Excellent post, @pluvinel.
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A horse is not going to care to collect if they donāt have the strength to. They need training, strength, and competence from the rider. You canāt say what they can or cannot do when you havenāt given them the proper tools yet. Itās unfair to the horse.
Sure you have some horses that you can tell arenāt suitable for xyz right away, but youād be surprised what can happen with proper training and conditioning of both horse and rider.
Plus, many horses just donāt āgive it for freeā in that you have to set them up well and you have to work at it yourself. If you randomly decide to try something one day and the horse isnāt 100% at it, that doesnāt mean they cannot do it eventually.
My last horse had weaknesses, as does any horse, so I worked to overcome those or strengthen them. Sure I couldāve said, āhe doesnāt offer this, and doesnāt naturally have this, so he wonāt make itā but instead we worked at it to see how much room for improvement there was. So give the horse more of a chance.
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Itās a one of a kind - it was a demo coat from Grand Prix that i found in a consignment store. There are a few other companies out there with pink coats though!
Iāve fully embraced the colored coats trendā¦this year weāve also worn purple, bright blue, and emerald greenā¦and boots with pink topsā¦and a helmet with pink snakeskin trim. Combined with our creative clip jobs, Iām the person the traditionalists clutch their pearls overā¦non-traditional horse, non-traditional attire, non-traditional haircutā¦but Iām having fun and getting the scores I need to work towards my bronzeā¦so for me, itās all a win!
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I think thatās awesome! 
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OP, I have a cute little Appendix mare, and have trained her myself from western green bean through 2nd and bits of 3rd. I would have loved to get my bronze on this mare, but the collected work is a struggle for her. Iāve shown her through 2-1, and could probably show her through all of 2nd right now and get >60%. She has also learned trot HP, 1/4 canter piris, starting changes (more HJ style, not dressage) and half steps bordering on baby piaffe. Maybe in another two years we could get bronze if I really pushed her, but I donāt want to.
I do have purpose-bred WB and have the QH for sale because she will be best suited for someone who wants more of an all-arounder (sheās a super cute and willing jumper). However, if Iād started from the point of āIf this mare canāt get me to my third level scores, Iām not going to bother training herā I would have missed out on a ton of learning. Most of what I listed above, Iāve never trained on another horse. Iāve learned a ton and get to apply it to my WB to boost us up past 1st/2nd, so the time Iāve spend with her has been invaluable, and not at all wasted. If you love the process, the bronze will just be icing on the cake, but you have to enjoy learning what it really means to gymnasticize a horse, use exercises to straighten and supple, how to control each leg, tempo, cadence, etc. and generally be the best rider possible.
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So fun! Are you the checkerboard clip person?
I just want to clarify, thatās not my intention. I take weekly lessons with my trainer and I donāt plan to stop if I donāt think this horse will get my second or third level scores.
I do think I might change my competition goals though. I have another horse who was the epitome of square peg in round hole for dressage. His gaits are not correct - 4 beat canter, lateral walk. He does have a nice trot though! Anyways, I spent a few years showing him and we scored respectably at training level (and Iām very proud of that!) But it was also exhausting and stressful to have to ride every stride perfectly just to score in the mid 60s. I really enjoy(ed) taking lessons and learning with him. He can actually do walk canter walks 
does a respectable SI/HI and his gaits have really improved, but his canter still isnāt where it needs to be. Heās a wonderful horse and I have learned so much with him!
Anyway, one of the things I learned is that I donāt want to go show a horse that is struggling to perform at that level.
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I earned my bronze this year on my 16 y.o. thoroughbred (full disclosure: Jockey Club registered but never raced). I bought him at the age of three as an event prospect, evented through Preliminary, but his body/brain couldnāt really go past that level and I started to desire a safer outlet for my equestrian interests. He did NOT get good eventing dressage scores. I had never ridden third level before. Iām a full-blown amateur (non-horsey full time job, hubby, kid).
A few observations/thoughts:
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Get a good trainer! After years of learning eventing dressage, my mind was blown when I realized how many shortcuts Iād been taking. The trainer who got me there didnāt necessarily specialize in OTTBs, but she was patient, kind, and believed any horse could improve with correct training. She has trained non-traditional breeds up the levels herself and is also a judge.
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My horse got SO much better when dressage became our main focus. I found while eventing our dressage days were drill days as we only did dressage a couple of days a week in the training rotation. Once dressage became our sole focus, I spent time fiddling, experimenting with what worked for him, and a lot of time working on his DRESSAGE strength/fitness, which was quite different than how I achieved his eventing fitness.
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I really had to invest in making sure his body felt good. Saddle overhaul, bit/bridle overhaul, and staying on top of his bodywork/chiro/other therapies, you name it. Third level was hard work for him and it was easy for him to āquitā when his body didnāt feel great. Listen to your horse and give him the support he needs.
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Time. I last evented in 2019. COVID brought time for reflection, experimentation and new directions. It wasnāt until last year I could put together a third level test, and we achieved our final score this year, and I wasnāt starting with a greenie but a new career for a seasoned show horse. Slow building of strength and correct training, as others have rightly said above, is the only path forward. There are no shortcuts.
Iām here to say itās doable! Weāve had setbacks and disappointments, but you can do it if you stay focused and donāt rush the process. I spent $5k on my TB thirteen years ago and it was money well spent!
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You can totally do it- you need a quality trainer that has experience.
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So just enjoy the progression? You will be able to tell from your training rides whether the horse is struggling with the work or not. If you are enjoying the training process and would continue regardless of ability to show at the levels, I guess I donāt understand the existential crisis here.
