Hi everyone,

I do really like the caption contest.....I had alot of fun reading some of the other caption entries! I did enjoy the Lisa Wilcox article, and find the Homework with Hilda to be helpful. I'm not real into competition so the coverage of some of that isn't the first place I look, but that's just me. I think that my favorite part of the magazine would have to be the last page, Dressage Today Solutions. The tips are very insightful and I love the illustrations! I would have to say....just keep up the good work!

 Yes, I have enjoyed the Lisa Wilcox article in the October issue. I plan on sharing it with my instructor. I have enjoyed everything Hilda Gurney has done in the magazine and find that there is ALWAYS something I can use in her articles.

 I don't think I would like to see more international news, though. I think the coverage already offered is fine. I enjoy reading the monthly "Clinic With Yvonne And Kim Barteau", no matter who is doing the critique! I like the "Solutions" on the last page, too. Sometimes the illustration is so perfect that even I can get it! Although I have to say that sometimes I am less successful at "getting it". I appreciate how much I get out of each issue. I have been a subscriber for over two years now and I have yet to feel like the articles are being recycled. I very much feel like I get my money's worth every month!

 As an AA rider who deals with some physical disabilities, I appreciate the coverage that paraequestrians are getting. I would like to see more "nuts and bolts" type stuff. Like the photo of Lauren Barwick on page 19. Her saddle looks modified, with a "second thigh block" that sits behind her thigh. As a rider with a spinal cord injury, I would love to know more about that modification. But instead of that information the article just glances at the fact she carries two whips and relies on her voice. The whips and voice reliance are covered in just about every article I have read on paraequestrains, and I almost feel like shrugging my shoulders when I read it again. 

 I have thought about trying the caption contest, but have not actually followed through on that yet. I read and like Pam Stone's "Remember To Smile", but sometimes I feel like I am missing the point (even though I think she is funny). 

Actually was just re-reading it for a second time when I decided to get online and see if I was able to sign in to the forums...and here I am.  Love the Clinic every month regardless of who is critiquing, read every word and look at the photos to see what's there that I may do, etc.  Also did enjoy the Lisa Wilcox article, Homework from Hilda, The Magic of the Circle, and Solutions.

Thanks to all of you who have replied so far. I really appreciate the feedback. Please keep them coming!

Hi Patty!

I just have some general comments. To be honest I wasn’t planning on renewing my subscription to DT until I got the December 2009 issue. The reason (and I think that many dressage books have the same issue too) is that articles tend to describe how (ideally) things should be; what my horse should do, what it should feel like etc.. A lot of the time, I am left with more questions after reading the article.

For example, there was a great article with Ingrid Klimke this past spring-it described how beneficial it was to have a horse stretch downward and forward at the beginning of a ride. However it did not describe the means to achieve it and I was left wondering at the end of the article.

Similarly, I couldn’t find the article about Half-Halts to be of much assistance either as it automatically assumes that the horse will accept the half halt. It also stated that the timing of the “whoa” part of the half halt should be when the engaging hind leg is on the ground but did not describe what the engaging hind leg is; the inside or outside?  

I am not new to riding - just new to dressage (been riding for 2 years). I’ve been riding English for nearly 2 decades, and have always been taking lessons. However, I ride a less than perfect horse and therefore need educational resources that help me understand why I’m experiencing a problem and suggest ways to fix it.

What I want to know are things like; why does my horse shorten her neck when I give the half halt? What can I do to improve her response? How can I get my horse to stretch? How can improve the contact? What can I do when she does not do a downward transition when I close my hand and still my seat? Should I use a firmer rein aid? If so how – by bending my wrists in, my hands back towards my body or by vibrating the reins? Problems that I think regular riders on regular horses face.

Like I said before I think that the December 2009 issue was really good; the Lendon Gray and Steffen Peters articles provided detailed explanations and exercises I can actually use. Lendon Gray’s article provides a good way to test and increase obedience to the aids, then ride & use corners to our benefit. The Steffen Peters article is really good because it gives a very do-able exercise, and it’s the first time I’ve seen anybody suggest introducing lengthening at a canter. I hope DT uses these great teachers again in the future!

Other than that the “ask the experts” feature is great in addressing specific training issues, and it was great to read JJ Tate’s advice to young people about how to become a dressage professional – it was very real, honest advice.

I’m so sorry that this post has become so long-it was not my intention starting out but I just kept writing and writing LOL!  

 

Thanks so much for this feedback. It is important to hear, and it is taken to hear, believe me! I sent all your questions to Reina, who compiles our Ask the Experts section. So look for answers to those questions in the new year. I'm glad you found the Dec. issue so useful. To have something for everyone is a balance I work to achieve in each issue. Thanks for sticking with us! 

Hi, Patty--

Yes, Lendon Gray is excellent every time we can pin her down to do an article. It would be great to have more from her. I'll do my best! Glad your corners are improving :)

Well, I haven't started on my corners yet. My main dressage mare, Juno, the one on my avatar, has been lame for 8 months due to a shoulder injury. My filly, Athene, is too young for a deeper corner. That leaves Havannah, my HOL/TB mare, but I need to do other things with her, like improving her confidence so I can ride her on the trail. :) If it's not one thing after another, it's two. But I have the article bookmarked.

DTEditor:

Thanks so much for this feedback. It is important to hear, and it is taken to hear, believe me! I sent all your questions to Reina, who compiles our Ask the Experts section. So look for answers to those questions in the new year. I'm glad you found the Dec. issue so useful. To have something for everyone is a balance I work to achieve in each issue. Thanks for sticking with us! 

 That sounds great Patty- can’t wait!

 

Hi,

I thought that the Lisa Wilcox article on thoroughness was fantastic! I read as much as I can about dressage theory but for me, this article provided the clearest description of what it is (when a horse is supple both laterally and longitudinally), what to do to achieve throughness, and how to test it (half pass and rein back). I hope that we get to read more articles by her explaining important - yet sometimes elusive – dressage concepts!

I also thought that the “I love shoulder-fore” article was interesting – it described an alternate shoulder fore (shoulder fore B) where the shoulder is not brought in but rather the inside hind leg is bought under the horses body to “thread” between the two front feet. But I couldn’t quite understand how to bring the hind leg inward…

 

Thanks for your feedback on Lisa's article. She says she will do another one for DT in 2010. Yeah!

Beth Baumert, who wrote the "Technically Speaking" about the shoulder-fore, asked me to tell you the following, regarding your query: "But I couldn’t quite understand how to bring the hind leg inward… "

Beth says: The rider's inside leg creates placement of the horse's inside hind leg under his center of gravity. The rider uses her leg at the moment when the horse is reaching with his inside hind leg. If you, the reader, find this difficult, simply ask yourself if you THINK it should be easy for a rider to place her horse's inside hind foot on a specific 5 square inches of ground. The successful rider is simply quietly persistent. A mirror is incredibly helpful. Once you achieve this balance, it is relatively easy to keep it as the horse balances on his outside rein, and he is rewarded simply by being in a balanced state, which he probably likes as much as you do.