Dressage training should be about creating positive results for a horse and rider. After 30-years of working in top performance barns and running her own training business, Allida has a program that gets results. Sometimes those results are mental changes in a horse, like obedience or a change in the horse’s desire to work. Sometimes those results are physical, like a change in the quality of the gaits or a change in musculature. A change in a horse’s mental attitude is difficult to quantify but when it comes to physical changes, we let the results speak for themselves.
Here we have some before & after photos of horses who made great changes while in our program. Some made changes in surprisingly short amounts of time. Others were developed over the course of years.
Apollo
Apollo was destined for the kill pen, when his owner found him at auction. He was half starved, scared, and shy. She was looking for an eventing horse and saw something special in him. Allida met Apollo and his owner, while teaching a clinic at her eventing barn. Soon Apollo was being trailered to our facility for regular lessons and eventually, Apollo moved in.
Before: Apollo is still very thin and is still gaining weight. He lacks muscle tone and what little neck muscle he has is on his underside of the neck.
After: This is the results of eight months of correct riding and feeding. Apollo now has a well muscled top line and no signs of bracing, in his neck. You can also see the start of his abdominal muscles and definition in his hind quarters. (This photo is from the massage therapist’s files, which is why it’s marked green and pink.)
What you can’t see is the emotional change he made. He went from not wanting to look at people to slyly sneaking glances, to actively interacting with humans.
cali
Cali’s breeding was arranged by Allida, for a client. They agreed that the resulting foal would be Allida’s to train, when he was ready to be started. Unfortunately, these agreement sometimes go awry. Cali was started under saddle at four but the owner was not able to put him into training due to personal reasons. So Cali sat for almost three years. When he was seven, Allida was able to negotiate with the owner to buy him. At that point, he was an ungelded, minimally handled, thug. He came around quickly. Three years later, he’s the queen of the show ring, ready to make his debut at Prix St. George next season.
Before: This photo was taken just before he went into a full time training program. Even though he’s seven, he looks like a much younger horse. He also had the mental and emotional maturity of a young horse.
After: Oh how he glows. Cali was prone to ulcers so he has been on a comprehensive diet program that includes ulcer prevention and constant access to hay or grass turnout. The results speak for themselves.
Before: Taken shortly after starting his full time training program. His trot is forward and correct but was the trot of a young horse. It was perfectly average, for where he was, in his training program.
After: Cali during a Juan Matute clinic, in early 2019. Juan was excited to see him develop his “FEI trot” and kept remarking that Cali has “La Sangre.” (La Sangre is Spanish for the blood. It’s one of the best compliments that a Spanish rider can give, as it means the horse has spirit, heart, and energy.)