Tip/Quote of the Day # 139Many riders have a tendency to take their legs off when the horse gets excited, but this trains the horse that he can make the rider take the pressure off of him by acting up. Keep your legs on, ignore the nonsense, and keep riding forward.Tip/Quote of the Day # 138The horse usually tries to compensate for the lack of strength in his back and his haunches by seeking support in the rider's hands. So if your horse does this, you might want to consider adding some strength training to your horse's regime.Tip/Quote of the Day # 137Horses love a routine… it gives them confidence. With the nervous or green horse, develop a warm up routine that you will use every day. And make sure it stays the same at shows.Tip/Quote of the Day # 136“The most important thing that I want to see today is horses looking where they’re going. I don’t want horses to be waiting, waiting, waiting for instruction. I want them to be looking forward, watching how their expressions change and how their ears lock onto the fences." ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 135Always be on the lookout for even the most subtle amount of bulging to the outside on circles and turns, as it is highly unbalancing to the horse. And remember that too much bend in the neck is the number one cause of bulging to the outside. Tip/Quote of the Day # 134Think about keeping your head up and still throughout the jumping motion to help keep your upper body more quietly poised.Tip/Quote of the Day # 133
The rider's hand should act as a filter, and not as a closed drain plug, which would kill the energy of the hind legs.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 132Whenever a horse jumps in less than ideal form, it is almost always a result of loss of balance on the approach. So fix the problem by improving the quality of the canter on the approach. Tip/Quote of the Day # 131When you hurry a horse, you just get to the wrong place faster.Tip/Quote of the Day # 130Excessive bend in the neck, whether lateral (to the side) or longitudinal (behind the vertical), disconnects the haunches from the rein aids and allows the horse to remain locked up in other parts of the body, such as the poll and hips.Tip/Quote of the Day # 129When you turn your knees and toes outwards as you remain seated in the saddle, the muscles in your seat tighten and pinch your horse's back.Tip/Quote of the Day # 128As your horse brings his body together from back to front into a higher level of balance and collection, if you do not shorten the reins to adapt to the horse's shorter body length, you will tend to lose what you have gained with respect to the "coiled spring" of the hind quarters. Tip/Quote of the Day # 127Land 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 # 126Quote from Facebook fan Kristin Powers ~ "It takes WAY MORE outside rein than you ever think it does!"Tip/Quote of the Day # 125If you are inexperienced, it is truly invaluable to walk your cross country course with a coach. Due to terrain issues and fence design, there are many details that you are likely to miss if you are walking without a coach, or at least an experienced cross country rider.Tip/Quote of the Day # 124Practice your two point position. A lot.Tip/Quote of the Day # 123"If you go forward and "miss", your horse will forgive you. If you pull back and "miss", your horse will never forgive you." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 122You should always be just a nickel behind the horse's motion when jumping at speed.Tip/Quote of the Day # 121Transitions act as a test of your connection. If the quality of your connection is lacking as you begin a transition, it will be particularly evident as you execute it. Tip/Quote of the Day # 120If the horse is incorrect in the first stride of a movement, then don’t do the second stride. Abort, fix any connection issues, and start again. Tip/Quote of the Day # 119Train your horse to be responsible for maintaining the gait or movement you put him in, with no nagging from his rider.Tip/Quote of the Day # 118PREPARE for your transitions, don't just do them.Tip/Quote of the Day # 117“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing” ~ Theodore RooseveltTip/Quote of the Day # 116Only the horse with a supple, relaxed back can have true impulsion.Tip/Quote of the Day # 115"It hardly needs to be mentioned that, in order to ride good corners in the arena, you have nothing more to do than to apply the same aids as for enlarging the circle. Just as we don’t need to mention that spiraling out on the circle is a preparatory exercise for shoulder-in and spiraling in on the circle is a preparatory exercise for the haunches-in." ~ KimmerleTip/Quote