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A Tool For Times Your Horse Makes You Nervous
My sixteen year old student did something the other day that I just loved. It was an easy and very effective way of working through the type of resistance from her horse that often makes her nervous. It’s a tool everyone can use anytime they need it. They had taken a little walk break, and she was supposed to be getting him back into a trot and onto a circle so we could work on her right lead canter transition, which can be a little sticky. Maybe there was already some hesitation in the back of her mind just knowing what was coming, I’m not sure. Or maybe he thought…
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Proof the Horse Does NOT Do All the Work
How many times have you been told horseback riding is not exercise, all you do is just sit there while the horse does all the work? Our sore legs and abs after a good lesson tell us otherwise, but it’s hard to help someone understand that without putting them on a horse. And I’ve never had a way to compare just how hard I worked when riding to other types of workouts, like running or biking. Now with my Fitbit I can easily track just how hard I’m working while I’m riding, and track my rides over the course of a week or a month to look for consistency and…
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Video Analysis of My Ride and How to Make This Tool Work for You
This video I took to establish a baseline on where my horse and I are at riding different movements. There are plenty of mistakes, but I wanted to share it to discuss those mistakes for learning purposes, and to show how to use video as a powerful tool to improve your riding. Hopefully this doesn’t get taken out of context! The horse in this video is my 10 year old off track thoroughbred, Remy (Jockey Club registered as Mr. Painter). I’ve had him since he was 4. He raced a few times but was too slow, and retired young and sound, but the most awkward gangly looking thing you’ve ever seen!…
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How I Focused My Look-y Horse To Get Good Work Instead of Spooks
It was one of *those* nights – early spring, nearing dusk, with a slightly gusty breeze… and of course, the indoor arena now had all the windows opened up after the long, cold winter. Alone in the ring, my normally quiet, sensible horse was on edge as he examined the new openings all around the ring, surprised each time he felt the wind blow INSIDE the arena, listening to previously muffled sounds that now added a constant murmur of background noise to our usually silent work space. Birds were chirping, cars were cruising passed on the road, and a train horn sounded in the distance. Really, it was noises we shouldn’t…
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Becoming a Better Rider By Becoming a Serious Student
The best thing a rider of any level can do if she wants to make progress with her riding is to become a serious student. It doesn’t have to cost much or any money, and it can fit into your schedule where ever you can find a little time. There are opportunities for learning all around us, and especially with all the information on the internet now, it is very easy to pick up tips and integrate new ideas and information into your ride, if you’re open to learning. The trick is to balance the open-mindedness with some critical thinking that keeps you from being gullible, and to keep your…
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Dressage with Off-Breeds: The Failure Trap to Avoid
You know your horse isn’t the “typical” dressage horse. Maybe his breeding is unusual, or just not what we usually see in the ring. Maybe his gaits are not beautiful by nature, or maybe he has less than perfect conformation. Maybe you are proud of this, or maybe you are self-conscious about it. Regardless, he is your chosen dressage partner and together you and he are embarking on a journey. As you go along, you will come across significant challenges, and when you do, there is a danger you need to guard against. Expected Failure We all love the fairy tale stories of the odd mutt-bred horses that make it…
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Develop Your Eye for Correct Connection in Stretchy Trot
I can’t understand the words, but I don’t need to! What a beautiful illustration! So many riders think putting the horse’s ears below the withers puts the horse on the forehand, but that is only the case if it’s done incorrectly, as the first three diagrams show. I also see plenty of riders performing one of the first three trots, totally unaware that it is incorrect work! The fourth picture shows a correctly ridden stretch where the horse continues to reach out to the end of the reins, instead of dropping behind the contact (often the result of a rider using a jiggle-jiggle aid to get the horse to…
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5 Books for Training Your Horse Yourself
There are many reasons that riders find themselves training their horses independently, whether because they simply enjoy doing it that way, don’t have a trainer they like near by, don’t have the money for lessons and training, or a million other things. These books are my favorites for when I’m working on my own. They are beautifully illustrated and discuss each movement individually from basic to advanced. Pictures and descriptions of how each movement should look, as well as signs that they aren’t being done correctly make it easy to educate yourself between lessons, and having that background understanding will help you get more out of your lessons when you…
