THE HORSE GAZETTE
clinic report - dr. thomas ritter
By Ingrid Edisen
To get into a walk from tradition of the old SRS (Span-
It was mid-Septem-
generous with his knowledge. Al- rider set as individuals.
up. The correct seat should feel
trot, he told a rider to weight the ish Riding School), you ask for
ber, middle of the night, or so it
though he is not a native speaker Robin and I watched,
like you are kneeling, rather than
outside stirrup and inside rein to transitions in three strides. The
seemed to me. My friend, Robin
of the English language, his com- no, drooled, as he improved each
sitting or standing in the stirrups.
slow the horse down, then to walk first two aids are announcements.
Whittenbaugh, picked me up
mand of English is perfect and he clinic pair within the hour or so
The more relaxed the leg is, the
him into his hind legs. If need be, They used to call that an ‘aviso.’
at five a.m. so we could drive
spoke loud enough for everyone long lessons. Here’s some tips
more efficient the driving aids will
pile your weight into him to get The third aid is the execution aid.
from Austin to Celina, north of
to hear. To me, it was as if I we picked up:
be—stretch the leg back to drive.
him to walk, he said You can ask for the down transi-
Dallas, to watch a clinic taught
was attending a class taught for “All of your joints
Draw the stirrup irons back. The
To change the align- tion with any combination of seat
by Dr. Thomas Ritter of Eugene,
post-graduate PhD’s but spoken should be close to the middle of
quality of the turn depends on
ment of the horse, you have to bone, rein and stirrup pressure.
Oregon.
well enough for undergrads and their range of motion,” he advised
how well you can control, i.e.
control the diagonal pair of legs, The most simple version is to ap-
We knew of Dr. Ritter
high school students to under- one rider. “You should use your
bend, the outside hind leg with
he noted. If there is any crooked- ply a pressure on the stirrup and
because he and his wife, Shana,
stand, too. calf, feet, thighs separate from
your weight. This is true for all
ness, the horse will tend to “fall the rein on the same side when
maintain an international web chat
His dressage education each other. The horse will mirror
turns, regardless of whether it’s
down” [lean]. Straighten the the leg you are targeting is on the
site called classicaldressage.com.
background is stunning. Certi- your posture. Your gluts should
a corner, a circle or a pirouette.
horse first, make him use more ground. There is no simple right
Everything we have ever heard
fied by the German Federation not contract due to the abs. You
The horse’s neck [position]will
core muscles, but if he is bent too or wrong way of doing it, but
about him or read by him was
Nationale as an instructor since should be able to differentiate be-
get better with balance.
much in the neck you will lose the rather countless variations on the
saturated with rock solid knowl-
1985, he spent eight years study- tween your upper and lower abs.
When expounding on
shoulders. same basic theme.”
edge. As it turned out, the clinic
ing under Egon von Neindorff If you lift the pubic bone, you can
how to best make a walk-trot
One exercise he used
proved to be one of the best I’ve
and two of von Neindorff’s senior lift the withers.”
transition, he said, “To flex the
was a figure eight with a side To reach Diane Huber
seen in over two decades
students—Thomas Faltejsek and He explained that the
joint of the horse’s leg, step into
pass at the center of the figure. for future clinic dates in the Dal-
Diane Huber of Hal-
Dorothee Baumann-Pellny (The less foot one kept in the stirrup,
the stirrup to weight that inside
This would ultimately be done in las/McKinney area, email her at:
tATX organized the clinic and
latter is author of a famous book the greater mobility one had with
hind for it is the inside hind leg
all three gaits, although we just haltatx@msn.com; phone: 214-
graciously allowed auditors in at
on sidesaddle riding as published one’s ankle joint. “The more you
that initiates this transition. The
saw it done at walk and trot, with 906-1160 (c), 972-442-5227 (h);
no charge. It was held at Legacy
under the name Dorothee Bau- use your core muscles, the less
more you flex the initiating hind
a stop, then walking side pass in http://haltatx@googlepages.com/
Equestrian Center which had
mann-Faltejsek). Dr. Ritter has elbow and hand you will need.
leg before the transition, the more
the middle. for rider applications and clinic
beautiful grounds and an indoor
also studied with several luminar- Connect the hand and the hip.
balanced and uphill the transition
He also explained an information. To find out about
working arena complete with a
ies who descend from the Spanish Bring your pelvis between your
itself will be. That is why I rec-
“aviso” which is used in the Span- possible Central Texas/Bren-
grandstand. She is able to have
Riding School of Vienna including forearms, not vice versa! Turn
ommend applying a stirrup pres-
ish Riding School to warn a horse ham/Bastrop area clinics, contact
Dr. Ritter fly in periodically.
