Tip/Quote of the Day # 923A half halt will not "go through" unless your horse is relaxed in the back and at least somewhat connected.Tip/Quote of the Day # 922“My Father always strived for Olympic glory, but he was well aware that he would not reach this goal if he took shortcuts. He knew it was better to wait than rush a horse’s training. Our highest aim is to make our horses more beautiful and keep them healthy through their training. To achieve this the three daily priorities with all horses are 1) take small steps, 2) keep variety in the training and 3) foster the horse’s personality … which means we should never dominate our horses." ~ Ingrid KlimkeLauren's Blog post # 2Branching Out
Tomorrow I embark on a journey that will take me to a far away land drawn by fierce wanderlust, fulfillment of childhood equestrian dreams, and matters of the heart. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)Tip/Quote of the Day # 921"Don't look at your steering wheel, look at the road." ~ Chris BartleAdvanced Grid Work - Adjustability Over Fences
Adjustability is key when it comes to good jumping! It is what makes our horses a joy to ride over fences, and allows us to easily create and maintain exactly the right canter that we need for every circumstance. A big part of the rider's homework on the flat should be to practice the adjustability exercise outlined here. And when that is all going quite well, the next step for the moderately experienced jumper is to incorporate that work into your gymnastic jumping. Here is a series of grids that will put you to the test! (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 920When the horse is at a level where they are ready for it, mixing up a few strides of shoulder in, a few of half pass, a few more of shoulder in, to a few steps of renvers is a great way to keep your horse sharp to your aids, and is a great test of the horse's lateral balance.Tip/Quote of the Day # 919When horses carry tension in their back, it usually shows up one of these two ways: Either the tension incites their flight response, and they want to rush, rush, rush…. or because they don't like the way their bodies feel they become "stuck," and it becomes very difficult to get and keep the horse in front of your leg. Dissipate the tension and get the horse's back happily swinging, and the nervous, rushy horse relaxes into an even rhythm, and the "stuck" horse will begin to go happily forward.Tip/Quote of the Day # 918It 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.Question # 276: One of the mares I ride has gotten incredibly fussy about her stomach. She nips and kicks when I brush her belly and get equally frustrated by the girth.......I've tried a bunch of different girths and even started working her bareback for awhile, but she still hates being brushed on her belly. What could be going on and how might I fix it? (Brooke)
Hi Brooke!
A lot of horses (especailly mares) are "girthy" to some degree, (and if you haven't yet tried one, our sponsor, Total Saddle Fit, makes a great girth designed to keep horses comfortable in that area - check it out here), and sometimes it is something that you just have to learn to live with. BUT, since it sounds like this is a new problem, or at least one that is getting worse, it sounds like maybe... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Question # 275: My little quarter horse mare likes to tilt her nose to the left at the trot and canter when working indoors......She doesn't do it when jumping, at the walk, or when out hacking. She is consistent in this behavior regardless of what bit she has on: I use a plain snaffle at home and a mullen mouth pelham out foxhunting. I've ruled out physical problems: she's had her teeth checked, saw the vet & chiropractor. What can cause this & how do I fix it? (Kellyn)
Hi Kellyn!
