It sounds like you are dealing with the very common problem of... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer) Tip/Quote of the Day # 947The horse that wants to fall out on circles should work more often on a square figure than a circle, until the rider has better control of the outside of the horse's body.Discussion # 142: A rather random Dressage thought for the day on riding precise circles!A rather random Dressage thought for the day on riding precise circles... Remember the old game "Operation"?? Where you had to use something similar to a tweezers to do surgery and remove "organs" from your patient? And you had to be very focused on the shape of your borders of the hole on all sides, because if you touched one side - BEEP, the alarm would go off, and his nose would light up! Riders who are sometimes challenged with the shape of their circles should try thinking about that game when they are doing their circles. Each circle should have 4 equal quadrants. And if you move to the outside on one quadrant, BEEP, an alarm should go off in your head! Kind of silly and random, I know! But it may click with someone, and help them to pay more attention to the precision of their circles! What do you think? Might this visual help you to think about and be more aware of any tendency to bulge out on parts of your circle? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)
“Should you find a wise critic to point out your faults, follow him as you would a guide to hidden treasure.” Buddha (really, it is a Buddha quote, no fooling!)
Once again I found myself at another, "Give-Peace-a-Chance-Breathe-Deeply-Envision-a-Perfect-Ride" sports psychology seminar focused on Anxiety in the Rider. Yes, horse related practices once again... (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)
Everyone knows that riders need to develop an independent seatto be effective, and to be able to move fluidly in harmony with their horse while giving them precise and invisible aids. But did you also know that we need to have independent hands? I am not talking about simply having quiet, still hands that follow the horse's motion because of the shock absorbers in the rider's elbows. This is more specific to the hand itself, and is surprisingly not often discussed! In fact, this may be what has been themissing keyto your ability to establish a good rein connection with your horse! Read on to find out about this essential skill! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 942The horse points his nose at what he wants to see in focus. This is why we want our horse's head and nose UP on the approach to their fences, and why we need to allow them to lower their heads and look at the takeoff of an open ditch or a drop fence.Tip/Quote of the Day # 941What do we want from our horses over fences? Consistency and balance. If we as riders are more consistent and balanced with our own position as we ride a course, we make achieving that with the horse much easier.Tip/Quote of the Day # 940When your horse is spooking, don't stare at whatever it is that they are looking at. Look where you want to go, and don't let any of his antics change your focus. Tip/Quote of the Day # 939One of the biggest reasons riders meet resistance when attempting to control their horse's canter is that they stop following the motion of the horse's head and neck with their elbows.Tip/Quote of the Day # 938There must always be a medium trot or canter within your collected gait. If you feel that you could not simply release your collected trot or canter into a medium gait, then you do not have true collection - you merely have a horse that is going slowly.Tip/Quote of the Day # 937Especially in front of really wide rampy jumps, it is tempting for riders to soften the reins too much, to sort of "help" the horse to go forward. The bigger the jump, and the faster the speed on the approach, the more important it is for the rider to maintain the feel of the horse's mouth in the last stride.Guest Blog post # 66: "Fit Bit-itis" by Bill WoodsFit Bit-itis
I began this morning with a roll of the eyes, one which I shared with the instructor who passed this vignette along to me. Seems her student was watching her school a promising 2nd/3rd level horse and observed that she was giving him a lot of short walk breaks during their work. (An approach, by the way, heartily endorsed by Steffen Peters)... (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)Tip/Quote of the Day # 936Riders with short arms need to ride with longer reins.Tip/Quote of the Day # 935"Don't take the tempo down without revving the engine." ~ Chris BartleAdding More *Scope* to Your Lateral Work - For Better Dressage Scores!
