But, most horse owners, -trainers and -professionals have a wealth of knowledge in them that someone else wants to tap into. How can you turn that knowledge and passion into money?

Horse.com

Get ready for the cold weather and check out the complete line of horse blankets, specifically the Saxon brand with exclusive colors and patterns that can only be found on Horse.com.

You can also promote our Zimecterin Gold Dewormer deal that we are currently running – customers receive a $3 rebate when the buy 6 tubes.

October Coupon:  $25 off orders of $125 or more at Horse.com (some restrictions apply)

Statelinetack.com

Get Ready for Winter for Less!

Cold weather riding apparel is the hot product for the month of October. Buy  fleece lined breeches, sweatshirts, and jackets for the best price available now.

And just like Horse.com, State Line Tack is also running the Zimecterin Gold Dewormer deals - customers receive a $3 rebate when the buy 6 tubes.

October Coupon:  StateLineTack.com $25 Gift Card with Purchase of $125 or more

Dog.com

Shop Dog.com for “spooktacular” savings on dog Halloween costumes and toys. You can save up to 70% in our Halloween Shoppe – Dog Halloween Costumes and Toys up to 70% Off

Make sure you are ready for winter with warm dog clothes and beds designed to keep dogs comfortable on those cool autumn nights.

Lastly, enter your dog into the Cutest Dog Competition – with a chance to win the grand prize of $1 million.

October Coupon: $20 off orders of $100 or more at Dog.com (some restrictions apply)

WIN FALL DRESSAGE IN SANTA BARBARA

CLICK HERE to contact Show Management

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Hi All!

Win Fall Dressage in Santa Barbara Oct 17-18, with Judge Pamela M. Nelson “S” from Hollister is in full swing and guaranteed to be a blast!

The premium is up on our websites

www.dressagetimes.com  

www.blindfaithequineproductions.com

Entry form deadline is October 4th.

Be sure to register for the “UN-Dressage Test” Costume Class Saturday (walk-trot, we’ll have the test up on the website later this week).  The idea in this test is to present yourself and your horse in costume and exhibit everything that is not customary in Dressage.  The top 3 riders from this class will advance to the Ride-Off Class on Sunday for the Finale ~ Champion and Reserve Champion will ride their victory lap in costume.  I’m confident the media will be there to get great shots of this fun event!

Bring your friends for a fabulous weekend in Santa Barbara ~ we can all get a jump on our scores for 2010 with Pam Nelson!

Plan on joining us for the Costume PARTY Saturday early evening with wine and hors d’oeuvres in the Show Office, prizes for the best costumes.

I hope you all can make it - if there’s anything else you need, just holler !!

Best,

Gina & Suzi

Gina G. von der Burg, Show Manager

805.448.2510 Gina

Suzi Kuykendall, Show Secretary

818.269.2911 Suzi phone/fax

www.dressagetimes.com

www.blindfaithequineproductions.com

Remember, a while ago I posted about these nets ( http://performinghorse.com/?p=10) and now, after extensive testing and trying, we have them available on our site here. Just click on the page link ‘Small Mesh Haynet’ above and see for yourself.

The best thing?

Oh, there are several but we don’t have to be home at a certain time to feed!

Freedom is something to be treasured!

The dates are set for February 4-7, 2010
At Fairplex, Pomona, California

The Equine Affaire is a unique celebration of the horse offering unparalleled educational & shopping opportunities plus Breed, Youth, & Trail Riding Pavilions.

There are many clinics conducted by many of the nation’s foremost trainers, coaches, and competitors including

1. Craig Cameron - General Training & Horsemanship
   

   Are You Ready?

2. Stacy Westfall - Reining & General Training
3. Tommy Garland - C.P.R. Horsemanship
4. Ken McNabb - Discovering the Horseman Within
5. Barbra Schulte - Cutting & General Training
6. Richard Winters - Colt Starting & General Training
7. Jan Ebeling - Dressage
8. Nich Karazissis - Hunters & Jumpers
9. Hardy Zantke - Driving
10. Mark Shaffer - Western Pleasure
11. Sharon Camarillo - Barrel Racing & Pole Bending
12. Larry Whitesell - Easy Gaited Horses
13. Daniel Stewart - Ride Right
14. Scot Hansen - Trail Riding & Mounted Police training

Of course, presenters and topics are subject to change.

Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Race will return to the Equine Affaire once again and interested riders must apply in advanced to compere for $4,250 in cash and other prizes.

The 4 days will be filled with seminars and demonstrations by industry experts on an arrya of topics relevant to all horse enthusiasts. There will be more than 100 seminars & hands-on demonstration ate the seminar stage and two demo rings will cove a wide variety of horse management, health, training and (trail) riding topics.

The Equine Affaire’s Trade Show is one-of-kind where you can find everything you will ever need for your horse, barn,  and yourself.

In the Breed Pavilion you will find many different breeds show cased by their associations and breeders.

The Youth Pavilion is a special place for the young horse lovers among us. There will be plenty of horse related activities for kids to learn from and have fun with.

More information can be found at www.equineaffaire.com

Is there a difference in training a Warmblood or a Quarter horse or even an Arabian in Dressage? I learned about that over the last couple of years. My daughter is the luckiest girl when it comes to her dressage coach. Until a couple of years ago, she had mainly trained children and adults for dressage on Warmbloods and Quarterhorses but since we had this cute little Arabian horse which was so ready to come to work and totally green, she decided to take him on.

Here are some main challenges in training hot blooded horses for dressage, versus Warmbloods and even Quarterhorses:

1. Keep your Arab working at least a little 5 -7 days a week. Don’t let him hang out and get too energetic. They are hard to bring down and focus once they are excited.

2. While you can train a Warmblood over and over again on the same exercise, an Arab needs different excercises to keep him interested. After you practice something 4 or 5 times, you really need to do something else for a while - preferably before his brain is fried and he decides it’s time to go home.

3. When you do an drill the same way over and over again, have him do the exact opposite for a while - or he will let you know what needs to be done. For example, do a ‘leg yield’ away from the rails instead of toward the rails. It breaks his thought pattern and leaves you in in control.

4. Ride the horse you’re on - be calm, don’t over do it. You are supposed to be the clever one. If you have an electric seat, take a very deep breath and lower your energy output by lot.

5. Arabs? heads like to come up, circle, maybe even hit your helmet while doing it. Don’t pull on the reins to get it down again. It only makes it worse. On the other hand, don’t give too much either, keep a steady contact and send him forward and hopefully he’ll learn that that is not a way to avoid the bit and come off the aids.

6. Many Arabians learn to go behind the vertical and thus go behind the bit. Again, that is nothing but an attempt to evade your aids (hands) - like above, send him forward while keeping a steady contact with his mouth with your hands.

7. And lastly, love him, support him and try to turn all that hot stuff into positive tension. Let him excell and let him show off how cute he is while constantly asking him what you want. You really cannot force them to do anything.

Now go out and ride your horse!

“We have a stables nearby that “allows” the public to come and clean out stalls and brush horses for $25.00. So you can pretend it is your own horse. $25.00 each visit. And it is working…people are flocking to the stables.
Just a thought… “

1. Dressage
2. Driving
3. Endurance
4. Eventing
5. Jumping
6. Para Dressage
7. Reining
8. Vaulting

The last games were held in Aachen, Germany in 2006 and high caliber dressage riders like Anky van Grunsven (gold) and Andreas Helgstrand swept away the audience with their breath taking Freestyle Performances.

In reining there was a final runoff between Tim McQuay for the US (silver) and Duane Latimer for Canada (gold). Megan Benjamin won the Gold Medal in vaulting.

The 2010 World Equestrian Games are planned for Kentucky and the organization is in full swing. The company responsible for the organization is Alltech and is the main sponsor of the games. Alltech is one of the leading animal health companies in the world with a large range of natural products and solutions for the feed industry. The scope of organization needed is enormous. You can imagine the amount of people –and horses- from all over the world coming to Kentucky in September 2010.

With only 406 days to go, we’ll be following the development and line-up closely.

No matter where I travel, the most frequently asked questions I get are, “How do I put my horse on the bit…and how do I keep him there consistently?” This concept baffles many riders. My hope here is to simplify the process for you with the following information.

First, you need to know that there is a SPECIFIC AID to put your horse on the bit just like there is a specific aid to ask for canter or for a leg yield. That aid is a half halt. (Don’t groan…I can hear you!)

Now for some information on the half halt:

1. The reason we give a half halt is to bring the horse to a more perfect state of balance.

2. The half halt is the most important yet most misunderstood concept in riding. It is important not only because it is the aid to put your horse on the bit, but also because it is the doorway through which you do every change of gait, balance, movement, or exercise.

