Not-So-Speedy Dressage
From Endurance to Dressage
It rained pretty hard on Friday afternoon, thank goodness, so I took advantage and cleaned Izzy's bridle. That boy is worse than a 16 year-old teenager. His stuff stinks and is constantly covered with ... funk. If I never cleaned Speedy's bridle ever again, it would never be this dirty. I used to wipe my bridles down after almost every ride, but Izzy's won't "wipe down." After a 30 minute ride, it looks this bad. I gave up. Now, I try and clean it at least monthly. Since wiping it down doesn't really get the gunk off, I do a full dismantle. I dropped the bit into the bucket to soak and dragged out the necessary creams and salves. I like to clean with Effax Leather Cream Soap. The Higher Standards soap is also nice, but I am temporarily out. Once each pieces was scrubbed and cleaned, I used some Higher Standards Leather Balm to condition each piece. I actually use three different conditioners, depending on what I am conditioning. I use the HS for my bridles, Passier's Lederbalasm for my saddle, and a beeswax product for my schooling boots (can't remember the brand name). My saddle and boots also got some TLC. By the time I finished cleaning and conditioning my bridle, I thought long and hard about whether Izzy should ever get to wear it again. Since he's not ready to go bridle-less, I slipped it on over the weekend. It looked so pretty as I put it on. I didn't wipe it down when I put it away, but it needed it. Oh well. It will get cleaned again next Friday evening because Izzy is going to a show.
More on that later! 4/11/2016 01:48:03 pm
As a long time endurance rider, I used synthetic tack exclusively - biothane and beta. The dressage bridles that I tried in synthetic tack just didn't hang right, so I gave up on that idea. For care, synthetic is the way to go, but dressage bridles just have too many parts that need to bend compared to an endurance bridle.
Kathryn Little
4/11/2016 10:59:37 am
I definitely need to give my bridles a full pull apart and clean... 4/12/2016 06:14:32 am
While I take good care of my tack, mine is always in need of a thorough cleaning, so you are not alone!
Carly
4/11/2016 12:59:14 pm
Bobby sweats so badly every ride that I give his bridle and girths a deep clean almost daily. Good for the leather I guess, but it does get a little annoying when you're in a rush sometimes! 4/12/2016 06:15:37 am
I should do that because that's exactly what Izzy does, but who has time for that? Especially with two horses, I am already short on time! :0) Comments are closed.
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About the Writer and RiderI am a lifelong rider.
I began endurance riding in 1996 where I ultimately completed five, one-day 100 mile races, the 200-mile Death Valley Encounter, and numerous other 50, 65, and 75 mile races. I began showing dressage in 2010. Welcome to my dressage journey. About Speedy GSpeedy went from endurance horse to dressage horse. After helping me earn a USDF Bronze medal in the summer of 2020, he is now semi-retired. Speedy is a 2004, 15'1 hand, purebred Arabian gelding. His Arabian Horse Registry name is G Ima Starr FA.
About IzzyIzzy was started as a four-year old and then spent the next 18 months in pasture growing up. I bought him as a six-year old, and together, we are showing at the lower levels. He is a 2008, 16'3 hand warmblood gelding. His Rheinland Pfalz-saar International (RPSI) name is Imperioso.
National Rider AwardsState Rider Awards
State Horse Awards
Working Towards:
CDS Sapphire Rider Award Third Level: 63.514% Third Level: 62.105% Fourth Level: Fourth Level: 2023 Show Season
Show Rating (***) CDS/USDF/USEF (*) CDS (s) Schooling (c) Clinic (r) Ride-a-Test Clinic 2023 Show Schedule
TBD 2023 Completed … Pending 2023 Qualifying Scores
Regional Adult Amateur Competition (RAAC) Qualifying Training Level 3 Scores/2 Judges/60%: Score 1: Score 2: Score 3: Archives
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