u/saltywatersaltywater

Hi, friends. You're such a wealth of knowledge, I thought I'd bring my question here.

I started riding in a dressage saddle and it is the least comfortable thing I've ridden in. I literally have blisters on my rear. Plus I normally have a pretty stable lower leg but with the block, I felt like I was rebounding instead of sitting snug and flopping around everywhere.

Is there normally an adjustment period between a jump saddle and a dressage saddle? Or does this thing just fit me like garbage?

My lease horse and I get along great but he is an absolute menace on the ground. He's bitey (not painful but like a labrador, everything goes in the mouth), food motivated (always trying to search pockets), and restless (wiggle wiggle all the time). I have worked with him on this but I hear from the barn that no one has managed to change these habits.

I have done massage with horses in the past but he is really challenging to do this with because he does not stand still. I do think he'd benefit from it because he is just a really stiff horse (lots of power for jumps but like a board when you try lateral movement).

Anyone have ideas? I am open to anything that is primarily for bonding.

I spent years training my hips to turn out in ballet and consequently...they do the same thing on horseback. Does anyone have any exercises they like to train your muscles to internally rotate the hip? I heard fire hydrants but it's not the outward motion I struggle with, it's rotating that leg in.

Hi, friends!

Great news! With all of the amazing feedback I am riding so much better that my freight train of a competitive horse was totally cool and supple in our competition. The downside? We were over time. I was thinking about trying to find a song (the more earworm the better) that would help keep a good cadence (350m/min).

How do you keep on ideal time? Do you use music or ??? I have a metronome app too that I was thinking I could ride to but it's not nearly as nice as music.

For those of you without an indoor arena, getting dumped on when it rains, do you have a saddle care routine that extends the life of the saddle?

I watched basic tutorials but they seem to center around getting sweat and such off. I need to get that off of course but the saddle is often pretty well soaked after riding (and not uncommon to have a bit of mud splatter as well).

Pelham with a converter is very in style in my area....I just watched a class where people were doing 1.5m courses with converters.

My lease horse came to me with a pelham and converter but after some time together and seeing the same comments over and over, I decided to give 2 reins a try.

Wow, has it made our connection so much better! He's much more supple and maintains rhythm so much more effectively (neither fighting to get him to go nor fighting him charging jumps).

So if you're using a converter, take this as your cue to consider trying something new.

I started riding a new horse that tends to be behind the leg until he's warmed up. The trainer tells me I need more contact and pressure from my lower leg and that makes sense but my body is apparently not doing the thing. In tandem, we have been practicing riding without stirrups to improve my balance. I am not sure if it's doing both of these at once that's got my brain exploding.

Does anyone have a good video that breaks down the proper use of the lower leg? Bonus if it shows the mechanics with and without stirrups in a posting trot (although in theory there should be no difference, right? mine is horribly ugly without stirrups thought so obviously I am doing a lot wrong).

As a kid in my western barn, I gripped with the knees when necessary and very light calf only for cues. But the western saddle hid many sins and now I realize that maybe I learned wrong? I have no idea. Help!

Hi!

I am looking for high quality protective bags for my gear. I did a quick search and there are so many options...I want a nice one to keep my equipment nice.

So here are the things I want: easy to carry (for example boot and helmet bag combined with a good strap), protective, nice looking.

What're your favorite carry bags for equipment?