Dressage Day by Day

Spoiler -- I bought a horse! After being home from Holland for weeks, I still thought about my favorite horse by Dream boy. I watched the video of me riding him almost every day and I wondered if I had made the right decision. To satisfy my own worry, I decided to find an independant sport horse vet, someone that knows dressage, and have that vet look at the films. My vet, who has done such a fabulous job keeping Gadget sound, admitted that he doesn't look at warmblood rads all of the time and knows they are different than his usual customers. So I found a vet who specializes in sport horses, does lots of lameness work, and is married to an upper level dressage rider. He reviewed the x-rays and immediately noted the same small issues on the x-rays, but said he was not concerned and would tell his wife to buy the horse. To be extra careful, he decided to request a few extra views. When Ryan called to see if the horse was still available, someone was flying from Canada s...

So I am back to plodding along in the snaffle bridle trying to figure things out again. I feel like I want to get Gadget a little softer in the bridle and just more honest in the connection. I've been warming up by really separating my aids -- legs mean go, then half-halt means balance. I am really focusing on keeping my head back "in the headrest," maintaining pointy elbows, carrying my hands, legs at the girth, and giving the squeezing half halt and the release. The basics take so much thought to do well.  This week I really could feel how important it is for me to have the squeeze in the thighs in the collected canter. After he is warmed up, I can put pressure in my thighs (like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube) and get him actually powering from behind in the smaller canter. When I ride from the thighs, he is quieter and happier in the contact. If I try to kick him up to it, be bounces all over the place in the contact. I think this is because my seat is b...