Jack of all trades, master of none?

[mpsbarnmanager]

My question is how long can you dabble in other disciplines before they all spill over? I have a just turned 7 yr old WBx gelding that is super fun. I’ve had him since he was 2 and I have done all his training. I bought him as a hunter prospect based on his breeding and movement. He jumps beautifully, when he actually puts forth effort. He’s 17.2 if not taller, so he steps over most things. He doesn’t seem to care at all if he chips though, and he’s the first hose I’ve had who needs to be really directed. My eye isn’t great, but he will move up or settle if I ask. I’m hoping that will improve on my end through practice. So we have been working on dressage all year, and actually enjoying it quite a bit. He is schooling second level, and we just did a virtual show at Training level and got a 69% under a super tough judge! So I’m thrilled with that and we will move up to first soon. We also go school cross country with my coach and my horse is pretty game with that. But I wonder as we progress in dressage if he will start to get confused. Is it realistic to expect him to differentiate hunter from dressage? I just bought a dressage saddle so that may be a clue for him that with different saddles come different jobs. I obviously don’t need him going around a hunter course the same way he would canter around a dressage test. How much adjustability is reasonable? Thoughts?

Cross country video from yesterday:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…00000069618910

Jumping in the ring last week:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…00000069618910
Dressage test from Tuesday:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto…00000069618910

[supershorty628]

@mpsbarnmanager

Is it realistic to expect him to differentiate hunter from dressage? I just bought a dressage saddle so that may be a clue for him that with different saddles come different jobs. I obviously don’t need him going around a hunter course the same way he would canter around a dressage test. How much adjustability is reasonable? Thoughts?

You’re not going to ride him the same way for both of those. Give both of you some credit - you’ll cue what you want with how you ride, and he’ll react accordingly. Do what you have the most fun with!

One of my favorite flatwork “games” to play with my mare was to mimic different disciplines - everything from hunters to western pleasure to dressage to equitation (her personal favorite was barrel racing, of the various things we did). It was mostly done for my amusement, but it was a fantastic way to work on her adjustability and responsiveness to my seat and balance too. She never forgot that she was a jumper

Have fun, OP

[Pennywell_Bay]

My just turned 7 year old BWP went from a jumper and winning a 5 year old jumper series to hauling me around a hunter ring. The first weekend we owned him he did a cross rail class with my kid lol. Last week we fit PONY strides down a line because I wimped out.

We are going to do a CT event in June- if I am cleared. He has zero problem going back and forth. He’s lovely in dressage (the trainer stresses dressage for his jumpers).

Honestly- a lot depends on their brain. I think it’s easy for a lot of them to be all arounders. One of my best hunters went to a Pony Club barn and won everything they entered in. Dressage, CTs, small HTs. I say keep life interesting and have fun.

[mmeqcenter]

The full saying is “A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one.”

Many horses are good at half a dozen or more disciplines.

[enjoytheride]

Based on your videos, you ride him in the same frame for each discipline which isn’t going to confuse him at all. He’ll need to be more on the bit to get the same score at a recognized real life dressage show, if that’s the kind of thing you want to do. He doesn’t appear at all to be moving in a second level frame in that test. Riding the movements in flat work is different from being test ready in a dressage world. I would visit a dressage specific trainer for an evaluation if you want to pursue more dressage. I think riding him long and low for hunters and bridling him up for dressage are clear distinctions that at that moment he needs to do something different. I don’t see any issues with that.

He’s also not really jumping anything challenging (it looks like under 2’ 6") so if you move him up in height and width his form might change.

[meupatdoes]

The horse doesn’t differentiate hunter from dressage. He just goes how you tell him to go.

If you want a hack trot, ask for a hack trot. “I’d like your neck this long, your step that long, the back nice and loose please.”

If you want collected or extended trot, ask for collected (“neck up, hocks more under please”) or extended (“and go!”) trot. The whole point of training the horse, particularly in dressage, is that it is rideable and puts its neck where you tell it, not in some always-the-exact-same-place.

The one thing I do with a hunter is that I try to save the lead changes for closer to the corners, so we don’t start swapping the second we turn down the diagonal line. But if you also teach the horse to hold the lead in counter canter, it shouldnt be a huge deal.

[hoopoe]

no he wont get confused . Best example my old trainer had horses that were regularly champions at working hunter and PGS / I-1. Dressage is the excellent foundation for a correct balanced flowing hunter round. The challenge is for you to learn the different seats and how they are properly used.

As you delve into Dressage, now that you have a true dressage saddle, you will find that the seat and application of aids are quite different. When I started dressage while riding hunters I quickly found that I was learning a new language. The advantage after a year is that I now had more tools to communicate during a hunter round and I found my horse was easily influenced by the most subtle use of seat and back balance.

[adelmo95]

The more dressage you do the more rideable your horse will become and the smoother you will be able to perform a hunter round. You ride a hunter frame differently than when you have a horse carrying themselves in a dressage frame but in my opinion neither will detract from the other discipline.

My previous horse was competitively showing in the junior/amateur hunters yet to keep things interesting for both of us we did a lot of dressage work. He was ready to show third level and was schooling some higher level movements: we could do tempi changes yet he never thought to swap leads on the way to the long diagonal oxer.

In addition to hunters and dressage this horse did jumpers, was taken on a hunt, and regularly was taken out for trail rides. I believe it is great to give yourself and your horse plenty of variety. Have fun with your gelding!