We all know that lateral work is a very important part of the training of the Dressage or Event horse. Well ridden lateral exercises make a horse more responsive, strengthen and gymnasticize his body, and lead to improved carriage by increasing the level of hind leg engagement. Read on to learn about some specific exercises that you can do within your lateral work, to help you to maximize these benefits by increasing your horse's suppleness, range of motion, and the overall scope of his movement. All of which will lead to better scores in the Dressage ring! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 934"Cross country rides best when you attack it. Don't let IT attack you." ~ Jonathan HollingTip/Quote of the Day # 933Put your leg on just before you start to shorten your reins after the free walk or the stretching trot circle. This way you can ride forward into that shorter rein (as well as asking for bending) even as you are shortening them. The increased activity of the hind legs will lift the horse's head and neck naturally from your stretching position, and that allows you to shorten the reins with minimal fuss. If you start to shorten your reins with your leg off, and your horse will be more likely to hollow his back and resist. Discussion # 141: Check out this cross country complex! This sure is quite an interesting and challenging water complex, with a lot going on visually for the horses to digest! Who can tell us what the pros and cons are for being able to see the white skinny fence underneath the first element as you approach it? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 932Always look for the feeling of a shoulder fore positioning in your half pass. This will help to prevent the haunches from leading, or the horse from leaning heavily on the inside shoulder. And it will also help to keep more engagement in the inside hind leg, with more impulsion overall in the movement.Tip/Quote of the Day # 931Prepare for a flying change by making sure that your horse is responding sharply to what will be your new inside leg. Make sure he feels very active and responsive to that aid, while staying loose through his body, before you ask for the change.Tip/Quote of the Day # 930You cannot make your horse jump cleanly, so don't try to pick him up with your hands and legs, and attempt to throw him over the fence with your body, Instead - set them up for success, and then let them jump cleanly.Tip/Quote of the Day # 929"Sometimes we have to surprise the crazy ones to make them do a nice test, and either do no warm up or do something random, but overall, horses love a routine." ~ William Fox PittQuestion # 278: I am a dressage rider who is currently working on 2nd level. I have some days where I am really capable of connecting my seat to sit the trot very fluidly and straight...... (as I have a problem of tending to put too much weight on my right seat bone). This usually happens when I am able to fully soften and relax my spine. I have been doing several exercises to release and stretch my psoas muscles, but I just find that if I try to sit the trot multiple days in a row, my muscles get progressively tighter and unwilling to relax and move with the horse. I am wondering if you have any additional thoughts that help individuals to relax into the sitting trot, exercises, or stretches that you find particularly helpful. As sometimes I feel extremely connected, straight, and relaxed in the sitting trot, and some days I cannot figure out how to get back to that feeling, so if you have any advice, it would be much appreciated! (Berott)
Hi Berott!
It sounds like your tendency to want to sit a little crooked causes some tension in your muscles... or the tension in your muscles is causing you to sit crooked! Sometimes it can really be like the story of the chicken and the egg... which came first? Without seeing this happen to you, I couldn't begin to guess which problem is causing the other. But it really doesn't matter anyways - as you have to fix them both! (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 928Frequent quality transitions are the best way to confirm that your horse is listening equally to both the driving aids and the restraining aids.Tip/Quote of the Day # 927On the question of "Should I use a stronger bit?" Jimmy Wofford says, "The correctly trained horse should be able to compete in a plain snaffle and simple cavesson in all three disciplines. However, it takes a long time to train your horse correctly, and you have to live through the short-term to prove that I am right in the long-term."Tip/Quote of the Day # 926From Facebook fan Donna Peters ~ "Once you feel what it feels like when the withers rise and the back fills up the space under your seat and thighs, you never forget it."Tip/Quote of the Day # 925"The horse needs to learn how to jump from a bad distance. How is he going to learn if you don't practice this?" ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 924Does your horse regularly hit rails behind? Check that you are not hanging onto his mouth, or taking back on the reins on the descent of the jump.Question # 277: I would like advice on how to get comfortable switching from longer Dressage seat stirrups to Stadium and XC short stirrups as a middle aged working amateur rider? ...I am blessed with two horses and ride 3-4 times a week = 6-8 chances to adjust stirrup length/week. I usually hack a hole longer and adjust up for jumping. I also ride without stirrups a few minutes every ride. But I never feel secure unless I concentrate on one discipline or the the other. (Nancy)
Hi Nancy!
