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[wibeke]

Dressage and hunter/jumping are very, very different, though. I think that's where the problem is. When you're jumping you really need the whole knee area to keep you on the horse while you're in the air. Dressage is... weird. I stopped doing it a while ago, I can't quite remember what you were supposed to do with your legs but i remember needing to have my heels completely straight and the stirrups being all but useless. 0.o
But everyone has their own teaching styles, and it's usually better to just trust what our instructors say. So long as you don't face plant you're good. xD

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Anyways, I got to ride Shane today. I was helping out at the barn but there was only one lesson, so I didn't expect much riding time, but I got a really good canter out of him. I forgot how nice and smooth it was, it's been a while since I've ridden him. I love my Shaney boy, he's such a sweet heart. ~<3
I think the cold air really woke him up, it was in the single digits today. [the first time this winter!]

[TemaPup]

I get to ride out at the stables today! I don't have the money or space for a horse of my own. Oh, I hope I get Gun Smoke.

[|iris|]

Dressage and hunter/jumping are very, very different, though. I think that's where the problem is. When you're jumping you really need the whole knee area to keep you on the horse while you're in the air. Dressage is... weird. I stopped doing it a while ago, I can't quite remember what you were supposed to do with your legs but i remember needing to have my heels completely straight and the stirrups being all but useless. 0.o
But everyone has their own teaching styles, and it's usually better to just trust what our instructors say. So long as you don't face plant you're good. xD

---

Anyways, I got to ride Shane today. I was helping out at the barn but there was only one lesson, so I didn't expect much riding time, but I got a really good canter out of him. I forgot how nice and smooth it was, it's been a while since I've ridden him. I love my Shaney boy, he's such a sweet heart. ~<3
I think the cold air really woke him up, it was in the single digits today. [the first time this winter!]

You keep your heels down, but not as much. Also, you only grip your knee enough for contact. And there are many, many leg cues.

[burtleyy]

OMG. My mom just bought a really pretty Swedish Warmblood for only 2,000 bucks. It's like, cheap for a horse like him. But I'm so excited. He's pretty big, around 18hh, so I'm happy! But he's my mom's. I've got my Truman!

Edit:
Now I'm mad at my mom because I don't really like Hanoverians(Bad experience) and I want this Swedish Warmblood, but she's waiting to see if the lady with the Hanoverian calls her back on his price. D: Sad. I really want that Swedish Warmblood. Like I said above, he's on 2,000 bucks. And the Hanoverian has such great lines, at the least it'll be 10 grand. I think my mom's getting her hopes up.

[Typical Aquarius]

I just had a lesson today for the first time in two weeks <3

It was pretty great. Sassy was really connected with me online, and did all the stuff I asked her. When I got on to ride, we were both nice and relaxed. I worked on one rein riding, and asked specifically for my instructor to comment on my seat. The one rein riding went great at walk and trot, and she did just as well at a canter to the left. When I tried cantering to the right, though, she got really pissy. Sassy, though she is a brat sometimes, never bucks, but she started bucking and everything. On the bright side, I now know I can handle bucks bareback, but on the bad side, we knew something was really wrong. When I canter her at liberty in the round pen, we discovered that her right hind leg shakes horrifically at canter. You could see the quiver every time she put her leg down. I know she is getting old, but it breaks my heart to see that. She loves to run and go fast, and she can't really do that.

I'm afraid, though, that she isn't going to be sound, and she's going to be sold. That, or my instructor will keep her until she literally can't work anymore. I just don't know what to do ):

[scene_kid]

For to be sure if she is sound she needs to go with out a rider and also in a straight line. Seeing as you were on a lunge line she will have only been going in circles. She could have just been stiff

[midnight133]

my freinds just got a new horse im very happy for her after two years of bad luck with them it looks like things are finally changing (fingures crossed!)

[sunny*days*ahead]

^yay! I hope everything goes well for them. Do you know anything about it yet?

[Hanoverian]

Guys! (: I'm so excited! The show is THIS WEEKEND! I get to skip school on Friday to load the horses, trailer them out, and school at the show grounds.
Then on Saturday I'm just doing X's (xD) because this will be my first big show, and we don't know how Willow acts at shows, because we've never shown her. If all goes well, I'm probably doing 2 foot jumpers the next day, or possibly hunters or Eq - no idea yet.

My lesson yesterday was so much fun! We worked on a little gymnastic. (: To warm up, we started out with a pole to a low cavelletti bounce, and then a one stride to an X. It was super easy, so we stepped it up a notch - we moved up the bounce to two cavellittis at their full height, to a one stride with a 2'3 vertical. (So it went bounce, land, one BIG stride, and then vertical). My trainer said that my position was perfect, which was amazing to hear! I really enjoyed my self. Then we did the gymnastic with an added line of 2 foot verticals. So. Much. FUN! Willow was fantastic and I actually felt in control for the first time in awhile.
I think that a lot of what's helping me is my new saddle! I just got it - it's a stuuben, and it has a long flap. Thank the lord - I'm 5'11, so a long flap is crucial - and I've never been able to ride with one before, so therefor, I've always had my knees sticking over the flap while jumping. And now, in my new saddle, I actually FIT! Can you imagine? It feels so much better than the other saddles I've been using.
And it fits Willow well. She is hard to fit, due to her build.

[meowool]

For to be sure if she is sound she needs to go with out a rider and also in a straight line. Seeing as you were on a lunge line she will have only been going in circles. She could have just been stiff

also horses do prefer a particular leg, like some are right handed or left-handed, so she may need to work more on one side to keep up with the better side. when lunging in a circle you have to lunge both ways

Don't forget that naturally, horses do have a longer lifespan than us, and most can still work even if they are around 30 years old

I hate when the saddles are too small, one that i had to ride in once, (it was quite a small pony about 12hh ish) was so narrow for me that I, when doing rising trot, sat on the pommel which hurts a couple of times. don't try it at home kids, especially dudes! XD