Recent Articles

Think of bending your horse AT your inside seat bone, so that they are truly bending through their ribcage. 

"The biggest problem is that most of the younger riders that I watch don't have a clue how to gallop a horse." ~ Bruce Davidson

A calm yet mobile mouth means that the horse is light in the hand, and relaxed through the jaw and neck, which allows for easy swallowing.

If you don’t ride and train in such a way that your horse learns to listen to your seat, you will usually find that you have to use a lot more hand to get things done.

The horse usually tries to compensate for the lack of strength in his back and haunches by seeking support in the rider's hands. So if your horse does this, you might want to consider adding some strength training to your horse's regime.

Always gallop forward on the landing when your horse has been spooky over a jump. This teaches him to think more forward the next time.

"The first thing to think in a half-halt is to make it invisible to those watching on, which is easier said than done." ~ Carl Hester

There is no better, more effective, and longer lasting source of "bodywork" available to our horses than good, correct flatwork!

"Adopt a classical position, resist all fads and gadgets, and ride the horse quietly and softly between the two straight lines of the stirrup leather and the elbow to the horse's mouth. It's simple. It's just not easy." ~ Jimmy Wofford

"The quality of the [rider's] seat determines whether we can even speak of 'riding', or whether the horse simply has to 'deal with' the load on his back." ~ Kurt Albrecht

In a good connection, the rider's hands should breathe with the horse's mouth.

Hours before complete chaos shut down the world, an amazing little Arabian mare and her equally incredible owner guided me through my first FEI 1* endurance ride. Almost two years ago, I remember setting two goals before signing on to the endurance experience. Goal #1: spend at least a year learning from the discipline. Goal #2: Complete a 1* endurance competition. Having achieved both of my goals just in the nick of time, I would like to reflect on my eye-opening experience. Hopefully this gives you some entertainment and things to ponder while participating in social distancing or quarantine or self-isolation or whatever it is you are doing to stay safe these days. (Click on Blog Title above to read full entry)

Don’t ride faster than you can think.

"You need to have a good seat to be able to use a spur correctly. You should not use them unless your horse is in front of your leg. They are not to be used to get your horse forward." ~ Hazel Roberts

When you do a lengthening, whether in trot or canter, you should move up to your lengthening within a few strides. Then maintain that exact level of lengthening until the end of your line, where you take just a few strides to (clearly!) show your transition down.

Notice that the stiffest tree is the most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending in the wind. Think about how this concept applies to both horse and rider...

Keep your leg aids light. Too much leg becomes something similar to white noise. It is unfair to expect your horse to hear your aid above the noise.

If your horse struggles to maintain a consistent rhythm, think of using your breathing to help him stay regular. This is one reason why counting is so useful, as when you count, you will breathe in that rhythm.

Both horse and rider should learn to love that deep takeoff spot when jumping. A deep spot in balance is the safest place to be.

Jimmy Wofford on galloping a horse: "Picture this: some 4 foot 11 waif of an apprentice jockey is living on 1000 calories a day to keep his weight down to 100 pounds so that he can make the weight in cheap claiming races. He canters happily down the track, talking with friends, standing in a two point - and all the while he is controlling 1,000 pounds of testosterone crazed stallion....and his hands are quietly fixed at the withers....and he is poised like a feather above his horse's back....and he is not kicking and pulling."

Always keep your spine stretched upward when riding. When you slump, your head and shoulders will become heavy, and your horse will likely become heavy in your hands.

It can be hard to get a horse truly fit in an arena. You need to use varied terrain and footing to build a strong athlete that will hold up to the rigors of Eventing.

As you are about to come down the centerline of a dressage test, briefly think about something that you know will make you smile. You and your horse will both relax, which will make for a happier performance. The judge will see the difference!

Keep your hands forward thinking at all times, don't be "stealing" from the hind legs.

"Only use the spur to correct. The spur is not intended to ride a movement. It cannot just support the gait or the movement. Make a clear correction with the spur. If you are constantly giving your horse an aid, he will get numb to it. " ~ Steffen Peters

You can't force a horse to relax, you have to help him to relax.

