Showrider - Sielja Dantved

Restitution, what does it mean?

Often the main goal when training a horse is to build muscle & endurance, so the horse can perform better. To get there you need the right training & the right feed, but restitution is most certainly important too. 🍀

It’s during restitution that the horse develops, here the horse uses the nutrients from the feed to repair & rebuild. When we train the horse, it creates micro damages on the muscles, this is what can cause soreness to the muscles. These micro damages are repaired by the body itself during restitution, & during this process the muscles develop & get stronger. If the horse doesn't get the right amount of nutrients & time for active rest & restitution, the horse won't be able to perform to the fullest. In severe cases the horse will deprive the horse from thriving & a lack of energy will occur along with muscle soreness.

Always remember to give your horse time for active rest. Active rest is when the horse gets to move around, without any type of work load. The best way to get that active rest, is to turn the horse out as much as possible on a big field.

Immediately after training the cells in the horse's body are extra susceptible to nutrients like sugar & amino acids. This is because the muscles are ‘hungry’ to get the glycogen stocked up again. The same applies to the liver, as this is where the carbohydrate reserves are, which the horse draws from during training. Advantageously you can time one of the horse's feedings so that you feed right after training.🌾

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An attentive horse 💙

When your horse is not paying attention to you, you loose the ability to influence & improve your horse's balance & therefore you won't be able to prepare & ride into an exercise.
When the horse's attention is on the surroundings instead of on you, the ride will be a struggle, this is also what some would call a 'lazy' horse...so how do we fix that? 🔍

A good way is to keep your horse on his toes, never knowing what to expect. This keeps the training interesting!
Don't ride the same thing too many times & make sure you change the training from day to day. Come up with new ways to train the circles, the leg-yields & the shoulder-in.
Personally I love to use transitions! In the middle of a circle, I do a transition. This is very unexpected & unusual for the horse..Why put 5 steps of extended trot in the middle of a 20m circle? Cause it keeps things interesting!

Another great way to keep the training interesting is to change the environment! It also helps the horse to keep the focus on you, to go out once in a while! The more you expose your horse to & challenge them, the more your horse will learn that distractions are normal & that they need to keep their focus on you no matter the situation.

A horse that has learned to distract himself or 'fall asleep' during training, can be hard to get out of it as they have fallen into a rot...it takes time & a lot of variation in the training to pull the attention back, but it can be done with patience, hard work & an innovative mindset! 💭

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We can anything...together!🎉

I love this photo of Lord Korpus & I from our show at last year, with the confetti flying in air & the danish flag waving in the wind behind us ❤
This reminds me of all my dreams as a little girl, & how lucky I am to have gotten this stallion to make them come true!

But I also think of all the hard work, all the sweat, sore muscles, tears & hours it has taken to get here! My God, it takes so much work to get to this point, & so much dedication...dedication & motivation that I too lost some times. But I always found my way back to my joy, & my love for working with this guy!

It just shows, that as long as you stay with your horse, keep working & keep your relationship strong & filled with trust...you can do anything together! 🥰

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Not Me, but We! 💜

Working with horses is very rewarding & I absolutely love it. My horses are definitely the ones that make my day, every day!

But I also think it's important step back & put my own needs & selfishness aside, & make sure that my horses feel the same.
I've seen these videos on social media...
"Taking my stupid human on a stupid walk, for her stupid mental health"
You know that trend?

Well, it kinda got to me & made me think...I really hope that riders remember to think about their horses mental health, just as much as they think about their own. Horses can get sad, depressed, stressed, anxiety & PTSD just like humans can. We need to be aware of our horses, see them, feel them & do things to make sure their mental health is taken good care of! 🌸

We ask our horses for a lot, & we owe them to take good care of them...both on the outside & on the inside!

Photo of Prince Chato & I playing, a thing he loves & a good way to do something else & make sure he is seen & heard!
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A new routine⭐

Wulcan has developed a lot over the years, especially his mindset & his way of working has changed drastically the last few years. It's been amazing to follow him from foal, to a grown dressage & breeding stallion!

He is now at a point in his education where it's time to learn new routines, & get better at handling new places.
The whole work towards a competition or a show can be a lot, also the preparation the day before, the drive & the routine when you arrive can be a lot for an inexperienced horse.
Wulcan is actually great at handling new places, he always stays with me & he is very sweet. But he needs to learn not to burn all his energy on being curious, telling people he has arrived & being overly energetic in the first 10min of the warm up.

Teaching Wulcan these routines is my goal for 2022, & that means taking him out as much as I can & have the time for!
Competing him has nothing to do with winning, it has everything to do with strengthening our bond, teaching him to save his energy & get some new experiences together that we can learn & develop from! ⭐

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An Honest Horse 💘

Riders are different, which also means that we prefer different types of horses...Some like a tall, slim, hot & nervous type, while others would rather have a bombproof, small & wide type. I love when people choose their horse with the heart, & go for a horse that fits their personality!

