too young??

dressageboy

personality reflects name
Jul 29, 2006
45
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essex
okay situation............basically i have a 5yrold westphalian, who was broken in by my friend but i did work on it. she was broken as a 3yrold but wondered what sort of level of dressage you think she should be at? i have been schooling her since she was 4yrold, she went through the levels up to medium when turning 5, have i pushed her or is she just picking things up quickly? i dont think i have pushed her over much! i never at ANY point used draw reins or side reins, just me riding her as you would generally without gadgets, and also she has never acted babyish like i would of expected?!:confused: :) :rolleyes:
 
hmmm,
not a dressage fan me :rolleyes: but doesnt really sound as if you have pushed her to far!! and if you look at it this way...you see TB's racing at the age of 3! thats what you call pushing them!!

XxHBxX
 
i have thought that but certain liveries down our yard are getting very snooty with her because she is 5 and doing very well and there horses are older and cant do half the things she can! ive told them to get over it and also they are using gadgets galore!! and i believe that that doesnt help in ANY WAY at all!!
 
hee hee, you tell them!!
just ignore them..you have a superb horse there by the sounds of it, and they just cant understand why their horses arent up to her standards :)

XxHBxX
 
I have a 4yo & am thinking the same sort of things as you, only I'm into eventing so my concern is more not doing too much too soon jumping-wise, even though she seems up for anything I ask. She is a big gangly thing, though, and has a lot of filling out and muscling up to do before I think she'll be ready for anything challenging. I would think that a big issue with doing a lot of dressage with a youngster is making sure you look after them mentally. I'm not sure how much you can expect in terms of attention span & processing the various things your hands, legs, body, crop & voice may be asking for. There are dressage classes at the Nationals for 4yos, what do they do in them? If you're not going much beyond that level I wouldn't think you are overdoing it. As long as your horse is enjoying the work and not showing signs of stress I wouldn't worry too much.
 
cool cheers! they dont understand why i dont put gagdets on her and that is exacly why. so either they get on with it and except it or do what im doing and use common sense with riding(which is what it comes down to):)
 
iron maiden i only use my leg seat hands and voice ive never used a schooling whips either apart from when lunging. i hack her 3 times a week so she doesnt get bored which is why i was worried. she is the calmest most sensible mare in the WORLD!! and even when she was first broke within a week or two she was self balenced. she can jump but ive only taken her to 1.05m open on a ticket BSJA and she got clear first round then had one down in the jumpoff. but even so she is soooooo good for me!! (makes a change):)
 
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i have thought that but certain liveries down our yard are getting very snooty with her because she is 5 and doing very well and there horses are older and cant do half the things she can! ive told them to get over it and also they are using gadgets galore!! and i believe that that doesnt help in ANY WAY at all!!

You should offer to train their horses for a fee!!!!! That will shut them up in a hurry:p
Sounds like they are jealous.
 
You know i am ashamed to be on a yard with people like that. They shove alsorts of gadgets on their horses and create that pretty picture and ask you 'why bother with all that time and effort'.

The more you put in, the more you get out of it, thats my motto.
 
If you was puching your horse it would let you know!!!! Maybe your horse finds dressage naturally easy like some horses are naturally good at jumping.

Everyone else will only be jealous because you have a well schooled talent horse and they are trying to make thier horses something they are not:p
 
exacly i have put LOTS of TIME EFFORT and MONEY into schooling her. and she has turned out as one of my best mounts to date!! she is wonderful i cnt describe it!!:D
 
you shouldnt get jealous at ANYTHING i tell you yeah it makes you depressive! i dont get jealous because i have what i have and other people have what they have so there is absolutely NO point envying anyone!!
:)
 
Sounds like you are doing everything right, a really good balance of work & play and you now have a very talented, well adjusted horse who everyone else is dead envious of. If you can achieve all this without gadgets it speaks for itself. Sometimes people just try to knock you off your perch to make themselves feel bigger & better, I wish I understood why.
 
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You know i am ashamed to be on a yard with people like that. They shove alsorts of gadgets on their horses and create that pretty picture and ask you 'why bother with all that time and effort'.

The more you put in, the more you get out of it, thats my motto.

Well said Jen:)
 
im quite a quiet rider who lets the horse progress at its own pass (as ive been told) so obv if i have let her progress on her own time she must have something a lot of youngsters dont! she just doesnt change she is soooooo level headed and calm. sayin that my little sister who cant ride properley can get on her with confidence and do a dressage test easy, thats how good tempered she is. IM NOT EVER GONNA GIVE HER UP NOW!!! if her jumping improve more i might try a bit of cross country when she is ready, she will already pop a ditch or log in the forest hacking and i have taken her thorogh water on a sponsered ride last year and it didnt faze her at all!!
 
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