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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1417

Self carriage isn't just for Dressage. Think of little checks for self carriage when jumping as well - even on cross country. Never attempt to hold your horse up!

Tip/Quote of the Day # 1416

The horse's body must be supple if he is to be free to use it to balance himself with a rider on his back. Use suppling exercises (here's a full list of them) regularly to make this easier for him.

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1415

To make your leg longer in Dressage, think about letting your knees drop.

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1414

A horse will respond best to an aid when the rider has the ability to give it smoothly and within the rhythm of the horse's stride.

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1413

When the horse carries more weight behind (engagement), there is more stored energy in the stride (impulsion.) Therefore to get more impulsion in your horse's gaits, you should not make him run faster, but do exercises which increase his engagement behind, like transitions.

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1412

With horses that like to curl their neck and become over bent, the rider needs to be careful not to get their reins too short. This will cause the horse to stay too short in the neck. Think of having longer arms that are always reaching towards the horse’s

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1411

It is a good idea to take a few x-rays of your horse's feet once every year or so, to make sure that the balance of your horse's hooves is correct. Bony alignment and even joint space are absolutely paramount to your horse's

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1410

"Incorrect training is as if you buttoned a sweater wrong. In order to fix it you must unbutton it and start over again." ~ Reiner Klimke - You can not just add another layer over top and expect it to be right.

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1409

When asking for a canter lengthening or medium canter on a hot horse or one that is prone to tension - it can be helpful to initiate the upward transition with a bigger "scoop" of your seat rather than your leg, so that the horse understands that you want

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1408

"It is not dressage that is difficult, it is making it look easy that is difficult. Some horses are born with presence, while others you can train presence. Either way, dressage is about improving the paces." ~ Carl Hester

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1407

"Don’t do too much with young horses. I do 20 minutes with most four year olds. Walk, trot, canter, on the bit, straight. Educate them in a really easy way, relaxed trot, easy canter, work on steering and control, and work from there. With a bigger horse, like

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Tip/Quote of the Day # 1406

"The techniques you use for relaxation, stretching, walk breaks, things like that, a more competitive or nervous rider doesn’t pay enough attention to that. They think, 'I’ve got a test to do so I won’t keep stretching him until he’s relaxed, I’ll just

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