What is a ‘principle’ and how does it affect our outcome and ultimate success?

Principle:

1-A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system or belief or behavior or a chain of reasoning used as a rule to govern one’s behavior.



Many like to think that a technique is what guides us on this journey, or makes what we do ‘natural’ but it is not. Techniques are just a facilitator of our principles to help us achieve our goals. In the parelli system, those techniques and principles were chosen for us, but they are not unique to parelli. Having principles, adhered to and revered as absolute truths, is what lets us know if you are on the right track. Too often, students (of any method) get far to hung up on ‘perfection’ of a task or technique and the principles get lost in the fog. And I often wonder why. This is as common place at the highest of levels as it is at the lowest of levels. The FEI is one of the most notable to let the mebers of their group completely ignore the ‘principles’ and now Dressage is so far away from where it started…yet their own rules never changed……and to make up for it, our perception and definition of the ‘principles’ has become so distorted, we cannot even recognize them when we see them….Such as the principle of having ‘the poll as the highest point’…..it is a rare few individuals who can even recognize what it looks like. Most people ‘think’ they have it, and they could not be farther than the truth.

I have been studying French Classical Dressage lately, and the more I get into it, the clearer the connection between Dressage and NH becomes, most specifically Baucherism….though one does NOT automatically equal the other. (Baucherism is a method discovered and developed by Francois Baucher in the mid 1800’s after he studied François Robichon de La Guérinière’s work from the early 1700’s) In all systems, we usually have a relatively lengthy list of ‘principles’….but when you get to the heart of the matter there are usually only a select few that are highly regarded…and usually only one, maybe two, that are thought of as the “holy grail”…..that usually, if adhered to at all times, it will keep you out of trouble and make your road to success a short one. And usually you can say this about them,

“It matters not what technique you use, what style you ride, so long as you do nothing to lose (principle) and do everything to gain (principle)….you will always be on the road to success”

So I thought I would make a list of principles for myself, since I have been reminded by a book I am reading, just what MY holy grail is, and my lack of adherence has caused me great struggles in my pursuit of my own perfection. Obviously the ‘goal’ is improvement in tangible skills, but really those skills are a facilitator to a higher level of conceptuality and philosophical understanding of the principles….which then garner even greater skills…and so on and so on, repeating the cycle in a never ending circle of self improvement. There is a rule that states, if something applies in every situation than it is a RULE, if it does not, then it is a TOOL.

So here is my list of principles that state I can do anything I want so long as I have, create or do not destroy the following….

1. Relaxation (both physical AND mental/emotional) Front to Back

2. The relationship comes first

3. Never use force, be it physical or mental~ includes: Don’t act like a predator, don’t be direct line, Patience BEFORE justice(long phase one)

4. Lightness and Feel~ includes: Release of the aids, no micro management, Timing the aids at the moment when the horse can optimally comply

5. Hands w/out legs, Legs w/out hands

6. Poll the highest point (except when stretching down) & Nose in-front of the vertical, Back not Hollow

7. Keep the rhythm pure

8. Straightness

Principles I used to use that I no longer use, use sparingly, or only use in a safety situation, and why.

1. “The attitude of justice is effective.” It may be effective but it can be harmful physically if misunderstood and also because it can destroy relaxation, relationship, and rhythm and often eventually involves force.

2. “Immobile Neutral on a circle.” Too much mayhem goes on that is not seen by way of not watching the horse, and it pulls me away from many of the above principles that are FAR more important to me.

For now I think that is about it. Should I come across any more I will update this.

I think if more people put relaxation at the top of their list, they would avert many problems. It needs to be the first thing you get, such as when you first approach your horse, do not do things in that approach that cause him to become tense, as you begin your session, again, do not CAUSE tension…..then your first goal is to reduce and remove what ever tension he had there to begin with. Then you can move on to the days lesson, again not CAUSING tension with any of your requests. Should your request be met with tension….stop…find out what caused it and fix it before moving on. Was he not prepared for your request, was it too demanding due to his level of skill and understanding, did you ask too abruptly or strongly, did you ask at a moment he could not possibly respond correctly, was he distracted….etc….

Relaxation does not mean dead btw. It doesn’t mean create a mindless plug. He should still be alert, sensitive and responsive…..but FREE from tension, both physical and mental.

So these are my thoughts on this rainy day

Savvy On

Michelle

DVD Review: *** Riz Ilyas ~ Piaffe Revealed

My most in-depth review!  Wow.....WOW.....I have been chomping at the bit to get my hands on this dvd set.  Normally I will write a seperate review on each volume of a set as I recieve/view them...but since this has been 'unavailable' for rental since the nano second they got it in stock.....I didn't want to share my enthusiasm after getting Vol 1....until I got my own grubby mits on Vol 2.....basically being selfish and stingy, not wanting to alert ANYone else to beat me to it.  A while back I was involved in several online discussions regarding not only the appropriateness of teaching ANY horse of ANY level the Piaffe, but also, the reality of whether or not ANY one could actually do it...even a novice....as the author claims.....then add to that.....IF his style of Piaffe was even 'correct' be it classical or modern, or if it is just a trick for backyard horse enthusiasts.  I can assure you, there is quite a debate over these dvd's.....in every subject known to horsemanship.  You name it...someone is talking about it.  Anyways, when the attacks started.....I defended him....not because I know him or had seen the dvd's (at the time) for my self....but because no  one HAD seen them, nor were any of the discussion participants educated enough to judge a 'correct' piaffe....much less had they themselves ever ridden dressage....bascially.....my stand point was this.....do your research before you judge something.  If you havn't seen the dvd....how on earth can you judge if is good bad or indifferent?  So....I opened my big mouth....and said I would get the dvd's, review them as I do all my dvd reviews.....BUT.......ALSO.....obligated myself to test it out on my own horses  (something I wanted to do anyways) and share my progress as I go along.....and if possible.....get a real novice to join me in my experiment.  For all intents and purposes....as far as dressage goes....I would consider myself a novice.  Others may not....but I do.  Why?  Because:

 #1~Theory~In all my study, in the years gone by, as a scholar, I fall quite short to many many people who have had the resources to study far more intensivly than have.  Though my desire and passion is there, my book worming is just a drop in the bucket compared to the serious intellectual Classical Dressage student.

#2~Expert Mentorship~In all my years, basically I did it alone.  I had few, if any, live mentors to study under.  Most that I found in my area were either not classical or too expensive for my puny budget.  But I did have one that was a bit 'out there' as a human being....but he taught me alot in the few lessons I could afford w him.  Luckily he boarded his horses where I did...and I was able to watch many lessons w other students and watch him ride his own horses and he was gracious enough to answer my MANY questions I grilled him with.  Which had led me to the discovery that many of the great riders are actually quite obscure, and NEVER recieved nor attempted to recieve a gold medal or a blue ribbon of any kind.