of the Day # 114"Americans want instant dressage the same way they want instant coffee." ~ Jack LeGoff Tip/Quote of the Day # 113A good jumper is a delicate mix of chicken and bravery. Too chicken and he won’t go, scared to run on down to jumps he is not familiar with. Too brave and he may lose his carefulness - knocking everything down, as it doesn't bother him too much when he hits a jump. The best Eventers have this mix just right, to be good at both cross country and the show jumping. Tip/Quote of the Day # 112Systematic, progressive training is like stacking one building block squarely on top of another, to eventually build a strong, solid building.Tip/Quote of the Day # 111Think of that girth tight against your horse's side… after a while he tunes that out and barely notices it. The same will happen with your legs if they are always tight and clamped on his sides.Tip/Quote of the Day # 110Most riders don't do nearly enough transitions in their daily work sessions.Tip/Quote of the Day # 109Energy has to be created before it can be shaped or contained.Tip/Quote of the Day # 108A horse can become lazy or unresponsive to the aids within a single ride. Always pay attention to the strength of your aids, and be ready to stop what you are doing for a moment when necessary to focus entirely on increasing your horse's responsiveness to the aids.Tip/Quote of the Day # 107"If we don't ask for a shorter frame and more suppleness, the horse won't offer it," ~ Steffen PetersTip/Quote of the Day # 106"It is not what you don't know that causes problems, it is what you don't know that you don't know." ~ Brian SaboTip/Quote of the Day # 105Ride smarter, not harder. If it starts to feel too hard, look into learning how you can use a more intelligent technique to make yourself more effective. Tip/Quote of the Day # 104Your seat and weight aids "trump" your leg and rein aids every time.Tip/Quote of the Day # 103“In the art of riding, any excuse to yield is justified.” ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 102"The legs bring the horse to the seat, and the seat brings the horse to the hands. When the teacher says "shorten the reins" it needs to be translated into: "engage the hind legs, sit on them, and then take the slack out of the reins", because if you shorten the reins from front to back, the horse will only resist." ~ Thomas Ritter Tip/Quote of the Day # 101Lunge lessons are one of the best ways to improve a rider's seat. They allow the rider to focus more on learning to feel what their body is doing, as they don't have to worry about controlling the horse.Tip/Quote of the Day # 100 Be careful to use the same emphasis, speed, and tone of voice with any voice commands. This helps to make things very clear to your horse. I often see riders yelling and screaming a voice command such as "whoa", in such a way that the horse probably has no idea what they are saying. Horses don't learn the words per se, they learn what something sounds like. Tip/Quote of the Day # 99A key to success is the rider's ability to differentiate between resisting and pulling on the reins.Tip/Quote of the Day # 98Always try to respond rather than simply reacting. Always try to listen more than you talk. And always think and ask questions rather than assuming. Tip/Quote of the Day # 97Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.Tip/Quote of the Day # 96The more you know, the more your horse will appreciate you :)Tip/Quote of the Day # 95The rider's elbows should at all times act as a hinge, following the horse's movement much like the rubber donut in side reins. Tip/Quote of the Day # 94The upper arm belongs to the rider's seat, while the rider's lower arm belongs to the horse, and should be forward feeling at all times. Tip/Quote of the Day # 93"You are going to meet a fence one of three ways - short, right or long. Therefore you want to meet it on a stride that the horse can work from - a bouncy energetic canter - then he can add if he needs to and pat the ground, or say thanks for getting me here right." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 92If you are struggling to achieve something, it can often be helpful to act "as if" you already have the qualities you desire.Tip/Quote of the Day # 91If the horse doesn't want to be straight in his body, you can best improve him by exaggerating the opposite of whatever tendency he has. If he likes to over bend his neck to the left and carry his haunches to the left - regularly ask for flexion and bend through the body to the right (no matter which direction you are going.)Tip/Quote of the Day # 90
A correct inside bend in the body is truly evident only when there is a soft, almost loose inside rein.
