Thank you SO much for this ! The 2 tests side by side are absolutely inspirational - we are all working on things, and to see you try to solve this issue & move it forward is SO relatable. I love this.
Hi, I am just a dressage rider that lives in Indiana who started riding as an older adult. I had no idea what I was doing and didn’t know to hire someone to guide me. My dressage horse is17.2 and has lots of anxiety. He spooks at everything and makes up things to spook at. I began riding to help my MS so it was worrisome to have such a horse. I like to compete simply to challenge myself. We tried everything so keep him focused and engaged in the arena. Nothing was really impacting him. He is very social and loved to watch whatever was going on outside the arena. He loves other horses and was more interested in watching whoever was in the other arenas. At home he lives on 40 avers with just one other horse so as you can imagine shows would set him off. We were simply a disaster I. The arena although he is very talented. Finally I thought I would try some natural interventions. I slept right outside his stall the night before a show and each night at the show. I used just a rope over his door and put my cot right by it. Yep in the morning I had lots of horse slobber on me and it wasn’t my best night of sleep but I was anxious to see if it made a difference. I also made a blend of essential oils 50 drops of basil, 50 drops of lavender and 25 drops of chamomile.i put about ten drops in a diffuser and turned it on as we slept the next day when I was tacking him I turned it on again and right before we went into the ring I put a few drops on my hands rubbed them together and massages his notes ans head with it. Our test was much much better but who knows what impacted it. I do know the blend of essential oils helps my other horse during thunderstorms. I know you are so far beyond my skills and talents that you most likely have either already heard about this or have other interventions but I thought I would share. Best of luck in France. Do you have a go fund me account?
My dad had a crabby cocker spaniel he called Schmick, back in the day. How strange and funny to see this beautiful horse, and them sharing the same unusual name.
An intriguing horse! He's lucky to have you, Boyd! Will be SO fun to watch where it goes. I SO appreciate that you are able to talk us through your learning moments.
Love you Boyd and Silva - you defo made the right decision giving him 10 days off tho - he doesn’t care about the win - if he’s enjoying his job you win every time 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍
If I had lots of money, I would buy a fancy horse for Boyd to ride, so I could have a clever nickname and hear him say the horse was “bloody fantastic.” 😂
Always so nice to watch the eventers ride a dressage test. Just nicely collected and moving forward, without overflexion or coerced movement. So relaxed! Congratulations on a nice win! One of my favorite riders to watch!❤🎉
