OTTB Success Stories

Posts Tagged ‘Dressage’

Hi Elizabeth,
Hope your summer is going well and all is good with you and yours. It’s been a while and I wanted to update you on what Golds Anatomy (his stable name is now “Riley”) and Laura are doing these days. Riley came to us May of last year (2009) and the first weekend of June this year (2010) Laura took him to his first recognized Area X Horse Trials. In spite of a few glitches in stadium they earned second place in Jr. Beginner Novice!

See more photos in Golds Anatomy’s new Photo Album.
Read more of Gold Anatomy’s Success Stories.

Laura had a blast and it turns out that “Riley’s” favorite thing is x-country. He is not afraid of anything (oh wait, a little iffy with water. This is Arizona after all) and acts like he’s been doing it all his life. The dressage rings were actually on a race track and he didn’t bat an eye. I think this is what he wants to do. Riley and Laura are becoming a solid team and she just loves him.

They are going to another event this weekend, wish them luck!

Leslie Hempleman

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Golds Anatomy was a Bits & Bytes Farm Prospect Horse For Sale directly from the race track in February 2009.

Who's Cindy Sue aka "Quinn" wins her first combined test!"

Hi Elizabeth!
Who’s Cindy Sue aka “Quinn” is starting to really come into herself these days! We won our first combined test last weekend, it was her first outing to an event and it was my first judged dressage test. This summer we are working at the Intro dressage level and jumping at the pre-elementary level with the goal to be schooling beginner novice at home by the time fall rolls around. Our score in dressage was a 67 (not scored the eventing way), which was way better than I had expected for us being our first time out. Her jumping test was 18″ in an open field and she tackled it in a very workmanlike manner. I was so proud! We plan to hit one schooling event per month and this summer is full of clinics and lessons with well known/respected people. Our next clinic is with Tim Mallin and Ann Marie Gregoire in June. I’ll keep you posted!

Rebecca Bonner-Austin

WHOO WHO! Congratulations! Way to go. – Elizabeth

Who's Cindy Sue aka "Quinn" wins her first combined test!

Ex-race horse, Fame For a Day loves dressage.

Hi E,
Just wanted to send you some pictures of me and my boy! I had a WONDERFUL Mother’s Day ride on him today! He’s so gorgeous and is starting to get very round in his work! Wishing you a very wonderful Mother’s Day!!!

Love,
Gloria

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Fame For a Day was too big to be a successful race horse but he is excelling in dressage with him mom Gloria Coleman seven years after leaving racing. See Fame For a Day’s older Success Stories on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site.

I am very happy to report that Who’s Cindy Sue aka “Quinn” will be attending her first dressage schooling show this weekend. We are making our debut in the Intro Test A.  I have found a dressage trainer that has worked with us and has determined that her gate irregularity that the vets were deeming as “lameness” was truly a training and balance issue (I was ready to hop off and hug this woman!) In just two weeks of working with her and  using classical dressage techniques, I have a new, relaxed horse and she is becoming more and more regular.  Unbelievable how you train and ride can affect your horse!

I am new to dressage so I too am a student.  I am coming from the hunter/jumper world (25 years of this) where we hover in two point, dressage is a challenge but makes so much sense.  Here are two clips of us practicing pieces of our dressage test. We are getting longer periods of time where she is able to hold herself….the all important self carriage. No canter work yet except brief periods on a circle, she’ll get there!  She is also able to trot cross rails, but she does want to go, go go! Jumping is not going to be an issue for her. This summer our goal is to do Intro Tests A and B, and start schooling eventing at the amoeba/elementary level!

Rebecca Bonner Austin

Many horses coming off-the-track seem to have soundness issues but most of these are resolved with some chiropractic work and proper exercises. They use different muscles at the track and they need to be relaxed and rebuilt with proper exercise. Doing a chiropractic adjustment is not enough, you need to do exercises to build the muscles to hold the adjustment in place. If you can’t find a good chiropractor you can still do the exercises. Work on the lunge line at walk and trot and don’t do canter work until the horse is moving freely on both sides. Back your horse up when on the ground and see if she reaches under equally with both back legs. At first the horse will not reach very far underneath and there may be a large gap between the front and rear feet. Keep backing the horse every day until the feet almost touch when backing up. This will mean that the hips are unlocked and the horse can now reach underneath herself and build up the back and hind end muscles. When your horse is backing well, back her up a hill to increase the difficulty of the exercise. Find more information about “Does your horse need chiropractic care?” on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site.

Hey Elizabeth!!

