|
In This Issue
Barn News & Updates
FREE Clinic with Paula Paglia November 11th: Sign up Today
Dressage Training: The Secret to Free, Forward Collection
Horse Care Tip of the Month:
Equine Massage
Recipe of the Month: Homemade Twix Bars
Paula's Pearls: "Ah Ha!" Moments in Riding
A Little Inspiration
Paula Recommends: Click Hock and Fetlock Shields
|
FREE Unisit Clinic
Saturday, November 11th at Paula Paglia Dressage
Hurry, sign up now to secure your ride time!
The Unisit strap is an ingenious training device guaranteed to teach riders to sit in unison with their horses and improve muscle memory and seat development; thus consequently enhancing the horse's performance. It
will bridge the gap between the
description
of a correct seat and
actually feeling it
by using a non-verbal, kinesthetic approach.
Even advanced riders will benefit from this tool to take their riding to the next level.
Curious if the Unisit would work wonders for you and your horse too?
Trailer in for a free lesson and demonstration!
Riders will receive a 30-minute lesson with Paula Paglia, USDF Gold Medalist and Head Trainer at Paula Paglia Dressage in Scottsdale, Arizona. Paula invented the Unisit device 17 years ago and has helped thousands of riders improve their seat and find that "ah ha!" inspiration in their riding.
The Unisit is intended for riders that can walk, trot and canter proficiently and independently. The Unisit is not recommended for green, disobedient, spooky or unbalanced horses. Contact us if you have any questions!
|
|
California Dressage Society Championships in Sacramento, CA
|
|
 |
|
Paula, Lucy, Sherrill & Ed Tripp
|
|
On Tuesday, September 19th Sherrill Tripp and I headed for Sacramento, California for the CDS Championships, as well as, the Great American Regional Championships. Lucy left the ranch at 4:30 in the morning with Michael Brock. Ed Tripp and Denise Ostrow joined us the following day.
The Murieta Equestrian Center was a fabulous venue!! Our large, airy stall was located next to the main warm-up and we were able to watch amazing horses warming up for their classes. We enjoyed the camaraderie of sharing a tack room and tent with Kendall Brookhart, Michelle Mooney, and their trainer and S Judge, Bev Rogers. We were close to the best shopping I have ever seen!
The indoor arena was HUGE and gorgeous; the issues for Lucy were the jumbotron, large noisy atmosphere and an enthusiastic crowd in the stands. The jumbotron wasn't on for the warm up and her first class in there got very electric!
The classes were large and it was a pleasure to be competing with horses and riders, including former Olympians, of such good quality. Sitting on such an electric mare, in a new, exciting location, made it challenging. There were many new experiences for the young mare. I was thrilled to stay in the top eight throughout the competition, ribboning in every class and receiving one Reserve Champion.
Reserve Champion (four tenths of a point behind Olympian Hilda Gurney) did not come without tears, frustration, six changes of music and three changes of choreography! A huge thank you to Ed Tripp who spent hours behind the computer, creating two totally different freestyles. I also appreciate the support, assistance and hard work done by Dayna, Grant and Tristan Guilbeault, Carol Haney, Denise Ostrow, Anne Manske, Sandy Luebbe and Jaimes Loughrey.
Needless to say, I had hoped for more ribbons of the blue and red variety, but I have to remind myself that this sensitive mare has only been under saddle and in training for three years.
On October 14th and 15th I will ride Lucy in the Janet Foy clinic. I hope to get some helpful advice and help in moving Lucy up to the FEI levels while managing her sensitivity.
|
Dressage Training
The Secret to Free, Forward Collection
Beth Baumert explains why this kind of collection is the natural result of forward half halts and forward downward transitions
When a horse carries his rider forward in brilliant collection with no apparent effort, he's proud, happy and free. The secret to that special quality of collection is simple: Free, forward collection is the natural result of forward half halts and forward downward transitions. It's simple in theory and not difficult in practice, but the rider needs to be persistent and open to thinking in a counterintuitive way. Here's how:
Normally, when riders think of downward transitions and half halts, they think of coming back from something more to something less. They might go from a lengthened stride and half halt back to a working trot. They might do downward transitions from canter (12 mph) to trot (8 mph) or from trot to walk (4 mph). The frequent scenario is that the rider thinks of coming back to walk from trot. She puts the brakes on with aids that say, "Stop trotting." Then, with another combination of aids, the rider says, "Walk." Those half halts work in a rudimentary way, but they tell the horse what not to do rather than what to do. Forward half halts tell your horse what to do. Can you, instead of thinking of coming back to the lesser gait, think of going forward to it? Let's try, for example, a transition from trot to walk.
