Are any of the 'on demand training' sites worth it? ETA: YES

[Obsidian_Fire]

Posting here as I’d like to hear from all disciplines, not just dressage. I know there is Dressage Today on demand, Equus has something, Horse and Rider; there are several. I get a lot of email advertising these, as I have been long time subscribers of the print magazines.

Does anyone use any of these and how do you like them? Are they worth the money for what you have access to? Do you spend enough time viewing to make it worthwhile?

I signed up for a trial of Dressage Today on Demand. I have already gotten enough out of it to make it worth every penny. There is hours of information out here for just about any level or interest. Some I watch just for ‘fun’ as the rider/horse is WAY above my pay grade, but there is a lot where the riders are just ordinary, like most of us.

[TheHunterKid90]

I think subscriptions such as the ones you’re describing have very little use for the average horse
owner. Mostly for the fact that riding is a lot of feel and you it’s hard enough to learn feel even when you have an instructor working with you 1:1.
Sure they may offer some exercises or drills that you find you enjoy but you can also google until your hearts content and find an article or video for free of almost any issue you’re having.
I am a trainer by trade and I pick up tid bits here and there by watching videos of other riding but 99% of the time, I learn new skills the best when I’m working with another trainer 1:1.
Possibly a better alternative investment is finding a trainer to take weekly lessons and have someone come along to video the lesson with you and your horse. Also through out the week, having some video do you riding to look back on and also compare your results with those you had with your trainer

[Obsidian_Fire]

@TheHunterKid90

In “general” your advice is correct but that’s not really my need. I have a trainer, whom I see weekly, and a clinician I see monthly. I’m not green. I enjoy perusing a variety of avenues to improve my education. I don’t have time or interest in googling every last ‘maybe this, maybe not’ video - I’d like to find a “channel” where I can just watch whatever it is that looks helpful.

I thought perhaps those subscription thingies might be a worthwhile way to “add to” my education. You just never know where you will find that one lightbulb moment.

I’d really like to hear from someone of any discipline who’s tried one of these and what they like/didn’t like.

[Small_Change]

I think if you have a solid foundation to work from, the training sites are helpful. It might be as simple as hearing the same thing your on-the-ground trainer is saying in a slightly different way, and the light bulb clicking on. I ride on my own a lot, and my rider/trainer relationship is more like a clinic format than regular lessons. I subscribe to Bernie Traurig’s Equestrian Coach, and find it helpful to learn new exercises and keep things fresh when schooling on my own. Some of the stuff on there is really basic, but there are also a lot of good videos for more advanced horses and riders, and also a lot that just provide good reminders or thinking points for when I’m on my own.

[Obsidian_Fire]

@Small Change yes, that’s exactly it. I went ahead and signed up for DT on Demand, have a 10 day free trial. So far picked up some interesting tidbits from George Williams and a good reminder from Laura Graves.

There are so many nuances to riding and how people learn, and no one person can fill all that. I find it helpful to have access to other avenues.

[anon68314200]

OP I am signed up for May Wanless’ DressageTraining.TV on Monthly subscription. I am very familiar with her ridden work, and I am happy with what is offered.

I purchased a Tristan Tucker module on piaffe, 6 months of access to the module. I was very happy with the content. And based on that, I would recommend that system to anyone to try. It is pretty high quality content.

Equitopia has some very good content. I watched their horse/ride Asymmetry webinar and it was very good.

I love Anja Beran, but her course I signed up for was very underwhelming.

[BatCoach]

I like Mary Wanless, I really do, but I prefer her books to the dressagetraining.tv membership.

Although you get lots of content, so much of it really needs a savvy editor. The “how of riding” and “riding biomechanics” section are useful, but they are just recordings of a live demo. A good editor (and an additional cameraman) could really make these videos more succinct without losing any of the education. Breaking the videos into smaller portions would also help to in the issue of wanting to re-watch a certain element without having to scan the whole hour. I eventually cancelled my membership since the videos were just too long and cumbersome for me to watch with enough regularity to justify the cost.