You don't mention how old your horse is, or at what level she is working... but usually when this problem arises it is due to one (or more) of these three things: (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 917A horse's balance, or lack thereof, is most evident in downward transitions.Tip/Quote of the Day # 916The time to think about each jump and the particular questions that it may ask is when you are walking your course. Once on course, keep thinking about maintaining the quality of your canter, and let the jumps just get in the way.Tip/Quote of the Day # 915A great way to introduce flying lead changes to your Event horse is when out galloping in a field. It is quite natural for them to change leads cleanly when galloping strongly (when they are also in balance.) So this can be used to our advantage to help them understand what we want.Tip/Quote of the Day # 914As you finish a course, ask yourself if you are finishing with the same pace that you started with. If the answer is no… the next question you need to ask yourself is which speed was better for your horse's jumping - the way you started, or the way you finished? Then make sure you use that information on the next course that you jump.Video # 86: This is Holly, doing a row of bounces in her small indoor arena!So I've been taking it slow with my boy, we've started doing 2'6 courses! But, now it's winter and we have a ridiculously small indoor. I set up some trot-in bounce crossrails today (low because it was his first time doing bounces), mostly to work on my leg, but looking at the video, it almost looks like the distance between the jumps is too short. I'll send the video. They're 9 feet apart, and it feels like he went through them pretty flat as well. What's your opinion, and what do you think we need to work on? You can kind of see how small a space I have to work in, and until the massive flooding in the southeast eases up we're stuck indoors so I'm trying to find things we can do. Also, I had dropped the reins but hadn't quite figured out what to do with my arms so they're just kind of awkwardly there in this video. (Holly) (Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 913"To get TB's (which easily can get hollow and short necked and tight in the back) to stay loose, swinging and over their back you sometimes let them go a bit "deep" to start, then always going to engaging exercises to bring the poll up." ~ Lara Knight Tip/Quote of the Day # 912When working on trot/walk transitions, if you feel your horse is being lazy with one hind leg in the transition, do a few steps of leg yield off of that leg before moving on - making sure your horse is hot to that lateral aid. Video Discussion # 89: Watch Ginny Leng show us what a good show jumping canter looks like! In this video, Ginny shows us a great example of the frame that allows most horses to show their best jumping form... Her horse is round and active behind the withers in this packaged, bouncy canter, yet he is up in his shoulders with an elevated head and neck in the final strides to the jump. Notice how his nose is up, and well ahead of the vertical on the final strides of the approach to each fence, which is very important - both for balance, and for the horse to be able to have his eye truly on the top rail. In watching this, can you get a sense of how this helps a horse to rock back and spring upward most easily? Also note that when her horse was on the wrong lead or cross cantering (which was surprisingly often) she was easily able to maintain the quality of the canter, and therefore the the horse still jumped well. If well ridden, it isn't really a big deal when that happens! What are your thoughts? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to watch the video, and to read this educational discussion)Tip/Quote of the Day # 911Horses that have a smooth and naturally balanced gallop stride often have longer careers in this sport. Keep that in mind when looking for a prospect. Tip/Quote of the Day # 910Frequent transitions and half halts are ultimately what give you impulsion rather than speed from the energy in your horse's stride. Tip/Quote of the Day # 909"Relaxation is the bread and butter without which you cannot advance to stage two, balance." ~ Charles de KunffyTip/Quote of the Day # 908"A horse with impulsion will display rounder, more fluid, and more continuous action and will develop supple joints and an elastic musculature. There is a subtle vibration in the impulsive horse's body." ~ Charles de KunffyQuestion # 274: One of the horses I ride is built downhill and can get EXTREMELY heavy sometimes, especially when he is getting tired near the end of a work out. How do I combat this? (Brooke) Hi Brooke!
This of course can be a very common problem with horses that are built downhill! First of all, check out this article on Dressage with the croup high horse, which discusses ideas on how to get the best work out of this type of horse. And for a thorough description of how to make downward transitions and half halts work to truly cause your horse to carry himself better, read this... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 907From Facebook fan Andi Stockton Fox ~ "It's much easier to ride to the base of the fence when I am actively riding forward to the fence."Lauren's Blog post # 1I Think I Missed the Course Walk...
It took me a while to brew up the right ingredients for my first blog entry. Should I compose a sweet icebreaker - get to know you - “hello my name is Lauren and I love horses” sort of piece, delve straight into the matter of my day-to-day trials and tribulations with the equine species, or touch on a bit of it all? Perhaps I should set the stage so that my stories have something concrete to land upon as I express in literary fashion the goings-on of my life with horses, knowledge gathered from the past, and all of the experiences that will come henceforth. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)Tip/Quote of the Day # 906When jumping, long stirrups might seem easier to you, but shorter stirrups (within reason, of course) will make you a better rider. Video Discussion # 88: This short video shows a great example of a rider riding truly *forward* in a trot to walk transition! This short video shows a great example of a rider riding trulyforward in a trot to walk transition! Do you sometimes have trouble keeping your horse active and in front of the leg in this transition? A few things to think about:
