ...

kande50

I just use whatever grain I have, but will sometimes buy a bag of the larger size hay stretcher pellets in the winter because they're easier to feed. I generally feed more than one if I'm trying to reinforce behaviors that take some effort, but try to stick to just one if we're working on easier beh...

kande50

Excellent points both exvet and chisamba! Good take home to work on for sure. Don't you feel most dressage riders tend to be type A people? Where we are always wanting that bit more? When we should not or as exvet says wait? Raise hand high here!! Intellectually, I think most of us know that we nee...

kande50

I truly feel the lights are on now. All I have to do is remember and make this new thing a habit. I've defintely made a breakthrough. I look forward to tomorrow's lesson to see what the trainer thinks. I think that when we've been riding forever the lightbulb moments tend to be subtle, and often nb...

kande50

Once I got off that warmup circle and the sitting trot work started, I did ok. By then, my reins and gloves were soaked and reins kept slipping. I have a real hard time in rising trot. I hate it. Good for you to even take lessons, because no matter how uncomfortable they are I think they probably d...

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