So much to report about Tru Native!!! This last month has had it’s up and downs with Truman. Now, we have made HUGE progress under saddle in just these last six days, in a row, mind you, which is a record!! It is really funny for me to learn about all of the “first’s” with a young, green horse.

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One day, during my ride, my cell phone started going off. What was the problem, oh yeah, my young, green horse knows nothing about technology, HA-HA, my older “made” horse that I sold before Truman, would just stop politely and let me answer my phone. Well, Tru’s head went straight up sooooooo far and he started taking off. Of course, I couldn’t let go of even one of my reins to get my phone out of my pocket to shut the thing up, and it rang for about 30 – 40 seconds, which seemed like an eternity. I just went along for the ride, trying to circle, using the one-rein stop, and calm him down. After my phone ceased it’s ringing, he was huffing and puffing and couldn’t believe that noise came from me!!! After we finished (I had to calm myself as well), I put him away and I went into his stall and had a friend call my phone. I was holding it, and it rang. Well… he came right over to it and tried to eat it, couldn’t care less!! Wasn’t the least bit frightened of the noise. I am assuming his fear of it under saddle was because I was on his back and the noise was over his head. He freaked out wondering why I would be making that wierd noise! We have been working on this under saddle. He is getting better about my phone going off now but is not totally convinced that it is nothing to worry about yet. Anyone heard of VIBRATE mode, what a concept, duh!!!

Then, there are the sun spots in the arena, which he attempts to jump. So funny, but now he just plows through them. Oh yeah, he loves to do ground poles, the more the better. He even loves to jump cavelletti’s. I want to work on a bit of jumping along with the dressage. Three or four ground poles are excellent for getting a horses back up and good for their mind. Truman just loves all of that and I think he would love to jump. He doesn’t seem nervous to go over anything I lay down in the arena.

We have still had more stubborn, grouchy days than good in the first two months I have been riding him. His work attitude has been difficult to deal with under saddle. Lots of huffing and puffing, throwing his head in the air, running off, anything he could think of to get out of work. Even some bucks. I did start using a running martingale. I noticed that on your website, you use them on all of your horses you ride. So that has been a help with the head tossing. But, things are NOW sooooo much better and he is actually FUN to ride. Before, he was been putting in a bit of bucking and crow-hopping. So, I had a new chiropractor out hoping to get some answers to his grumpiness. He said his pole/neck were out, which led to his neck being a little crooked and the odd muscle bulgings, which was causing pain under saddle. Now, his neck issue might have been this way a very long time, we don’t know for sure. But to have developed odd muscling like that didn’t happen over-night. He also adjusted his right hip. The hip wasn’t bad, but if we don’t get the neck fixed, everything else will suffer. From the moment I started to ride Truman after he arrived from Ohio, he would huff and puff, and seem to be VERY stubborn and grouchy. He always seemed to get better by the end of the ride, so I assumed it was just his greeness, stiffness and lack of confidence at the start of the ride. So everyday, was to say the least, not fun under saddle. Now he is getting the proper adjustments he deserves! Hopefully over time this will relieve the pain and he will become the willing, agreeable guy under saddle I know he can be. The change in his attitude already is super.

This horse has the most powerful hind end I have ever seen. Everyone who meets Truman comments on his amazing, powerful hind quarters! Now, that he is getting the adjustments and building more confidence under saddle he is my Super “TRU”per. That is what I say, when we are cantering all around the arena, I say to him over and over, SUPER TRUPER!!!!!! He loves it. This horse is so powerful, that he can even canter right off from the WALK!!! All on his own, I just sit there and let him do it. He has the most lofty canter and seems to have great control over his hind-end to lengthen and shorten his stride or even slow it down and sit, all on his own accord. A dressage rider’s dream! HOLY COW, what I am seeing in the mirrors and feeling about that natural, uplifting, front legs off the ground canter gives me chills. Of course, when we gets to the corners, he is back on his forehand and downhill, which is to be expected. It is just so exciting to see the possibilities in that gait. After all of that cantering, we go down to trot, and that is when I see his true trot stride, relaxed, long and floaty. It does go away of course when he looses his rhythm and balance. But I am seeing glimpses of the things to come down the road as he learns his balance and develops strength and rhythm.

