Getting into dressage.

From Monday I am loaning a 3 and a half year old Friesian. His owner doesn't have the time for him so I will basically be the only one working with him and riding him. Being a Friesian, dressage is obviously an option! I will also throw in jumping on the side for fun, but dressage is where he is expected to excel!

I have never done dressage before, only jumping and cross country. How would I go about getting into it?

Thanks

Bump

I'm not sure what sort of answer you're looking for, so I'm going to start with the obvious ones.

Take lessons from a dressage trainer.
Start working your way through some of the classic dressage texts. Riding Logic by Wm. Muesler, anything by Podhajsky, Riding toward the Light by Paul Belasik.
Rent videos - Jane Savoie has some great ones.

I'm sorry if that answer is obvious, if you're looking for something more specific and detailed, let me know and I'll try to respond more appropriately.

I REALLY think you need to get organized and focused on one thing at a time.

You are FREE LEASING ( NOT LOANING) a 3 year old.

You don't know how to lunge or do in hand showing and I am wondering about your basic riding skills based on what you have posted so far(other threads).
The horse in question was broke at age 2 ( canter also..even if as was stated, unbalanced at the canter) and developed a splint...gee I wonder why. Although this was not your fault as you were not in the picture at the time. This horse needs to properly heal and taken back to the very basics.

This means ground work in hand and from your posts you don't have the skill set yet.

To me this all just smacks of an owner..the leaser..not you, using someone to get their horses started and not have to put any effort into it.

I can just see a year down the road with the owner taking this horse back and telling everyone how great he is and blaming any "faults" on you.

Thank you I wasn't after anything specific just whatever people could give me.

Hey don't judge to assumptions, please! I know that I will be doing ground work for a long while yet, I have no intention of riding this horse yet! And thank you, I am a capable rider and I know ground work skills. I have only recently joined the forum so I wanted to ask what I could. What did you think I was going to do? Jump on an injured green horse and take him 3 day eventing?

I am sorry for any rudeness but you really have jumped to the wrong conclusion. I have been around horses all my life, riding for 11 years of those. I do understand what I need to do and what I am doing.

I have merely used the forum to ask questions which will help me in the future.

On a forum such as this one (and others) one can only judge the posters ability on

(A) the questions they ask

(B) the words they choose

In this case both A and B come off as being a person that does not understand many aspects of the horse world/disciplines and the words are...well lets says very "youngish" and not understanding.

Such as "loaning" and complete lack of knowing what a "splint" or how to lunge, so if and when you ask questions that will lead me to believe you actually have more than the very very basic and limited knowledge then I can respond in a more direct way.

I would if I were you look at what Maura posted and get a good BASIC book on the general care and riding of the horse to get yourself acquainted with what is required to LEASE a horse.

Pardon me for using the term loan instead of lease but around here they are used in the same context.

I know that my words are all you have to go by, I understand. I would appreciate it if you could understand I do know a lot more than you think. I simply used the forum to ask questions. I know what to do with this gelding, I wouldn't take him on and risk his well being if I didn't. You have wrongly judged me.

Snizard,

On internet forums, the best policy is to throw a question out there, read all the answers, take the ones that work for you and disregard the rest. Oh, and develop a thick skin.

However, as you spend more time here and on other forums, I think you'll find the narrower and more specific the question, the better quality the answer.

I was worried that my response of take lessons/read books/watch videos would be greeted with "Duh! No kidding?" because your initial question was so broad I didn't know what you were looking for.

But I'm sure as you proceed, you'll be able to be more specific.

Best of luck to you with this horse.

Then you did learn something.

Just be careful that if you went to any place outside of your location that if you announce you are loaning something like money that you will have a line up a mile long expecting to get a lot of cash from you.