#3~Glass Ceiling: I only made it into L3 before my mare foudnered and was retired.  Though I do pride myself on the fact that as a backyard Classical dressage enthusiast, with minimal funds and a $500 TB mare....I made it that far....CORRECTLY...on my own.  Pat Pat Toot Toot......(that's me patting my back and tooting my horn)

#4~Reality Check:  I am now a middle aged woman, ouit of shape and over weight who has not ridden but a handful of times in the last 4 years due to injuries from a car accident....and my horse is a 14yo green rescue TB mare with the equivelent training of 30 "traditional" days under saddle and a "tying up" issue (medical condition...google it).....AND....I don't have an arena....My reality SUCKS....go figure! 

Based on these three things alone, I don't think I could ever consider myself anything other than a novice....in dressage land...though I am hardly a novice horseman....far from it in-fact.  I decided to create a new blog, for the sole purpose of tracking my progress in the experiment to see if the claims could be true.....that anyone could teach any horse to do piaffe.

Click here to follow the experiment.

So anyways, On to the long awaited reviews

Piaffe Revealed ****

Disk 1 ~ Classroom Session ~ Theory and Equiptment
Riz is a great speaker, charismatic and down to earth.  He is humble, not flamboyant and REAL.  He is a real student of the horse, and yet he is not arrogant about his knowlege.  Watching the dvd was like talking to a good friend.  He used common sense language and was never boring.  He went over the body points and how a horse USUALLY reacts when touched there.  He went over useful equiptment, and this was quite extensive in the 'whip/guider' department..  He of course covered the principles, uses and mis-uses of training the Piaffe..  He points out that the Piaffe is NOT the 'end' of the means, rather the 'means' to the end.  And he is not alone in this practice. 

It is a philosphy that I have seen from several French Classical trainers, and have seen them use the Piaffe for many good reasons, quite early on in a horses career.  It is a falacy that only special people and special horses get to do the Piaffe when they are good enough to think about going to the olympics.  IF we remember that Dressage = Training.....and ALL the school movements are excersizes to produce a well rounded and trained horse.....and that the goal....the "END" if you will, is a horse that is light, relaxed, responsive, balanced and obedient......NOT.....Piaffe.....then we will better be able to see the Piaffe in the same light as a 20 meter circle and a 'working trot'......nothing more than an excersize.....Piaffe is the 'MEANS' to the 'END'.....rather than being the 'END' itself.

Unfortunately there was a few areas of the dvd with sound quality issues.  The rest was spot on.  However I discovered the sound issues are not present when the dvd is played on my computer, only when played on my tv with my dvd player.  (but I have never had sound issues w other dvds) Remember that vol 1 is not the 'how to'...it is the pre-requisite understanding needed before the "how to".  I just wish I didn't have to wait now for vol 2.  So for now...this is where I will go to draft mode....


Disk 2 ~ The Arena Session ~ principle into practice

This dvd is the 'how to' and it is quite thorough.  He has deconstructed all the step to train the piaffe and made each step very clear.  It covers 2 pre-requisite exercises that must be in place before you begin the actual steps to start training the piaffe. Those perquisites should be a no-brainer for parelli students because they are similar to tasks in L2 online, friendly and stick to me, though it needs to be done this very specific way so it translates later on when you get to the part where you put it all together. The next two exercises, the leg lifts and goat stance should also be relatively easy for a parelli student due to ones understanding of the porcupine and driving games, though it might require L3+ savvy.  Then you get to the part where you begin to put it all together, and this is where you will truly discover if a 'novice' has what it takes to teach piaffe.  I believe that parelli students will fare better than the average novice, even though he does explain everything from how to apply the pressure, how to release and how to reward.  Feel and timing are needed and those are two things that cannot be bought.  Only father time and mother experience can help you in that department.  He then moves on to doing the piaffe in long lines once piaffe is relatively understood and if you have made it to this point, it is yet another cross road to separate the savvy from the un-savvy.  Parelli Level 4 students have yet another leg up as the driving game from zone 5 is already being established.  I will say, long lining is a bit of an art all to it self, and as he states, it needs to be confirmed prior to doing it with piaffe....for obvious reasons. He then goes into the pillars, though he advises extreme caution here and reminds every one that the pillars are NOT mandatory, but he does go over how to do it safely and sanely should it be something you want to do.  After that, he begins the piaffe under saddle, once piaffe is well established in hand and in long lines.

Now that I have described what he covers in the dvd, let me talk a teeny bit about the quality of his work.  I don't think that any 'natural' person will have any contradictions to what he does or how he does it.  He is a good horseman, kind and talented, and it is all done quite naturally.  Again he is a good speaker, down to earth, no and I sincerely mean NO ego in this man what so ever, it is easy to listen to him talk without my mind drifting or being annoyed. The quality of the organization of the material covered is very good....some minor sound quality issues, though as I stated before, playing it on my computer solved that.  The whole thing is simple in design and concept, yet just because something is simple, doesn't mean it is easy.  When it comes to the 'quality' of piaffe produced, I would have to say it is closer to classical principle than many if not most modern competitive piaffe's.  So for all those dressage queens out there, as a philosophical argument here, I have to say, if you are going to do something 'wrong' anyways (what you will do if you follow many modern riders) why not check this dvd out?  He holds classical principles to a higher and more correct standard, and for the cost of just one lesson with gold medalist, you can get the dvd, and in the end maybe learn more about it than you could in a lifetime of lessons.  Now don't get me wrong, I am not saying lessons are useless, cuz I'm not.  Just saying, I don't think the subject of piaffe as a whole, has been covered before like this.  So if you want to know more about it, this is probably as close to a one stop shop as you are ever gonna get.  The poll is high, nose in-front of the vertical, and the horses are using  their hind ends....that is more than many GP riders can do....even though they SAY they are doing it, they are not.

When it comes to applying very correct classical principles, if you know 'what' they are.....and feel they may be lacking or a bit substandard in this dvd, let me say that as long as you know what they are, you should have no problem adhering to them with this method.....regardless if your classical back ground is in French or German.  I did notice with one horse he could have lifted a bit better from the base of his neck over his topline, but I think it had a tad bit to do with his conformation.  Again, there is NO reason, if you know the classical principles, that you can't tailor this system to your desires.  It is a great road map and skeleton.

Now for the whole 'even a novice can do this'....I kinda went over this a bit, but want to delve just a hair deeper on this.  I "REALLY" think this is going to be based on ones definition of 'novice'....which just may be a highly subjective term.  I stated why I would consider MYself a novice, and to ME it is not the same as a begginer, rather a step above it.  Though websters dictionary, and most people first thought, IS infact....."beginner".  So the more I thought about this, I asked my self....what are the stages of horsemanship?....and where do "I" fall on the scale? So for arguments sake here....lets go with this scale for a better understanding of what I think you might need to be in order to actually do this.

Beginner:  I just got here, where do I start
Novice:  Survived the beginning and ready to be serious
Intermediate:  I know my way around pretty good with little help
Experienced:  I can take care of me and mine without putting much thought into it, it's a habit
Apprentice:  Pretty good now, and learning from a master to teach beginners
Journeyman:  I'm really good now and can teach even the experienced
Master:  An artist

So based on this scale, I am not a novice, somewhere between Apprentice and Journeyman category, but not in the dressage department.  So, do I think a 'novice' could do it?....anything is possible....though I would have to see it for myself to believe it.  I don't know his definition, but the dvd is laid out in simple steps, and is simple enough in theory that anyone can understand it......execution of it is a whole 'nuther story though....isn't it?

