"Remember, the conversation between you and your horse must never be dull or inert. It should be, 'Ask, receive, give. Ask, receive, give.' Ask with your body and legs; receive through your body into your hands; give primarily with the hands, but also with your body and legs, so that you can ask all over again, receive again and give again. The give is your thanks. If you don't give, you must ask harder the next time, and even harder after that, until you end up with a dead or resistant horse." - Sally Swift
We actually managed a couple good steps of a walk pirouette the other day and it was super exciting! It’s also very hard. Is there any way to help teach a horse to look and move the way his haunches are pointing, except the obvious “by little degrees at a time?” (Kayla)
Hi Kayla!
How fun to feel some good steps of a walk pirouette for the first time! Yes, it can be a challenge at first to teach the horse any of the lateral movements that require them to move into the direction of the bend. The way I like to introduce this concept to them is... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)
Do you keep your horse on the aids when out hacking? Or do you mostly give your horse loose reins? What are the pros and cons for either method? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read and join in on this educational discussion)
It is possible to have contact without a real connection (in fact it is quite common unfortunately), but a true connection always involves good contact. The connection involves the horse's entire body… with energy created in the horse's hind legs traveling through the horse's supple body, and into the rider's hands.
Many people ask me about the choreography of their freestyle pattern. One of the confusions surrounding a freestyle pattern is what is allowed and what is forbidden at a certain level. Before you can begin to build a pattern you need to know the difference between movements and figures so that you don't try something that is on the "forbidden" list at your level.
What is the difference between movements, figures and patterns? (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
When asking for a canter lengthening or medium canter on a hot horse or one that is prone to tension, it can be helpful to initiate the upward transition with a bigger scoop of your seat rather than your leg. This helps the horse to understand that you want a bigger stride, rather than simply more speed.
With many horses it takes at least 10 to 20 transitions in a row in the warm up to get to the point where they are really balanced, rideable, and listening equally to all of the rider’s aids. Do you do enough in your warm up?
Happy, fresh, relaxed, and supple horses always perform better than horses that are drilled and drilled!
Tip/Quote of the Day # 1772The spooky type of horse often benefits from the rider taking the time to thoroughly educate them about jumping in challenging lighting situations, such as jumping directly into bright sunlight, jumping into dark shaded areas, and shadows on the ground before and after fences. Question # 333: Kayla has a question about core/ab exercises for her horse.What are some good core/ab exercises for my horse? The vet says his back is in good shape, but his abs are weak, and we should work on getting those stronger as soon as we can to keep from ruining his back down the road.
Also, the last couple days I’ve noticed the little triangle muscles at the base of his neck (right in front of his withers) working differently at different times. When I ride him with his neck flat and out in front, they only work a little bit, and they don’t work at all when he’s giraffe-ing or when he tucks his nose even if he’s on the vertical. They seem to work quite a bit though at some other times. Are those muscles an okay indicator of whether or not he’s using his topline? (Kayla)
Hi Kayla!
It is so good to hear a vet say that! As having a strong core is just as important to horses as it is to people. It is one of the secrets to being able to maintain a happy and healthy back, and to be able to access the horse's full power. First I want you to read this article on strength training for the equine athlete. This article will give you a comprehensive strength training program, and outline all the various tools available for building a strong equine athlete. And the 2 core specific exercises that I will add to that are: (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 1771
Always use both reins together to steer, especially when jumping. Using one rein only turns the horse's nose - but using both reins turn the horse at the shoulders, which means his body will more accurately follow your chosen line.
From Facebook fan Kelly Turman-Meyers ~ "The longest paths [in learning how to ride and compete] are usually those people without good trainers. The shortest path is to find the best classical trainer you can and ride as many horses as you can."
"Regularity and rhythm have to go through all the collected work as well. If the horse gets heavy, use the energy more. If you remember this rule, it will stop you making mistakes even if you are not as experienced as a rider. Keep going back to the basics." ~ Jonny Hilberath
Tip/Quote of the Day # 1766The horse is not capable of true collection when his muscles are tense. No matter how hard you try to achieve collection, it will elude you unless you can first achieve loose and relaxed muscles. Question # 332: Ellen is having some difficulties when trotting fences. My gelding who wants to rush and jump long (or big) REFUSES to trot over ANYTHING. He gets completely discombobulated, has tantrums, throws his head up, won’t go forward etc. What can I do to make him trot? (Ellen)
Hi Ellen!
The first thing I would recommend is that you read this article to try to figure out what specificlaly is causing your horse to want to rush his fences. The article also gives specific exercises for the different possible causes of rushing.
While some of the exercises mentioned will help with all types of rushers, the best results will come when you have identified why your horse is rushing. As a horse that is rushing out of nerves or anxiety will often get worse with harsh corrections, while the horse that is showing a lack of respect for his rider's aids may need those strong corrections. If you are unsure as to why your horse is rushing, maybe you can send me a video, so I can help you figure it out?
Other things I would recommend are... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 1765
In any lateral movement, keep your eyes pointed to the spot that you want your horse to go to.