I was so discouraged these last few weeks, feeling he just hated to be ridden. I love him so much and I didn’t want to give up. I just wanted more than anything to just have ONE good ride without resistance. But now, he is a happy-camper and a super “Tru”per. He knows I am not going to push or hurt him. It just took many weeks for him to figure this out and now that his neck is getting adjusted, he is even better. He is a strong-willed horse though and I know the road ahead with him won’t always be smooth sailing. It is an AMAZING feeling inside of pride when you have been working sooooo hard and finally accomplish something. I know that Truman feels that excitement along with me. He is a different horse under saddle this last week and I know he feels proud of himself as I am of him! He is my best friend and we have developed such a deep respect and trust for one another!! That is part of why things are going better, it just took Tru awhile to feel comfortable. Now, I can start really teaching him about dressage since he is becoming a great student.

OH, one more thing, I found out he does have a horse-challenging side to him. He does not like Jack, a black Swedish horse my friend Lucinda owns. Jack is an alpha horse. So Truman gets all worked up when Jack is in the arena. At first, I thought he just wanted to be near him trying to get out of work again, using Jack as an excuse. But then the other day, when we passed left to left, Truman spun around, ears pinned and wanted to go at him!!!!! I realized then, that he is wanting to challenge Jack. Of course, Jack totally ignores this young fellow, and I think that made Truman even more frustrated. Oh Yes… I have had quite a few first’s myself these last few weeks. Never a dull moment, that is for sure. Attached are more pictures of my beautiful baby and me.

Hope all is well with you Elizabeth, and your wonderful Bits and Bytes Farm. I still get on the website often, it makes me feel connected to other’s who are on the same journey as me. Thank you for that!!!

BEST TO YOU!!
Lauren Wittkop

We recommend all horses (not just ex-racers) get adjusted by a GOOD equine chiropractor. No horse will be able to perform well if his back or neck are out of alignment. Getting your horse adjusted and then doing the exercises to keep the muscle strong will help the horse hold the adjustment. If your horse is out of alignment he will buck and be reactive because he is trying to tell you that he HURTS. Listen to your horse and you will find that he will reward you by trying to please you. This is so typical of a Thoroughbred. – Elizabeth

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Hi Elizabeth,

Been a while so I thought I’d check in. “Ping”  (Shelby’s Hill) is now 7, and a full 16 hands.  He has filled out and is beautiful.

After some work his feet are now great, and I hope to start his event training this year.  He is so talented in dressage he could just do that, but that is not all I want to do.  I long-lined him yesterday after not doing it for two years and he was just great.  I still toy with the idea of a bigger horse but he has a big heart.

Hope all is well.

Sarah Farnham

Tru Native gets body clipped for the first time.

Hi Elizabeth,

“Truman” is adjusting beautifully. He has quite the personality and is a barn favorite for sure. He is VERY social and absolutely craves attention. Since he has been living in the field all alone for the past year this has been a complete life style change for the better for him. He now LOVES sugar cubes, beet pulp, horse cookies, etc. He has figured that whatever I offer him now it must be delicious. He is quite pushy and knows his size. So we are just slowly working on him respecting my space! By the way, we measured him and he is an unbelievable almost 17.2 hands!! Just massive and oh so sweet.

Tru Native begins training to be a dressage horse.

It has taken hours to get the clipping done. Of course, when I turned them on he backed up on the cross-ties and sent them flying down the isle about 30 feet, we just hit the ground knowing they would snap. He then slowly walked down the isle, so proud of himself, and into an empty stall. It didn’t take long at all for him to realize that the clippers won’t hurt him. Just lots of patience… I’m still working today on finishing his face, but don’t get next to his ears!! He did get a bath and was sooooooo good for that. He thinks he has “gone to heaven”! Absolutely loves grooming and stands perfectly still while he gets groomed. But, don’t walk away, he will follow! I now have to replace two sets of cross-ties!! Nothing seems to startle him much and is quite confident.

Tru Native admired the gorgeous horse in the mirror.

He loves his turnout paddock and loves his new horse buddies. He has bonded with his neighbor, Abby, a 31 yr. old OTTB. He loves toys and is VERY curious about everything, not spooky at all. When I brought him into the indoor for the first time, he was shocked at our huge mounting block, and then he got to see that gorgeous horse in the mirror. Tail straight up and trying to show off. He is learning to free-lunge and then decides to go straight over to the mirror, pulling me along, to see the horse that lives in the mirror. He is really a gentle giant and doesn’t mean to do that to me, but his curiosity gets the best of him. He has shown me his gorgeous, floaty, slow rhythmic trot out in his turnout paddock. I can’t wait to see how he comes along with dressage training. I think I found a “diamond in the rough” for sure. Have not seen a canter yet, so looking forward to getting a look at that as well.