So here is the reason I choose drumhorses 💗

If I were to describe myself with a few words I would say that I'm determined, I like to plan things, I dream big & I'm very honest...
I like the type of horse that loves routines, that doesn't need to have things changed up in order to feel safe. I like a horse that has the potential to go a long way in the education & then my horse needs to be honest.

You see, the honesty is a huge factor for me. I like my horses to guide me just as much as I guide them. They can't do that if they're not honest, & give me a reaction I can use to correct myself.
The drumhorse breed is in general a horse with a big personality, lots of opinions & a very honest mind. If you listen & learn from them, they will give you the world, but if you don't...you will never be able to train them.

I'm an honest person & I live by the fact, that what you see is what you get with me...I've found a breed, & three specific horses that are just like me...Honest & determined! 💞

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Photo of Prince Chato in collected canter wearing his gorgeous bridle!
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We miss summer ☀️

We can definitely begin to see a bit if spring around here, but I do miss summer. Especially the long warm evenings are truly missed at the moment.
I try to work both stallions as much as possible, but it can be hard with the cold, windy, rainy weather. The summer will really make it so much easier for me, & give me that last bit of motivation back that I feel I've been missing the last few months.

Keeping the motivation as an equestrian can be hard, & the winter months doesn't make it easier. I try to remember at nothing bad will happen if I don't train the horses, it's okay to take a day off & give yourself a bit of space to get the motivation back. Sometimes I can feel so guilty that I didn't ride, it can even give me stomachaches. It's completely ridiculous to be that hard on yourself, the horses are okay with having an extra day off, as long as they're taken care of.
I never feel like this during the summer, cause my motivation is so high & the longer days makes it more fun to be out until late.

I guess that's really what I miss about summer, not feeling so guilty & beating myself up. ☀️🧡

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A lovely summer photo of Lord Korpus & I on the beach last summer 🌊 My gorgeous green Yogings are gifted by

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The noseband talk..

As many of you know, I'm always up for debating & seeing different sides to a topic. The noseband talk has been going on for years, but I think it has been up a lot lately.

First let me just say that I use nosebands on all my horses, not because I think you NEED to use a noseband, but because my horses are happy & comfortable with it.
Non of them use the same type of noseband, it's in my opinion important to find the solution that fits the individual horse the best.

Prince Chato works on a classical bridle where the noseband is connected to the bitstraps, this gives great stability for the bit, which fits Chato great as he is quite sensitive.

Lord Korpus works on a noseband with a flash on his snaffle bridle & a wide English noseband on his double bridle. The flash gives great stability for the bit, & Korpus finds a wider noseband comfortable so I prefer min. 3,5cm width.

King Wulcan, here in collected trot on the photo, works on a dropped noseband. When I started him 6years ago we tried out different nosebands, to find what worked for him. He has always been very sensitive & easily annoyed if the contact got the tiniest bit to vivid.
The dropped noseband gave the bit stability & also fitted his face structure way better. Last year we also switched bit to a Myler Bit, which in combination with the dropped noseband gives Wulcan a lot of stability & a very still & calm contact.
⭐In the photo Wulcans noseband is about 2 holes too low, a new noseband can take a few rides to fit perfectly.

I think nosebands can give a lot of support, if the horse likes having it on. It's important to try out different types in order to find out what the horse feels comfortable with, or if they might be more comfortable without a noseband.
⭐ It's of course incredibly important that the noseband is fitted right & not fastened too tight! I myself, prefer the noseband to be very loose, so I ensure that my horses can swallow during training!
In my opinion...better too loose, than the tiniest bit too tight! When in doubt, loosen it 2 holes! 👌

Photo by MEP-Photo

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Sometimes you need to be on your own...

I love reading about training methods, different people's philosophys & views on training. I love receiving lessons & getting a new view on my own riding...but sometimes you just need to be on your own!

With this I mean that, not everything can be explained or taught. When it comes to improving your relationship with your horse, you just need to be on your own & figure things out for yourself. You don't need people, books, explanations, ideas or anything to feel when it's right.
Trust your gut, trust your horse & work on improving the trust between you.

Prince Chato was a very nervous horse when I first got him, he was very hard to work with as he had extreme reactions to almost everything. But in my gut I felt that this guy would be great in the future, I just needed him to trust me & in order for him to do that...I needed to show him that I could trust him too. Lots of liberty work, lots of sitting in the arena waiting for him to come to me & a whole lot of talking to him when he was afraid made a breakthrough for us...No one could have taught us this, it had to be genuine & take the time it did. Chato slowly became my shadow, everywhere I went he was right there behind me. Today we can do anything together, & only because we build our relationship on our own, & trusted each other trough it all.

