Feedback on these potential Dressage horses

I think most horses have had more training than Mr G seems to have had, bless him.

It's not what everyone else in the club thinks, it's what I feel and think. It is a small group of people, most of us have ordinary horses who we are trying to make into dressage horses, and of course the have all benefited from the work we have done.



The grey is the closest, and I believe the nicest so far, both good reasons why I'm going to go see him A better video would have been nice, he is near enough that I can grab some more video while we are there, and study him at my leisure.

I have bought sight unseen before, when you are looking for a type of horse that doesn't exist in your area you either have to get very rich to pay for all the travelling to see, or you have to do a lot of talking, exchanging info. Having said that those guys were more breeding stock than riding horses.

Numbers 1 through 3 are officially off of the shopping list, #1 didn't supply anymore info when asked, #2, to far and to much retraining needed. #3, still like, but I want to go see the grey first

I like quite the grey gelding,but you'll have to see how schooled he is & if you want to take on more of a training project or find one that has had a bit more schooling.
I also just came across this ad,don't know if you saw it yet or not.
6 yr old TB gelding Dressage/ Jumper. Great X country prospect - Alberta Livestock For Sale - Kijiji Alberta

Thanks for the link PP, looks a bit light in the frame for my liking.

I went and met number 3 yesterday and I really really like him, so at the moment I'm trying to see if I can make a deal on him

Hope things work out That gelding is handsome,Andalusion X he should be good for dressage & they are usually pretty quiet level head.

While I like this one the best so far, he does not have the natural suspension Andies tend to have so you will have your work cut out for you there.

I hope you have a decent trainer in your area.

Thanks for the input Spyder, while I agree that a little more evidence of natural suspension would be nice, I think we have to bear in mind that the quality of the videos is not great, and there is no length of time in any of the videos to really assess him.

I am fortunate that I have a good trainer not so far away, not only is she a successful rider and an accredited judge, she also has the ability to explain things so even I can understand them, and give me the tools and the confidence to progress. I'm sure you have already seen them, but if she can help me with this transformation..



I'm actually excited to see what we could achieve with a more or less untouched horse, he only has 60 days on him, so hopefully we will be starting from a blank slate, unlike Mr G where we had to first undo the issues he came with, before giving him a new outlook on life.

I also wonder at what level suspension comes in as being crucial to a dressage horse from a marking point of view, I would welcome your view on this one, I know you have a wealth of knowledge and experience there.

I have viewed your videos of your previous tests and the one thing that continuously shouts out at me is that while you have the appearance of correctness in your tests, your horse is going through the motion without actually putting in the effort.

In another words he is not enough forward and seems to be "holding back". Getting the head in the place you want is fine, but there is more to it than that.

An old judge that came from Germany a few years back told me in one sentence what changed my whole outlook and allowed me to progress beyond just getting a passable mark.

"You need to ride your horse between the edge of sanity and insanity."

He literally didn't mean real insanity but if you rode your horse to the edge of a precipice and HAD to MOVE so you would not go over...then only that effort ( from your horse AND you) will get you to the higher levels and the scores that you see in the 70's.

To get back to the point, if the horse had some degree of natural suspension, all of the above becomes easier.

My coach puts it as the horse needs to be like a herding dog, waiting eagerly for the next command at all times.

I do like the "between sanity and insanity". I'm icing my neck today from a bit too much insanity yesterday hahaha.

Especially with an andalusian you can't just put it in a frame and expect to get scores. It is very easy to make them tight in the back and choppy from riding front to back. My friend just imported an andalusian and although the movement is far easier to ride than a wbs, it is a struggle to keep his gaits "normal" and get him to stretch to the contact.

Good luck I hope you find something suitable!
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