Dressage Rules

Horses- Horses that compete in the Olympics and WEG are typically warm-bloods.
Arena- Dressage is performed in a 20 by 60 meter arena or a 20 by 40 meter arena with letters all around (AKVESHCMRBPF) 20 by 40- (AKEHCMPF) and in the middle the letters are- DLXIG
Tests- Dressage tests are usually marked from 0 through to 10-

0- not executed   

1- very bad

2- bad

3- very bad      

4- insufficient

5- marginal

6- satisfactory

7- fairly good

8- good

9- very good

10- excellent                                             

Tack- Tack for dressage is always English tack and your score also depends on how good you look and how neat your clothes and tack are. For dressage, a dressage saddle, cavesson or hanoverian bridle and a saddle pad. Tack is usually black but can be dark brown.
Clothing- Professional dressage riders dress very formally for competitions. They wear cream or (preferred) white breeches, white gloves, mostly white shirts, top hat or helmet, possibly tie and tailcoat or black riding jacket. (Tailcoats are worn in advanced competitions)

Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)

Pilates for Horse-riding!

What you need-
Gym ball.
Dumbbells.

Exercise 1- On the gym ball, tilt pelvis back and forth.
Exercise 2- Move pelvis sideways.
Exercise 3- Hip circles- move your hips in a circular motion.


Exercise 4- lie on your tummy, your hands together under your chin. Lift your head and chest. Do the same exercise but with your hands by your side.
Exercise 5- Stand straight with your legs slightly apart, using dumbbells, slowly lift your arms until they are in front of you and in line with your shoulders.

Do these exercises a few times each, 10 minutes a day will improve your riding and balance!

Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)

Lundy

The horse breed- Lundy- originates from the UK, although it is not a native breed from the UK, it was bred by crossing Welsh, Connemara and Thoroughbred. The Lundy's head is rather large with big eyes. Their legs are sturdy and have a long body. They can come in all solid colours such as chestnut and brown and also can be dun. The breed is quite small, they are usually around 13.2 hh. They are generally nice, kind and willing horses. Since they come from colder climates, they are agile and are hardy.

Stay fluffy,

~Livinia :)

Peritonitis

So today, Pondie was diagnosed with Peritonitis, he is an old horse (but doesn't look like it) so it was rather worrying but so far he is fine. The symptoms can be similar to colic and it can be confused with it too. Some symptoms of Peritonitis are-
- Looking and kicking at abdomen.
- Loss of appetite.
- Depression.
- Diarrhea or constipation.
- Rolling

Pondie was rolling, lost his appetite and was looking at his belly, which are all common signs of colic but of course, the best thing to do is call your vet out and have them see what is wrong. Peritonitis can be fatal (to humans and animals) if it is not treated immediately or properly. There can be different causes for horses getting Peritonitis, some more severe then others.
Causes-
- Bacterial infection (eg- worms in the soil)
- Injuries (eg- piercing through abdomen)

Injuries can be more fatal because if a- for example- stick penetrates the skin and goes through the abdominal wall, the dirty stick will introduce more bacteria then would if a horse consumes worms.
Bacterial infection can make the horse sick if a horse consumes something like worms, they can make small holes in the stomach, breeding more bacteria, creating inflammation of the horses peritoneum and causing pain and discomfort for the horse and eventually can be fatal if the horse is left untreated for too long.

Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)  

The perfect bend

Bending your horses neck and head to the inside of the arena is vital in dressage. It may be difficult to achieve this, and it may need a professional horse trainer, but to help and get the results you want, I will share with you this 'must need' dressage training.

1- start to do a 20 meter circle on your (example) left rein. Some horses won't bend their necks is their not relaxed or warmed up so you will have to give them a forward trot and a canter on both reins.
2- To do a bend, you have to see the horses eye and muzzle, so you will need to pull back on the inside rein and keep the outside rein tight. If your horse pulls his head up, release your reins and try again. Remember to not get frustrated too soon, this takes practice.
3- If you are having trouble, do a tiny (and I mean tiny) circle in your 20 meter circle, your horse will bend their neck nicely, they can bend their neck to your knee is you wanted to do that. So try what you did in the small circle and do it on the big one.
4-Once your horse finally does the head bend for at least one circle, try it in trot, remember to keep the trot lively and big.

I hope this helped,
I didn't post the breed of the week last week because I had my cousin visiting and it was also Easter.

Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)

Brushes

Grooming your horse is the preliminary level of riding and caring for horses, you have to do it, whether if your making your horse look nice or neat, to get the dirt and mud off before tacking up and to check for injuries, it needs to be done. So here are the brushes you use from the first one you have to use to the last.

