Tip/Quote of the Day # 635Half halts work best when applied within the rhythm of the horse's stride. Tip/Quote of the Day # 634The deeper the water you are landing in at your water jump, the more slowly you must approach the fence into the water.Tip/Quote of the Day # 633"Whenever a horse has learned a new movement or a new aid in its basic form, the rider should give him a break and deliberately ride something else for a few days or weeks. When he returns to the movement, he will notice how much more easily the training will proceed." ~ Reiner KlimkeTip/Quote of the Day # 632
When the horse makes a mistake or misbehaves and you stop him and regroup, you can easily be sending him the wrong message. Stopping and taking a break is often perceived as a reward to the horse. Be careful what you reward.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 631Rigidity in the rein connection, caused by the horse or rider bracing against the contact, will always result in tension in the horse's body. And the reverse is very true as well. If the horse is tight in the body, he will tend to brace against your hand. Tip/Quote of the Day # 630"Our job is to prepare the line and canter, then ride forward to the jump. Riding forward to the jump is NOT accelerating to the jump. There is a difference. When riders got to a longer or shorter distance than ideal, the emphasis is on the rider staying in the moment and conveying confidence to the horse." ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 629Make sure that your flash or figure eight noseband is not restricting your horse's breathing! There should be at least four fingers of room between the bottom strap and your horses nostril, otherwise you ARE at risk for restricting your horse's breathing! This photo shows a flash that is way too low. To fix this situation, the noseband itself needs to be higher and possibly a bit tighter. Then the flash attachment will sit correctly.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 628A correct connection involves the horse's entire spinal column, including the neck vertebrae stretching forward into that connection. Tip/Quote of the Day # 627“It is important that the neck is open at the throat latch. Too many horses too short in the neck in all disciplines. Today’s horses are always in a frame, but often they don’t seek the contact properly, and you can’t give high marks to a horse that is behind the bit.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 626"Riding must be a totality of exercises that bring the horse into the hand without leaning onto it. Putting the horse on the bit means: feeling that the poll flexes, the back rises, the haunches become active." ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 625“You need to produce a walk. So work at the walk as well as the trot and canter. Get a good feeling of the body working in the walk. The walk is a mirror of the training of the horse.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 624The more complex the movements, the more the basic foundation is tested.Tip/Quote of the Day # 623“Often people think that the easy way of stopping the horse from charging is by putting on the handbreak — and that’s actually the cause in the first place." ~ Harry MeadeTip/Quote of the Day # 622“The distance does not matter. What matters is that you don’t fall forward over their necks or backwards off their a#$@# when you get there.” ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 621
"Regularly practice jumping gymnastics on a long or loose rein and remind your horse that he needs to, in Eric Smiley's lovely phrase, 'take ownership of the fence.'" ~ Jimmy Wofford
Tip/Quote of the Day # 619“Riders use the spur instead of the calf of the leg. This is wrong. As trainers and judges, we need to encourage putting the rider in front of the leg, NOT the spur.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 620
“The less you do, the more will go right.” ~ Nuno Oliveira
Tip/Quote of the Day # 617"The less we do on cross country- the easier we are on our horses, learn how to be more still, touch their mouth only when you need too, plan your turns. The lighter we are with them galloping over few fences we save their bodies and legs." ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 616Overbending the neck is especially problematic in lateral work, as it causes the horse to displace their weight to the outside. Tip/Quote of the Day # 615Always be aware of the fact that any movement of your hands is more apparent to the judges if you wear white gloves.Tip/Quote of the Day # 614“Banging the horse’s sides with the ankles, especially in the sitting trot will certainly disturb the horse’s gait.” ~ Nuno Oliveira Tip/Quote of the Day # 613From Facebook fan Suzanne Johnson Dortch ~ "When in doubt, breathe out." Tip/Quote of the Day # 612 “With the bend on the circles and in the travers, it is important to use as little inside rein as possible. If you need the inside rein, there is something wrong with the earlier work.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 611The best jumps are when the horse maintains the same rhythm and stride length on the approach AND the landing. You should be able to cover your eyes, and *hear* the consistency of the horse's stride in the final strides, and again on landing. If you can hear that… you know without even seeing it, that the jump was good - no matter what exact spot the horse took off from.Tip/Quote of the Day # 610“Riding forward to the jump is NOT accelerating to the jump. There is a difference.” ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 609Don't let the quality of your transitions suffer in your effort to be accurate. While both are important, it is more important to perform good transitions, than to perform them exactly at the letter.Tip/Quote of the Day # 608Remember that even a cow can jump a 3 foot fence from a standstill - if it wants to. So never worry about whether or not your horse has enough scope to do lower level eventing or jumping. The bigger issue is whether or not you can keep him balanced at the canter. Tip/Quote of the Day # 607When lunging, pivot with one foot so that you keep yourself still and centered in the middle of your horse's circle. This way, he will learn to make an actual circle shape, rather than an odd shape.Tip/Quote of the Day # 606"You're never going to be perfect, let go." ~ Chris BartleTip/Quote of the Day # 605“Only the rider who is free from any contraction will have a horse equally free from contraction. A team such as this is the ideal” ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 604The "hold their head up and gallop" approach to training your horse to jump ditches may get you over, but it can easily cause your horse to be somewhat afraid of ditches for the rest of their life. It is much better to go slow and let them look. Give them the time to figure it out. Once they understand and are confident, they will be safe and happy to jump any ditch.Tip/Quote of the Day # 603“Happy horses get high marks. Good basics get high marks. Too many horses do the movements held and forced, and this will get low marks.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 602“Event horses need to learn to jump facing into crowds and other spooky things. At home, I have my horses jumping into banners on the fence line and other things to get them used to that idea.” ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 601When running cross country in muddy conditions, always look for a fresh track to run on between fences. Not paying attention to this detail and letting your horse gallop in the tracks made by previous horses will increase your horse's workload... adding to unnecessary fatigue, as well as putting him at increased risk for injury. Tip/Quote of the Day # 600With horses, just like with people, let your actions speak for you. For example, you may think you are rewarding your horse when you say "Good boy" or "Good girl"… but if you don't also release the aid, your horse will not really feel rewarded for their effort.Tip/Quote of the Day # 599The amount of weight involved in your elastic rein connection can be anything from a firm bungee cord type feel to a thin, lightweight rubber band. And the horse's level of balance is what will determine exactly what that weight will be. Tip/Quote of the Day # 598When lunging, pivot with one foot so that you keep yourself still and centered in the middle of your horse's circle. This way, he will learn to make an actual circle shape, rather than an odd shape.Tip/Quote of the Day # 597“Most horses are either slightly lazy or crazy. We hope to find one that is somewhere in the middle.” ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 596
When strength is needed, such as when riding a strong horse, a rider needs to be able to find their strength in the center of their body - their core. Many times they attempt to find their strength in their arms or shoulders instead, and this is counter productive. As instead of being an anchor against the horse's strength, the horse thinks the rider is instigating a pulling match.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 595“Often people think that the easy way of stopping the horse from charging is by putting on the handbreak — and that’s actually the cause in the first place." ~ Harry MeadeTip/Quote of the Day # 594From Facebook fan Elizabeth Owens ~ "I finally realized that my horse's lead issues were due to the fact that I sit crooked. It's rarely the horse's fault... look to the rider's faults first."Tip/Quote of the Day # 593Because one hind foot is always in the air in the trot, it is harder for a horse to refuse a jump from a trot approach vs a canter approach. So it can be a good idea to trot into a spooky fence that you think your horse might want to stop at. Just make sure you keep riding that trot until your horse is safely in the air.Tip/Quote of the Day # 592“Horsemen have opinions, horses have answers." ~ John LyonsTip/Quote of the Day # 591Focusing on carrying your head correctly will correct most posture bad habits.Tip/Quote of the Day # 590If you have jump poles with stripes on them, make sure you take advantage of them, by practicing jumping or stepping accurately over the middle stripe.Tip/Quote of the Day # 589As you are about to come down the center line in your Dressage test, briefly think about something that you know will make you smile. You and your horse will both relax, which will make for a happier performance. The judge will see the difference!Tip/Quote of the Day # 588“Horses can get deep to a single pole [without a groundline] and learn to do a slithery jump, like they need to at a coffin.” ~ Andrew NicholsonTip/Quote of the Day # 587From Facebook fan Jim Collins ~ "Often the simplest exercise is the most profound."Tip/Quote of the Day # 586We incorporate circles into our training to promote suppleness and improved balance in the horse. But if our circles are oddly shaped, they will not improve the horse's suppleness, and will instead unbalance the horse.Tip/Quote of the Day # 585Your arm position determines your hand position to a large degree. So you must address your arms as well when you want to improve your hands.
