Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Dressage at Liberty: A Photo Essay

A Mid-October Day, 2011

High poll, open throatlatch, attentive ear

Energy from behind
Shifting gears for a change of direction

Turning from the hocks and lifting the base of the neck

Moving in an uphill balance upon completing the turn (Yay!)

Enthusiastic forwardness and throughness

Hindleg engagement on a supporting diagonal pair

Abdominal engagement creating a lifted back and withers

Dressage with expression

9 comments:

  1. Ooh, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the second to the last photo. Very nice!

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  2. What beautifuk carriage he has at liberty. Very nice.

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  3. Thank you!

    Free lunging and taking pictures was very difficult, even with the "burst" function on my camera.

    He demonstrated his skills around turns and the short sides of the arena and then flattened out for some more playful running across the ring. I was surprised to see how much he looked like a little dressage horse in these photos. I guess that learning to use the right muscle groups can become habitual, too. :)

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  4. Yep, it looks like the muscle memory has kicked in. Very nice to see your hard work is paying off, he just looks terrific!

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