Unless otherwise noted, all quotes on this page are the work of Lesley Stevenson. Please ensure proper attribution when sharing. Thank you!
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"A horse's energies are gathered up from behind and by yielding on the reins and giving him the room to step through to the center of gravity, the neck will shape to reflect the activities in the haunches. Trying to achieve collection by working on the horse&
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"The horse must perform from joy, not subservience. Praising a horse frequently with voice, a gentle pat, or relaxing the reins is very important to keep the horse interested and willing." ~ Klaus Balkenhol
Get your FREE daily tip here!
From Facebook fan Firn Hyde ~ "Reschooling a horse with vices and sending it back to its owner is not enough. The vices will return with unguided riding. Only by retraining both horse and rider can the problem be solved."
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"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
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"It is very important to train a horse to connect between hand and leg so that when jumping you can get from A to B with no fuss — if you don’t have this connection, you will find it is very hard to ride in a straight line, which
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"Self-carriage is really easy to see. The best thing you can do for self-carriage is the give and re-take of the reins. It is amazing how you forget to do that when you ride on your own." ~ Carl Hester
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"If you are jumping down a drop, you need to stay behind the motion. Speed magnifies mistakes. The slightest bobble on landing will be enough to dislodge you, unless you are riding defensively." ~ Jimmy Wofford
Get your FREE daily tip here!
"Have a high standard for giving aids in a really clear, correct way. If the aids are that obvious, that’s not dressage. Educate your horse so that he responds to gentle leg pressure." ~ Steffen Peters
Get your FREE daily tip here!
No moment of riding without stirrups is ever a waste of time!
Get your FREE daily tip here!
If you fall into using loud aids, and don't have a plan to make your horse more sensitive, you will probably always need loud aids.
Get your FREE daily tip here!
The elasticity in your connection should really come from your elbows, not active fingers.
Get your FREE daily tip here!
When you find yourself thinking a negative thought about your riding, cancel it out by following it with a positive one.