To help yourself to more honestly ride your trot to walk transitions in a forward manner, think of... (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read on further, and to learn from this educational discussion)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 905When teaching, I am always on the lookout for signs that the horse might need a short stretching break. Sometimes it is something as subtle as a more anxious look in the horse's eyes. And sometimes it is more obvious, like the horse starts to become a little more fussy about the contact, or starts to get a little lower in front and/or heavy in his rider's hands. It is wise to give your horse a short stretch at whatever gait you are working in, exactly when your horse needs it. This keeps his body more comfortable, keeps him enjoying his work, and most importantly - builds the amount of trust that he has for his rider, and the idea of training in general.Tip/Quote of the Day # 904"Stay dedicated to the quality of the basic gaits—the suppleness and balance of the walk, trot and canter. Then as you cultivate the movements, those gaits improve." ~ Volker BrommannTip/Quote of the Day # 903A rider's rigid elbows will cause the horse's back to become correspondingly rigid.Question # 273: I'm wondering if you have any favorite exercises for strengthening a horse's back and building topline?...My old guy has been back to work for about two months after being off since June with major hoof trauma/crazy ulcer flares, He's (knock on wood) doing well, but he's lost all of his topline, and I'm having problems with him getting a little back sore. I've had a fitter out to adjust my saddle and pads to accommodate his frame now, and he's also getting body work. He's going on 21 so I know that it just takes longer to regenerate muscles on these old guys, I'm just wondering if you have an other exercises in mind beyond the tried and true long and low, that might help? I've been thinking about doing some long lining work with him, just to take my weight out of the equation, but I don't know a lot about long lining, so if you have any pointers there that might also be helpful. (Amy)
There are lots of stages of learning. In the beginning you have no idea about anything, so you don't know just how much you don't know. As you learn more, at some point you HOPEFULLY, discover just how vast the chasm in your knowledge really is. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 901The more stable you are able to keep your outside rein connection, the more quickly your horse will learn to accept it. Stable, yet elastic... like a bungee cord. Video # 85: This is Lija jumping a keyhole fence! (Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 900Imagine the rider's body as a tree… the rider's seat and core need to be engaged and strong like the tree trunk, their long draped legs are the roots, and their arms are supple movable branches.Tip/Quote of the Day # 899"All work should be able to be done in a snaffle. Double bridle is not an instrument to get the horse’s head down!" ~ Carl HesterTip/Quote of the Day # 898If you try to teach a horse something while tension is present, his learning will be compromised. And you will be more likely to run into problems associated with the flight response.Tip/Quote of the Day # 897Horses don't generalize as easy as humans do. When we teach the horse something new, he doesn't easily apply that knowledge to other situations. You have to consciously show him how to apply it elsewhere. For example when you teach a horse to move off of your right leg, he doesn't automatically understand how to move off of your left leg. And just because he gets comfortable crossing one water jump, doesn't mean the next one is automatically safe in his mind. You may have to expose him to many different water situations before he may decide that all water is ok. Tip/Quote of the Day # 896“Look for a genuine coach with real coaching skills rather than a rider who may know how to do something, but not how to teach it. Also, find someone who has solid experience of working with riders of your level." ~ William MicklemTip/Quote of the Day # 895"Collection is a gathering of the energy – not something you get by using the reins, it is something you get by using your seat and legs." ~ Marilyn PayneTip/Quote of the Day # 894Riding with your thumbs on top keeps your hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders in a "neutral" position, which allows your joints to move most freely for an elastic rein connection.Tip/Quote of the Day # 893"Riders tend to lean back and pull on horses who are rushing, which makes a bad situation worse. When you pull back against your horse, he will usually invert, drop his back and lean against your hand. Once he is in this shape, no bit in the world will solve your problem." ~ Jimmy WoffordHow to Build Strength in Your Horse's Canter
It takes strength for a horse to canter in true self carriage with a rider on its back! And many of the difficulties that riders run into in their canter work stem from a lack of sufficient strength, and/or the understanding of how to use that strength to properly carry their riders while at the canter. Read on to find out how to build strength in your horse's canter, and to show him how to use that strength to best carry you. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
This is exactly what happens when riders... (Click on Questin Title above (in blue) to read full answer) Tip/Quote of the Day # 892“The horse has to learn to look after himself, otherwise I might as well get off and just chuck him over. And I’m not that strong. I don’t go to the gym.” ~ Ben MaherTip/Quote of the Day # 891Land from a jump thinking about what you are going to do next. Don't land thinking about what you just did.Tip/Quote of the Day # 890Half halts are one of the most important ways of increasing the horse's carrying power. Tip/Quote of the Day # 889Always remember that every top rider was once a beginner. You will progress the most if you walk that fine line between being patient with yourself as you learn and improve your skills, and pushing yourself to do what is most challenging for you to do. Tip/Quote of the Day # 888Only precise riding trains the horse correctly. Be exact in your geometry, figures, and lines.
