Tip/Quote of the Day!

"The goal of all dressage riding should be to bring the horse and rider together in harmony...a oneness of balance, purpose, and athletic expression." ~ Walter Zettl

"Far be it from me to force anyone into either chess or dressage, but if you choose to do so yourself, in my opinion there is only one way: follow the rules." ~ Lars von Trier

"The basic techniques, or what they call basics, are more difficult than what comes later – this is the Trap of Dressage. Correct basics are more difficult than the piaffe and passage." ~ Conrad Schumacher

"I couldn't imagine not working with horses. I think if horses didn't exist, I would have invented them." ~ Klaus Balkenhol

"In training we must be encouraged to first establish the principles and only then to tackle the details." ~ Reiner Klimke

"We must be fully aware that a lifetime isn't long enough to come to know all about horsemanship." ~ Egon von Neindorff

"Through gaining competence, we gain confidence." ~ Erik Herbermann

"The art of riding was like entering a convent. It was a full dedication." ~ Nuno Oliveira

"Treat every mistake as a training opportunity." ~ Steffen Peters

"What must the hand and arm be able to do? Yield, sustain, resist. What they do not need to do is pull, because no rider has ever won a pulling contest with a horse. In order to sustain and resist, the hands must be supported from the rider’s elastically braced back and, to the necessary degree, from the support of the upper arm against the side." ~ Bill Steinkraus

"I often wonder why people think they have to kick and pull a horse who can feel a fly land on his neck." ~ Jimmy Wofford

"What is Feel? Feel is the invisible quality in every good rider who is communicating with her horse in harmony. She can perceive where the horse is during every step because he accepts the rider’s seat, leg and rein aids through the connection. The rider can then communicate with the horse in a stable, sensitive and relaxed manner." ~ Sarah Geikie

The rider's elbows should at all times act as a hinge, following the horse's movement much like the rubber donut in side reins. 

"The criteria of a good rider is a rider that we cease to notice, and we only watch the horse." ~ Nuno Oliveira

"First, [the rider] has to be ambitious. Mentally, he has to be well balanced and consistent. He has to be tougher on himself than on the horse. If he gets after the horse too much, he will not get far. One must really be able to push oneself harder than one ever pushes a horse. Then, success will follow." ~ Ernst Hoyos

"Make him proudly independent of you so that he understands his job so well you merely walk the course and then show him the way. Tell your horse what you want him to do, and then allow him to do it." ~ Jimmy Wofford

The best way to build self confidence is often to do what you are afraid to do.

From Facebook fan Joan Dunlap ~ "Every barn should have an Emotion Bucket for riders to deposit their bad vibes before handling a horse."

"When you are in the Comfort Zone, you can ride without thinking. In the Stretch Zone, you are working on something you can’t do by habit. In the Panic Zone, you can’t think clearly and are paralyzed. These zones apply to both horses and riders. If both horse and rider go into the panic zone, they lose control, and it spells trouble for the future. Some horses go into the Panic Zone very quickly. They need riders who are comfortable." ~ Kyra Kyrklund

"To become a rider it is not enough to be able to sit elegantly on a horse. Even a good seat and balance does not make you a ‘rider’. To be able to ride you must be able to influence your horse and to extract the best performance from him." ~ Christian Thiess

"To ensure correct bend in the haunches-in, imagine wrapping your horse’s body around your inside leg." ~ Charlotte Bredahl-Baker

"The volte is one of the most important movements you can ride. It is teaching the horse to bend in his ribcage, within his body, and then to maintain a rhythm – in the future this movement will become a half pass. We are working on control over the balance of the horse so that it is learning to maintain a rhythm." ~ Ernst Hoyos

Rows of small bounce fences are a great way to build strength in your horse's canter. 

"The goal of our training is to build the horse's mind and his muscles. Suppleness and relaxation require adequate muscle strength. strengthening requires both contraction and relaxation. Blood flow and oxygenation occur when the muscle relaxes. If the muscle is kept in a constant state of contraction, it loses power and strength, and actually becomes smaller. Frequent rest periods, especially for a young horse at a free walk on a long rein, are necessary. The rest periods are not for a rider's fatigue, but to allow the horse to stretch and relax his muscles. The rest breaks will give you a completely new horse. This is the systematic gymnasticizing of the horse." ~ Klaus Balkenhol

"Routine becomes even more important when you are somewhere that you’ve never been." ~ Tonya Johnston

When you hurry a horse's training, you just get to the wrong place more quickly.

"Land in your feet from every jump to avoid tipping forward." ~ Chris Bartle

A horse has to be straight to have true impulsion. Any stored energy leaks out where the body is crooked, changing the energy in the stride from impulsion to merely forward momentum. 

A correct inside bend in the horse's body is truly evident only when there is a soft, almost loose inside rein.

"The most important thing is for the horse to be thinking on its own. Unless you’re Michael Jung, you make mistakes and things go wrong. You have to teach the horse the stride isn’t always right, the line isn’t always right, and that’s why we start from trot." ~ William Fox Pitt