I would have liked to see a trouble shooting section with maybe a horse that had not already been taught ANY thing about any of the piaffe exercises.  Though each of the horses he did use, did not do things perfectly, so there were plenty of times he was able to show things that might go wrong and how to correct it, I would have loved to see what the process of day 1 leg lifts looked like.  He did talk about safety ALOT so that is good.

So why only 3 stars?  Well, simply because this is a very specialized dvd, if you have no desire to do piaffe, well then it's not a must see.  But if you DO want to do piaffe....I give it 5 stars because you just aren't gonna find a dvd like this anywhere else.....at least I havn't seen it yet....but I am still looking!

Click here for more info about Riz Ilyas

Click Here to Follow my Piaffe Journey
Savvy On
Michelle

Check this out, I kinda finished a new page about head positions

Ever wonder what they meant by 'in front of the vertical' or 'on it' or 'behind it'......??
Ever wonder what it looks like when the poll is or isn't the highest point?
Think you see alot of people working a horse on the bit correctly?
Well check out my  new page, link is above, titled
"Poll High, Nose in front of the vertical, FDO"  or click here to get there too

it is still a work in progress, but lots of photo's to learn from and test your eye and knowledge.

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review: **** Kathy Morelli ~ Understanding the Neck 1

The System ~ Vol 1

I liked this dvd for several reasons, although I have a 'caveat' at the end.  First it is a good quality media production, it is organized well and has wonderful imagery and excellent video's showing what she is describing. She has a great little hand held wire 'demo' horse where she explains how the dorsal ligament works and why being over bent ( behind the vertical, deep, round, hyper-flexed, rol-kur etc ) not only makes it impossible for the horse to engage properly and keep a pure rhythm, but how all that in turn upsets the horse. 

I think anyone playing with 'the game of contact' (GOC) should watch this because this is along the lines of the German Classical schooling, as well as Linda's style of riding.  But I am noticing that the poll is often NOT the highest point most of the time, with people using the 'GOC'.  IMHO, simply because far too many people just truly can't recognize when the poll is not the highest point.  (don't worry, i am working on a page devoted strictly to being able to recognize this)  And I don't think (but wont know till i watch the game of contact dvd's) it is of primary focus in this method.  So this dvd will give you  the examples and reasons why it SHOULD be a primary focus.

Where the dvd falls short for me, is that she is not particularly descriptive in the 'how'.  She definitely gives you the 'what' you should be doing......but doesn't give the nitty gritty details of the 'how'.  at least not on this volume but possibly on the second volume.  She has what she calls 'the system'...ie: the 'what'.....aka: the TASK which is to 

1. lift the head and neck UP via the reins

2. yield the head and neck forward via the reins

3. drive the hind end forward and under via the leg

4. flex and soften the poll laterally

Thru this 'system' you will gain longitudinal flexion and suppleness and this is a sound, solid and proper system to follow.....but here is the caveat I mentioned at the beginning.

....there is not much by way of the "how"...ie: TECHNIQUE

She does demonstrates the 'lifting' technique that she uses which IMHO is a bit too "forceful" for me and I much prefer Phillip Karl's technique which is much MUCH lighter and more effective.  I think this is where being a PNH student and knowing well the porcupine game and having good timing in your release will counter balance this shortcoming.

I also felt at times the tempo of the walk was hurried and quick, and gave the impression of not being truly relaxed....but that is just my opinion.

***** I think this an awesome dvd for Non - NH traditional German method dressage riders, actually a MUST for them, because this is a great way to move out of the 'deep' brainwashing that has been going on for over a decade.  This dvd will lead you out of that 'trap' and bring you back to proper training, create a happy horse and get you higher scores on your tests.

Click Here for more info about Kathy Morellli

Savvy On

Michelle

French Dressage vs German Dressage vs Natural Horsemanship….deeper insight.

Hmmm, some of the ‘french classical dressage’ is sinking in as I read and learn more about it. I find it highly interesting that my initial suspicions that the new age cowboy, ie: the ‘natural horsemen’ is infact doing a version of the French classical training. With German classical dressage, it is mostly about precision, where you are in control of every move the horse makes. It is about accuracy and power and grace. I would not define it as micro management as of yet. At least not when done right. Mainly because having done it for so long, I know full well that you can have an intimate relationship, where you do control every move, while still giving the horse responsibilities to uphold and giving him the freedom to uphold them, yet correcting him when he does not. So the german style books are very inviting for the novice rider, because just like the method of training the horse, the method of training the rider is just as precise and detailed. Because it is a cookbook of recipes, the novice will find the exact ‘how to’ they are looking for. But of course, it is the ‘how to’ ride GERMAN.

It seems that for the French however, their ‘method’ actually is a lack of strict guidelines. With it, it is more vague as in the ‘how to’ simply because it is about giving the horse the true freedom to express himself. As a rider, we need to stop waiting to be told what to do, and start ‘feeling’ the horse. We need to understand what and why we are asking the horse to do something before we ask him, and then when we do ask him, to get out of his way so he can do it…..and let HIM carry US. If he has difficulty or doesn’t understand, of course it is OUR responsibility to intervene and help him. Basically the essence of the French School is to FEEL our horse, not to follow some generic set of directions or to make or force it to happen, but to set it up to let it happen, then notice it and reward it when it does. Each horse is different and needs to be listened to as such. He needs to learn on his own, thru the various school movements how to balance himself, for we cannot teach it to him, just as our parents could not teach us how to balance as an infant so we could learn how to walk. But, that doesn’t leave us the rider with no responsibilities in the matter. We do need to be showing him the way towards balance and lightness, not throwing him to the wolves and leaving him to never truly discover it. Lest we not forget…..WE are the leaders, the tour guides, and we should always have our safety nets. Again, we guide the horse, and let the horse carry us.

So, it appears that in my new discovery (French Classical), Parelli does give us the tools to teach a horse on the ground, the ingredients we will need once in the saddle. Until recently, Parelli (and similar methods) did not much support the German Style, however I believe Linda’s new Game of Contact will. Because French is all about lightness, Pat’s style of riding is along those lines and the reason why I believe Linda had so much trouble ‘getting’ the game of contact all these years. Mainly because they (French and German or Pat and Linda) are quite a bit contradictory. Despite all that she learned from Pat and NH, she was seeking the holy grail of the German School. Something I myself discovered many moons ago, and thus, had issues with a few aspects of NH all along….because I saw the contradictions from the get go. Something in Linda’s brain finally ‘clicked’ and she ‘got it’. Personally, I don’t think it was much of a discovery on how to get contact, as much as a way to cause the horse himself to WANT to take the contact. The actual style of contact she is riding, is the same as it has always been. She is not the first to cause a horse to WANT to take the contact, but she may infact be the first to figure out a way to simplify teaching it and to teach it to many humans…..so that they too can cause ‘their’ horse to WANT to take the contact too. Something that honestly is not easy to find/understand in any kind of literature or other types of learning venues. The contradiction that I keep speaking of in NH is that the general desire is to have a horse give/move away from pressure.  Any and All pressure.....so.....when she was being told to 'keep the contact' she, based on the subconcious conditioning, was asking for and then allowing the horse to not move INTO the pressure.  To be honest, I know it is all that easy to teach a horse to do both, but I do know it can be done as I have done it myself.....but.....90% of the contact was just that.....contact.....and still far far far from French lightness.