Step 1-  You will need a rubber curry comb and a hard brush. Start by moving the curry comb on the horses coat in circular motions to loosen mud and dirt, then brush it away using the hard brush.

Step 2- Brush the dirt off the horses legs with the hard brush.

Step 3- Using the soft body brush, brush over the whole body with it, removing any remaining dirt.

Step 4- With the mane comb (or the mane and tail brush) and a hard brush, untangle and brush the horses mane and tail.

Step 5- Pick out your horses feet using a hoof pick.

Step 6- (optional) you can brush your horses face using a goat hair (or soft bristled) face brush. If you have washed your horse, after soaping and rinsing your horse, use a sweat scraper.

Stay horsey,

~Livinia :)

Tiny Horseland Haul!

I went to Horseland today and I thought I might share what I got with you guys! I put some items in that I got last time because today I only got 2 (I told you it would be tiny).

#1- Cream joddies! I got another pair of jodhpurs because I needed a new pair for competitions, I didn't get white ones because I wasn't planning to and there are extremely expensive but for these, they originally costed $60 but I had a voucher for $20 off (for $50 or more spent) so they were $40.

#2- I got a new pair of gloves. I got them for only $20, they are black and this velvety kind of texture, I got cheap ones this time because I have more expensive, better quality ones at home but I needed a pair for normal riding and especially with what I'm doing with Pondie, he is quite strong so I needed gloves with a good grip.

What I got last time!-
#3- Blue Jodhpurs! Yep, another pair. I got them just for normal riding purposes.

#4- A new halter for Pond. A red one in fact. I thought red would look nice on a chestnut horse? Now I want a red saddle cloth to match that.

#5- Curry comb and sweat scraper- I always misplace those two tools! It's always the curry comb and sweat scraper.

That's all. Sorry that it was small but at least it was something :)

Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)

Jumping

I feel as if Pondie and I are improving in not rushing at jumps! Yes! If you are suffering from your horse(s) running at jumps, read on!
Tips-
-Wear gloves

1- I started off with doing a 20 meter circle in canter after warming up well, my not-so-strong-side is my right rein, so I did one circle on my right rein, then my left rein and so on for another 4 times. When you feel that you are strong on both reins, it's time for transitions!

Firstly, you will have to go wide and do a nice, big trot and every 10 or so strides or every second letter, you will halt. Simple? Halting can be easy but there are some things that I will tell you that will help your halting. Usually, before you halt, you will forewarn your horse that you are going to do so, but you also have to know how to suddenly halt, in different situations you will have to use a sudden halt, especially if your horse takes off or is uneasy, in a dressage test, to tell your horse your in charge and (in this case) for training. Some points you will have to know when halting, especially when doing this training, you will have to have your heels down (as always) and your legs forward, lean back and pull the reins. You may find the first few times hard as your horse isn't used to stopping from a canter and maybe so aren't you. So do halts using those tips a few times in a circle in a canter until you are confident and it seems easier to halt.

2-Now for jumping! set up a small cross-rail jump and get into an even, but slow trot. I put the jump between V and E, the next thing you have to do, if you feel your horse is speeding up before the jump, just stop like the first exercise.

The next step is to stop (halt) at the curve before the jump and stay for a few seconds, then continue onto a trot, once again stop, right in front of E, even at E and wait for a few seconds and continue over the jump, and don't let your horse canter! If he does, HALT and continue. Do this for a long time until when you are trotting past the markers that you stopped at earlier, your horse should slow down without being told anything but remember to reward your horse when he slows down and don't stop 'tweaking' (pull and releasing) your reins when your horse is in a faster trot.

Now try in a canter. Of course you don't have to yet, but it must be done! If you still want to keep it at a trot, that's fine but the next step is canter.
Do one or two 20 meter circles in canter, this time keep it nice and slow, like how you would like you horse to approach the fence. After you have done that, start at a nice trot around (or over) the jump slowly then ask for a canter at B. Your horse may not slow down at E like it did in trot so halt before E and at E, then ask for another canter. You don't want to do this too much as your horse will learn to 'explode' at the jumps, but keep of pulling and releasing your reins, halting and if your horse keeps on running at the jumps in a canter, don't be scared to pull away from the jump, it's better then him catapulting you out of the saddle!

Stay horsey,
~Livinia:)

Tennessee Walking Horse

This breed has a unique pace that is called Running Walk. There is a competition for the horse who can lift it's legs the highest. Unfortunately, some people, to win the competition will put kinds of acid on their horses legs, wrapping them with plastic wrap and putting metal around their feet, this process is called soring. It makes every step the horse makes terribly painful, making their legs lift higher. Hence it's name, it is from Tennessee, USA. The breed is generally 15 hands, they can be any colour but mainly they are black, chestnut grey and brown. Most of these horses are charismatic, gentle and calm.