Karl Mikolka, Arthur Kottas and your saddle with your pelvis.
sure during the preparation for
of an upcoming transition. One Sarah and Jack Lieser at sarah@
Dr. Ritter is tall, long,
Hubert Rohrer as well as Charles Will the horse follow your pelvis?
such a transition. To go into trot,
can train a horse to accept differ- jacklieser.com, (979) 203-9000 or
and slim. He is quiet and thought-
de Kunffy of the former Spanish The pelvis is the real turning aid.
remember that the inside hind has
ful but also very verbal. He was
Riding School of Hungary. Hav- Everything in back of your torso
to lift and carry. Also, think of the
ent versions of an aviso simply Ingrid Edisen at (512) 217-2397;
clear in his explanations and
ing all that installed in his arsenal, has to drop down while everything
withers coming up three feet in
via repetition. As Dr. Ritter put ingrid.dressage@prodigy.net.
he then approaches each horse- in front of your torso should pull
front of your seat.”
it: “there are many different ways
of riding these transitions. In
winter horse care
Part 2
Written by Sherri L. Barclay of Barclays Arabians
Happy
Breathable: This
A few facts about blankets.
50 - 60 degrees Stable sheet blanket allows moisture from the
Holidays!
body to escape thus not allow-
If all the print on blan-
40 - 50 Lightweight blanket
ing your horse to get wet from
kets gets you confused then you sweat or allows a wet horse to
are not alone. What is a 420D dry. It is however not recom-
compared to a 600 0r 1200D? Do
30 - 40 Medium weight blanket
mended to blanket a wet horse.
I need a sheet or a blanket? Do I Denier: This mean
need both? What size do I need?
20 - 30 Heavyweight blanket
the strength of the outer shell. In
Hopefully, this next section will sheets/blankets the denier is a way
Save on Horse,
help you figure out what to look for: 0 - 20 Heavyweight blanket and to measure weight. The higher the
As far as sizing goes you hood denier the stronger or more durable
Stock and Utility GREAT DEAL!
can go to almost any site that carries the fabric. You will see denier
Trailers...all clearly
2005 Exiss 3-horse
blankets and look at a sizing chart.
Below 0 Double blanket and hood
normally as 600, 1200 & 1600. Wa-
Here is a basic overview of sizes to terproof Nylon is usually in denier
marked on the lot!
Gooseneck with
be used only as a guide:
Weekend Package
If turned out and not clipped:
and is, in most cases, breathable.
Linings / Fill: Sheets
$16,900 Below are some “rules-of-thumb” are sometimes lined with Nylon to
for blanket fitting.
50 - 60 degrees Turnout sheet or
prevent rubbing. Fill is measured in
nothing
grams in most cases. As with denier
“68” - 1 to 2 Year Olds (13 ½ to
the higher the number the more fill
10302 IH-35 North 14 hands)
40 - 50 Lightweight turnout blan- the blanket contains which trans-
San Antonio, Texas
ket lates to higher insulation for your
horse. You will see fill normally as
78233
“72” - 2 Year Old Horses ( 14 ½
220 or 440 grams. Some blankets,
to 15 hands)
30 - 40 Medium weight turnout
blanket
as in the case of rugs, do not have
210-657-5828
a filling however are lined with felt.
“76” - An Average Sized Horse ( Waterproof: This tells
www.swtrailers.net Si hablamos espanol
15 ½ to 16 hands)
20 - 30 Medium weight turnout
blanket
you that a blanket should not allow
water to come through and effect
“80” - Large Horses (16 ½ to 17
your horse. There are many differ-
hands)
0 - 20 Medium or heavyweight
ent treatments for waterproof and
turnout blanket
Paddocks
Teflon is just one example of that.
Here are basics on “When” to

blanket:
Below 0 Heavyweight turnout blan- Water Resistant: This
ket and hood tells us that the blanket will be
Horse Barns When stabled and/or clipped:
Here are some rules of thumb on
(Continued on next page.)
“types” of blankets:
Covered Arenas
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Page 4 Visit us at: www.HorseGazette.com
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