[amm2cd]

Is it just me or does the dressage forum seem over run with negativity?


For one, I love dressage. I love how it improves my horses; I love how there's so much to learn; I love the physical skill and muscle memory required to ride dressage well.

I realized that the shows and competitions are run for people by people, and have their issues (because let's face it, horse people are nucking futs). I still enjoy seeing strong, shiny horses and their dedicated riders trying their best to strut their stuff.

Anyone else still see any thing good in dressage?

[xQHDQ]

I agree with you. I think just this economy has everyone a little down, and since we're on a dressage BB, that's where people take it out on.

[ThreeFigs]

Thumbs up for a thread on the positive!

Dressage is awesome for equine physical therapy, it's awesome to strengthen a horse's weak spots, it's awesome to make a horse more beautiful, as any fit athlete is beautiful.

It's not right, IMO, for dressage to be catching so much bad press in light of what other "disciplines" put animals through. Compared to those, dressage is a humane, knowledge-based, thinking-man's discipline.

Dressage and cross-training brought my gelding back to productivity. Careful ring work, hill work and judicious use of cavalletti fixed his injured back and restored his muscles.

Yeah, I've seen people ride "dressage" (so-called!) badly. People who think that rollkuring their weak-backed horses will "fix" it. People who water-ski & ride front to rear. People who think they're training, but can't ride a sitting trot.That's ignorant riding, perhaps cruel riding, but it's not dressage riding.

Yes, I love dressage.

[NOMIOMI1]

Oh no I am hooked! And singing LONDON LONDON because its gonna be a show!

Dressage is a fantastic sport where anyone at any level can play... Who can find bad in that? Oh thats right... Some can

From the top to the bottom there is excellence in this sport I ignore the rest !

[mp]

Yes, I love dressage.

Me, too. I love it because it's based on correctness of the rider and the horse. There are no shortcuts or quick fixes for human or animal. You just have to keep working until you get it right.

And for me, there will ALWAYS be something to work on, which is another reason I love it. My horse and I finally get something we've been working on and a whole new world of things to "get" opens up.

PS -- a few horsey friends have recently begun taking dressage lessons. One of them pulled me aside the other day and said "I had NO idea how HARD this stuff is." Cracked me up.

[ThreeFigs]

Seriously? Are we five the only visitors of the COTH dressage forum who love dressage and find the negativity over the top?

Seriously?

[mp]

Maybe we're the only ones who actually ride, Bea.

[alicen]

Move over, mp. The rest of life pales compared to the challenges and delights of riding a light, responsive, freely moving forward, generous horse. And I think there's something to be admired in all the top international horses. Perfect? No, but holy, moly, there are a lot of amazing horses and riders in the world and lots of not-so-amazing horses who get better and better with good, dressage training.

[Tasker]

I <3 Dressage! Everything about bringing out the innate talents and enhancing the symmetry of the horse What's not to love??

We've had some spectacular weather lately, so I've been able to ride outside a couple of times already!! The horses have all made tons of progress over the winter and I personally can not wait for the show season to start in another 6-8 weeks!

As for the negativity...well...glass half empty is the way a lot of people look at the world. *shrug*

Life is way too short to dwell on the unpleasant detritus that there is. Better to focus on the happy moments and bright spots IMO!

[netg]

Horse people are crazy? Yep. I'm pretty much obsessed!


I have loved dressage since I was around 4, and always dreamt of it. I mistakenly believed all the people around me about how expensive it was, and how you had to be rich to be able to ride dressage. While my horse and I aren't going to become international quality competitors, it's fun to dream. At 34 I am as in love with my horse as if I were a pony clubber with her first horse, and about 2 1/2 years into my dressage experience I have learned that I could have started riding many years ago! I think I learned valuable things in my other experience which I am now applying so I don't regret it, but boy am I thrilled that the 28 years of wanting to do something I didn't think I could are over and I find myself here.

[fairtheewell]

Where's the "like" button? LOL

[ThreeFigs]

Maybe we're the only ones who actually ride, Bea.

Hahahahaha! May be!

[mp]

Tasker, I love the horse, but I COVET those boots! They look so good with your red boy. But I'm sure they'd look equally grand with my much smaller redhead.

[netg]

Tasker, I love the horse, but I COVET those boots! They look so good with your red boy. But I'm sure they'd look equally grand with my much smaller redhead.