I have not ridden him yet. The vet who did the pre-purchase said his teeth were in need of immediate floating and a baby tooth needs to be pulled. My vet is coming out on Monday to do his teeth/sheath, etc. His training will start later next week and I can’t wait!!! My trainer and I will take it VERY slowly with him. I want him to enjoy his daily work and be happy and relaxed.

Tru Native and mom - "Tru" Love

I am totally in love with my new baby. I don’t want to leave the barn and when I am at home, all I want to do is go back to be with “Tru”. Thank you sooooo much for your support and assistance. This happened so fast, but I knew when I saw his photo on your website that was it. I was in love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and had to meet him if possible. And possible it was, I was so lucky and blessed. He also has the same birthday, April 28, my horse that I just sold. I knew he and I were meant to be together. Everything fell into place perfectly. He is so far turning out to be an amazing, beautiful horse inside and out. But, just look out, when he wants something, he will get it. Quite strong-willed that way but I will surely enjoy this wonderful, exciting journey.

HAPPY NEW YEAR… It’s going to be a good one!
Lauren

I’ve heard the other folks at the barn talk about those special moments when you and your horse make a huge leap forward, and this past weekend Bubba and I enjoyed one of those precious moments.

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We’ve been working on riding and communication fundamentals so Bubba and I better understand one another. Maintaining a consistent cadence, proper pressure on the outside rein, not putzing around in the ring – either work or stand still and rest. In addition, Bubs has matured into a pretty sturdy sport horse, good muscle, using his hind end. So I felt we were ready to canter.

A few tips from Elizabeth and Darylene on how to tell Bubba to canter and we were off, off to the moon! Bubba went into this lovely, incredibly strong (and a little quick) motion and I whoohoo’d as we went around the ring. This quick turn around the ring clicked some button in my plain, small, fuzzy, long maned brown pony and this incredible creature of motion and power appeared.

We next trotted and as I took hold of the reins, he happily dug in and we went round and round with an extended trot I had not previously seen. An amazing door opened for my partner and I, and I think I need to step it up to keep pace with my special boy.

I’m sure everyone has these moments and I’m glad we have the Success Stories to share them. I wish more people had an opportunity to enjoy these incredible horses – whatever their talents and abilities. A great ride is hard to beat but we all look forward to the next topper, don’t we?
-Melanie Eberhardt

Order an original illustration of your special pet for Christmas today!

Bubba’s mom Melanie Eberhardt is also a fine artist. She is offering to do pencil illustrations of your special pet for Christmas gift giving. Prices start at just $10! Give an original artwork as a Christmas gift – it will be treasured forever. Learn more about this on the Bits & Bytes Farm Web site and on Pet Portraits at YOUR Price and Melanie’s Web site. She wants to people to have a way to honor their special pets, to share their stories and to promote original art.

Hi Elizabeth,

Hope your travels went well. Glad to here Dakota’s brother, Brat Maverick, has a new home. I hope to see him sometime.

I’m again enjoying this lovely weather! Da’ Boyz (Dakota Spirit & Chilletecaux) are coming along great! This past week and this week they graduated to gymnastics (three jumps on the one stride) and cantering simple lines. They both LOVE IT!! The dressage is coming too. Of course we all think the jumping is more fun…
My husband, Slim, is a superstar at setting jumps! He walks distance and sets poles perfectly – how lucky am I ?? My step-daughter, Desiree helps me change horses and rides some after I school them on weekends.

Dakota Spirit and Chilletecaux have a new horse trailer.

I’ve ordered the truck. It should be here around Thanksgiving – I’m getting antsy to get them out to play. We’ve gotten bored with the trails at home. Still there’s plenty to work on and we’re having a good time!
Hope everything is going great with you and your crew.

-J

Off-the-track Thoroughbred, Chilletecaux and his owner/trainer Jane Chance

Wow, this weather is so wonderful! The boyz (Chilletecaux and Dakota Spirit) have been doing so well. Nancy (the older Ms. Lane) came out to watch both horses go which is great for me given she is such a good ground person. She reminded me not to let Chille get me leading with my body, to keep open to help him stay slower. So easy without someone on the ground and she has such a good eye.

Also on the other hand to try not to help Dakota and let him find his feet. So funny to ride the ‘day dreamer’ to the jumps and feel the surprise when his mind has wondered. Nancy could tell Slim where to place poles as we went – THANKS Slim!

Started little verticles this week and the tiny outside line. So easy for both horses. Went for a short trail ride thru the woods behind the barn – first time it’s been dry enough lately. Can’t wait for my truck to get here… we have plans!

Talk to you soon,
Jane