Learn about the many fundamentals involved in dressage.
Reading your horse from up in the saddle is one of the most valuable skills you could ever learn. So many times, riders often just hop on and go for a ride, opting to be merely a passenger. While there are many instances where “enjoying the ride” is completely ok, it is far better for…
Imagine you are riding along in a nice, peaceful trot. But when you ask for canter, your horse shoots off like a cannon and goes around a circle like a crotch rocket motorcycle navigating a sharp turn! Your horse just keeps getting faster and faster as he falls more and more to the inside, and…
Over the years, as I’ve grown as a rider and learn more and more about how everything connects, I have come to realize that there is ONE major ingredient that hails above all else. One simple concept can aid in the improvement of all the other fundamentals and intertwine to complete the package. It’s the…
The fast, rushing horse. The horse that just runs and runs and won’t stop. Many people will tell you that this type of horse is full of energy and can’t contain it. It might be true that he is full of energy, but the ironic part is that he is being lazy by not using…
Hind end engagement is one of the most important elements, or ingredients, for creating fabulous movement in your horse. Impulsion is often sought after, but your can’t get proper impulsion without engagement. Think of engagement as a compressed spring. When it compresses, that is engagement. When you release the energy and it springs up, that…
How often have you heard something in a lesson that you don’t actually fully understand? For me, I would just smile and nod, hoping for the best. And all of a sudden my instructor would say, “Good,” and I really had no clue what I had done. In fact, there was a ton of riding…
“Stop pulling on the inside rein! Let go of the inside rein!” How many times have you heard that from your instructor? I have heard it over and over again early on in my riding. But I never really understood what all the fuss was about. I felt like I NEEDED to pull it! But…
…And 4 Things You Should Be Doing Instead! Hands! Hands! Mind your hands! It’s a touchy subject. Have you ever heard that you are NOT supposed to use your hands very much when riding? Like a million times. But for many beginner and intermediate riders, learning to manage and quiet their hands can be a…
For non-horse people, and even beginner riders, a horse that is curling behind the vertical often looks ‘beautiful’ because their neck is so beautifully arched. But this is NOT a beautiful way of going at all! This is bit evasion and hind end evasion at its finest. The horse that curls under is avoiding proper…
What is a half halt? Learn all about the half halt and how you can ride a good half halt!