So what I find so damn ironic, is that I have been waiting 10ys for Parelli to come up with the kind of stuff that did not contradict all the Classical German Dressage that I held true to my heart, something unlike the version of the cowboy who is describing what I know deep inside me to be French Classical Dressage in disguise, that which I rejected for all my dressage years and all my 10ys of NH……

And when Parelli finally DOES come out with the ‘game of contact’….here I am being drawn to French Classical Dressage like a moth to a flame, and seeing more and more what the Cowboy has to offer me…..at least in the “HOW” department…..I will still keep searching the Classical Masters for the “what” department….as I would like my horse to be more engaged and through than the cowboys desire. The cowboys, typically, will not uphold the holy principles of the classical masters….such as the poll being the highest point, not being behind the vertical….etc etc….because at the end of the day…..their goal is a good COW horse. But now more than ever, I firmly believe the reason my transition to French Classical is so easy is due mostly in part to Pat 7 games. Because once you know how to ask a horse to do “some”thing….you can ask him to do ‘any’thing. For this reason, Rose near instantly knew leg yield and shoulder in, and haunches in…..where it was a lifetime pursuit in my German days. Those things were the things I aspired to do….’one day’……and now they are things I can ask a green horse within the first few rides. They are not a mystery, and I can now use them exactly as they were intended to be used….as gymnastic exercises for EVERY horse, of EVERY level……not a movement of perfection for some higher level competition.



So if the German holy grail is ‘forward’ and the French holy grail is ‘lightness’, it stands to reason that there may in fact be some difficulty in the marriage of the two. I still need to see the ‘game of contact’ for myself, though as I have said in the past, I have a fairly good general idea from the mastery dvd’s. I think regardless many dressage riders would be astounded to know just how much Parelli could help them learn their dressage better, and now…..it will include both the French and the German style. But make no mistake about the fact that the things like rhythm, tempo, impulsion, straightness and collection, will still be up to you to study outside of parelli…….it is just that parelli teaches you how to ask your horse to do anything…..so if you know you need pure rhythm, even tempo and straitness…..while they don’t teach those things, none the less you will learn how to apply their method to any topic. Sky’s the limit…..only your lack of imagination hold you back….so what are you waiting for?

Savvy On

Michelle

Happy 300th Post! Celebrate with me!

Well....I did it....300 posts!  I can hardly believe I had THAT much to say....oh who are we kidding here.....I blabber on about everything don't I?  I had a nice ride with my friend today....short but sweet.  Nice open areas and Rose was a dream boat.  My horsemanship was spectacular today!  I got to use my old dressage reins I was talking about.....man that was so refreshing.  Honestly, I much prefer the weightless feeling of them compared to the rope reins.  It was crystal clear when I had made contact....and glaringly obvious when I had lost the contact.  Which for my finesse riding is exactly what I was looking for.  As for riding with them freestyle....just as good for that too.  And just look at how ravishingly gorgeous she looks in my Stubben Bridle.  Who couldn't love a face like that?  


So lets see, I started this blog over 2 n half years ago, inspired by the movie "Julie and Julia" I left the theater and came home with the intention of doing ALL the Parelli levels tasks, level 1-4......in a year.  Unlike the movie, I failed miserably.  Lots of things got in the way of my goal, but my journey took many unsuspecting turns and twists, and thus so did my blog.  I have reviewed close to 60 horse dvd's, but 8 or so are still in draft mode waiting for me to finish them.  Those dvd's alone have changed my life and journey in so many ways, as well as the books I am reading, that I cannot find the words sometimes to express it.  When I started my blog, I was still VERY paralyzed from my fears and still in a dreadful amount of pain from the car accident.  I was still going thru a pre ride ritual, that involved cigarettes and mediation, and then I still had fear issues while riding.  As of today, I am fear free, I just hop on and ride.  And I hope to get the cantering thing tackled this summer.  


Over the last few years, my relationship with Rose hit some really low LOWS.....and my relationship with Cha'cote hit some really high HIGHS.  I have saved the lives of quite a few horses and a few dogs too.  I have gained a few pounds, lost a few, and found them again....ugh.  Been thru hell and back in my personal life and survived.  I've lost some friends and made some new ones.  And generally am doing alright.  I got to conduct a huge social experiment, in where during a dark time for Parelli, the infamous Catwalk incident, I chose to take a drastically different "online" path than all of my friends, and opened up some wonderful dialog with parelli haters world wide. (click here) to read the thread, but I must tell you, it is long and pointless if you don't read the whole thing.  I just wanted to prove that there is a way to talk to people and a way not to talk to people.  That there doesn't have to be an "us" and a "them".  We don't have to be at war with people who don't do parelli or anyone for that matter, just because we are different. So, anonymously I started a thread under the aka screen name 'tongue~n~cheek', and posted an offer to people who don't do parelli, to ask legitimate non 'anti hate' questions about parelli....and i would honestly answer those questions with OUT cramming parelli down their throats or making them feel inferior for not doing parelli. In the end I think I answered over 200 questions and another 200 private messages.  It took me 5 long weeks of only 3-4 hrs of sleep a day to accomplish it.  It started off rough, but in the end, I made alot of friends world wide and not a one of them was a parelli person. Just goes to show, when you open your heart before your mouth, wonderful things can happen.  Linda Parelli herself read the thread and was impressed, and while she and I were talking about it, she mentioned that while Pat was reviewing my audition he remarked about me "you can see she has the savvy".  Speaking of auditions, during this blogging time I officially passed 5 auditions. Woo Hoo!  While it is not 'official' I am a L4 grad, and hope to someday make it official, though it is no longer at the top of the list of High Priority anymore.  Probably the best of all, is my new found interest in French Classical dressage because although it is vastly different to my German Classical dressage past, it is completely perfect for where I am in my life with my horsemanship, where the German is not so achievable right now.  But, after giving this thing a go during good weather in the upcoming months, I may never go back.  I have found 'me' again, after searching for years!  I learned some really good stuff with the Waterhole Rituals too.  And I am certainly looking at horsemanship with brand new eyes, and what I am finding is REALLY good stuff.  What more can I ask for?  It has been a great journey that has brought me right here, right where I guess I need to be.


