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The Horse Diary Movie : And, How To Tune A Piano

Posted October 13th by Erica K. in The Art Of...

Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was as beautiful as ours was here in southern Wisconsin. Sunny days and glorious temperatures…

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Life & Death : Will Your Horse Let You Stitch Him Up?

Posted October 10th by Erica K. in The Art Of...

As I was suturing up my horse’s leg, it dawned on me… how many of us are either unprepared or unsure of how to handle an emergency situation? Are we paying enough attention to spot the signs of colic before it is too late to effectively treat it? Do we have the relationship with our horse that allows us to perform emergency medical care without relying upon a sedative? Is our emergency kit packed with the right tools for the right job?

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Philippe Karl : Master Article

Posted October 10th by Erica K. in The Art Of...

Reiner Klimke & Ahlerich : A Look Back On 1984

Posted October 9th by Erica K. in The Art Of..., Video Reviews

Perhaps fitting, yesterday was my birthday, and I was born in the year 1984… the same year that Reiner Klimke scored the Olympic Gold Medal aboard his Westfalian gelding, Ahlerich. Here is a tempting video, highlighting their victory lap at the Olympic Games.

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Bettina Drummond : An Inside Look In French

Posted October 8th by Erica K. in The Art Of...

Ever have the curiosity about someone who not only pursues academically, but artistically, that of Classical Dressage? The haute ecole, equestrian art, etc? Bettina Drummond, an American, student of Nuno Oliveira… Here it is for you, hope you can understand French. Cest la vie!

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Refusal To Move : How Best To Evade Work?

Posted October 2nd by Erica K. in Articles, The Art Of...

I got this question posted and wanted to address it directly. Perhaps this will help anyone else with the same problem!

Dani Writes :

I am currently exercising a very difficult horse. He is not vicious, but is very difficult to catch.
When i go into the field, I approach him quietly, give him a pat and slip the head collar on. He NEVER moves away from me when I do this. I can then calmly lead him towards the gate of the field. However, sometime before i get there he stops. He plants his feet and will not move forwards, or to either side. The more i pull on the lead rope, the more he walks backwards. If I stop, he stops. If I try to walk close to his side in order to flick his hindquarters with the end of the lead rope, he turns them away from me. He never appears scared, in fact he normally sighs a lot during this encounter, as if bored with my attempts! From that moment on, it is almost impossible to get him to move on, even with food. Eventually, if I persist, he turns and trots away. I can then walk up to him again, without him moving away, and can do the same as before, but he always stops again. The article above did not help my problem, but after reading the one about resistance, I believe he is demonstrating weight resistance. I can only go to him once a week, so can’t even lead him in and out a few times a day without riding him, so that he doesn’t link my catching him to him doing work. Any ideas how I can get him to walk all the way out? Any tips would be very helpful!

Hi Dani,

I hope that I am understanding the question correctly, I got a little confused when you mention that if you persist at asking him to move, he eventually turns and trots away from you. I am wondering if you mean that you do not have him on a lead, but simply by the halter? Or perhaps he protests strongly enough to get out of your hands?

Horses are very patient creatures, they don’t live on the same kind of ­time clock that we do. They do not wear watches, but instead simply live in the moment rather than being caught up in the concerns of commitments, appointments, work and so on. Lucky them! We are a mismatched pair in comparison, when often our lives run by the time clock. We rush from one thing to the other based on the consequence of a minute’s passing. If we are two minutes late it were as if the world were coming to an end, there is no room for give. Many people live on a much more relaxed schedule, but it is rare when we live the same as the horse does, with no regard to time keeping track of the progress of our lives.

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Get Some Rhythm : Free Online Guide

Posted October 1st by Erica K. in The Art Of..., Touch

Wondering if you have good timing, good rhythm? Wondering why I am writing something that perhaps has more in common with music than riding a horse? Good question! Riding is so well connected to music and dance, but that connection is so easily forgotten. The way in which we move our body, the timing of our actions, their direction and the energy behind them all influence the horse on a level that is beyond that of mathematic figures or scientific theory.

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Change : Must It Come Through Negativity?

Posted September 25th by Erica K. in The Art Of..., Thought

Are you a Negaholic? Even in disguise? Negativity is addictive, and can present itself in so many ways. Perhaps you are already aware of it, the first step, and now you are looking for a way to release those negative thoughts. Whatever the case, we came here for Change.. so how are the two linked together?

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Equestrian Theater Is Alive! Thanks To Bartabas : Zingaro : Battuta

Posted September 19th by Erica K. in The Art Of...

Saddle Pad Saga

Posted August 5th by Erica K. in The Art Of...

I have been in commensurations about the fact that I need to purchase a new saddle pad or two for the last couple of months and procrastinating in one way or another over actually just spending the money and getting something. It isn’t about the money, let’s face it, buying a quilted dressage pad is not the most pricey thing we as horse owners are faced with. At first I told myself that I wanted something ‘unique’… meaning not just white with black piping. Then when I started to see the cool unique pads out there, I told myself that they weren’t cut just right, meaning the withers weren’t high enough. Well, when I finally started to find some that were just right – unique and high wither shaped, then the excuse moved to something new entirely, the thought that maybe the pads I was looking at weren’t the best for my horse’s back?! *roll eyes*

Perhaps in my diluted thoughts there was some truth to pull out and be thankful for. The fact that I have not yet bought a pad has nothing to do now with not knowing what to get, simply not having had the time to place the order for what I have decided on.

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Competitive Collection : Bench Pressing Air Weights

Posted July 31st by Erica K. in Articles, The Art Of...

It isn’t because I love picking on competitive Dressage, it is because it is prevalent in competitive Dressage since it is right in front of us, that I can point to the examples so easily seen. False forms of collection abound in every arena however, and it isn’t because it is more fun to fake it, but often because we don’t know what to look for, how to recognize when that fun movement isn’t really what we thought it was, and not sure how else to train the horse.

I work a lot in metaphors, it helps my mind connect ideas and make sense of theories that may otherwise leave me in the dark. So, this is how I’m going to compare collection in the sense of competitive dressage… a bit like a weight lifter bench pressing weights that are inflated with air. Sure, it might look like he is lifting 300 pounds and his muscles are certainly flexed, he has some sweat upon his brow… but there is something missing and that is the reality of the weight, the action, the exercise. It looks like a bench press and acts like a bench press, but is he really lifting any weight? No.

What we see in the competitive arena are collected movements that look like collection, act like collection, are called collection and scored as though they are collection, but there is that vital thing missing – the reality of collection.

Let’s think a bit about the individual movements that are a result of collection : Piaffe, Passage, Canter Pirouette, Flying Changes, Collected Canter, Collected Walk, Extended Trot. Collection unfortunately is often mistaken as being synonymous with slow or short. We see many variations on these different movements and instead of writing a giant article, I think instead I will pull a collection of pictures together and make comments. I like the way my brain functions with visual interaction…

The Piaffe

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