Dressage

I was just watching some of the dressage (will catch up with the rest when DH has gone to bed!) and they were commenting that the rider was just keeping a very light contact on the snaffle.I don't think excessive pressure is being put on their mouths, they are being kept balanced sothat all the power is concentrated in the hindquarters.

My 3 year old GD was watching the dressage and said, look at that lady having a donkey ride. Don't you just love them?
I've wondered if the horses suffer too although I've never even been on a horse myself, they're big and scary to me.

Don't believe it's cruel. The horses seem such willing participants.

The German lady was certainly giving it her all with the pelvic thrusts though!

It all looks grotesque to me - so artificial and stylised. Yuk!

I love watching the dressage, such skill from rider and horse. I rode until arthritis put a stop to it and learned a couple of the "easier ' (hah) moves. Horses and riders form relationships. You can't make a horse do dressage by anything other than positive training and mutual trust.

If the horses were not willing participants they would cetainly not do it. Some like to jump, some to run as fast as they can etc. My pony was a super endurance pony who loved his work but only on HIS TERMS !!! Had I asked him to do dressage he would have made his feelings known. Just like people really horses do not stay at the top of their game through cruelty !

Frothing at the mouth does not mean pain or discomfort.Some horses do it, some don't. The riders have very 'light' hands and there is no undue pressure on the horses mouth or they wouldn't respond.

Most of the moves are instigated by the riders legs, and pressure into the saddle from the back posture and seat muscles.

Speaking as an ex competitive dressage rider (although nowhere near at that level!) please be assured Daisy the mouth frothing/foaming is just something that a lot of horses do, it's sort of acceptance of and playing with the bit, some racehorses do it too.

The neck flexion is also quite natural, look at film of wild horses fighting!

It is sort of a matter of energy control, the engine is at the back, you have to sort of stoke it up but be careful how you release it, think throttle & clutch?

Aaargh, trying to upload a picture of me & Woodstock warming up for a dressage competition at Windsor, but it just isn't happening|!

To reach grand prix standard in dressage takes years of hard work and training. The horses are like the elite human athletes, very pampered and live in luxury. They have to learn to carry themselves and develope strength and the right muscles. All the movements are based on the horses natural play, I really enjoy watching the great skill being shown. Sadly there are in this country horses and ponies who suffer from the ignorance and neglect of their owners, and organisations like World Horse Welfare work hard to combat the distress caused.

OOOh keep trying, phoenix Would love to see it.

I find it fascinating what they are able to get the horse to do - how on earth do they start to train them - the feet do such neat tidy steps.

Kauto Star (ex race horse) is now doing dressage, and there is an ex race horse (can't remember the name, Blood is in it somewhere) competing in the eventing)

What am I doing wrong? I have managed to upload pictures before (cats on car etc) but can't seem to get this one! GRRRR!

Photo

I was all set to watch the dressage this afternoon when DGS ran in shouting, 'Quick, the air ambulance is landing in the field' - They frequently fly over us but I did think it was a bit low.

A Landrover Discovery had been hit by a train just a few yards from us. We didn't hear a thing. It's been on the News. The driver wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown clear but has serious head wounds.

We rushed out to see what was going on and forgot all about the dressage!!

We have a clothes shop in our next town called Dressage.........

Yayyy!

He was a lovely chap, Suffolk Punch cross, definitley NOT your typical dressage horse!

Great photo, phoenix. Lovely memories, I bet.

I have heard that it's very hard on their tendons. Kept missing the dressage as couldn't work out when it was on. Summon up the Blood is the racehorse turned eventer [ex Mick Channon inmate] who's doing really well. Kauto, alas is dead. One of the greatest racehorses of all time injured himself jumping out of his field a year or so ago and didn't recover. His owner had wanted him to do dressage as he was scared of him hurting himself if he did eventing or team chasing etc . Still can't believe he's gone . However, Neptune Collonges [aka Nipper]who won the National the other year, has taken well to dressage, as have a lot of ex racers in the ROR programme.

He looks gorgeous. You can see the Suffolk Punch in him.

Yes indeed, merlot dear chap he was, also my cremello mare, Calico, right stroppy baggage but coudln't half jump for a 14.2 pony!

Oh, happy days, still get the occasional urge to ride again, but can't afford it currently, and not too sure how the old joints would cope with it after all this time!

I wonder if Princess Anne was there, I remember back in the 70s, she and Doublet were a brilliant Dressage pair.

I had to give up riding in my early fifties. It really did for my knees.

Our old pony, supposedly mostly Highland, looked like a miniature Suffolk horse. He was 14.2!

I had a few dressage lessons many years ago. Loved it. Not on our old boy though - he was definelty right hoofed. Flying changes weren't in his vocabulary. He loved shows though and did quite well at the handy pony.

Re the exaggerated arch in the horses necks, I believe there are concerns that some horses are over flexed in training. Certain German riders are being critised.