Give your brain something positive to think about when you are worried.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 840Always introduce new exercises in a slow and progressive manner, so you are building confidence and not inviting problems.Tip/Quote of the Day # 839“When you circle the arena to go in, think to yourself, 'Here I come Mr/Mrs Judge – just you watch this’ " ~ Heath RyanBrianna's Blog Post # 12
Who has the ride away?
(Sunny and a much younger me)
It seems somehow time has allowed me to forgot that at one point my summers consisted of gathering up the gang, rounding up those sorry school horses and swinging on bareback for an onslaught of games from “cops and robbers” to “tag” and racing each other across the arena. Riding was simple then. It was merely to borrow the freedom of a patient school horse. (Click on Blog Title above (in blue) to read full entry)Tip/Quote of the Day # 838Keep your elbows to your sides to help your horse feel your seat aids through the reins. This will also help you to use your core properly.Introducing the Counter Canter
Counter canter is simply one of the most beneficial exercises you can do for your horse in the canter! In addition to building strength, improving balance, and increasing hind leg engagement, it also improves the horse's ability to be straight in the canter. All of which will improve your regular canter!
Let me first talk about at what level you should be at, and what prerequisites should be firmly in place before you attempt to use this exercise in your training program. And then I will go on to discuss how to best introduce this movement to your horse. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
I am so sorry to hear about your fall! You are certainly not alone however, as most riders go through a significant confidence crisis at some point. What you need to do is... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer) Tip/Quote of the Day # 835"If you want flawed results, go ahead and ask for collection before your horse is relaxed. This is a pretty certain way to produce a horse who needs his mouth strapped shut." ~ Jimmy WoffordQuiz # 27: Multiple choice question!
Let's say you are galloping along between jumps on cross country, and you are approaching a fairly steep downhill slope. The best time for you to change the balance in your horse's gallop for the big terrain change is:
A. Before the downhill begins
B. Right at the edge where the downhill begins
C. Only after the horse has begun down the hill, and is showing signs of losing balance
D. Don't make an effort to change the balance, let the horse figure it out
(Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to answer, and to read this educational discussion)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 834Both horse and rider need to be fit for this sport, as "Fatigue makes cowards out of us all."Tip/Quote of the Day # 833"Indeed, in most horses, it is only one part of the 'machine' that is working, i.e. the limbs – the neck, the back, the loins, the croup remain uninvolved, because they are braced and stiff. Is it a surprise under those circumstances, if the horse wears out his legs early on?" ~ J.-C.Dubois BoisgilbertTip/Quote of the Day # 832When working on flying changes, don't be tempted to ask for the change on the diagonal just because you are coming to the end of it and therefore running out of room. Always try to wait until you feel that your horse is balanced, straight, and ready to change. It is better to stay in counter canter than to ask for a change when you know your horse is not properly set up for it.Guest Blog post # 61: "Yesterday's Gone" by Bill WoodsYesterday's Gone
This is a great question! The answer is... (Click on Question Title above (in blue) to read full answer) Tip/Quote of the Day # 830“The worst mistake a rider can make is to fail to discover and accept a horse’s personality. By oversimplifying horses and lumping them all together the rider risks ‘breaking’ them and taking away their spark.” ~ Klaus BalkenholThe Return to the Track in Counter Shoulder In Exercise
This exercise has many benefits. It reinforces the rider's outside aids, teaching the horse to be more responsive to the rider's outside seat bone, leg, and rein coming through turns. It improves the horse's straightness on curved lines. And it can help to increase engagement of the outside hind leg, which is particularly useful in improving the horse's carriage and balance in the canter - leading to increased collection. Read on to find out how to do it! (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 829When turning in the air over jumps, don't start your turn until the horse is at the top of the arc. In other words, once the horse has lifted both shoulders fully, and the knees are up, it is safe to turn. Turning before that moment can cause a loss of balance, and make the horse jump less cleanly.Discussion # 136: Let's look at this entire sequence of photos, of a rider jumping through an Intermediate water complex...Let's look at this entire sequence of photos, of a rider jumping through an Intermediate water complex. Who can tell us what happened to cause this otherwise very solid rider to fall forward after landing in the water? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 828"Only a horse that goes on a light contact can be attentive..." ~ Steffen PetersTip/Quote of the Day # 827"Never ceases to amaze how many riders think they can get the neck forward by tweaking and twiddling with the reins." ~ Peter DeCosemoTip/Quote of the Day # 826"You are going to meet a fence one of three ways - short, right or long. Therefore you want to meet it on a stride that the horse can work from - a bouncy energetic canter - then he can add if he needs to and pat the ground, or say thanks for getting me here right." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 825"Don't delude yourself into thinking that you have light, soft hands, if you ride with loose, almost dangling reins on a strung out horse. That can be done with insensitive hands as well. A soft hand requires the rider to feel whether the horse is softly on the bit, chewing, and whether it responds to a light pressure, in other words, whether it has an active mouth. If he rides with loose reins, the horse can have a dead mouth, which will only show up when you use the reins to stop or to shorten the strides, as it will either let you pull its nose onto its chest, or it will invert, and in both cases it will open its mouth." ~ Oskar M. StensbeckThe Use of Patterns in the Training of Dressage