It is not wise to add pressure to the situation when the horse is already tense. Use quiet, soothing exercises that the horse is already familiar with, rather than pushing for anything difficult, to help him relax.

When preparing for a jump from a galloping position, one should always sink down into the heel before any touching of seat in the saddle, and only THEN should you touch the horse's mouth if necessary. Taking back on the reins first will almost always cause resistance.

Eventers are usually adrenaline addicts, and the more nervous you feel before you start off on cross country, the bigger the rush afterwards!

From Facebook fan Amanda Fought Pierce ~ "Your legs should have a neutral position. A place where they do nothing but be there ready to use. Your horse should have gait control in all three gaits where they go without you pushing. When you find neutral, and they find speed control, then you can start to shape the position with your legs in either a driving leg or lateral leg aid. You cannot collect, extend or get lateral work until you have those two qualities. I won't lie, it's tough!"

"You should always be able to halt square and on the mark if you and your horse were correct." ~ Reiner Klimke

"When I treat my shoulders like the moveable joints that they are, everything 'comes together' so much better." ~ Tammy Parks

What you do with your seat when you ask for the canter will affect the quality of the canter transition. If you stiffen your hips and back as you ask for the canter (as many riders do when they ask for the canter too strongly,) the horse’s movement will be stifled. If you allow your hips and lower back to be supple and follow the horse’s motion while you are asking for the canter, the horse can respond with more active hind leg engagement in the transition.

(Click on video title above to ask questions or make comments)

Riders are often incorrectly told to lean back and against the reins when their horses get strong. Not only will this not work, but it will usually make the horse even heavier in their hands.

Longitudinal suppleness (which is what gives them the ability to collect easily) is only possible when the horse is laterally supple. Don’t take a horse that is laterally stiff and ask him to collect! You have to improve his lateral suppleness with judicious use of lateral exercises before he will be able to give you true collection.

"Stretching is important in every schooling session, but don’t let your horse think it is a break from the work. Stretching is not supposed to be associated with quitting." ~ Christine Traurig

The more impulsion you have at any given moment, the more submission you need. And submission is not the same thing as subservience. Submission is the willingness of the horse to follow your instructions. This is why you shouldn't ask for more impulsion when your horse is already against your hand.

"Riding the upper levels becomes less and less about who is the most naturally talented ... It becomes more of who is the best mental competitor. Who can take the competition down mentally, and have the ability to stay focused on the task at hand regardless of what happens, that's what true upper level talent is." ~ Stephanie Shepherd Ezzo 

To help your horse make a softer, more balanced canter depart - set him up for it, and then think of allowing him to canter, rather than asking strongly. If you push too strongly, your horse is more likely to push hard with his hind legs into the canter, and begin the transition on the forehand.

Since the various available lateral movements all work to supple the horse's body in a slightly different way, it is a good idea to use bits of all of them in your training. Don't just do your favorites.

Everyone talks about engaging the horse's inside hind leg - but the key to a good quality canter is sufficient engagement of the outside hind leg… as that is how each canter stride begins.

"It is not our horses job to understand our language. It is our job to understand theirs." ~ Reiner Klimke

The smoothest and easiest canter to walk transitions come when the horse can canter at nearly walk speed.

I find that many riders are using bits that are too BIG for their horse’s mouths (too long, from side to side.) While certainly better than a bit that is too small, when a bit is too big there is too much movement of the bit sliding back and forth in the horse’s mouth. Horses want the bit to be still in their mouths, they don’t want it sliding left and right all the time.

You need to decide that, from this day on, your horse will respond to light aids. If you don't expect him to, and don’t consistently give him appropriate feedback, he probably won't ever be as attentive and responsive as you would like him to be.

"One of the good things about our sport is that while getting older might slow your reflexes down, the knowledge you have enables you to continue to improve, and handle the challenges better." ~ Shane Rose