I said I was schooling some fourth level. I wasn’t specific in the original post. She’s not simply flipping leads. I have an accomplished trainer who I lesson with. The changes are not 100% correct, but they are fairly good and on the aids. I typically get 7.5 or 8 on my changes. Room for improvement as you might expect. We also play with quarter pirouette. Definitely not a fourth level horse at this point.
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Yeah, I thought you’ get what I was saying.
7.5-8s on changes at Third Level (?) is pretty good. How are the other collected movements scored at 3rd 3? (you don’t have to tell me, I’m curious).
Be careful, though! I knew a young trainer who had a QH/Fresian do GP at 10. Showed and scored well. Was never seen again in the ring after 11. That is the fate for many even dressage-bred WBs that go too far too fast. About 15-ish years ago, when the YH program started, I asked Scott Hassler (who did a YH clinic at my barn) what percentage of YH program winners actually make it to FEI/GP. he tactfully answered that many horses are pushed or offer movements before they are strong enough to pull off the movements. But there were horses who excelled at the YH program and were great at GP/FEI. I interpreted this response as many horses become lame after that level of stress and strain before their body has physically adapted to the work load.
Good luck with your horse!
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My lengthenings are not there yet. She’s not strong enough to carry herself without running yet. 6’s and 6.5’s on SI and renver, 6’s on half pass - again, she’s not strong enough yet to do them really well.
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On that quarter horse market rate topic…
I just had a new client buy a 3 year old papered quarter horse for $3800. He’s started and has good basic manners maybe a tad green but temperament outweighs that.
He is sound. She asked me how she got him so cheap…i was like ummm…you dont notice those massive scars? he had previously been wrapped in wire and his legs are scarred to hell with extra proud flesh bumps.
Anyways - hes perfect for her and made it out of rodeo life.
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On that 3 vs 4 level topic…
If you dont think about 3-3…riding 3-1 makes you think 4-1 is super easy. Just some extra changes and a 1/4 pirouette right? And then you realize the devil is in the detail and you need that 3-3 control…
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Getting 7.5/8 for your flying changes at 3rd level on a 5 year old is pretty decent, IMO. Especially one that isn’t “dressage bred”
It’s interesting that your SI, renvers, and half-pass scores much lower. IME a horse that’s strong enough to do several quality changes, should have good lateral work as well. If she’s strong enough to begin work on pirouette’s, then I’d imagine she’d be strong enough to produce a very good SI? Since that’s a movement that involves hind end strength and straightness as well.
However, it may depend on the horse. Lateral work is our main strength and came much more naturally than correct flying changes did. Some things take more strength than anticipated for some horses too. Ideally, I’d prefer one that found the changes to be easy 
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I hope you find it interesting in terms of how pushing a horse too quickly can result it its being worth nothing.
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Pretty good? Its very good.
I couldn’t say what I would pay for this horse without seeing it, riding it, and checking out its soundness.
While I’ve never owned or considered a Qh to buy I certainly wouldn’t rule one out if it had the quality I was wanting. I dont think many others would either.
The size though would give it a pass for me and many others .
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Last fall I purchased a just 7 year old Lusitano who was “barely” showing 3rd. He’d been bounced around a couple amateur riders who weren’t working regularly with a trainer and it showed. But he had a great brain, good gaits, and great conformation. Fast forward and he is doing so well in a regular program … we’ve calmed his brain and he is now straight (in the beginning it was like riding a rubber band) and getting stronger. He loves his work, is easy to handle, and a blast to ride. We are taking a step back and planning to show him 2nd level in the fall.
All by way of saying that an ammie friendly “off breed” with potential can be a real find if (as an ammie … and an older one at that) you can work with a good trainer to develop the horse.
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There are QHs who have nice lofty movement. They aren’t the norm but they aren’t that rare either. They just don’t usually end up in the english disciplines so you don’t see them.
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In the US anyone can hang a shingle and call themselves a dressage trainer/instructor.
One problem for the beginner and amateur, there is no way they can tell the real ones from the ones that wing it.
Until there is a minimum of knowledge and education out there about what dressage is and how to train and teach within that method, too many horses and people will keep falling in the hands of the ignorant and so thru the cracks.
There is no true solution for that situation, as long as antagonistic goals of being proud of DYI for so much, without understanding or following standards reign, the horse world not unique in that mindset.
Even today, knowledges widespread as it is in our information age, I keep seeing so many so proud they never had a lesson or trained their horse by themselves.
When it comes to horses, an educated eye is imperative.
Reinventing the wheel will only get someone many odd shapes but round and a bumpy ride. 
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It’s mostly me. I’ve not been asking for enough angle or forward. We’re working on it and it’s getting better.
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What a snarky nasty remark. As I stated, I am with a good trainer and we work within the bounds of his teaching. In the words of Thumper, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”.
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I agree that it’s very good. Sorry that “pretty good” wasn’t good enough just wanted to convey that it’s certainly noteworthy!
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Ah yes, been there. Horse is capable while rider is still…sorting it out
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I’d only caution you about schooling changes too much if they are not 100% correct. It can be VERY easy to ingrain changes that are not correct and VERY difficult to fix. I have a good friend who has an Iberian - the tricks came easy, but the changes were very difficult to fix once she settled for mostly ok (at least 50% of the time late behind) - it really limited her scores for a long time.
I know you are not asking for advice, but if you would like to continue on the dressage journey long term with this horse, I’d probably back off a little - you’ve installed the tricks - and work on really strengthening the lateral work and the horse overall in terms of a dressage carriage/frame/body. Trying to fill in holes later is so much more frustrating, time consuming, and difficult than really getting the proper strength and foundation from the outset.
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Am I your good friend? 
kidding, but I had the exact issue with my Iberian. It wasn’t necessarily that I settled for mostly ok, it was just that was all he would give. No matter the prep, the canter quality, and the strength he was often late behind and a few trainers and clinicians could not fix the issue. I felt so helpless and frustrated. He found this way of doing it and this was the way. If you set him up in a very correct way that made changing late really hard he would just not changen or leap in the air and change front to back. Man, it was a journey.
Anyway, after that horse and fixing a few others (some late behind, some trained over a pole, and some just fried), I am super careful now and while I can and would train a horse to do flying changes again, I would absolutely buy (and pay) good quality changes. Everything else I can sort out, but man, I don’t care to be in flying lead change hell again.
So yes, be mindful with those changes.
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There’s nothing snarky or nasty about what I wrote. That you interpret it that way is all about you.
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My experience is that cutting/ reining bred QHs can generally rock back, sit down and stay there while moving their weight around quite well naturally. They have a limited lateral shoulder movement though and that ability to pick the front leg up and swing it out as in half pass or to cross over is harder for them just due to the way they are put together and their legs tie in to the body. I spent some time at a reining barn and that work tons on the front legs crossing over in the spins, very slowly starting at the walk and are extremely careful that the green horses don’t hurt themselves until they have that strength and coordination. But those horses picked up changes and sitting back incredibly easily and are born with excellent balance front to back.
the nicest dressage prospect I have seen all year in looking at many young horses was an appendix QH belonging to my friends neighbors teenage daughter, and they wouldn’t sell him to me, lol. That horse came out of the womb carrying itself and moving like a 6 yo with years of training. How that kid sits the trot in a western saddle is beyond me.
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I have had several. I had a nice TB/? mare and used a reg AQHA stud and got both of her foals in the HQH Registry. Really just a way to prove they are at least 1/2 QH when selling etc…
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