So, last night Maggie and I had a lesson. We were outfitted with the running martingale, which is working well, although it got adjusted a bit tighter. Beauty of the running, it only engages when you need it and it doesn't help you actually ride your horse or get it round. It also takes away Maggie's favourite game of throwing her head in the air and doing whatever the hell she really wants to do... always a bonus.

 

So, we warmed up and then out comes the longe whip. Now we're…

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I would like to start off by saying that I am not a "DQ" (completely)....I am though very strict on my training and horse management as thats how I was trained by some of the best in the World. Coming from a family of Dressage riders and competitors, I am really amazed at how the Dressage community in my area demonstrates 1.sportsmanship 2. horse care 3. training 4. barn…

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When you hear the word "Horse" what do you think? I think of my horse, Gulliver. Gulliver is a thirty year old grey Arabian gelding who has touched the lives of many riders at ovation hall. Me, being only nine, am not a very good rider, but Gulliver doesnt care. In fact he does everything in his power to give me the best ride possible. We have most definatley had great times. I love him sooo much! Some days he's a grande prix…

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Conditions After work light enough that I was able to ride outside. Hack before and after ride

 

Tia Quick ride. She has not been worked outside since october/november. After my hack went to "woodchip" ring where the footing is really good. She settled right into work with rising trot and big figures 20m - 15m circles and 3 loop serpentines with me emphasing the straightness.

 

Quick walk break then picking up the…

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Weight 145 - goal 135

 

Conditions: fun hacking with fresh slushy snow on the ground.

 

Caddy: Worked in ring with snaffle. Great hack through the woods before the ride. snow was close to knee deep in places and Caddy was excited and trotted a lot of the way.

 …

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Horses day off. Spent quiet evening with dogs, fire and wine - trying to find good instructional video on starting passage piaffe. I watched the Hubertis Schmidt NEDA clinic on dressage clinic the intermediare II rider and didn't find any help for the pi/pa :(

Janet Brown-Foy was teaching a clinic this weekend at the barn where I ride. She had one horse after the next, and during a quick break she was kind enough to remain in a very cold arena and answer a few questions that I thought might be of help to anyone riding and competing in dressage.…

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Two years ago I purchased a horse, my Oldenburg dressage horse, who is an upper level horse that has never done competition. He was a project for my trainer, who took him as payment for training another horse to Grand Prix. Stonee was diagnosed as having String halt, a knee jerk reaction in the hind legs when the patella catches on a ligament and it causes a jerking,… Continue

Thanks to someone's Internet addiction I ended up being given a fantastic opportunity to shadow Anna Ross Davies - an international Grand Prix dressage rider and trainer. Anna invited me to spend a day with her watching her working her horses at her base at Bury Farm in the morning and teaching variety of clients there and at… Continue

Work Space

©Thomas Ritter 2009



I want to say a couple of things about the proper work space for the training of a dressage horse. It is very important that the arena footing has the right consistency, neither too deep, nor too hard. Footing that is too deep can easily lead to suspensory ligament and other soft tissue injuries. Excessively hard footing will eventually contribute… Continue

Hellllooo everyone



Yes, I have been busy! Not sitting in front of my computer of late hence the “no blogs” from Megan. I have much to tell you all..... no I’m not getting married!

Firstly, I went to NZ a couple of months ago to do a run of clinics. This was my first time teaching in the “land of the long white cloud” and I really enjoyed it. Everyone was keen to learn and they want me to come back in January. ( i just might miss some of our hot hot weather over here)…

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I'd intended to use my Barnmice blog to record elements of my my equestrian journey that I thought might interest, inform or 'delight' others.



Real life etc seems to be blocking much of equestrian my journey currently. So in the interests of taking a small step to start my blogging life, let me share with you a link to an article that seems to be causing an international stir in the cyber dressage community.…



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I didn’t win! So I left the BHS Young Instructor of the Year final quite disappointed. Having said that, it was a great experience and I did learn a lot, so overall I am pleased that I entered. It was good to meet other people of my own age, following similar paths and also the judges who were all Fellows of the BHS. It is a fabulous opportunity to take part in such a competition and I will be going back next year for another try.



Last Saturday I visited Oldencraig EC in Surrey to… Continue

This afternoon Kevin Staut of France won the Individual Gold Medal in the European show jumping championships in Windsor, England, riding his 'Selle Francais' stallion Kraque Boom Bois Margot.



He is by Olisco (by the legendary jumping sire Jalisco B out of a mare who is over 60% Arab ) who jumped very successfully in the United States in the 1990's ridden by Michael Matz, and out of Joyau D'Or a 'Selle Francais' mare.



When you do the analysis on this stallion's breeding…

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So be honest… before buying your groceries who looks at the list of ingredients on the back of the box as well as the appealing tag lines on the front? Probably not many of us, but now the research indicates that we are becoming much more aware of the true contents of the beautifully packaged and photographed goods on display. We have learnt that ‘90% fat free’ actually means 10% fat, which is a high fat content and probably also includes a high sugar content. We have learnt that ‘100%…

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It was a few too many years ago that I remember the first group of certified trainers from my “train the trainer” program got together at their graduation party and they collectively gave me a box of Depends diapers. This was their way of teasingly letting me know how they felt about the fact that I answered just about each and every question they ever asked with the answer “it depends”. In fact, this happens so much that it has become somewhat of a trademark for me. Often when I am at a clinic… Continue

Hello folks!



I represent the Ontario Therapeutic Riding Association and we are in need of some borrowed horses for two competitions this summer. We have a regional show in the Hamilton area on June 20, 2009 and our Ontario Para Sport Games on July 25, 2009 in the Woodstock area where we have a rather urgent need for higher level horses. A few of our Advanced and Intermediate level riders find themselves without horses this summer for a variety of reasons and as such, we are looking… Continue