Lessons

[froglander]

I’ve been taking dressage lessons (in my western saddle) for the last year and a half. I enjoy my lessons, but sometimes I have a hard time reconciling stuff I read hear from people who practice or go to “horsemanship” type clinics and the like. Some things have come up to where I need to cut back on lessons a bit (I’ve been taking them weekly at hubby’s encouragement) and I’m trying to decide if I should go to every other week or just take a break.

I generally just have an arena to ride in or a field that’s a little bigger than the arena. Don’t have access to trails unless I can hitch a ride with someone. I usually ride 5-6 days a week.

Was wondering if anyone had any advice?

Thanks

[BayRoan]

Does what you’re learning and practicing in your lessons work for you and your horse?

If you want 5 opinions on anything, ask 3 horse people. They may all be right, some be right, or none be right, depending on what situation a person is in. There is an incredibly broad spectrum of tools, tricks and philosophies that work differently for different personalities, both human and equine. Really good horsemanship starts to happen when you have enough knowledge to tailor an approach to a particular situation. Sometimes the modifications are small (this horse understands better if I give him a little time between maneuvers to digest what he’s learning) and sometimes they’re completely different mindsets and approaches (dealing with a bully-ish horse that always tests you vs one that is terribly insecure and might want to jump into your space for “safety.” The correction might be similar, but the attitude it’s carried out with is different, and the horse knows.).

So, basically, if you’re getting good out of your lessons and it’s building your toolbox of knowledge, keep going. If you think it’s causing harm to you or your horse, stop going. If you feel like you aren’t doing anything you don’t have the knowledge to do yourself, then maybe just go once a month for a check in and a set of eyes on the ground.

[Pocket_Pony]

froglander, I have struggled with the same thing. I am currently not doing any lessons outside of the clinics that I go to. For me, there is a difference in dressage training and what I’m trying to do with Mac with regard to more of the vaquero-type training. There aren’t a lot of dressage trainers around here and since it isn’t the road I want to be going down anyway, and I don’t care about showing, I’m working on my own thing and saving up for clinics.

Keep in mind, though, that I’ve had 30+ years worth of lessons, so I’m a confident rider and I think I have a decent amount of feel when it comes to balance and how I want my horse to go. Of course that doesn’t mean that my execution is perfect, but I personally get more out of experimenting on my own and finding the right answer vs. going around in circles with someone telling me every stride what to do where what they are telling me might not be matching what I’m feeling underneath me (which is why I like Buck’s clinics - there’s a lot of autonomy and mental space for feeling it out for yourself but he’s there if you have a specific question or get into trouble).

I don’t know your history and how confident you feel going it alone, how much formal training you’ve had in the past, how you learn, etc. I think that all of those things come into play when making this kind of decision.

From your other posts it sounds like there aren’t a lot of clinicians that come your way (at least of the BNT sort). You might try to find out who the h/j and dressage trainers send their young horses to to get started and start asking around for someone you could at least go watch and maybe take a lesson from, even if not on Cody. Or make a vacation of it and go to one of the clinics in another state.

If you look on Eclectic Horseman online you can find some clinic schedules:

http://www.eclectic-horseman.com/content/view/125/99/

I know it is frustrating - I wish there were someone in my town or even my county that I thought was of the caliber that I’m looking for. I’ve gone to a few clinics over the past year with people I wouldn’t ride with again. One of my friends from the Buck clinic told me that she hauls her horse a few hours once a month to take a lesson with someone who has ridden with Buck a lot.

Don’t give up your search for learning! (And I’m sure you won’t :winkgrin:)

[froglander]

I had a lesson tonight (hadn’t had one for 3 weeks) and it was okay. Main homework I got out of it was keep that outside rein, especially in transitions and to make sure to give when he offers to stretch forward (apparently I had been missing opportunities to do that as I’d thought he was just leaning )

But I didn’t come away from the lesson with renewed motivation for “dressage”.

I rode yesterday, with something you (Pocket Pony) had said in your blog post, about things a horse should be able to do in a snaffle before going to a bosal. So I rode with the idea of picking up a soft feel, at least as I understand it, and then letting him go back to “neutral” I guess you could say. He seemed to relax into, and so did I. We even cantered around part of the arena on a loose rein and practiced picking up a soft feel and then back again and it was nice, not perfect of course, but not bad. It was just a nice ride.

I want to ride to where Cody builds muscle correctly. I want to have fun. I’d like to take him to a “real” dressage show someday, just to show my little mustang can do it, but he’s 8 this summer, I’m in no real rush.

I don’t know what I should do

I wish I could borrow a Star Trek transporter and transport myself and Cody somewhere there are clinics

I looked on that list of clinic schedules you shared, there is all of one in Florida, by Wendy Murdoch (never heard of her, anyone know of her?).

I’m just so torn/confused as to what direction I want to go

[Pocket_Pony]

Wendy Murdoch is very much into biomechanics and interesting exercises off the horse as well. She has a website: http://www.murdochmethod.com/. You might ask on the dressage forum or do a search here - I’m sure there’s lots people have to say about her.

[froglander]

Yeah, I had looked at her site briefly last night, but the clinic is this weekend so can’t really go anyway. Maybe there will be some next year

I don’t have near the experience as many of you hear have, Cody is technically only the second horse I’ve ever owned. (There was a 6 year lease horse before him though). Other than lessons, I’ve done all his training myself, from getting him when he’d only been gathered 3 week prior to the horse many at the barn like

I figure there is always more to learn, but you kinda nailed it when you said it’s fun to experiment and sort of figure things out on your own, with occasional clinics/lessons/feedback.

Lol, I just wish my saddle was a little bit lighter

[merrygoround]

If you are making progress with your present instructor, I would continue. However if the things you are hearing are counter to thoughts in well respected publications such as Dressage Today, or from videos from people such as Jane Savoie, I would rethink. As said, there are many approaches used in horse training and being marketed. Some are just re inventing the wheel and some are just a waste of time.

I am not a “clinic” person, unless it is a clinician who returns monthly or bi-monthly, and again, helps you progress with the horse you have now. Slightly different approaches work with different horses, but that takes the ability to have the time and the horses to work with, to build your knowledge bank.