Funny, how WBs are really crosses 
Yes, they have been developed and selected over the years to produce what they are producing now, but they are crosses of many different breeds.
Shame on your former trainer for not assessing your mare fairly by actually seeing what she could do, and only taking her breed/circumstances into account.
[QUOTE=asb_own_me;4574043]
Funny, how WBs are really crosses Yes, they have been developed and selected over the years to produce what they are producing now, but they are crosses of many different breeds.
Shame on your former trainer for not assessing your mare fairly by actually seeing what she could do, and only taking her breed/circumstances into account.[/QUOTE]
Yeah WB are crosses but most have a standred that they are looking for so not nilly willy breed, I like crosses sometimes better then a lot of purebreeds so probably why I like WB’s.
She was NOT my former trainer, but a trainer I was checking out… when I really needed help.
she sounded totally stupid becuase she had no idea what she was talking about and just assumed all theses facts about me and my mare and our goals which where basied on what was most likely… I was upset at the time now it’s really funny!
She had a once in a life time horse who was a arab/saddlebred and she looks like a spitting image of my mare moves like her too and she went on and on about it… and how my mare was crap but this is a good mare…:lol:
It was too bad really as she really is a good trainer and I liked her she just needed to take her head out of her ass for some air:yes:
Well, all I can say Keana is this;
I have sent mine to a trainer for a month and half and it made a huge difference.
I understand we share some health problems. There is things that would have taken me for ever to get through.
I did take lessons while he was on training and this helps a lot. I figure if you go on a 60 days, if the trainer is good, you should see a pleasent difference in your riding and in your horse.
Good Luck !
Thanks Élène,
A lot has improved this last year 
[QUOTE=NCSue;4570473]
There’s a lot more to a correctly ridden training level test than just walk, trot, and canter.
Almost all of us can take a horse who has the three gaits and some time under saddle and show training level and in some cases score decently but do we truly have the directives down?
Also keep in mind that you should be schooling at least one level higher at home than what you are showing. This is for the horse’s confidence and the rider’s relaxation. [/QUOTE]
I don’t mean to discourage anyone from showing and enjoying their horses, but I’m with NCSue here … I have had the honor of being taught by not only an FEI rider, but her former competition horse. I was thrilled to finally (finally, years) ride an excellent 20m circle. The advanced movements really are all about improving the basic gaits.
Having said that … if you want to show, by all means, go out there and do the training level tests. Learn from your scores and comments. I had a little TB and we did nicely at training and had fun. She loved dancing and showing off. However, her conformation didn’t support really carrying from the back and … no, it’s NOT true that any horse can get to 2nd level–correctly. 
[QUOTE=keana;4573172]
“I would be happy to ride your mare and help you with training, she looks very promising; head trainer has said she thinks the mare is very nice considering its not your typical dutch warmblood.”
I don’t feel it’s a backhanded compliment at all. :)[/QUOTE]
Good! What you feel is what matters most. But when you put it out on a message board, you’ll get feedback from people who feel very strongly about their breeds … and with good reason, IMO.
When dressage is about the horse, the breed really doesn’t matter. You take each animal, consider the body and mind, and train to improve.
Sure, if you want to be “competitive” in a region that’s strong in dressage, or nationally, you’ll need to have a big mover, or compete in breed shows (if your horse is good, you could clean-up in Arabian shows; they support half-Arabs).
I had a little non-traditional-breed-for-Western that excelled at trail classes and was very cowy (in the field, I never took her to a team penning or sorting cuz the riders scared me) … we had no where to go to test her skills b/c she wasn’t a QH and the AQHA owns those events. Nobody said she was “good for a TB” … they said she was good, too bad about the breed.
Sort of agree, sort of not.
As for the age old and incredibly bb debate of “warmblood vs breed”, with the ‘warmbloods are crosses’, or more usually, ‘warmbloods are mutts’ argument, first of all, all breeds are ‘crosses’. All breeds were originally ‘mutts’. All breeds are created in the same basic way as warmbloods, by choosing individuals with desired traits, and not so terribly long ago. I don’t feel there’s anything fundamentally superior about breed x over Euro warmblood because of that aspect. It’s just one of those meaningless arguments people say a lot.
It is ‘difficult’ to do a correct 20 m circle. Yes. At the same time, I think in threads like this (‘how long does it take’) this is actually a very, very emotional subject for some people. The idea of doing anything soon offends them, perhaps because they have taken a long time to get there or they are very perfectionist.
Some people assume that for anything to be correct, it has to take a long, long time. People often go to incredible extremes with this idea, and talk about how ‘the great masters’ all ‘took their time’, when they didn’t, actually. The great classicist Reiner Klimke trained his horses from green to Grand Prix in about 3 1/2 years. It doesn’t have to take eons to do some training level work ‘correctly’. It just takes work and good instruction.