Stay horsey,

~Livinia :)

Images off Google Images

Update

Hey! Lately I haven't had much time to spend on my blog, even though it's the holidays, so my posts were like a day late, but they still came up! The horse breed of the week will be up tomorrow unfortunately. I thought I would do a quick update of what I have being doing with Pond. On Tuesday I had another lesson with my trainer Amanda Ross, who was in the Olympics and she is so good, she has a method for everything. I recommend, even if you have your own horse, you need to have a lesson at least once a month, Pony Club or Riders Club is good too. A lesson a month will be good to solve any problems that you have being having, any questions and it's good to see a professional once in a while. I have told you this on my blog that Pondie rushes at jumps so Amanda taught me a few tips and I will share those to you on Monday!

Stay horsey :),
~Livinia :)

Update (kind of)

Would you guys like to see reviews of books/TV shows/movies about horses or animals?

Bye!

Dressage terms/movements

Collection-  The strides are shorter and more 'collected' and on the bit.
Extended-The horses strides are much larger then the collection and it covers more ground in an extended stride.
Working-  This stride is between collected and extended, it would be ridden in nice, even steps.
Medium- It is between working and extended, the strides are rather large.
Passage- The passage is a very collected trot, it looks like the horse is prancing.
Piaffe-  The Piaffe is like he Passage, it is also a very collected trot but it is done in one spot.
Flying change-  A flying change is done in a canter where the horse changes it's lead leg while still cantering.
Counter canter- Counter canter is when, on purpose, the horse is on it's eg- riding on the right rein when doing a circle on the left rein.
Rein back- The horse moves backwards while keeping a straight line.
Leg yeild- A move where the horse moves side-wards by crossing it's legs but still facing forward.
Half pass- The Half pass is like leg yielding but the horse is slightly bent around the riders inside leg and maintaining an active trot or canter.
Pirouette- The Pirouette is usually performed in a collected canter, where the horses front circles it's back, a circle.
Serpentine- They are half circles throughout the arena, making a snake like shape.
Travers- Like a shoulder-in but it is ridden with the horse facing the outside of the arena but still going forward in a straight line.
Shoulder-in- Horse faces the inside of the arena but still going in a straight line in a steady pace.
Volte- The Volte is usually a 10 meter half circle that looks a little like a tear drop.

Half pass

Passage
















Serpentine

Shoulder-in

                                                    Stay horsey,
                                                    ~Livinia :)











Volte

Jumping distance!

When walking a showjumping course, in between each jump, you can count every step you take until you get to 4, which is roughly one horse stride. eg- 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4 1,2,3,4, that will be around 3 horse strides (12-14 m)

Stay Horsey,

~Livinia :)

Showjumping Schedule!

This is the Showjumping version of the Dressage schedule, feel free to take this one or make your own.

This is created for my horse who is strong and rushes jumps, if you want, you can finish the day off with- 

-raising the jump more

-COOL DOWN!

Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)

Clydesdale

The Clydesdale is one of the biggest horse breeds, they are a draft horse which means they are bulky horses that can carry heavy loads. Clydesdale's can be brown, bay and black, they can also have solid colours with patches anywhere on their body. The characteristics of this horse breed are- energetic, alert, easy going and sociable. The breed originates from England. The Clydesdale has a large head with medium shaped ears, A slightly Roman nose with large nostrils. Their legs are strong for pulling heavy loads and their hooves are covered with feathers. The breed can be around 16-19hh.

 

This image is not mine

Stay horsey,

~Livinia :)

Bad news and good news!

Ok, so I will start off with the bad news to get it over and done with! Today I won't be able to do the horse breed of the week since I am SUPER bust, I have to study a lot today and the horse breed of the week takes me a while so I will 100% post it tomorrow! and as a sorry, a training routine will also be featured in it! And now the good news! The holidays are coming up and it is the last day tomorrow, not only will holidays mean that all students/staff will be free but I will be at home more and there will be updates on both my blogs and more horse stuff! (http://adventuresofanimalsblog.blogspot.com.au/)
Stay horsey,
~Livinia :)

Dressage Training Routine

Here is a dressage training routine I made for myself for everyday training and exercises, I made this on Excel :) using a template already, feel free to take mine/use my idea or make your own. P.S, the times are there to just be there, it's just a rough draft of how long each exercise would take.
 

Should I do one for jumping too? I hope this will help you!

Stay horsey,

~Livinia :)