Thanks to those that have followed along.  My little blog is just a few short visitors away from 12,ooo views.  Here's to looking forward to the next 300 posts.....Stay tuned as I am working on some good stuff regarding bitless dressage and keeping the pole the highest point, and also working on a page about different types of horsemanship and the masters we all look up too.  Don't forget to look around, there are over 100 video's plastered all over the place with both good and bad horsemanship to learn from.


Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review: ***** Walter Zettl ~ A Matter of Trust 1/1

Vol. #1 Disk 1 *****

Now THIS is a "basics" dvd.  It is practically a "who's who and what's what"of dressage as far as basics go.  It is PACKED full of ALL the basics of dressage...infact more than 'just' the basics.  This is a German Classical style with senstivity and gentleness.  I really enjoyed it.  There was so much packed in there that this could very well take you several sittings to get thru it, depending on how much you know already.  If you are just starting out in dressage, this is a good place to start because nothing is left out. I will say, due to the shear volume of material, that they go quickly, so be prepared to have your finger on the pause button so you can take notes or rewind to hear something again.  There is not a lot of indepth detail on alot of stuff presented, this is really just an indepth overview of everything you should know to get started.  As i have seen of MANY great dressage masters, there is not alot of emphasis on the riders position, mostly on the 'how to train the horse'....so i would say that, like you will find about anywhere else, you will need to seek else where for rider biomechanics.  And that is OK.  No one can be everyTHING to EVERYone.  I highly recomend this dvd for its solid and classical 'basics'.

There is reviewed and explained and demonstrated:

The 6 Principles of the  training scale:
Rhythm, Relaxation, Contact, Schwung, Straightness & Collection

The Golden Mantra:
Ride your horse ~ Calm, Forward & Straight

Well Explained and demonstrated:
Calming exercises/patterns
Forward exercises/patterns
Straightening exercises/patterns

Suppling exercises/patterns


There was beautiful scenes of horses and riders of all levels, and most of them were poll high most of the time.  It is a pet peave of mine...so...i pay close attention to it.  sorry.
 
For more info on Walter Zettl click here

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review:**** Sylvia Loch ~ Body and Balance work

Body and Balance Work ****

This was a GREAT dvd. It was simple yet very detailed.  Well organized and compromised just about any movement you want to do with your horse.  It is a classical equitation dvd and covers from the basics to lateral work to flying changes. She has a group of students go thru body awareness exercises on the ground, and during the lecturing shows clips of the students, herself and another trainer riding the movements on horses, showing both the before and after, the bad then the good.  The exercises are for awareness and are simple to do.  It is not complicated in anyway, her concepts make sense and seem easy to apply while in the saddle, which many equitation exercises are not easy to do in the saddle.  I think this dvd will be valuable for any rider, not just dressage riders.

All the riders looked good in the saddle, well poised and balanced and her concepts seem to make positive changes in the students work in the saddle.  She does not leave out the who, what, when, where or how's.  The entire dvd was well organized, flowed easily from one exercise to the next, no confusion in following along and everything seemed like it would be easy to remember from dvd to the arena.

For more info on Sylvia Loch click here

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review: 0 stars ~ Dominique Barbier ~ Mastering the Basics

ZERO Stars ~ Skip it!

Mastering the Basics

God I really hate to do this, but to be fair to worthy media, I just cannot recommend this dvd. Before I get slammed with a slander suit, let me remind you, this is ONLY......MY.......OPINION and I am sure there are people, somewhere, who found this dvd helpful. Regarding 'what' I could even begin to speculate. I was highly disappointed on so many levels, I just can't even give it one star rating. I thought long and hard about my ratings definition prior to my decision. 1 star means I think it is "OK" but better stuff out there". Honestly, I didn't think it was OK on any level, and there are 1000's of things out there better to chose from. IMHO

The whole catalyst for my reviews in the first place, was because I am a Parelli Level 4 graduate I was waiting around for them (PNH) to get around to making some upper level stuff, particularly DRESSAGE, and also to see and learn other methods of NH in order to expand my NH knowlege base. I knew I wasn't the only Parelli student searching for compatible information, so I figured as I came across stuff I would share MY opinion of what I found. Period. So while I am far from a Master in either NH or Dressage, I am also far above the average novice horseman and capable of making the determination if something is worthy of me investing my time and money into learning, or something I would not waste my time on.

I am going to grade and review 3 aspects here.

1: How well it will coincide with not only Parelli Natural Horsemanship, but the General world of Natural Horsemanship as a whole.

2: How well it coincides with what "I" understand to be BASIC Classical Dressage Principles, be it French OR German

3: How well it is presented as a media outlet for home study learning, based on presentation and information presented (or not presented) concepts discussed ~vs~ results shown.

1: As far as PNH/NH goes, I felt it was sub par on every level, even compared to watching novice NH students. The horses in the video appeared to be agitated, nervous, and generally not to happy. As an NH student, you will likely feel as I do, that we spent alot of time, energy and heart to produce a happy well adjusted horse and don't want to chance doing things that will upset this mental/emotional balance. Despite this dvd being labeled "basic"...it was not clear to me what was 'basic' about it. He was kinda all over the place....and thus the horse seemed to follow suit. I honestly do not see how an advanced student would be able to understand it....much less a novice. On the one hand he was using very advanced horses and what appeared (at first) to be novice riders. More on this in the dressagy review. I just didn't see much that could be considered 'better' than basic NH. There are far better recomendations I could give to PNH students as a dressage extension beyond the confines of parelli, AND within the confines of parelli. PNH is already, in and of itself, better at doing this stuff, be it French (Pats kind of style) or German (Linda's kind of style)

2: Classical Dressage principles....OY~VAY....I squired one of his books many many years ago. At the time I just didn't 'get' what he was saying and alot seemed "mystical" and I was looking for cold hard technical facts. I was just at the beginning of my german classical study. I put the book down, found many others that were what i was looking for, realized he was 'french' and never picked it back up again. BUT...in all these years, I still believed, albeit in my limited 'french' understanding, that he was indeed a MASTER of the FRENCH classical school. After watching Phillip Karls dvd's.....I was nearly horrified at what my dressage eyes were seeing. MASTER?? If what he showed was indicative of french 'mastery' (which i know it is not) I don't want any part of it. Not only were the students in the dvd's painful to watch ride, so was he. The stirrups were soooo long, and the feet so far in front that they were horribly balanced in the rising trot work and I have beginner students look better than that in a matter of weeks, so to see a supposed master ride that unbalance i was shocked. He suggested that the rider keep her hands ON the saddle, if I recall right, at all times. Not for balance as an un-confident rider, but to 'keep the horse on the bit'... what? WHAT?? Now, as we move on, this is supposed to be a BASICS dvd, yet all the horses are being ridden in a DOUBLE bridle. There was no mention as to why, but I have never seen ANY one use a double bridle on green horses with green riders, which is exactly what i presume at least one student/horse pair to be. And lastly some core classical principles.....The poll 'should' be the highest point at all times, not here my friends, not even close. At times it appeared to be 'deep' if not downright close to 'rolkur' even if momentary....that is unacceptable in any classical school of thought. The horses hind quarters could not directly follow the forehand due to stiffness and lack of control from the leg, on turns the haunches would just spin out like they were on a carnival ride. I can't even get started on the lunging. I will say that when HE rode his upper level horse, things appeared to be a bit better, it was hardly done with principles, style or grace that I would want to emulate. in ANY fashion.

