Dronfield Equestrian

Here’s a Friday Feel Good story

Currently obsessing over how great Val looks #horse #mare #thoroughbred #tb #ottb #projecthorse #prospect #dressage #hunter #jumper #hunterjumper #equestrian

Did someone say JUMP?! Valencia did a free jumping session this week - and it looks to me that we have a natural When I bought Val, she had no known history of jumping. But, I think we discovered her new favourite thing Her enthusiasm was incredible - she was having FUN. In the warm up while setting up the mini chute, she took it upon herself just to jump over the pole on the ground. Then, midway through the session when we put the jump up to a vertical, we had to wai...t until she jumped it *one more time* on her own... she was literally enjoying herself so much! I cannot wait to see the continuation of this beautiful girl’s journey She is showing amazing potential.

We’ve had Valencia for 6 months now! So, I wanted to take the time to introduce her and show you her transformation so far The top photo was taken at the very end of June 2020, when we bought her, and the bottom photo was taken just before October 2020 She is looking so much better already! I have given her some downtime, as I’ve been busy, to allow her to put some weight on. She has been lightly worked (again, due to my lack of time) and is now starting to enter... a more structured and routined program. Val is such a sweetie! Always willing to please, enjoys her grooming, snuggles, and attention. She has such a wonderful brain Continue following our page for updates on Val’s journey

When your #barefoot #trimmer is clearly bored on a Tuesday evening and sends you this of your #foal #haha #funny #foreveretchedinmymind @alun_barefoot_benefits

Great information re: horse eyesight! What I find super interesting is the left and the right. Some horses are totally different one direction than the other when looking at something!

So here you come, cantering toward a jump. Hundreds of thousands of successful jumps over decades and decades by thousands and thousands of horses pretty much s...upport the conclusion that a takeoff distance of six feet in front of the jump, give or take a little bit, gives the horse about the optimum chance to clear the jump with the least difficulty. Tiny ponies, 17.3 monsters, maybe not, but generally. So you really don't want that last stride to end 3-4 feet in front of the jump, and you don't want it to end 7-8 feet in front of the jump. Maybe you do, but I don't. So what can you, the rider do, to help the horse get consistently to that ideal distance? Well, there is always prayer. You can hope the horse is one of those "seeing eye" horses that allows you to sit there and drool, and he will save both himself and you every time. You can try to learn how to create an adjustable canter. You can, having learned how to create an adjustable canter, learn to see the distance, so that, if needed, you can lengthen or shorten the stride. You can live in denial that some riders can actually see distances, and can actually help the horse get there, which allows you not to have to learn more skills, in which case, you might want to ramp up the efficiency of your praying technique.

Longeing is great training for so many different reasons!

What’s on your Christmas wish list this year?