3. There is no “stopping” in a half halt. Think of it as a “half-go”. That is, every half halt contains the power, the surge, or the thrust from behind that you’d have if you asked for a medium gait.

4. There is one generic, “over-the-counter” half halt. It consists of the momentary closure of seat, legs, and hands.

5. The confusion about half halts stems from the fact that there are many possible variations of that generic half halt because you can use your seat, legs, and hands in different ways. To add to the many options available, you can also vary the duration and the intensity of the half halt.

6. Different variations of the generic half halt create different results such as connection, collection, or preparation for something new.

7. To put your horse on the bit, use the version of the half halt that “connects” your horse’s back end to his front end. For the sake of clarity, I will call this version of the generic half halt, the “connecting half halt”.

8. The “connecting half halt” consists of the marriage of 3 sets of aids.

A. Driving aids (seat and two legs)

B. Bending aids (inside rein and both legs)

C. The rein of opposition (outside rein)

9. These 3 sets of aids are applied for about 3 seconds. (Not a MOMENTARY closure of seat, legs, and hands!)

10. To the naked eye, the aids are given at the same time.

11. However, if you had freeze frame photography, you would see:

A. First, close both calves as if you’re squeezing toothpaste out of a tube to create that surge of power from behind. (You’ll only be using your legs as your driving aids at this point. I’m purposely leaving the seat out for now to keep things simple.)

B. Next, close your outside hand (rein of opposition) in a fist to capture, contain, and recycle the energy back to the hind legs.

C. Finally, give 3 little squeezes and releases on the inside rein to keep the neck straight. (If you don’t use your inside hand, your horse will bend his neck to the outside because your outside hand is closed in a fist for so long.)

D. After 3 seconds, soften everything. Go back to the light, maintenance pressure of legs and hands you had in the beginning before you gave the half halt.

12. Putting your horse on the bit is as simple as giving any other aid. Don’t make it complicated by searching for exercises to connect your horse. (Don’t get me wrong. Exercises like leg yields are helpful. They give the novice horse or rider the “feel” of connection. But at the end of the day, you need to train your horse to come on the bit from an invisible aid that you can use anytime…like in the show ring!)

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques? Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence? Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach? Learn how by going to: JaneSavoie.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jane_Savoie
http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Half-Halt—How-to-Put-Your-Horse-On-The-Bit&id=774554

Do you saw left and right on your dressage horse’s mouth or wiggle the bit with both hands to get him “on the bit”.

If you “saw” on your dressage horse’s mouth by alternating squeezing and releasing with your hands, you’re riding your horse from front to back. He might look like he’s “on the bit” because his head is down and his nose is on the vertical, but you don’t have an honest connection from back to front.

The only part of your horse’s body that you can affect by “sawing” is his jaw. Moving the bit in his mouth encourages him to chew. When he chews, he flexes in the jaw.

So, if all you do is saw on the bit, all you have control over is a flexed jaw. And your horse has a whole lot more body left over that you have no influence over.

That’s why you might think your horse is on the bit, but you wonder why he comes off the bit when you ask him to do something like a transition.

The reality is that he was never on the bit to begin with. All you had was a flexed jaw.

To put your horse honestly on the bit, use your “connecting aids”. Close both legs to add power from behind as if you’re doing a lengthening. When your horse “arrives” at your outside hand, close that hand in a fist to capture, contain, and recycle the power back to the hind legs. Do this for 3 full seconds.

THEN, lastly you can vibrate or squeeze on the inside rein for two reasons:

1. To keep his neck straight. Your goal is to keep him form bending his neck to the outside in response to your closed outside hand. This means that when you ride with his soft (hollow) side on the inside, chances are you won’t need any inside rein because he won’t try to look to the outside when you close your outside hand.
2. To move the bit, encourage him to chew so he flexes in the jaw.

Remember, you’re riding your dressage horse from front to back if you wiggle both sides of the bit. So never do with two hands what you can do with one hand (move the bit). And you have the other hand left over for the more important job of recycling power back to the hind legs.

Are you sick and tired of complicated and confusing training techniques? Are you frustrated by negative emotions like fear and lack of confidence? Would you like to be trained by a Three Time Olympic Coach? Learn how by going to: JaneSavoie.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jane_Savoie
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Get-Your-Dressage-Horse-on-the-Bit&id=1507709