equine pemf therapy, massage & mindful horsemanship
“If your arms are tired, you’re riding wrong.” Saying or hearing that phrase can be how you make enemies at the barn, but there are better ways of controlling speed than by pulling. It may seem like the only solution at the time, but whether your horse is constantly pulling against you to drag his nose in the dirt, or you are pulling on them to slow them down, once you fall into the trap of tugging, it can be a difficult habit to break – for us. For a horse? They tend to
Whether your dressage partner is a schoolmaster or a greenie, this book is an awesome reference to keep variety in your schooling sessions. After a brief introduction, Kohl takes you right into easy-to-follow, progressive schooling routines that each target specific goals – transitions, bending, use of corners, impulsion, etc – to develop your horse naturally, …
In this eloquently written manual, de Kunffy encourages as much the individuality of the horse as he does the athletic development for a fully-fleshed, evolved, and liberating approach to training. He begins in genuine fashion of the Classical schools looking at rider education, and emphasizing the good that comes from accepting the horse’s individuality and sometimes-unique …
First let me clarify that I will be discussing over-flexion and not looking at or critiquing rollkur, the latter being something worthy of a blog post all its own, but I digress. Over-flexion is occasionally a soft-mouthed horse’s method of evading the bit, or a developed habit from a heavy-handed rider. Despite the “aesthetics” of all of those …
Getting right down to the core elements of rider position, effect and influence, Anatomy of Dressage by Heinrich Schusdziarra and Volker Schusdziarra is a staple of the dressage (or any!) rider to truly understand their body in the saddle and how best to use it to for desired effect. Originally translated from German and now co-published …
To aid in the development of a better, more-balanced canter make the first stride a good one. For best results with this exercise, it is important to have a good warm-up and a forward, active trot established. On a twenty metre circle at the trot, spiral inward to a 15 or 10 metre circle (small …
While reasons are varied, rehabilitating the soured horse is as much about rekindling his desire to perform as it is his relationship with his rider. The latter is perhaps even more important as it is through developing a “partnership” that we’re more likely to be the person our horse wants to perform for, but when …
Whether you’ve got an off-the-track thoroughbred, that school horse that “isn’t recommended for beginners” or a warmblood who thinks he’s a bulldozer, it can be frustrating, difficult, and sometimes even intimidating to effectively address strong or fast gaits. While the “easy” thing is to lean back, haul on the reins and pray for a give, …
As any serious dressage rider who’s taken a lesson or two knows, the horse should be ridden ‘back to front.’ In other words, creating energy in the hindquarters to encourage the horse to carry himself over the back, lightening the forehand and suppling into the contact of the rider’s hands. So why start with focus …
It is through centuries of trial and error, training successes and failures, and discovery of effective riding that led to the understanding of the training scale. It is not a list that was drawn up and followed; first it had to be discovered and understood. The training scale is a formula for riders of all …