Recent Articles in Tip/Quote of the Day!

"When the horse jumps, you go with it, not the other way around." ~ Bill Steinkraus

From Facebook fan Jackie Salyer ~ "Ride as many horses as you can! Each one has something to teach you."

"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

Many horses like and do well with a little bit of rein contact throughout the jumping effort. But there are some that are so sensitive, that ANY amount of feel of their mouth at the top of the jumping arc will restrict their form - causing them to either jump with their nose tucked to their chest, or to try to fight the rider’s hand in the air. Both of which will ruin the quality of the horse’s jump. Make sure you know which kind of horse you have!

From Facebook fan Ashleen McCullough ~ "You have to trust in something. Trust your riding, trust your horse, at the very least trust that your trainer knows what you can do. Without trust, you can't complete the exercise (no matter what it is.)"

"The goal of any rider is to have the horse fall in love with your hands." ~ Tad Coffin

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

"When you come to a jump, the horse is the one who has to decide to leave the ground." ~ Andrew Hoy

"You have to have a little contact so the circle from the pushing aids to the steady contact to the mouth is correct. Even in halt, you still have to have the feeling that the horse wants to go forward – without pulling." ~ Jo Hinnemann

Land from a jump thinking about what you are going to do next. Don't land thinking about what you just did.

I find that many riders ride with reins that are too long, in an attempt to be softer with their hands. This backfires however, because the rider will then have to draw their hand backwards to use the reins. A shorter rein with a forward feeling hand is what usually works best. 

"Use your chest muscles as if you are riding into a strong wind." ~ Mary Wanless

"In dressage everything depends on the rider. The best horse in the world means nothing if the rider can’t ride." ~ Conrad Schumacher

From Facebook fan Elise Vandover ~ "I often tell my students that the outside rein is like the vinyl wall of an above-ground pool; elastic, stretchy and flexible, but enough of a boundary to keep the 'water in the pool.'"

"So long as we allow riders with an incorrect seat, with incorrect aids, to approach horses, then we will only have an accumulation of mistakes. The longer they ride a horse, the more damage they do, and it should be the opposite. The longer a good rider rides a horse, the more glorious the horse gets." ~ Charles de Kunffy

From Facebook fan Kate M. Severson ~ "Sometimes taking a step back, looping the reins, and just letting the horse do its job is the hardest thing to do! I need to let go of my perfectionism and stop trying to always micromanage, especially in the show jumping. Sit up, leg on, and let the horse jump!"

With green horses that don’t yet fully understand the bending aids, or for those who struggle with bending one direction, it can be helpful to bring your outside rein a little away from their neck (to the outside) as you bend them. This makes the outside rein a little more inviting for them to move into. 

"Where it tips over, that positive tension, is if you let the horse get strong in the bridle. Once you let the horse become heavy on the hand and strong in the bridle, it’s not positive any more, because then there is a block. If you can create what we try to create, without heavy hands, without hanging onto the rein, if you can do it with self-carriage, then it looks beautiful. It’s this word, expression, which is a dangerous word because once you put expression into it, like heightened suspension and things like that, then if you have got the wrong rider, or a rider who doesn’t ride with an independent seat, then they use their hands and that’s when you get that horrible looking, jerky dressage. It is something we really work on, to be able to create it, without going over-board." ~ Carl Hester

Every horse you ride can tell pretty quickly if you genuinely like them or not. And it makes a difference.

Horses that tend to hurry need to be ridden at a slower than ideal pace until they are rhythmical and relaxed, and are no longer trying to hurry. 

"'I have time' should be the guiding word especially of dressage riders during the entire course of training and remind him of the fact that the goal of the classical art of riding is to be attained only by the gradual increase of demands." ~ Alois Podhajsky

"I do hundreds of transitions, loads of them, so transitions become like 'pouring cream.'" ~ Carl Hester

If your horse tends to look around a lot when you are riding, keep his attention on your inside leg by asking for an exaggerated bend to the inside. You will know you have achieved putting your horse’s attention on your inside leg when his inside ear looks back at you. 

If you want your horse to truly enjoy his work, it helps to be having fun yourself when you ride. Sometimes when things are difficult, it can be hard to find the fun in that moment. You have to go out of your way to look for it! Your horse will feel the difference if you do. 

"Push him to contact, release and then push to contact again." ~ Carl Hester