Albright Dressage

08/14/2024

Hi everyone!
Several of you have reached out to me about doing video lessons and I’ve dropped the ball getting you scheduled. This will make it easier- you can sign up anytime that works for you and as long as you send me a text beforehand (4436057970) letting me know what platform you’d like to use (Pivo, Movensee, Zoom, Whatsapp, or FaceTime) then this is all I need!
Looking forward to seeing you guys!

Https://calendly.com/benjamin-albright239

03/27/2024

Beyond competition lies the essence of real dressage: a journey of continuous training, where horse and rider harmonize in an unspoken language of trust and understanding.

Double tap if you agree ❤️

03/03/2024

03/01/2024

02/25/2024

As I head into a chapter of life where for the first time, I teach and instruct, more hours per day than I ride, I have some new observations.

I think one skill set does not just naturally lead to the other. Both riding well and teaching appropriately, take years to get good at. What to say? What to do? How do we communicate what we want to see and feel to another being in a way they can make immediate use of?

Break it down. Break it down some more. Think of the horse if you are riding, even in a lesson, always. Is he comfortable and relaxed? As we train on, and if the horse leaves his comfort zone to try a new request, can we make it back to “home base”, comfort and relaxation, easily?

That is one of the most important things. Equally so with riders. As we push riders on to the betterment of their communication abilities and understanding with their horse, can they too, make it back to home base? Neutral? Relaxed and balanced on the horse? Ready to receive and deliver instructions in a timely manner?

Timing and dosage of the aids is huge and must be thought about and practiced every ride. The timing of when an aid is removed is at least as important as when and how it is applied. Neither horse nor rider should ride under a barrage of requests that they cannot possibly follow or accomplish.

Teaching understanding is a big goal of mine. Learning to ride without understanding the horse, his personality, energy and intelligence, is an empty endeavor to me.
We must become what the horse needs during every step of the journey. That is what makes our sport beautiful. Partnership and communication on display.

Not easy. But so worth the time.

02/01/2024

01/30/2024

https://www.horsenation.com/2024/01/29/training-in-the-right-way-12-dressage-exercises-and-their-training-purposes/?fbclid=IwAR2xTI2EnmWzlKUP51uPzgGLFVOQqCWw_p7Z7G16mmtSx_gwS6meF0EHUnM_aem_ASI0Cbb-EeCNuwwhTKZUNZ0OOr1yah9IwKwb1lnRwnLjnrTu4gIVbQoPlExnlPlhDFk

"What almost everyone has forgotten, or may have never learned, is that dressage is a training system, based on the European cultures and horse types of antiquity, and it was created over centuries to develop horses for war and for ceremonial purposes." This week's article takes a look at the traini...

12/18/2023

“No Big Deal”

There are all kinds of horse training traps that create tension and argument, and one of the most common is for the human to make too big a deal out of some perceived resistance or lack of responsiveness or, worse, some “disobedience” on the part of the horse.

This can take many forms. The horse seems a bit stuck about moving off the leg. Or he moves a step or two at the halt. Or the upward or downward transition isn’t smooth. Or he misses picking up the correct lead a couple of times. Or or or or, whatever.

The calm trainers, those who tend not to get triggered, will maybe make a couple of attempts at correction, but they won’t get obsessed to the point that they amp up the heat. They know, consciously or unconsciously, that changes happen over long periods of time, and that taking a horse to, and then beyond, its anxiety threshold is counter productive.

The good trainers have a sort of “no big deal” attitude about the litany of daily situations that are less than ideal. They are OK about it because they know that there are ALWAYS situations that are less than ideal, and that if they pick up on some of them and drill to fix them, instead of making it better, it will make the horse tight, nervous, and more resistant.

Having a “no big deal” reaction can be a learned response. And, sure, even the good trainers will sometimes step briefly across the line, but not often, not for long, and they will be quick to apologize to the horse by dialing the pressure down.

This doesn't mean that they will not readdress the problem at some later time, but they will sort of sneak up on it, get maybe a glimmer of improvement, then go on to something else.

09/24/2023

Lately, I have heard about or seen horses that seem to have become footsore or uncomfortable "out of nowhere" this fall, even when previously fairly comfortable over various terrain.

If you've seen any soundness setbacks over the last few weeks, especially if your horse is over 8-10 years old, there are some things to consider:

Right now is the seasonal rise of ACTH, which started (in our hemisphere at least) around the end of July. This is normal for all horses- it signals their body to grow a winter coat, adapt for upcoming weather changes, etc.

In horses with early PPID, ACTH levels can go unregulated and lead to issues. Sometimes the very first symptom of early PPID is unexplained footsoreness during the seasonal rise.

Vets might be hesitant to test ACTH levels this time of year due to this rise. Liphook in the UK has a range for "normal" ACTH levels each week during the year. With this information, we can see what might be a normal ACTH response to the seasonal rise and what might be abnormal and suggesting early PPID (see attached chart found from The Laminitis Site).

If your vet says to wait until the seasonal rise is over, I suggest asking them about doing the TRH stim test at that time, instead of just baseline ACTH. January through June is the lowest time for ACTH levels and this means some early PPID cases can be missed when tested in the spring.

IF YOUR WEATHER RIGHT NOW IS BELOW 45°F AT NIGHT AND WARM/SUNNY DURING THE DAY:
Your grass is SKY HIGH in sugar and can cause soreness or even full blown laminitis. Pull your horse off grass completely especially if you're noticing any signs of soreness.

For a podcast episode on the topic, see here:
https://thehumblehoof.libsyn.com/managing-the-metabolic-horse

09/21/2023

Inside a session from the Old Master Series