3: Media attributes. The trifecta of shame. PNH has a reputation for producing in depth, top quality, provocative, well organized and formatted media that we parelli students have become accustomed to. Top notch in every aspect. I am not suggesting i am some princess here that cannot see the good in other peoples work. Not in the least. If you read any of my other reviews, you will see that I am hardly parelli biased. I give credit where credit is due. But I won't sit here and give it where it is not due. I usually try to find SOMEthing positive about even the worst dvd's. So I will say that he does state some good concepts in there, but in my opinion what he is saying is not the results shown on the dvd. You know, the words don't match the view. Then there is no congruent format. It is not well organized despite having 'categories' and the intention of material was not clear. It was very confusing as to what the heck I was watching and why. My only saving grace is that I not only am better educated and can just reject his notions and move on. But also that I didn't pay any money for this dvd. I would then have been a disgruntled consumer as well and felt a little on the jilted side wonder how I could in good conscious sell this dvd to someone else. The only thing I can tell anyone at this point in my French Classical Journey (the beginning btw, after 20ys german) is to seek out Phillipe Karls dvd's, I highly recommend them and will be reviewing others soon.

Clearly I am not affiliated with the author of the dvd. So....By all means contact him directly and ask for clarification/explanation of what he was doing, to give him a chance to refute/rebut my review. It is my personal opinion it is what will be needed to understand what was going on in that video anyways. So that is the best place for more info. Click here to go to his website. Maybe things are different now, or maybe they were having alot of problems while filming. He has nice pics on his site. But this dvd is what it is and I stand by my review of it.

On a personal note. Honestly my heart sunk when I saw him in the rising trot. Just goes to show, now matter how many 'fancy' things someone can do, they can still be lacking severely in even the very basic of basics, and that words can be cheap.....but the picture can be worth a thousand words and a million dollars and a lifetime of chasing the wrong rainbow.

Savvy On
Michelle

Classical Dressage day 4 ~ Video~

Well, last day of the 4 day weekend. I made good use of my time and rode 3 days in a row. Today we focused on jaw flexions (chewing the bit) and timing of aids. Rhythm suffered a bit, but, this had more to do with me knowing the camera was on me than anything else. It was good and flowing before i called the honey out of the drunken man-cave to do me a solid. My back was getting stiff too.....havn't spent this much time in the saddle in the last year nearly. Rose is getting pretty good at the jaw flexions and is chewing nicely quite a bit i noticed in the video. she is still having some trouble with the lateral poll flex to the left, and you can see it a couple times in the birds eye view where she tips her nose to the left and sticks her under jaw to the left rather than turning her forehead to the left. tisk tisk. we are getting better. let me tell ya....that was hard holding the camera under my two chins....lots of editing where the camera was caught by my 'cleavage"....but i think over all she is bent nicely, except where i was holding the reins in one hand and the camera in the other. see ya'all next weekend. gonna go do lots of research on french classical dressage this week.

Savvy On
Michelle

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Classical Dressage day 3 progress

Hell's bells and the bee's knees.....this is pretty dang easy this French Classical Dressage stuff.  Well, not THAT easy...but ya....this is pretty easy.  Maybe my background with dressage and parelli have made this an easy transition, or maybe it really is just that easy....I don't know, but after watching Phillipe Karl's dvd yesterday and again today before riding, having this clear picture in my mind of EXACTLY what I should do, it was pretty easy.  Now I am not saying we have mastered anything by any stretch of the imagination here, but what I am getting at is the YEARS it took me to get to a great place where both Snookie and I had not only a good understanding of the basics, but also to be able to execute them with some form of success.  With this approach, on a OLL4/FSL2 horse, I can't believe how well she is doing in the jaw mobilization.  It honestly is blowing my mind. I believe a good portion of it is my great timing (that i have learned over years of study, still could be way better.) is one of the reasons, and maybe her understanding of pressure/release as well.  And maybe the other half is something to do with it feeling better to have a jaw that is mobile rather than locked.  All these years hearing the term "jaw flexions" gave me one very specific understanding of jaw.  The way Phillip Karl explains it using the term "jaw mobilization"...it gives me a whole new understanding.  Heck, maybe jaw flexions and jaw mobilization are in fact two totally separate things, maybe even a german vs french thing, or maybe just my understanding....i don't know.  All I know is that I get it, i get this, and my horse gets it....and we got it in 2 sessions. I would say in a few more sessions we should have it going good most of the time as well.  She is getting the hang of the poll flexions, but you are only suppose to ask for those after the jaw is mobilized, and lets face it....I am not that "back" as far as my coordination, timing and balance is concerned to put all this together at every moment in every movement.  Not yet, and I am sure not for some time to come.  The good news is that today we also worked on doing figure 8's while doing pirouette's and shoulder in's.  Those were hard, the shoulder in more so.  I think all those years of sideways, turns on the FQ/HQ kinda ruined the 'forward' while doing them.  So for now we are not doing anything that is also not in some fashion...'going forward'.

And the really cool part is that I am having no issues catching her, I do not tie her to saddle her, I have been putting the bridle on prior to the saddle and using the outside rein to stop her from turning to bite me while girthing up....which by the way, using this technique has all but stopped the reaching around to bite me.  I also am not tying her to unsaddle her and she is staying with me when done, as opposed to running off with a high pitched squeal (the tel-tale sign she was not a fan of what ever we did that day).  Woo Hoo!

Savvy On
Michelle

DVD Review: **** Craig Stevens: Theory of Dressage

Disk 1 ****

Holy Maccaroni.....this is a GREAT dvd for Parelli students.  If you are doing finesse in any sort of fashion, be it in a dressage saddle or western saddle....you really should watch this dvd.  You will not see any pictures or moving video of horses.  It is a theory lesson, regarding why we do what we do, and why we shouldn't do what we hopefully are not doing.  In a short amount of time, you can learn quite a little bit about the French Classical Dressage (FC) style of riding that Pat talks about from time to time.  While it may contradict Linda's "Game of Contact" (founded with German Classical Dressage) it does not in any way contradict PNH with Finesse.  He covers such things as the history of dressage, rein effects, weight and balance effects, resistance effects, half halt, halt by combined effect, rein adjustment, how to hold the rein, and classical seat balance

He states we should never make a rearward retraction, (pull on) the reins, rather only in the halt should we used the combined effect of driving into a solid hand.

I love this saying regarding timing and strength:
"It's not the effect of force, but the force of properly timed effects."

He has a great explanation of whether or not humans are capable of balancing a horse, loved it.
"To modify balance thru suppling excersises to help the horse/rider discover where the center is"

Ride with tact....
Tact: "The application of imagination to sensation"

French:  Never attempt to deal with more than one resistance at a time.  When a horse gets out of balance physically or emotionally, Start with the halt to eliminate resistances of the weight, second: deal with the resistance of force, ie: supple the stiffness....third: then carry on.

