Re: Leaning Forward (was Walk a Million Miles . . .or S$*@ happens...)
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In a message dated 1/15/01 8:08:54 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Is this Wintec's latest version of a dressage saddle? Never heard of it. Adjustable tree? Room for Fjord shoulders? It's a pretty new saddle. Isabell Werth really liked it, I guess it was designed for her (hence the name). She liked the synthetic so much that she wanted to ride it in the Olympics I hear! They wanted to design one for her in leather for the Olympics though, so that is the Isabell Bates. I heard also that she still prefers her synthetic! It's got an adjustable tree. Juniper is at wide right now, but with the muscles that should develop with proper training, will be checked again every couple months. She'll need the extra wide then. I hear they're also developing a gullet that is extra EXTRA wide! This saddle is very nice. Though I still have to work for my position some, it's not anywhere near as hard as the Dover Proride I've been riding in. Pamela
Walk a Million Miles . . .or S$*@ happens...
This message is from: Cynthia_Madden/OAA/UNO/[EMAIL PROTECTED] Karen, I have to agree with your reply to Carol's message. I saw a horrible accident happen when two Fjords panicked and ran away due to driver stupidity. One of the horses had to be put down and many people could have been seriously injured and some received minor injuries. Fjord's are a common sense breed, but things can happen to scare them. Fortunagely, those run away Fjords did want to be stopped and though Steve picked up some bruises in stopping them and preventing both of them from being killed by entering a heavily trafficked area. I'll never forget the incident. Tank is as well-behaved and sensible as any Fjord I have met, but I never forget there is always a potential for disaster. You must always ride or drive with awareness and constantly train and refresh your horse's memory to stimulus. Cynthia email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Leaning Forward (was Walk a Million Miles . . .or S$*@ happens...)
This message is from: GAIL RUSSELL [EMAIL PROTECTED] Is this Wintec's latest version of a dressage saddle? Never heard of it. Adjustable tree? Room for Fjord shoulders? She had loaned me her Isabell wintec saddle last week. It makes sitting correctly much easier. So she brought it for me yesterday (I am trading in my Dover Proride for one of these, I love it!). I definitely recognize the problem you describe. When Decaffe wants to make a break for it he dumps me forward. If my back is tense, all of his bump gets transmitted into dumping me forward. If your back/abs are set up to absorb some of the bump - you don't fly forward, and horsie can't make his getaway. It really does help to think about riding the back legs. I think of the move that you call stretching the neck out as something more like having the front end of the horse disappear from in front of me. More like a turtle that pulls its head back into the shell. If you were riding the neck of the turtleyou would be in big trouble. :) Another way of thinking about it is...keep the horse between you and the ground.and with one leg on each side. :) Sorta stupid, but the image helps somehow. It was still a real chore to sit back, but he gave me some imagery. Sit back and feel you are riding the horse's back legs. I can do that, but then she stretches her neck out, I lose my arm position and then she bumps her croup up against me and voila ~ I'm leaning forward. Gail Russell Forestville CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Leaning Forward (was Walk a Million Miles . . .or S$*@ happens...)
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In a message dated 1/15/01 5:00:54 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Lucky you, Pamela, to ride with Thomas Ritter! I would love to have the chance... So, how'd the second day of the clinic go? You're right Lori, I am lucky to get to attend some clinics with Thomas! He loves Juniper. Had never worked with a fjord before but is very impressed with her intelligence and kindness. How hard she would work for me to get it right. Second day was much better. We brought my Christmas present, a camcorder, so I can watch and work on problem areas for the next month before his next clinic. My everyday trainer was there also to see how Thomas was working with me. She had loaned me her Isabell wintec saddle last week. It makes sitting correctly much easier. So she brought it for me yesterday (I am trading in my Dover Proride for one of these, I love it!). It was still a real chore to sit back, but he gave me some imagery. Sit back and feel you are riding the horse's back legs. I can do that, but then she stretches her neck out, I lose my arm position and then she bumps her croup up against me and voila ~ I'm leaning forward. He taught me to resist her when she stretches by keeping the abs firm and sitting deeper, so when she evades me, she bumps into herself! Much better, but I've got a lot of work ahead of me! Pamela
Re: Walk a Million Miles . . .or S$*@ happens...
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In a message dated 1/13/01 9:30:31 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: . Never say never, 'cause,(and I know from what I speak) it has happened to me once. With a certifiable dead broke fjord. My eyes have been open ever since. Just goes to show, you can never get too complacent. In the back of my mind, always is a story of a very competent trainer, walking his old mare to a pasture (or somewhere). This mare was perfectly trustworthy. But the man ended up dead with a hoofprint on his head. Who knows what happened? Gawd, I don't even remember when I heard this story, or who it was about, but it made an indelible impression on me to NEVER be too confident. However, I'm fighting that too! Just came back from Day 1 of a Dr. Ritter clinic. I STILL have a tendency to lean forward in anticipation of a more forward gait. He could tell it is from an old fear, and I will NEVER become the type of rider I want to be till I conquer that. The fear stems from my ex-TB. 16.3 and threw me HARD. I was probably 10 feet in the air at the top of the arc from which she threw me. The tool he's given me to work with this is: This is a safe horse. Juniper is good. She will not rear, nor will she buck. She is good and WILL do what I ask. I repeat this mantra and really prepare for the upward transition, instead of just letting it happen. We'll see if I make improvement. I go back again tomorrow (btw, everybody there has fallen in love with Juniper, she's a great ambassador to fjords. Everybody can see how tolerant she is of a beginning dressage rider and how once I get something, she instantly gives exactly what is asked. And after tomorrow, there's another clinic in February. Hopefully by then the forward tilt will have gone away! Pamela
Re: Walk a Million Miles . . .or S$*@ happens...
This message is from: Karen McCarthy [EMAIL PROTECTED] This message is from:Carol Rivoire at Beaver Dam Farm in Nova Scotia - ...Her mistake, in my opinion, was in NOT DRIVING FJORDS. I honestly don't think this accident would have happened with a similarly trained pair of Fjords. Carol, You are dead wrong on this one. IMO, Gay's glaring mistake, as far as I can see from your synopsis of training, is that they were never trained with a leg over traces or pole (substitute).But, maybe they were, thus exposing the universal truth yet again that s- - - happens. This was just a very, very unfortunate incident. The other immeasurable factor is the true degree of training, and the intimacy and rapport that come with horse(s) and their person. Just putting miles and time in, is no guarantee. It is the quality of time, and the rapport, NOT the quantity. I think you are being extremely chauvinistic, (as is your want), but no, sorry, can't say this could of never happened with a dead broke pair of fjords. Unlikely yes, but not impossible. Never say never, 'cause,(and I know from what I speak) it has happened to me once. With a certifiable dead broke fjord. My eyes have been open ever since. Karen McCarthy *(trying to squeeze into my non-stretch flamesuit) Great Basin Fjords Carson City, NV _ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