The Trot-Walk Transition
Here's how to do that transition in a forward way:
1. Ask for smaller trot strides with a smaller seat aid.
2. At the same time, half halt in a forward way: Close your fingers and push with your legs into your fixed hand. That will have the effect of retaining or even increasing the energy, closing the horse from back to front and lifting the forehand. Your hands say, "Cover less ground," and because your horse's strides are smaller, they will be higher and more active-or more collected!
3. Finally, as the trot strides get smaller, your miles per hour will decrease until you're trotting at 4 mph, the speed of walk. At this point your horse will ask you if you want him to walk. Say "Yes." Or, alternatively, you can go back into an 8-mph trot.
Does this sound like collection? Yes. You can dance your way between trot and walk or between canter and trot. Note that the half halt in walk and canter is slightly different from the half halt in trot. There is a forward moment of the walk and canter strides in which the horse reaches with his head and neck. The rider's arms normally accommodate in order to follow the horse's mouth. In the restraining moment of the half halt, the rider's hands should stop following and the rider pushes with her seat and legs into her fixed hand. In the trot, because there is no natural movement of the head and neck, the rider's hands are relatively steady so the rider closes her fingers to half halt. It's important that the rider's hands are soft to begin with or the horse won't feel the rein aid.
A peek into the future: When your horse can easily trot with activity and rhythm at 4 mph, he'll be stronger. He might then be able to trot actively and rhythmically at 3 mph and then 2 and 1. And then you have half steps and piaffe, which are a
...
click here for the rest of the article.
|
Horse Care Tip of the Month
Relieve Your Horse's Back Tightness with Massage
How do you feel and behave when you get out of bed in the morning with tight or painful back muscles? Chances are you move stiffly or tentatively and your range of motion is restricted. Until you get relief, you don't have your usual enthusiasm for normal tasks.
It's much the same for your horse when his back muscles are stiff or hurting. He may
- flinch or sink away when you're saddling him;
- travel with his head elevated and/or his back hollowed;
- canter less freely than usual;
- experience a decrease in coordinated power;
- trail his hind end rather than stepping under himself;
- jump flat rather than with a rounded bascule;
- drift sideways, either on the flat or over jumps;
- resist lateral work.
One thing your horse will not do as a response to back pain or tightness, by the way, is buck. He needs to round or flex his back to buck, whereas his normal reaction to pain and tightness in his back is to move away from the discomfort by hollowing.
What's Hurting
The muscles whose tightness is frequently a cause of these signs are the longissimus dorsi - the longest and largest muscles in your horse's body and a powerful extensor of his spine - and the longissimus costarum, which lie below the longissimus dorsi across the ribs on each side and are important in lateral flexion of the spine and in breathing.
As part of understanding how tightness develops in these and other muscles, let's take a quick look at how muscles work. Every muscle has two ends, each connected to bone by a tendon. One end is the anchor and the bone to which it is connected doesn't move. The other end is connected to a bone that moves when the muscle is used. The middle part of the muscle, which does the work of moving the bone, is called the belly. It's composed of hundreds of tiny fibers, each of which has its own blood supply. When a muscle is working normally, it tightens, then immediately relaxes or releases. Muscle tightness occurs when the muscle doesn't release as it should. When a muscle becomes chronically tight, the fibers lie closer together. This constricts the flow of blood through the muscle belly, somewhat like stepping on a garden hose reduces the flow of water. The muscle operates less effectively when it's tight, and it may be painful.
All muscles work in pairs of opposites: As one muscle contracts, its opposite releases. When a muscle is tight, the release process of the muscle is affected. The back muscles extend the horse's spine, and tight back muscles can't release to allow for the spinal flexion your horse needs to, for instance, round himself for a bascule over a fence or a nice collected canter. Tightness in the longissimus costarum will also affect your horse's ability to bend around your inside leg.
What Causes It
Back muscle tightness can result from a number of factors. Some of the most common are
|
Recipe of the Month
Homemade Twix Bars
"Be careful, these can be quite addictive!" - Paula
Crust
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
Caramel
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Topping
7 oz dark or milk chocolate
2 tbsp butter
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Slightly grease an 8 x 8 inch square pan and line with parchment paper, in such a way that some
edges overhang to make it easy to lift it up once it's set.
3. Prepare the crust. In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
4. Sift the flour and incorporate into the butter mixture until crumbly and mixture holds together when
squeezed.
