Tip/Quote of the Day # 930You cannot make your horse jump cleanly, so don't try to pick him up with your hands and legs, and attempt to throw him over the fence with your body, Instead - set them up for success, and then let them jump cleanly.Tip/Quote of the Day # 929"Sometimes we have to surprise the crazy ones to make them do a nice test, and either do no warm up or do something random, but overall, horses love a routine." ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 928Frequent quality transitions are the best way to confirm that your horse is listening equally to both the driving aids and the restraining aids.Tip/Quote of the Day # 927On the question of "Should I use a stronger bit?" Jimmy Wofford says, "The correctly trained horse should be able to compete in a plain snaffle and simple cavesson in all three disciplines. However, it takes a long time to train your horse correctly, and you have to live through the short-term to prove that I am right in the long-term."Tip/Quote of the Day # 926From Facebook fan Donna Peters ~ "Once you feel what it feels like when the withers rise and the back fills up the space under your seat and thighs, you never forget it."Tip/Quote of the Day # 925"The horse needs to learn how to jump from a bad distance. How is he going to learn if you don't practice this?" ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 924Does your horse regularly hit rails behind? Check that you are not hanging onto his mouth, or taking back on the reins on the descent of the jump.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 KlimkeTip/Quote of the Day # 921"Don't look at your steering wheel, look at the road." ~ Chris BartleTip/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.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.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. 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 KunffyTip/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."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. 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.Tip/Quote of the Day # 902If you think it doesn't matter if your horse drifts a tiny bit one way or the other when jumping, you are wrong. It almost always effects the horse's balance in a negative way.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. 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 WoffordTip/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.Tip/Quote of the Day # 887Keep your hands forward thinking at all times - don't be "stealing" from the horse's hind legs.Tip/Quote of the Day # 886"Nothing is as impressive or as valuable for the training as being able to control the impulsion and the desire to go forward to such an extent that the rider is able to bring his horse to a standstill from an extended trot or canter without the slightest effort or disturbance. Conversely, departing immediately from the halt into an extended gait is an equal proof of the absolute desire to go forward." ~ Alois PodhajskyTip/Quote of the Day # 885Riders can benefit SO much from discussions about their riding. Riding is as much cognitive as it is physical - both aspects need to be exercised to truly improve!Tip/Quote of the Day # 884"I don't want riders who work physically hard. Work by thinking." ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 883"Relaxation is first mental, then physical. A horse in pain or one who fears you will never relax his body." ~ Charles de KunffyTip/Quote of the Day # 882The rein back is a great exercise to "fold" the joints of the hind legs and increase the "sit" behind, but only if the horse remains straight and relaxed in the back when performing it.Tip/Quote of the Day # 881
“You think it’s quite boring, but this is the foundation. It’s like building a house. If you have a bad foundation, you’re going to have a bad house.” ~ Charlotte Dujardin