Taking weekly lessons doesnāt mean much though. Are you keeping the horse in a consistent program where you understand what you are doing each ride to develop his abilities? Like others have said, using the lateral work builds the collection. It is not just about practicing a competition style SI down the long side, but finessing your use of LY to free the hips and shoulders, incorporating transitions in SI, using the HI to engage the hind end, developing HP to build suppleness, etc. I would focus more on becoming very conversant in all of that, and the worst that will happen at the end is that youāll have a much better first level horse.
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I am confused. Are you raising or lowering your competition goals? I hope that your change has been to raise your competition goals.
I will qualify that I am older than dirt and learned to ride with one of the āold cavalryā colonels who said that ādressageā only started at PSG and that everything else was basic training of the horse.
So my suggestion is it tell your horse that you have all the confidence in him to take you up the levels and let him prove you wrong.
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OP, itās a valid question, whatever others may say.
Many TBs (whether off the track or not) have a low neck set and are built very downhill. This is the opposite build for a dressage horse.
Why does this matter when one gets to 2nd/3rd? Because in order to do those levels correctly, a horse must be able to truly sit and begin to carry itself behind.
Not every TB (or every horse of any other breed for that matter) can do this.
Yes, a good rider can slap on a change and get almost any horse headed sideways, but correctness of carriage is something different (and it matters more to some judges than others).
I will add that any horse headed towards UL dressage needs to be worked regularly and correctly. This is real athletic work and much like no person can go run a half marathon without training, no horse can do a correct 3rd level test without real muscle and fitness.
If you canāt provide enough rides to get your horse fit enough to determine how far s/he can go, consider a half lease to a rider who is at your level or higher.
Good luck and make sure to have fun along the way!
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Iām sure I left a lot of useful context out of my initial post, but Iām considering eventing this horse instead. I donāt think of it as raising or lowering my goals necessarily, just expanding our horizons
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I wish you the best in your endeavors. Just remember jumping is just dressage with obstacles in the way.
In the heyday of when the US was at the top of show jumping and eventing (1960ās-1980ās), the coaches of those Olympic teams (Bert DeNemethy and Jack LeGoff) were trainers who were heavily steeped in the traditions of classical European dressage and brought that training to their teams.
DeNemethy had a video (VHS) series filmed at Morven Park with Raul DeLeonās students. The exercises in those films showed basic adjustability, akin to transitions within the gait to adjust for striding.
Similarly, LeGoff brought his training from Saumur (Cadre Noir) to 3-Day riders. I watched LeGoff at a clinic where his approach to obstacles was to guide the horse to a jump then have the rider get out of its way to allow the horse to do its job.
Before he became persona non-grata, I watched George Morris teaching his Horsemastership Clinic where his flatwork exercises were basically 3rd-4th level movements.
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Just another chime in for the OTTB- my guy was Uber competitive at rated shows, Reserve Champion at regionals, scored low 70s consistently through 2nd. Big and long as a bus, took years to truly build the strength to collect but once he did it was impressive. These were about 6 years apart.
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I think it is possible with the ārightā tb/rider combination but itās an uphill climb I wouldnāt want to try. Itās going to be 10x harder especially if they raced and pulled with the front end a lot. And they are so fragile, and they have to stay soundā¦and you will spend a lot more in feed and shoeing etc. Literally you have to change how the ottb moves from racing to dressage and one is front wheel drive and the other is rear wheel drive and that change doesnāt happen by just swapping a part over night.
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Perhaps I am the perennial optimist, but this is waayyy too negative.
The scores for bronze are not some Mt. Everest of dressage. You are required six scores of 60% or better, two at first level, two at second level and two at third level, each from two different judges for two different rides. 60%ā¦this aināt an insurmountable obstacle for most sane, sound horses.
What is 1st Levelā¦in my book, that is the barely broke level. You do Walk, Trot, Canter, Steer and Stop. The Purpose of that test is to demonstrate the basics, and be on the bit.
What is 2nd Levelā¦this is where you get to show that your training is correct. The test introduces Shoulder-In, Hauncher-in, and simple change. This is something you should have been working on since the day you sat on the horse, since these are gymnasticising and strengthening exercises. You now get to show off your work.
The movements in these 2 levels are basic for any horse in any discipline.
What is 3rd Levelā¦the level where some complications arise. Ok, the test now wants āextensionsāā¦and here the horses with bling gaits get rewards. Ok, TBs may not have the front leg fling, but they certainly can do transitions within the trot and canter. The Half-pass is introducedā¦this is just a haunches-in (travers) on the diagonal. No problem. There are 2 flying changes, one in each direction. This is more a rider problem as most TBās can do flying changes on their own.
I posit that the barriers is in ridersā minds because of attitudes that they ācanātā do vs just tackling the questions as they arise and seeing where the horse takes them.
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Race horses donāt pull with the front end. If you have ever galloped a horse at speed you will feel the same PUSH from the back as you do in dressage. The only difference is the energy goes FORWARD rather than UP. Really watch racing. You never see pulling. You see extension.
My current OTTB is moving up in dressage to 2nd level and I galloped him on Wednesday (real gallop on the conditioning track). Yes, I change my balance but the feel of the horse under me is the same. The movement comes from a massive push. Ironically, the head and neck are actually the same as a training dressage frame, simply elongated.
This is where it is good for riders to be multidisciplinary.
But, yes, there is work that reframes the energy and motion from forward to upward requiring new muscle strengthening in the core (horse and rider) as well as new balance/cues to the horse.
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I have seen enough folks buy reasonably nice WB and get stuck at āschooling firstā or muscle their way up to fourth but never score over 58. Itās the rider/trainer.
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I know someone who got their Bronze (and maybe Silver) medal on an OTTB. She had a very enthusiastic trainer who was pretty successful at the upper levels. I believe the horse is now a schoolmaster for others.
I also know a GP schoolmaster who is a TB. Iām not sure if they were off the track or not.