Patterns can work either for you or against you in the training of your horse! You have to know what kind of horse you have, and must be able to accurately assess your horse's mindset at any given moment. This will allow you to make the right decision, in what kind of pattern to use... and most importantly - how long to stay on it. (Click on Article Title above (in blue) to read full article)
Tip/Quote of the Day # 824"Good riders land over an obstacle, go the the next jump and make a good arrangement. Great riders land with their horses already arranged for the next obstacle." ~ Bill SteinkrausTip/Quote of the Day # 823Your horse should always be "ready" for a halt as you canter along between jumps. If he is low and heavy, and you know it would likely be hard to stop him smoothly at any point, then you really need to halt and fix it. Show him through the action of reinforcing them that he should not ignore your subtle half halts. Tip/Quote of the Day # 822On jumping around from trainer to trainer, "Any system beats no system." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 821“First, [the rider] has to be ambitious. Mentally, he has to be well balanced and consistent. He has to be tougher on himself than on the horse. If he gets after the horse too much, he will not get far. One must really be able to push oneself harder than one ever pushes a horse. Then, success will follow…” ~ Ernst HoyosTip/Quote of the Day # 820
Cross country riders always need to have a "plan B" in their heads while on course. And sometimes a plan C and D as well.
Remember that whatever you are used to doing usually feels right to you. You will often have to step out of your comfort zone if you wish to improve.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 818Walk is the "explaining" pace, so whenever possible ride every exercise in the walk first. Tip/Quote of the Day # 817"When the rein back is started on demand and carried out without haste, it is a magnificent exercise which should be repeated frequently." ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 816You should be able to change the amount of bend within your lateral work, or in a movement like counter canter. Ask for a little more, then ask for a little less. This will help to keep your horse lighter, straighter, and more responsive.Tip/Quote of the Day # 815Think about how a wind up clock or toy works. When you wind up a wind up toy, you coil the spring with a key, and then the toy moves forward with energy until the spring is completely relaxed. When the toy is moving on its own, because there is still some energy left in that spring, that is similar to a horse moving with impulsion.Tip/Quote of the Day # 814If the double bridle is used too early in training, the horse can easily learn to overbend or overflex at the base of the neck while remaining stiff at the poll. This causes a disconnect, preventing a true connection.... which once established can be quite difficult to correct. Tip/Quote of the Day # 813"Only allow the horse to stretch after the horse is off its forehand" ~ Reiner Klimke Tip/Quote of the Day # 812If your horse is spooky, be careful to make sure he never feels punished for spooking or getting tense. If you get mad, pull, kick, or do anything else that can be perceived as a punishment, the anxiety that will be created will usually make your problem worse.Tip/Quote of the Day # 811"Once the resistances of the muscles are overcome and the animals are balanced, all horses have soft mouths, as the school horses prove, often with very flat bars. If the muscles resist with full force, if the hindquarters thrust more than the forehand supports, etc., the horse will always seek his lost balance in the hand. And then all of them have hard mouths, like race horses who take an arm-numbing contact in spite of the sharpest bars and bits. Thus, the hard-mouthed horse becomes soft-mouthed, when he develops the strength to carry his neck, and the soft-mouthed horse becomes hard-mouthed under a weak rider." ~ Friedrich v.KraneTip/Quote of the Day # 810When riding with stirrups that are too long, the temptation to raise your hands, stand up, and put your weight directly against your horse is almost irresistible.Tip/Quote of the Day # 809To alter a person's (or a horse's) habits, you almost always have to shift something in their environment.Tip/Quote of the Day # 808Bending and lateral work stretches the outside of the horse's body. As with any type of stretching, increase your demands gradually as the horse becomes more supple.Tip/Quote of the Day # 807Horses with back or SI issues often do best with a canter very early on in their warm up routine.Tip/Quote of the Day # 806If you think you can (or cannot) do something, your horse will usually believe you. Tip/Quote of the Day # 805"Ride around the corner in an active, short canter, and let your horse do the jumping." ~ Andrew NicholsonTip/Quote of the Day # 804Excessive bend in the neck, whether lateral (usually to the inside), or longitudinal (behind the vertical) disconnects the haunches from the rein aids and allows the horse to remain locked up in other parts of the body, such as the poll and hips.Tip/Quote of the Day # 803Remind yourself regularly that half halts should not kill the energy in your horse's stride, but rather rebalance it. Tip/Quote of the Day # 802"The inside rein must always be ready with a good offer." ~ Reiner Klimke
