Posts and Articles related to the riding of horses, how to improve your seat, posture, aids and communication.
This winter we’ve been hit particularly hard in the Midwest with sub-zero temperatures, to which I’ve simply resigned myself to the fact that riding will have to wait.
But, that doesn’t mean I’ve resigned myself to lose any hard-won skills in riding. These can be both physical and mental skills, and there’s nothing more rewarding than coming back to riding after a forced holiday feeling like you haven’t skipped a beat.
You asked for your horse to go left – well you thought you asked anyways. You thought you pressed your right leg to his barrel and applied a direct left rein; but can you be sure? You probably thought nothing about how you caught your horse either, while you approached him head on like a predator and yelled at him for running away. You can’t figure out why he won’t lead properly without running his shoulder into you sporadically. He doesn’t stand still for mounting or walks off as soon as your leg is over his back. He leans on the bit or shies away from any contact, spooks and is either dull or too sensitive to the aids.
Guess what? These aren’t training problems, they’re communication problems.
Let’s establish one basic truth, each horse has a neck. Sylvia Loch once remarked, “horses would be so much simpler to ride if they didn’t have necks”, which I can’t much argue with. Early in…
How tight do you hold your reins? And can that impact the rideability of your horse on a given day? According to researchers from the University of Gottingen, in Germany, the impartial measure of rein…
I am owned by an exquisite mare. We call her ‘The Diva’. She is opinionated, fiery, smart, and thinks people are pretty darn fun to hang out with. One sunny August day, seven years ago,…
Sometimes when I get wound up, excited or nervous my voice will rise and rise until I am nearly shouting and don’t realize it. This was a big problem when I was a child and…
It’s March and the weather is warming, then cooling, then raining, then snowing. My body is in a fight to survive this weather. I have Fibromyalgia and CFS/ME. I am in 24/7 pain and have…
I’m not perfect, and I avoid expecting perfection, although I do aim for “personal best”. As equestrians and horseback riders we give critique constantly, while often being oblivious to the critique we’re receiving. From the moment we…
Posting trot can be a really beneficial for horse and rider. Despite its popularity, many of us find ourselves struggling to post correctly or with good rhythm. Here are some tips to help improve your…
Many times as equestrians we overlook the habitual actions we make with our horses. Even more common is to behave in one way with one horse and another way entirely with another. We lack personal consistency and self-awareness to our actions and that inhibits our ability to understand fully our own horses’ reactions and actions.
The benefits of riding without stirrups goes beyond the traditional hour long longe lesson. So you practice riding without stirrups on the longe, then go back to using them as a crutch for all your riding between lessons? How does that make sense?
By nature we are designed to work against the horse, and the use of our hands is no different. When we sit in the saddle we respond in fear by leaning forwards rather than sitting up taller or leaning slightly backwards.
Many of the images below are cases in which great detail was gone into over the fit of the bit. Look at the tautness of the reins, for some the fear in the horse’s eyes… The horse cannot fight against the bit unless the rider fights with him, the horse has no need to open his mouth as an escape if the rider does not pull back on them.
“In training one always wants to go too fast. To arrive quickly, do not hurry, but be firmly assured of each step. The lesson should be for the horse, as for the horseman, a rewarding exercise, an instructive game which never brings fatigue. When sweat begins to show, it is because the man has gone too far.”
If the horse is spooking one or more of these elements is missing, plain and simple. If the horse is incapable of being ridden in this way then it is time to investigate a pain issue – be it muscle, joint, hoof, saddle fitting, etc.
It is absolutely, 100%, scientifically certified as fact – certain breeds of horse are too lazy to canter and instead they prefer to run faster and faster at the trot instead.