German: Ride the horse forward through the resistance into patterns designed to gain suppleness.

In no way am I going to stand up and say every thing he says is a golden rule, simply because at this point I really don't know that much about FC dressage, but honestly whether or not I may agree or disagree, I certainly do understand it all better due to his explanations. His work is supported by French Classical Dressage master Phillipe Karl and Natural Horseman Ed Dabney.  So I am going to say that despite what ever controversy may be going on in the 'modern' dressage world regarding his work, is of no consequence to me, especially since the 'modern' dressage world is most predominantly German Classical at it's roots, if not execution.

Having now watched all 4 of his dvd's, I know he is big on classical equitation gained through suppleing and strength exercises designed to force you to find your balance and the proper seat as opposed to having someone tell you 'put your leg here and your arm here", they can easily be done in a round pen as opposed to having someone lunge you, if your horse is good in the round pen and good with passenger lessons of course. These excersises can be found on disk 1 of the "perfecting the seat" dvd set he has.

I also think this dvd set goes well with Phillipe Karl's dvd's.

Click here for a great article written by Craig regarding French Classical Dressage vs German Classical Dressage equitation.

Click here for an interview with Craig

This video series is no longer available for sale, but you can rent it from Giddyupflix

Click Here for more info on Craig Stevens

DVD Review:**** Phillip Karl ~ CLASSICAL DRESSAGE VOL. 1

School of Aids ****

WOW.....this is a great dvd.  If of course you are interested in Classical Dressage, particularly French Classical (FC). However I could only give it 4 stars for parelli students because French Classical would be somewhat contradictory to Linda's new "Game of Contact" which is more of the German Classical (GC).  I have yet to see her dvd though as it is not yet released.So I really cannot say just how contradictory it is...if it even is at all

I will say that for anyone wanting to know more about FC dressage.....to compare to GC dressage..... this is a GREAT place to start. Also for sure it will go really well for those wanting to do Finesse with western riding.  This is his "basics" dvd and I will say he explains it well, and I learned alot, since I come from a GC dressage background and really never knew, or quite ashamedly admit, never cared about FC before.  But with my current desire to study FC, this was exactly what I needed to understand what the essence of FC is about.  I am thrilled that it is completely in line with my current situation for my horse, and now I can work on doing all this properly as the rein aids are completely and wonderfully explained.

Now, not being a FC expert, having never studied ANY thing about it, I have to ask though, "Is this all there is too it?  Is it really this easy?"  My current FC study, in it's infancy, I keep reading how easy it is compared to GC.  Which makes it way more fun, according to it's fans.  So watching this, having a relatively thorough, albeit rusty, understanding of GC......added to my relatively thorough understanding of Parelli....it was easy for me to watch this dvd and not have any issues understanding what he was talking about.  It was foreign to me due to my GC background, and a bit opposite in principles, so it took me a minute for me to wrap my brain around it to embrace it, so I had to watch it a couple of times simply to access my memories of years gone by at how it could have related to my dressage back then....but once I did, I could see how it not only completely applies to my current green horse, but it is honestly pretty much what we were starting to do naturally on our own.  So this perfectly showed me not only how to do it properly, but how to apply it to each situation of our riding.  His explaination and examples given, completely cleared up how to get the pole high, keep the horse from getting behind the vertical or bit, how to flex the pole, and how to mobilize the jaw.  It was something that was always a mystery to me what FC students were talking about and how different it is from GC as far as contact is concerned.

At the very least, this dvd will show you how to get that poll up and keep it the highest spot. ;)

I totally loved it, and if there are any French Classical Dressage students, true scholars, who are riding above 3rd level........PLEASE tell me.....is it REALLY this EASY?

Click here For more info on Phillipe Karl

Savvy On
Michelle

Muscle vs Mindfullness

So I watched my lame little video.....looked at the title i gave it...'back in the saddle'......thinking.....but my A$$ has been in the saddle over the last 4ys.....what makes it different this time?  truth be told, I have not done anything 'dressagy' for probably 13ys.  just been starting my rescues and green beans....

during that time i have been doing parelli, be it my intial "this is crap, gonna prove it wont work with dressage" to "i'm gonna be a PP"  to "something is wrong gotta bail".  with the car accident, my inferior skills upon my return, my horse hating me and life in general.....i have been on this journey for the last year n half.....since my whole OLL3 audition debacle.....and have noticed many times I thought i had 'figured it out'.

Many times I have had these BFO's....that in retrospect were only mini bfo's.  but i think i have it now....I think I finally found the missing piece....or maybe just figured out how all the missing pieces i have found in the last year...have finally completed some cosmic kharmic picture.

a picture that shows me the death grip i had on what ever it was i was holding on to so tightly.....that it took something pretty big to get my attention.  Maybe I needed that smack to my leg to force me let go with the last finger i had gripping on for dear life.

so i recently watched Mark Rashids dvd "developing sofness in the rider".....and just as his books have given me deep spiritual revelations, his words are so profound to me and this dvd was no different.

he talked about our minds needing to be like still water in a pond, so the landscape around it can be mirrored perfectly in the water.....and if you throw stones in the water....the ripples distort the picture.  and just as in life....chaos in your mind distorts your perceptions of people places and things around you.  or something like that....

so my friend and i have been talking about his muscle vs mindfulness concepts nearly every day for the last week about nearly every aspect of our lives.....and then.....I rode.

so here i sit, watching my little lame dressage video....and it hit me....for the first time in 13ys....i saw a glimpse of ME....and realized i have not seen her in a long time.  i saw the soft me, the mindful me, the peaceful me, the get in harmony and help my horse move right me, the dressage me that i never thought i would see again....

unfortunately i saw the FAT me too....but....i guess you cant have your cake and eat it too.....oh wait...that's how i GOT fat.....so i take that back....i guess you can have your cake and your husbands cake and your kids cake...and eat them all in one sitting while crying in your cereal :roll:

i noticed in this last ride, all the fear, judgement, assumptions, ridicule, self loathing, hatred, pain, and worst of all the ANGER....were gone.  i was at peace with myself, and my horse and i danced.  sure it wasn't perfect....not even by a million to one long shot.....but it was ME and i liked what i saw

it wasn't the me that everyone else told me i had to be, the me that everyone expected me to be, the me I thought everyone else wanted me to be.....I was

ME.....and I was pretty dam OK with it.  I cleared the clutter from my head and followed my own set of rules, tuned everything else out.....and listened to my horse.  Instead of 'upping my leadership' and using muscle (not physical rather mental) and i used my intuition and let nature guide me.  i didn't fight muscle with more muscle....I simply redirected the energy using my mindfulness and we danced.

In that lame little dressage video i also saw something else.....HOPE
Hope for the future....that I do have one and it does include dressage....MY dressage......Rose's dressage.....Nature's dressage and

we will dance again. :wink:

Do you REALLY know what Rhythm is?

