Educational Discussions

With some horses it can be a good idea to check on and refresh your horse's response to your inside leg before you begin a circle. Who can tell us what I mean by this?? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

You don't see too many narrow fences at the Beginner Novice level! Or at least you never used to...

How many of you train your young and green horses over skinny/narrow fences?

Let's say that you have NOT yet trained your green horse over narrow fences, and you find a jump like this on your cross country course at an Event. What would be your plan on how to best approach this fence, to give you the best odds of getting over it the first time? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

This Training level coffin complex may look quite imposing to some! But I absolutely LOVE how it has the potential to truly educate the horses on how to successfully negotiate this type of cross country combination.

Who can guess specifically why I am saying that?? If a horse is well ridden through this complex, what could you see this complex TEACHING the horse?

How would YOU ride it? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

What extra visual challenges does this jump into water present to the horse? How could you best ride this fence to help your horse to remain safely focused on the top rail? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

This cross country complex asks a question that riders will commonly see in some form on course from Training to Advanced levels. The question is, can you jump this big wide spread fence, and still have enough control to jump the accuracy question that makes the next element?

In this case, the next element is a nice, inviting, and only somewhat skinny log. Sometimes that B element is a corner jump, an angled line, or a super skinny chevron. Course designers like to ask this question quite often at the upper levels. So if you are moving up the levels, this is something that you want to be good at!

Who can tell us how we can train at home for complexes like this?

What speed would you use to approach this particular complex? What part of the A element would you jump? At what point should you be looking at the B element? 

There is a very common pitfall that many riders fall into when being asked the question of jumping a big, wide fence followed by a turn to an accuracy question. One that can easily cause a refusal or a weak jump at the A element. Can anyone tell us what it is?? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

This "dark into light" situation adds a significant challenge to this cross country jump! How would you ride this fence to give your horse every chance to jump this fence successfully? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

Riders need to understand the difference between sinking down into their heels or seat bones, and pushing down into them. There is a big difference between the two! Who can tell us what the difference is, in terms of how each effects the horse or the rest of the rider's body? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

How far apart should we be carrying our hands when riding?? I'm sure many of our clever members will say, "It depends." And that is correct! But it depends on what exactly? At what times might it be best for us to ride with our hands just a few inches apart? In what situations can it be useful to ride with our hands wider - say, about shoulder width apart? Is there ever a time where it might be a good idea to ride with our hands so close together that they are almost touching? Or how about with our hands so far apart that they are much wider than the width of our shoulders? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

It is common for riders to accidentally teach their horses undesirable behavior by releasing the pressure of an aid at the wrong time. Instead, we must be mindful of only rewarding behavior that we actually want from our horses.

I think it would be helpful to many riders to hear about some common examples of this happening, so that they can be proactive about avoiding those mistakes! So, who can give us an example of how a rider might teach their horse an undesirable behavior by releasing the pressure of an aid at the wrong time?? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

How much pressure do you think we should have in the stirrup irons when seated in Dressage? And how much when jumping? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

Let's talk about the similarities of ballroom dancing and riding horses! 

When we watch a really harmonious horse and rider performing, it often looks as elegant as the very best ballroom dancing - with the 2 partners appearing to read each others' minds, or even become fully melded as one.

In ballroom dancing... as melded as they may seem... one person is the leader, and the other is the follower. In the horse and rider team, who do you think the leader is?

When I first thought about this, I thought the answer seemed pretty obvious. That by definition, we as riders are clearly the leaders, as we direct and control our partner's movement.

Then I thought about it some more... And I think that in some ways or under certain circumstances, an argument could be made that the horse is the leader. Can anyone come up with an example of how the horse could be perceived as the leader?? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

Let's say that you are are running at the Intermediate level here... So you are hunting red numbers! What part of the drop fence at A would you aim at with the plan of best setting yourself up for success at the C element? What part of the up bank at B would you jump to give you the best line for the final element? And at what speed would you approach this complex? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion)

Look at the difference in this horse's musculature and carriage with time and training! What are the improvements that you notice from the top picture to the bottom? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion)

Which of these photos of the piaffe do you like the best and why? Which shows the most harmony between horse and rider? Which horse shows the most hind leg engagement? And how can you tell? (Click on Discussion Title above to see larger version of this photo, and to read or join in on this educational discussion)

Where exactly would you jump this cross country fence and why? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion.)

Let's discuss the Dressage term, "the falling down neck." Who knows what it means for a horse to have a "falling down neck"? Why is this a good thing? And who here has felt it?? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion.)

Which of these 2 horses is reaching more into the rein connection? How can you tell? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion.)

Horse A:

Horse B:

Horse A:

Horse B:

If you had to pick from these 2 horses based on their legs alone, which one would you pick? What specific faults, if any, do you find on either horse? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion.)

What are the rules regarding what type of whip you can carry for cross country? What type of whips are specifically not allowed? And what is the maximum length allowed for a jumping whip? (Click on Discussion title above, to join in or read this educational discussion.)

"Mistakes of the legs show up in the horse's mouth." ~ Nuno Oliveira 

What do you think Nuno means by this comment? (Click on Discussion Title above to read or join in on this educational discussion)

Building on this older conversation of the meaning of scopey vs athletic.... 

How do you judge a horse's innate athletic ability without the ability to watch him jump? Are there any common traits or abilities that you notice in athletic horses?

Here are a couple of hints: What do you notice when the athletic horse plays in the pasture vs the less athletic horse? And do you notice any difference in the sound they might make as they move over the ground?



(Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to contribute to or read this educational discussion)

The Shoulder In is considered to be the "mother" of all lateral movements. Can anyone tell us why this is so?

Do you keep your horse on the aids when out hacking? Or do you mostly give your horse loose reins? What are the pros and cons for either method? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read and join in on this educational discussion)

How would you ride this fence?? At what speed would you approach it? What should you be thinking about in the final strides before takeoff? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read and join in on this educational discussion)
 

Who can tell us what caused the rail down at :43? (Click on Video Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)

What part of this cross country fence would you aim your horse at? And you would come at it straight, or at an angle? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)

Many of us have taken hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lessons over the years. Some of them with top notch trainers! Let's all help each other by sharing the most important things that you have learned! What would you say is the very best piece of riding advice you have ever received?? (Click on Discussion Title above (in blue) to read this educational discussion)