Laura Sakakeeny: Student Update 1
Good morning this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I am here in Poway doing a clinic. We have Laura Sakakeeny in the ring with us this morning and she came to our last clinic that we held here. Her horse was a Hunter before we started this and neither her horse or she had ever done much dressage. I saw her about 6 weeks ago and since then she has put what she has learned into practice.
Look how beautiful her horse looks now! She has done it all on her own getting her horse stretching. Look how beautifully this horse is working over it’s back now! Once you understand the basic principles that must guide you, you can train your own horses. Laura demonstrates a stretch for us on a circle and this direction is a little more difficult to complete the stretch, so she will just work on it a little more. Now the stretch is starting to come and he is releasing very nicely now! Beautiful! Now she eases him back into the walk, making sure that her seat going into the saddle is the last thing that happens. She goes right into that working walk and stretching. Beautiful!
So in 6 weeks time, she has taken a horse who was a Hunter and had never done dressage to a horse that looks ready to go into a first level test with no problem! Thank you so much for watching Will Faerber from Art2Ride here with Laura Sakakeeny at Peppertree Farms in Poway, CA!
We hold monthly clinics at Peppertree Farms in Poway, CA. If you are interested in riding in one of our clinics please contact Kali at: ksavage613@yahoo.com or (858)353-7751.
2 responses to “Laura Sakakeeny: Student Update 1”
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One of my horses likes to stretch so far down that he almost eats the sand….even in canter in the school or when riding in the fields,,,,,is this a good thing or is it too far?? He is 7 years old 17.3hh Hanavarian with a HUGE stride and movement and is very “strung out” even over the jumps. If I lift the neck he pockes his face out and hollows. He is ridden in a halter with the De Gouge running through the side rings of the halter to a direct rein, and feels heavy in the hand with no elastic feel in the hand.Without the De Gouge he is even heavier!! He still powers from behind and has a HUGE over track in walk of about 5 hoof prints! I am consernened that the heaviness in the hand and the excessive stretch is incorrect or will this improve in time???? Non of my other horses is like this, they all being similar to Baliador although I do NOT use the De Gouge at all on them….just a halter and no bit. HELP!! Keith
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Kali says:
This sounds a bit like one of those special case horses that I would really like to see to be able to really help you but here are some guide lines. Most horses that are the size of the one you describe can be very difficult because in order for them to develop we have to get them into working gaits, that is, get them working over their backs. To do that ,you find their working gait which if the horse is big, the working gaits are going to be big, which means you have to be very athletic in order to stay with them. It sounds like this horse wants to work over it’s back and doesn’t like it when he is hollow, you can’t blame him for that, so work him in a big swinging trot and let him stay down are far as he needs to in order not to hollow. In time you will be able to raise the head and neck without him hollowing. Remember it take two years to develop the horses top line to the point that you can begin to develop collection. I would put a soft bit on the horse and lose the De Gouge. Lunging correctly with side reins would also help. See video on the subject. You can also send us a video through our video critique service on our website if you would like more specific feedback or you can always book a phone consultation by contacting Kali at: ksavage613@yahoo.com or (858)353-7751. Hope this helps and have a great week!
One of my horses likes to stretch so far down that he almost eats the sand….even in canter in the school or when riding in the fields,,,,,is this a good thing or is it too far?? He is 7 years old 17.3hh Hanavarian with a HUGE stride and movement and is very “strung out” even over the jumps. If I lift the neck he pockes his face out and hollows. He is ridden in a halter with the De Gouge running through the side rings of the halter to a direct rein, and feels heavy in the hand with no elastic feel in the hand.Without the De Gouge he is even heavier!! He still powers from behind and has a HUGE over track in walk of about 5 hoof prints! I am consernened that the heaviness in the hand and the excessive stretch is incorrect or will this improve in time???? Non of my other horses is like this, they all being similar to Baliador although I do NOT use the De Gouge at all on them….just a halter and no bit. HELP!! Keith
This sounds a bit like one of those special case horses that I would really like to see to be able to really help you but here are some guide lines. Most horses that are the size of the one you describe can be very difficult because in order for them to develop we have to get them into working gaits, that is, get them working over their backs. To do that ,you find their working gait which if the horse is big, the working gaits are going to be big, which means you have to be very athletic in order to stay with them. It sounds like this horse wants to work over it’s back and doesn’t like it when he is hollow, you can’t blame him for that, so work him in a big swinging trot and let him stay down are far as he needs to in order not to hollow. In time you will be able to raise the head and neck without him hollowing. Remember it take two years to develop the horses top line to the point that you can begin to develop collection. I would put a soft bit on the horse and lose the De Gouge. Lunging correctly with side reins would also help. See video on the subject. You can also send us a video through our video critique service on our website if you would like more specific feedback or you can always book a phone consultation by contacting Kali at: ksavage613@yahoo.com or (858)353-7751. Hope this helps and have a great week!