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WE'RE GOING OUT! 🙌

Many of you where very exited about my plans for competing with King Wulcan this year...Now it's happening, next Saturday! 👌

I'm quite stoked to go out with him, he is my dream foal & sired by my own Lord Korpus. So obviously I'm very proud of him, & I love reaching new goals with him, seeing him develop.
Wulcans first competition was on beginninger level, but he was an absolute champ that day & won both tests! This time we're going for something a bit harder, but nothing too advanced as he is still learning to keep his focus & stay with me. This competition will only be his 4th performance under rider, so I don't want to rush or push him too far. It needs to be fun & the most important thing for me is to have two good rides with a horse that stays with me, & keeps his focus. 🤞

Would you like to follow the competition in my story? 🤔

Photo of King Wulcan & I from our big performance at last year!
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My valentine 💞

Happy Valentines, to everyone who celebrate that 💖

At our house we don't really do valentines, we usually go on like any other day. But there is one thing I like about this day...
So many people use this day to appreciate their loved ones, including their horses. I would just like for us to remember our amazing horses everyday, & appreciate them for everything they do for us on a daily basis! 💕
Most of us have horses cause they make us happy, they give us the feeling of freedom & they help us achieve our dreams & goals. But they do that every single day, not just on February the 14th.

Korpus is my valentine every year...all year 💘 and he has been for the last 16 years! He will always be the love of my life, & every year I share a photo of him & I. This photo is beautiful to me, the dust catching the sun, & Korpus showing off a gorgeous passage in sidesaddle... this is pure magic in my eyes!

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🐴 Showrider - Sielja Dantved

Someone that will do anything❤

All riders wants to find a horse they can truly connect with, a horse that will do anything for it's rider...
The thing is that many riders forget what it takes, to make a horse trust you to a point where they will choose you first in any situation. We ride & expect that a connection will happen over time, but that's not the case.

The connection & trust happens when you get out of your bubble. When you do things that makes you laugh, things that makes you nervous, things that challenges you & the friendship with your horse. These situations are the ones, that will make your horse see you handle anything & make it.

You are the one that will take care of your horse no matter what, you need to prove that in order for your horse to truly believe in you. ❤
But when you do, there is nothing standing between you & the dreams you have with your horse.

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When it's just right ✔

A brand new photo of King Wulcan & I, from today! One of the things I just love about MEP-Photo shooting photos & video of us so often, is that I can see a horse like Wulcan really improve & get stronger!

It's important for me to be able to see that what I feel is right, cause that's not always the case. Sometimes when we ride we can have the feeling of everything just working, but when we see a video of it, we suddenly see that it was not as good as it felt.
Training our body to feel when it's right is hard, but necessary. A good way is to get lessons, so someone can tell us when it's right, & then we just need to really save that feeling in our body & remember it for next time.

It's very difficult & after 23 years of riding I can still have a hard time feeling when it's just right. But it's definitely worth the work, & it makes the exercises easier for the horse, as we know exactly what we're asking for & when we're getting it...so we can praise the horse.

I'm beginning to really recognize when Wulcan is just right, now I need to keep that into more difficult stuff.

It takes time & hard work, but it's so worth it! 💙

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Classical or Modern? 🤷‍♀️

These terms are often used when we talk about dressage, but which one is best for the horse & how do we choose?
My answer to these questions will be my personal belief, based on my 20 years as a dressage rider & what I've seen, read, experienced & used myself.

Depending on who you follow, what you like to watch & what you believe good riding looks like you will have read very different things on the internet about dressage. The riders I follow on Instagram vary greatly, from bridleless riders that ride only to have a good ride in nature, to competitive grand prix riders that use double bridles. This often results in me reading about both of these ways of training & how wrong they believe each other to be. It's very much the same with classical & modern dressage...They believe that they have nothing to do with one another, but they do.

The classical school discovered dressage 400 years ago, this is where dressage has it's roots & where the basics were developed. Modern dressage still uses a lot of the same thinking, but has lost some of the theory.
This 👆 is actually one of the biggest differences between classical & modern dressage. The theory & the knowledge.

In classical dressage you teach the horse from the ground first, in order to do that you need to have some knowledge about the biomechanics of the horse & how different parts of the body affect each other. Classical has it's focus on the body as a whole.
In modern dressage, competitive dressage you rely a lot on your equipment & groundwork is not really used. The contact to the bit is constant & the position of the head is very important. The quality of the movements are based on how flashy they are. Knowledge about how the horse is build, what muscles you affect during a piaff or how a young horse grows are not common in modern dressage.

But can you ride with a classical way of thinking but still compete & use more modern equipment?..definitely! 🙌

That's also why the answer to the questions in the beginning are, that you don't need to choose one or the other. But you do need to let your horse guide you & show you what they're comfortable with.

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