Do you know the difference between Rhythm and Tempo? We’ve all heard (god I hope we have) that walk is a 4 beat gait, trot a 2 beat gait and canter a 3 beat gait. And we hear the three “R’s” rhythm, relaxation, retreat. But do you REALLY know what RHYTHM is? In my experience in the ‘natural’ world…..the answer is….probably not. You may know someone else’s definition based on ‘their’ overall goal….which is actually…..TEMPO. And also interchangeably use ‘purity of gait’

The greener our eyes are, the bigger we need the picture to be, in order to ‘get’ something. So it is easy for someone to say…..rhythm….in exchange for tempo…when talking about ‘behavior’ and ‘emotions’ in a horse. Or a green horse just learning to ‘rate’ his speed. So we wouldn’t want to see his canter go quickly then slowly then quickly then slowly…..we would like him to be consistent…..but this is actually TEMPO. So unfortunately we don’t, in the end understand and thus incorrectly use the term ‘rhythm’ for ‘tempo’ but it served it’s purpose of helping us identify and correct emotional inconsistencies in our horse, or helping a very green horse get his very basic bearings about himself.

However, in Dressage, Rhythm is a core element, and inconsistencies will cost you big time. It is suppose to be TABOO to cause irregular gaits….ie: RHYTHM…..but they take a fine eye and ear to recognize…..so it would be prudent to REALLY know what it is, what is correct, and what would be considered a crime against nature.

Rhythm: Unconstrained, forward flow of energy through “well timed” steps

Rhythm is the pattern of the beats of the gait….2 beat trot, 3 beat canter and 4 beat walk. It should be even and consistent. It isn’t the ‘beat’ in so much as it is the amount of time ‘between’ the beats….that defines the RHYTHM. We tend to think of the trot as 1-2 1-2- 1-2…. So to define the ‘even’ part….what you need to know is that the time between footfalls should be perfectly even, and it is helpful to think of it as 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8….which 4 strides of trot.

If you counted out loud as your horse trotted along…..

that is exactly what you should hear….1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8……..NOT…..1-—2-3-—4-5-—6-7—8.

Same for the walk there, which is the easiest gait to screw up and cause an ambling or shuffling as described above….mainly from too much contact not enough engagement. The trot however is usually screwed up by posting. So when posting, you should think of an imaginary saddle seat hovering over the pommel. You should be spending just as much time with your ‘front’ on the imaginary saddle as you do with your ‘back’ in the real saddle….and the time in between, spent rising, should be equal to the time in between, spent falling. Usually this is the reason for lack of even rhythm in the trot gait. Do it for too long, and you make it a habit hard to break for you and your horse. Now the canter is a whole ‘nuther story. While it is a 3 beat gait, we must remember there is a suspension phase as well, with it’s own ‘beat’ so to speak. Making the canter kind of like a 4 beat gait…..for the purposes of explaining the canter rhythm…………at least if you want your horse to not be totally flat with no elevation or space of time between strides. So a canter rhythm would be like this….. 123-123-123-123……..not 123123123123123…so it might be helpful to go ahead and count out the suspension beat like this 123s123s123s123s123s123s or how I like to do it….123412341234. The longer the suspension phase….the more uphill, springy, engaged, etc the canter will be.

Let’s talk about SERIOUS deviations of purity of gait. These are things you will see caused by such things as Rolkur and again serious lack of impulsion or odd mix of collection/impulsion….this is where the trot becomes a 4 beat gait because of diagonal pair of legs not hitting the ground simultaneously….or the canter becomes a 4 beat gait such as in the often seen 4 beat ‘pirouette’ where the horse is rearing on two hind legs, swings his torso over, then places his front feet down separately…..that is NOT a canter. This would be caused by focusing too much doing the pirouette on the ‘spot’ rather than focusing on keeping the gait pure (3 clear beats) and sacrificing the ‘spot’. As I said in the beginning, it is ‘suppose’ to be taboo to lose purity of gait or have an irregular rhythm. It is suppose to be taboo to not have the poll the highest spot, and taboo to have the nose behind the vertical….yet we almost exclusively see all these deviations from the most elite in the sport. Adhering to “Winning” above basic cardinal principles….will be nothing more than sacrifice at your horse’s expense.

So now that you know WHAT rhythm is and isn’t, let’t talk about TEMPO again. Because lets face it 1---2-3---4-5---6-7---8 IS a rhythm, it just isn’t an even rhythm or the one we are looking for…..it is an irregular rhythm.

So lets say you have a trot…..1---2---3---4---5---6 as your regular working trot….when you shorten or lengthen the stride…this will shorten….1-2-3-4-5-6 or lengthen 1-------2-------3-------4-------5-------6 but see how it stayed regular and even and consistent….if you ever got 123456…..your horse will likely to be found….on the forehand, strung out, emotionally scattered. Time needs to be spent doing lots of half halts and lots of cavaletti work.

Remember, while we want a canter to have a well defined suspension ‘beat’, we do not want him to move like Pepe Le Pew 123--------------123-------

Hope this has help clear up any confusion about what Rhythm really is……and don’t worry……with this knowledge, despite what Gloria Estephan says….the Rhythm isn’t “Gonna getcha’”



Savvy On

Michelle

Classical Dressage day 1...video

Shoulders in, leg yields, turns on HQ/FQ....I really wanted to have a 'before' video....something to compare things to when the winter is over, and I have spent the cold months......working on WALK. The basic classical principles I am adhering to at this point are.....Poll is the highest point, stay straight, keep forward momentum all with light contact. Being that I am restricted to walk for a while....and walk is the easiest gait to screw up.....I don't want to add the pressure of being on the bit. for all intents and purposes....Rose only has the equivelent of 30-60 days under saddle.....spread over quite a number of years, and I have only had the bit in her mouth @ 10 times. So it would be REALLY easy to cause her to resent the bit, lose impulson, over bend her neck and have c2-3 be the highest point, lose purity of the gaits and get sour to being riden....so for now....poll high, forward and straight on light contact is my only requirements. If things go well, I will play with inside leg to outside rein.....

One thing I noticed watching the video back is how much and how easy it was to get going with the shoulder ins and leg yields with contact. I struggled for YEARS with Snookie to get her to understand how to move her hind end. she found shoulder in easier...but still it was years before i learned how to do it....and with Rose, this was a breeze.....so easy....we over did it and got 4 tracks instead of 3. Which is a suppling excersize too, so i am not going to complain. Again, todays only pain was putting my sock on.

Savvy On
Michelle

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Lyrics to the first song in the video...which I think are so fitting and the reason i chose it.

"Tangled Up In You"
by Staind


You're my world
The shelter from the rain
You're the pills
That take away my pain

You're the light
That helps me find my way
You're the words
When I have nothing to say

And in this world
Where nothing else is true
Here I am
Still tangled up in you

You're the fire
That warms me when i'm cold
You're the hand
I have to hold as I grow old

You're the shore
When I am lost at sea
You're the only thing
That I like about me

How long has it been
Since this storyline began
And I hope it never ends
And goes like this forever

In this world
Where nothing else is true
Here I am
Still tangled up in you