Tip/Quote of the Day!

"All riders need very loose joints - loose hips, loose shoulders, loose elbows, loose knees, loose ankles. When I say loose I don’t mean uncontrollably loose, but they need to have a very good range of motion, and an absence of unwanted tension. A lot of riders when they are not comfortable in forward seat tend to grip with their knees, and tend to have a little stiffness in their ankles." ~ Tad Coffin

Both horses and riders ultimately learn from and cement behaviors through repetition. This is why you need to make sure that you are repeating things CORRECTLY.

Maintain your good score for your trot or canter lengthenings by performing a clear, precise, and active transition back to the working gait at the end of the lengthening.

Many times riders ride each stride to a jump, but then sort of "freeze" right when they get there. Usually this is because of nerves, or because the rider is worried about trying to make some preconceived takeoff spot happen.

Make sure you ride each stride, including the takeoff, and even over and across the jump if necessary. Don't "jump ship" and leave your horse feeling alone right when he needs you most.

If you want to develop a nicely shaped crest (the top of the neck muscling) on your horse, you have to make sure your horse is truly seeking the connection - reaching into the bit, rather than backing away from it. 

Riders who can accept and learn from criticism will generally improve the most.

I once heard Ingrid Klimke call a galloping jump a "rhythm fence." And that is a perfect way to look at it!

"Don't ride to other people's ability – always ride to your ability and your horse's ability." ~ Andrew Hoy

Good lengthening and extended work requires straightness in the form of even loading of the hind legs.

"Since the criteria of a correct seat are the same as the criteria of good posture in general, being constantly attentive to one’s bearing when standing or walking is excellent training. A correct vertical posture of the head and the trunk on horseback is not a special posture applicable only to riding." ~ Kurt Albrecht

"If I want my horse to be steady and up to the bridle then I have to provide a steady target [quiet hands] and use leg to keep him up there."

If you do all of your training on the exact same kind of footing, (i.e. either all firm ground, or all sand), you might be putting your horse at an increased risk of possible injury. Training on a variety of different surfaces will develop both the strength and the elasticity of tendons and ligaments, which will help to prevent injury.

"It’s important that the rider doesn’t disturb the horse – leaning this way or that – and that is the same with this pulling and pushing. You give a half halt, but half halt is not just pull back and then let go. First of all you have to push the horse into your contact, and while you do a half halt, the horse should not get tighter in the neck and not get slower in the hind legs. Actually we want to engage the hind legs. It’s something you have to work on all the time, and get to feel it. When you tell the rider, now this, now that, you are already too late. You have to practice this, so that the riders get to feel it themselves." ~ Monica Theodorescu

The half pass helps to develop the brilliance of the extended trot, by increasing hip and stifle flexibility and range of motion, and freeing up the horse's shoulders.

Horses learn by a process of trial and error based on trying to make themselves more comfortable.

True lightness does not come from playing with the bit until the horse feels lighter in your hand. Only real hind leg engagement and lowering of the quarters will bring about the true lightness that you are looking for.

"You are connected with your seat to the horse’s back, connected with your legs to the horse’s body, and connection can only work if it goes through the whole horse and into the rider’s body, and from the rider’s body back to the whole horse." ~ Susanne Miesner

"I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor; but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity and beauty, a worthy object if repeated and ever changing contemplation." ~ Jane Smiley

"Dressage is the art of teaching the horse to carry you. Riding is the art of learning to be a good load to carry." ~ Richard Weiss

Both horses and riders ultimately learn from and cement behaviors through repetition. Make sure you are repeating things correctly to avoid cementing incorrect responses. 

You have to have your core muscles engaged when riding, so that the horse's movement doesn't displace you.

"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's neck cuts the horse off in the front, confining him and preventing the hind legs from lifting, suspending and powerfully supporting the rider's balance." ~ Charles de Kunffy

Success isn't about how far you get, but the distance you traveled from where you started.

"Sit on your pockets like you got a million bucks in there." ~ Unknown

Technically it isn't correct to be sitting all the way on your back pockets. This can, however, be a good thing for a rider who has a tendency to lean too far forward to think about doing!

Forward and speed are two different things. And balanced speed is not inherently dangerous. But if there is a fundamental problem in the horse or rider's basics, speed will make it more apparent.

"Riders of all levels must allow their horses to make their own decisions when jumping, as even good riders don’t always get it right." ~ Eric Smiley

The horse's jaw unlocks when their back muscles relax and begin to swing with the movement.

"The main reason that I'm 150% behind mares is that they will give you 150% in return once they trust you. I think they will work harder for you, because once they learn to trust you they develop a bond with you that's completely unlike any other bond with any other rider. You become their person." ~ Rebecca Rigdon-Blake

"Young horses are like a blank slate. In my experience they naturally give you the right answers often, especially when you first start riding them." ~ Bridget Hay

"I think riders can very easily lose the ability to comfortably ride out in the open at more than a walk if they lock themselves into a dressage arena. I feel so strongly that the horses need to be allowed out of the arena from time to time." ~ Lauren Chumley