"Beginners are not bad riders, they merely lack experience. The only truly bad riders are usually 'experienced' in the poorest sense of that word; those who blatantly and ignorantly bully their horses." ~ Egon von Neindorff
You’ve talked on a walkie-talkie, right? There’s radio silence until somebody pushes a button. Then, sometimes there’s static or a click that serves as a warning for you to get ready to listen … or sometimes the talking just starts, maybe even with the first or last part cut off, so you have to guess what the person on the other side just said. If you happen to key your mike at the same time the other person does, nobody gets to hear anybody. It’s not an efficient communication system. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
You must train your horse to understand that he should stay at whatever speed you put him in until told otherwise. Remember that every time you allow your horse to make a decision about his speed or energy level (or don't realize that he has done so), you are training him to make these decisions on his own.
"Stair stepping" your lateral work when schooling your horse has enormous benefits! It helps to teach your horse to stay more truly connected throughout all of your lateral movements. You will become more aware of and be better able to fix any straightness issues that you may encounter. And it will help you to maintain more hind leg activity and impulsion throughout any lateral movement or exercise. Read on to find out how to do it! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
"If you put a muscle where it doesn’t want to be, it is broken down – not build up."
So don't go thinking that you are building the right muscles when you force a horse's head into a position. The horse has to be using those muscles correctly to actually develop properly.
Follow these guidelines to prevent recurring episodes of this potentially dangerous condition.
Colic is one of the most frightening medical problems faced by horse owners. Unfortunately, determining the underlying cause of chronic colic can be difficult, which means your horse’s colic will continue to recur. The following 12 tips for avoiding colic may help reduce the risk. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
"Working over a single pole on the ground, notice if the young horse prefers to chip in a short stride or stretch for a long stride. Then remember this is the default that they will return to when things go wrong." ~ Eric Smiley
If you follow your horse's mouth with a consistently elastic feel, he will learn to trust your hand so fully, that he will lose the desire to escape it.
Too often I see riders asking their horses to be forward and in front of their leg, and they don't get the response they are looking for... yet they move on to the next thing they had planned anyway. Whether the next thing you plan to do is a jump or a dressage movement, your best bet would be to put that on hold for a moment, and really insist that your horse responds 100% to your leg. You won't get much else done without that quality.
Video # 312 and Question # 331: This is Rachael!This is my just-turned-four year old OTTB who is just starting into work after having a 6 month letdown post racing. The last 2 times I rode him, he was thinking about rounding and holding a steady contact to my hands. I was wondering if there are any tips/exercises I should be doing to help him learn to keep it more consistent? I know a lot of it is muscling, so I haven't been pushing very hard. I just don't want the head bobbing to become a habit. I am thinking of taking him to a schooling dressage show for Intro level just to get some experience in a few weeks. Any help would be appreciated :) Thanks! (Rachael) (Click on Video or Question Title above (in blue) to read the answer)
Your weight or seat aid trumps your leg and hand aids at all times. So if you are unconsciously giving conflicting aids with your weight/seat and your legs or hands, your horse will usually not do exactly what you expect him to do.
"Concentrate on the transitions, forward and back, build the activity from behind. When you bring the horse slightly back, you still have to push her forward to the hand, you can keep riding as long as you can feel the hindlegs in your hand." ~ Susanne Miesner
"There are many different schools of training – the one thing that is most important is the welfare of the horse, the one thing we must concentrate on is producing healthy and strong horses." ~ Emile Faurie
How would you ride this fence?? At what speed would you approach it? What should you be thinking about in the final strides before takeoff? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read and join in on this educational discussion)
"When training a riding horse, the aim is to introduce natural gymnastic work. This is the way to ensure that his joints become more supple and his stamina and muscle tone improve. The horse’s way of going is totally dependent on his muscles and the contraction and relaxation of the different muscle groups are essential for strengthening them. Cavalletti work is very useful for this because it develops strength in particular muscles by asking the horse to move in a specific and controlled way." ~ Ingrid Klimke
It is quite easy to let a poor transition slide by when you are working on something other than the quality of your transitions at that moment. But that will lead to bad habits, and the loss of the gymnastic value of the transition. No matter what you are specifically working on, make every transition count!
"When you relax your arms and feel the reins softly you need to feel that your horse wants to step into the contact. If you do not then he is behind your leg and seat." ~ Yvonne Barteau
"The back is the bridge in the horse, and it can only be there if the hind leg is really working. The rider has to influence the hind legs to build that bridge, otherwise it is a horse in three pieces, back, front and you somewhere in the middle." ~ Francis Verbeek
From member Sharon Fitzgerald ~ "Stopping on the third perfect response (if we are at least 20 minutes in) and getting off is a very effective training technique for solidifying work. Horses have near perfect memory. What I end on is often what I start with the next session. That sets the stage for progressive training. At this point, my horse knows I will vault off if he tries and succeeds at doing what is asked."
Take your time when riding transitions. Many riders seem to rush through them just to get them done. Be conscious of preparing for each one, and feeling all of the details while you are making the transition - being ready to abort the transition if things start to go wrong.