5. Press into the bottom of the pan using the back of a spoon and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the
oven and allow to cool slightly.
6. Make the caramel. Place all the ingredients into a saucepan and place over low-medium heat, stirring
continuously. Bring to a boil and continue cooking for 5 minutes more stirring continuously. . Pour over the
crust and bake for 12 -15 minutes at 350 F. Let it cool slightly.
7. Melt the chocolate with butter over bain-marie. Spread melted chocolate on top of the caramel.
8. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.
Makes about 18 bars.
|
Paula's Pearls
"Ah ha!" Moments in Riding
This is a big one this month!:
Before you mount, work with your horse in creating the relaxed neck you'll want. Standing on the ground, put your left hand on the bridge of your horse's nose and put your right hand in the middle of the top of the neck. Softly rock the neck down pushing the crest away from the nose. So if the nose is flexed left, push the crest to the right and vice versa until the neck relaxes and releases down. This is the relaxed neck to find from your rein aids. Your job, sitting in the saddle, is to duplicate this.
|
Paula Recommends
Click Hock and Fetlock Shields
Click Hock Shield
The low profile design offers full coverage in the area where horses develop sores. The soft, flexible pocket in the center back of the Hock Shield provides comfort in the delicate area where the tendons pass just under the skin. This is the perfect solution for the majority of horses with hock sores.
Click Fetlock Shield
Fetlock Shields are soft, flexible, comfortable, sturdy bed sore boots for horses. They are made with 2 layers of a super-tough Cordura-like fabric and lined with smooth Rayon that covers a layer of soft padding. They can be worn 24 hours a day, every day if needed. They are a big improvement over the upside-down bell boot that your horse will appreciate. Sold in pairs.
|
About Paula Paglia
Paula Paglia, owner and head trainer of Paula Paglia Dressage in North Scottsdale, Arizona began her professional training career in 1979. Paula is a USDF Bronze, Silver and Gold Medalist and has been named ADA Rider of the Year numerous times through 2014. Paula has been an integral part of the training and success of her clients. She is credited with creating numerous winning horse and rider combinations through the FEI levels. She has developed Regional Winners and sent many students to the National Junior Young Riders Championships, the North American Young Riders Championships and the National Dressage Seat Equitation Finals.
Formerly the head trainer at Dynamite Dressage, and the head trainer at Los Cedros, she is thrilled to now offer her own niche to her clients: a full educational program based on dressage, developing amateurs, young riders and other professionals to their fullest potential. As owner of Paula Paglia Dressage, she has taken the best of training practices used throughout her career to offer a specialized experience for her clients. She considers her facility to be "heaven for horses." Owning her own facility allows her to cater to every horse's special needs.
Paula has trained with some of the most successful trainers and riders in the world, including Debbie McDonald, Leslie Reid, Christine Traurig, and Conrad Schumacher.
In 1992, Paula began importing warmbloods from Holland, Poland and Germany. Presently, Paula conducts personalized buying trips abroad for her clients, as she has extensive experience selecting and starting young horses and developing them up the levels.
Philosophy
The Paula Paglia Dressage philosophy is to develop a partnership between horse and rider. The well-being of the horse is the primary consideration. Paula evaluates each horse and rider individually and will design a program appropriate to their ability, yet focused on the long-term goals of upper-level classical dressage. Each horse and rider is developed at their own pace, allowing each team to be mentally and physically strong at each level of competition.
Paula believes that a successful training regimen is a logical, step-by-step process that utilized the horse's natural intelligence, his loyalty, his goodwill, and his honesty. A sensible, kind and structured training program will produce a horse with a strong muscle structure and a sharp working mind. Both are necessary to compete at the national and international levels of dressage.
|
Paula Paglia Dressage Services
Services
- Boarding/Training
- Lessons
- Showing
- Purchase/Sale
- Clinics
- International Equine Procurement
Amenities
- Regulation arena with premium footing
- Over-sized stalls, cleaned multiple times daily with premium shavings
- Fly misting system and cooling misting system
- Three all-weather turnouts
- Medical, shaded turnout
- Premium hay feed 5x a day
- Personalized grain/supplement feedings 2-3x a day
- Automatic waterers/outside tubs and interior buckets cleaned daily
- Hot water wash racks
- Locked tack rooms
- Laundry rooms
- Blanketing/final night check
- Caveletti course
- Access to Equine Corridor trails
- Regularly scheduled on-site clinics
- Trailering to shows available
|
|
|