This is a great question, and I think that this is an issue that many amateur riders struggle with! What I suggest is... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 923A half halt will not "go through" unless your horse is relaxed in the back and at least somewhat connected.Tip/Quote of the Day # 922“My Father always strived for Olympic glory, but he was well aware that he would not reach this goal if he took shortcuts. He knew it was better to wait than rush a horse’s training. Our highest aim is to make our horses more beautiful and keep them healthy through their training. To achieve this the three daily priorities with all horses are 1) take small steps, 2) keep variety in the training and 3) foster the horse’s personality … which means we should never dominate our horses." ~ Ingrid KlimkeLauren's Blog post # 2Branching Out
Tomorrow I embark on a journey that will take me to a far away land drawn by fierce wanderlust, fulfillment of childhood equestrian dreams, and matters of the heart. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)Tip/Quote of the Day # 921"Don't look at your steering wheel, look at the road." ~ Chris BartleAdvanced Grid Work - Adjustability Over Fences
Adjustability is key when it comes to good jumping! It is what makes our horses a joy to ride over fences, and allows us to easily create and maintain exactly the right canter that we need for every circumstance. A big part of the rider's homework on the flat should be to practice the adjustability exercise outlined here. And when that is all going quite well, the next step for the moderately experienced jumper is to incorporate that work into your gymnastic jumping. Here is a series of grids that will put you to the test! (Click on Article Title above to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 920When the horse is at a level where they are ready for it, mixing up a few strides of shoulder in, a few of half pass, a few more of shoulder in, to a few steps of renvers is a great way to keep your horse sharp to your aids, and is a great test of the horse's lateral balance.Tip/Quote of the Day # 919When horses carry tension in their back, it usually shows up one of these two ways: Either the tension incites their flight response, and they want to rush, rush, rush…. or because they don't like the way their bodies feel they become "stuck," and it becomes very difficult to get and keep the horse in front of your leg. Dissipate the tension and get the horse's back happily swinging, and the nervous, rushy horse relaxes into an even rhythm, and the "stuck" horse will begin to go happily forward.Tip/Quote of the Day # 918It is possible to have contact without a real connection (in fact it is quite common unfortunately), but a true connection always involves good contact. The connection involves the horse's entire body… with energy created in the horse's hind legs traveling through the horse's supple body, and into the rider's hands.Question # 276: One of the mares I ride has gotten incredibly fussy about her stomach. She nips and kicks when I brush her belly and get equally frustrated by the girth.......I've tried a bunch of different girths and even started working her bareback for awhile, but she still hates being brushed on her belly. What could be going on and how might I fix it? (Brooke)
Hi Brooke!
A lot of horses (especailly mares) are "girthy" to some degree, (and if you haven't yet tried one, our sponsor, Total Saddle Fit, makes a great girth designed to keep horses comfortable in that area - check it out here), and sometimes it is something that you just have to learn to live with. BUT, since it sounds like this is a new problem, or at least one that is getting worse, it sounds like maybe... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Question # 275: My little quarter horse mare likes to tilt her nose to the left at the trot and canter when working indoors......She doesn't do it when jumping, at the walk, or when out hacking. She is consistent in this behavior regardless of what bit she has on: I use a plain snaffle at home and a mullen mouth pelham out foxhunting. I've ruled out physical problems: she's had her teeth checked, saw the vet & chiropractor. What can cause this & how do I fix it? (Kellyn)
Hi Kellyn!
You don't mention how old your horse is, or at what level she is working... but usually when this problem arises it is due to one (or more) of these three things: (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer)Tip/Quote of the Day # 917A horse's balance, or lack thereof, is most evident in downward transitions.Tip/Quote of the Day # 916The time to think about each jump and the particular questions that it may ask is when you are walking your course. Once on course, keep thinking about maintaining the quality of your canter, and let the jumps just get in the way.Tip/Quote of the Day # 915A great way to introduce flying lead changes to your Event horse is when out galloping in a field. It is quite natural for them to change leads cleanly when galloping strongly (when they are also in balance.) So this can be used to our advantage to help them understand what we want.Tip/Quote of the Day # 914As you finish a course, ask yourself if you are finishing with the same pace that you started with. If the answer is no… the next question you need to ask yourself is which speed was better for your horse's jumping - the way you started, or the way you finished? Then make sure you use that information on the next course that you jump.Video # 86: This is Holly, doing a row of bounces in her small indoor arena!So I've been taking it slow with my boy, we've started doing 2'6 courses! But, now it's winter and we have a ridiculously small indoor. I set up some trot-in bounce crossrails today (low because it was his first time doing bounces), mostly to work on my leg, but looking at the video, it almost looks like the distance between the jumps is too short. I'll send the video. They're 9 feet apart, and it feels like he went through them pretty flat as well. What's your opinion, and what do you think we need to work on? You can kind of see how small a space I have to work in, and until the massive flooding in the southeast eases up we're stuck indoors so I'm trying to find things we can do. Also, I had dropped the reins but hadn't quite figured out what to do with my arms so they're just kind of awkwardly there in this video. (Holly) (Click on Video Title above (in blue) to read the critique of this video)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 913"To get TB's (which easily can get hollow and short necked and tight in the back) to stay loose, swinging and over their back you sometimes let them go a bit "deep" to start, then always going to engaging exercises to bring the poll up." ~ Lara Knight Tip/Quote of the Day # 912When working on trot/walk transitions, if you feel your horse is being lazy with one hind leg in the transition, do a few steps of leg yield off of that leg before moving on - making sure your horse is hot to that lateral aid.
