Recent Articles

Everyone knows that we want our horses to be straight. But do you really know what "straightness" means? It is not simply the ability to go in a straight line. And although a big part of straightness is having the horse's body aligned so that the hind feet follow the same track as the front feet (whether on a straight or a curved line), a very important and often overlooked element of the definition of straightness is....(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

How should you ride this Prelim water complex? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)

Jumping from bright sunlight into dark shadows presents a significant challenge for the horse. And many times riders overlook the fact that a jump is into the darkness, especially if it is cloudy when walking the course. So if they are unaware, they may find that an otherwise innocuous looking jump will ride much harder than it looks! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

The exercise of alternating between a few strides of sitting trot and a few strides of posting trot can be very useful for both horse and rider. It can help the rider learn how to keep their hips relaxed to better follow the motion of the sitting trot. It can also encourage the horse that has a tendency to stiffen in the back and brace against the rider when they sit the trot to instead stay relaxed and swinging. But it is most useful for....(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

 


Turn on the haunches is an immensely valuable exercise. It teaches your horse how to listen to the inside bending aids and the outside turning aids at the same time - which is essential for success with the more advanced lateral movements of haunches in and half pass. It also serves to engage the hindquarters and encourages increased bending of the joints of the hind legs. The end result is that your horse's body feels more packaged. It's a great way to begin working on collection. Here's how to do it! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

As with most things in life, in riding you tend to get out of it what you put into it. The more time and effort you put into learning the finer details about the sport that you wish to become good at, the more likely you will be to achieve your goals. Eventing is a physical sport.....but it is also a highly mental game. You can't just get on and do it successfully, without the knowledge and understanding of all of the concepts involved. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Every rider who gallops and jumps needs to be able to effectively rebalance their horse without having to fully sit down and do the full Dressage version of a half halt. Why? Because the gallop is not meant to be "sat". Horses need to have complete freedom of their backs to gallop efficiently. Attempting to sit the gallop for any length of time will cause a horse to stiffen, and will inhibit the use of his back. Which will cause him to be unbalanced, and to brace against the rider's hand.

So when you are galloping cross country, and need to rebalance your horse for an upcoming jump, if you can half halt without sitting down you will probably find that your horse will respond with more fluidity and less resistance.(Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

The key to success at cross country complexes that involve skinny jumps lies in the rider's ability to keep the horse straight in the "tunnel" between both hands and legs at all times, and their ability to keep their horse's focus on the skinny fence. Here is an exercise that will help to develop those skills!  (Click on Article Title above to read full article)

Spiral in and out is a great exercise, that can be really useful to improve a horse's lateral suppleness and increase the level of engagement of the hind legs. Interspersing spirals with other movements and transitions will help to keep your horse more attentive to your lateral aids, and increase the quality of your work.

An interesting and useful variation on the spiral exercise is to....(Click on Article Title above to read full article)

When young children are taught to read and write, they don't begin by forming paragraphs. Learning is best done in a very progressional order. First they learn the alphabet, then individual words, then sentences, and finally paragraphs. Many times I see riders asking their horses to put sentences together into paragraphs, when the horses are still iffy on the alphabet.

For instance, I regularly see riders asking their horse to bend to the inside, when the horse doesn't completely understand what the bending aids mean. This will invariably result in resistance from the horse. How can it not? He doesn't know what the rider is really asking for! So he is either going to resist or ignore the rider. Here are the ABC's that your horse needs to know: (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

 

(Comic courtesy of Morgane Schmidt at www.TheIdeaOfOrder.com)



Do you struggle with pre competition nerves? Does performance anxiety make you sweat? Make your heart race? Give you butterflies in your stomach? If so, you are not alone! Many riders deal with these feelings to some degree. Here are some things you can do to help lessen your anxiety, and to help to make it work for you instead of against you: (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Do you ever get the comment "Needs more bend" on your Dressage tests? If you do, don't feel bad - you are not alone! It's one of the most common remarks written on test sheets. The quality of the corners and turns can easily be overlooked, as you focus on the actual movements and the order of the test. With a little more attention to bending throughout your tests, you can raise your scores significantly! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

Some horses are such brave, confident jumpers that they need very little encouragement from their riders. Point them at the jump, and they can't wait to jump it! Others are naturally more timid, and need some inspiration from their riders. There are some things you can do to help the timid horse to become more confident and successful. You just need to help him believe in himself, and bring out his inner lion! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

"Accepting the bit" and "giving to the bit" are two terms that are often wrongly interchanged in the horse world. They are actually somewhat opposing concepts, with very different meanings. Which means you need to be clearly aware which attribute you are aiming for in your training. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)

To make a good cake, you have to do more than just make sure you have all of the required ingredients........you have to have the right proportion of ingredients. Too much flour....or not enough sugar, baking soda, or eggs - and it won't turn out well. The incorrect proportion of ingredients can turn your cake into something that resembles a frisbee! And Dressage is much the same.....(Click on Article Title above to read full article)

I very often see riders losing unnecessary marks in the Dressage ring, just because they are not thinking about making sure their transitions are clear. What do I mean by clear? (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)