And of course it’s true that ‘not all horses can do 2nd level’. Some have 3 legs, or won’t trot or canter, are dead lame, or prefer not to be ridden. Other than them, the horse can probably do 2nd level, perhaps not to win at Devon, but enough to have some fun - if the rider gets some help. Is second level ‘difficult’? Yes, they have to sit the trot and do collected gaits and be on the bit and bend and do things at a letter. But it’s not impossible.
That doesn’t really mean everyone has to take a long time. A well trained horse and rider can often be working training level respectably after a couple of months, if they get the right help, listen and practice hard.
A horse generally needs about one year per level. If the lower levels are done really well, the later levels might go a lot smoother.
If you want to get really technical, most of the people who do dressage, do intro and training, most of them for years, so by definition, they are not ‘doing dressage correctly’, because only a few elements of dressage are present at training level.
If we take the definition of training level that is often given here, that it does not include bending, no one would ever be doing a correct 20 m circle at training level, yet 20 circles are in the training level test, so there is an odd conundrum for ya, LOL.
Too, how correct does it need to be? Most people who are going up the levels, are learning, and they aren’t rushing to get ready for the next Olympics. As long as it’s improving and the basics are getting better, we could in fact be happy.
One thing I’ve learned from being on this bb, is sort of an odd truth, that many, many people in dressage have their own idea, they formulate their own standards for dressage, and they define themselves what is correct and what is success, and insist everyone else is wrong. Not only that, depending on what idea they have in their own head, they can probably go out and find some instructor who will INSIST to them that it’s right! So in a strange way, when you talk about ‘correctness’, you really have to say ‘correctness according to whom’?
lol yeah the circle, just to get one right on my green horse and I’ll be happy…
My trainer said to me last time…
You’ve had two lessons so far and have yet to ride a correct 20 m circle.
I felt like we went around in enough circles! that one had to be pretty good lol not even close.
On my third lesson
I felt I was able to correct my mare and get a few strides of “straight” on a circle, when I say a few I probably mean two strides that felt good to me. and it was a really neat feeling! one in my last two lessons I had no clue what we where trying for…
I was able to take over my lesson and tell my trainer when she needed a correction and how to block and let engury flow into this round straight circle and when we where falling or drifting this way or that and when we totally lost it which was all the time…
I don’t know if my horse is extra wiggy or I was overcorrecting or this is normal… trainer said it was normal… but I tend to over think things.
I’ve rode for a while now, no lessons really but this is diffrent to me but it makes the books I’ve read much more understandable!
What you describe is totally normal. Not a problem at all.
A really good instructor says things like ‘that’s a little bit better’…and then it’s ‘alright, we have the next thing to work on’, LOL. And we just work very hard to get those ‘that’s a little bit better’'s. There’s always something new to work on. People who go on and on with dressage just aren’t bothered by that, they just smile and say, ‘I can do it’.
Different expectations, I suppose. I rode for years before I ever managed a “correct” 20m circle. As far as I can tell, it’s one of those absolute proofs of training and riding. Like a great walk on a GP horse!
Is the white mare in hand the OPs? If so, be happy. At least in that pic, she looks the part. And if she has a great mind, plus a trainer who likes her, you are in business!
One thing others haven’t mentioned: It does take some strength to do a competitive first level test. The OP mentioned a so-so canter. That can be improved with strength, and that will take some decent riding. The stretchy circle takes some top line, too.
All this is to say that the physical part of the equation-- how strong is your mare and how balanced is she?-- both will help determine how far you can get with 60 days of pro help.
Within that time, it may be most appropriate for the OP to work on strengthening, rather than training. If you are of the lunging in side reins school, you can do that. Long slow walking and trotting trail rides on hills can help. Leave the training and the improving the canter to the pro. If possible, however, see if you can take some lessons on a more seasoned horse so that you can develop a seat that helps your mare out with a good canter.
Best of luck with her and stick to your guns! Getting to training level or beyond should be the point; the arrival there ain’t it.
Simple rule of thumb…
If you want to compete a horse, compete it. If you want to win at any level in dressage, you must be schooling one level above the one you are showing. You need the horse to be solidly confirmed in the level–which means you’re already finished with it and are working on the next. This is how you win. If you just want to show and have a good time, and get your horse used to the ring, go out and see what happens by going to schooling show and starting with the walk/trot (intro) tests and then perform Training Level Test 1 and see what happens. You can always scratch if the horse isn’t ready. And if they are, you can ride in more Training Level tests at the next show!
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