I noticed them in some facebook posts this morning - I agree. They are gorgeous!



One of my friends and I have an understanding that if we are "critiquing" an upper level or international-type horse and rider we don't have to go through the "but they're obviously better than I am/this is only in comparison to other horses at the same level" disclaimers. I take any criticism/critique of upper level horses on this board the same way, because to take it otherwise would just be too disheartening to me. I am careful if I discuss horses in public, but my friend and I have these nerdy discussions to help improve our ability to see things, and it's obviously ALL better than we or our horses can do!

[Tasker]

The boots were my Christmas from Mom & Dad and my Ebay find of the decade! New in the box Petries - $455 including the shipping from France. They are a perfect fit and had been worn once in the store, brought home and then listed on Ebay. I only wear them for 'good' things - clinics, photo shoots, etc. They have to last a long time!

Mom & Dad were awesome to buy them! And then to have bred me some many nice horses to ride is icing on a very large cake of good fortune! I am blessed.

[naturalequus]

For the most part I think much of the negativity is indeed warranted - there is a lot of bad dressage and bad just plain ol' riding and training out there, all the way to and including the uppermost levels (the latter irking me the most, since the top riders should know better, imo). And I am an incurable optimist! As netg said, this is not to say these individuals we are criticizing are not better than me, in all likelihood they are - by far However I still hold them to just as high a standard as I hold myself in regards to horse training and riding in dressage specifically, and even if I do not ride at their level, I see what I see, so I still feel the need to criticize at times. These upper riders are the ones setting the bar so imo it is important they train in a manner that is correct and of most benefit to the horse.

I hated dressage as a kid, I hated all flatwork. It was boring!! Seeing a clinic by Mette Rozencrantz a few years ago is what really sparked my interest in dressage specifically, and then learning to apply that dressage classically and correctly and seeing and FEELING the phenomenal results in my horses - that is what hooked me. I wish I had the time and finances to compete in it but I can only do so much and my focus is jumpers since I love it just a tad more But I'll add to the chorus that I LOVE dressage!!! I had a GREAT week with my horses this last week. Wednesday morning I draaaaagged myself out of bed early in the a.m. (I never got to sleep in a single day I had off, haha!) to ride my jumper Thoroughbred gelding (the scatterbrain) - feeling his back 'pop' more than it ever has was an incredible and very addicting feeling. He is long-backed, lazy in how he uses himself (despite being uber competitive and high energy), and a little nutty at times, so it has been a long road getting him to where he is now. Thursday and Tuesday we had great lessons that started with dressage and finished with jumping - I accomplished a lot with the aforementioned gelding and even experienced a few (dressage and jumping) epiphanies. The dressage is so crucial to the success of our jumping and I cannot say enough about how amazing dressage can feel I can't wait to further our dressage training and will always incorporate it with our jumping (as I do incorporate it - dressage that is - in the training of any horse I work with now). Maybe we will even compete a little dressage on the side or one day it will replace jumping ()

[Beentheredonethat]

Dressage is so much better than it was. There's just more of it and we have so much media access, we can complain easier. Dressage is a natural part of any riding you do, so of course we should love it. It applies to anything we do.

I'm at a barn with no dressage people, and I'm by far and away the highest level rider. The manager/a trainer kind of does English/ Western, whatever kind of riding to make people happy, but we get along great. She doesn't really know dressage, but she was watching me ride (and as I have way too many bad habits with no mirrors and no one to tell me what I'm doing wrong enough) and made a suggestion I just breath through the changes I was working on to get them through. It was a great suggestion.

That's why dressage is great. Any horse person who knows a whit can give you common sense advice and be helpful because it all should make sense.

I wish I could say the upper level riders are so bad--it would make me look really good. There are bad trends, as there always are, but the riders are SO much better than they used to be, at all levels.

[Bugs-n-Frodo]

I love dressage and I love how buff it makes my horse too!

[NOMIOMI1]

I love dressage and I love how buff it makes my horse too!

Ditto this!

Nothing ever warrants negativity... It warrants action and education but wasted keystrokes on this board about EVERY SINGLE good horse just seems to me more of a misery loves company type thing.

It is not just complaining about ONE style of training either... Its more of a fun sucker blanket type misery that perpetuates and attracts more fun suckers UGH

[NOMIOMI1]

oops repost