Dressage

Question
Hi,
I have a black Arabian/APHA cross mare. She is about 16.3 hands tall and has excellent movement. The first time my vet saw her, she thought that she was a warmblood. She is extremely high spirited and a little bit hard to control while in the saddle, but she has great ground manners. She has not been trained in dressage. I bred her to a 17.1 hand imported purebred Friesian stallion who is excelling at the expos. I do not know much about dressage, but my vet said that the foal might be a good dressage prospect. Do think that the foal would excel in this discipline? Also what are some basic dressage movements/terms or do you know of a good website to explain the basics of dressage?
Thank you,
Courtney

Answer:
Hello Courtney,

Without seeing your mare and the stallion, my reply is a still a definite YES! Actually, with the correct training, all horses benefit from Dressage and should be able to do above Training Level tests.

As you explore dressage, you may find that there are some people who are doing short cuts so that they can show their horses earlier. Dressage is an art and a discipline and takes time, but it will enable your horse to be a pleasure to ride and it will enable him to probably stay sound and happy into old age.

The U.S.D.F. web site has a lot of information. I would also recommend your reading the book MY HORSES,MY TEACHERS by Alois Podjasky. He was the former Director of the Spanish Riding School and has a wonderful attitude about training and horses.

Draw reins, severe bist, spurring, none of these are part of good dressage.

Your foal sounds wonderful!!!

My regular email is SummersDressage@aol.com, and my web site is www.MitziSummers.com.
You are welcome to contact me with any questions.

Thank You,

Mitzi Summers