Recent Articles in Tip/Quote of the Day!

"When you do something too much, too long, it’s called drilling. That’s not a good word with horses. If it’s not perfect it's ok. We have tomorrow, we have next week. Don’t be excessive with the horse." ~ George Morris

Always finish an exercise with a proper transition to walk, don't just fall into a heap.

"The more avenues of learning, the more rounded the trainer will be. The more variety of exercises, the more rounded the horse will be." ~ Andrea Benson

A tip for instructors...  When a student has a lightbulb riding moment during a lesson, ask them to explain it you in their own words. This way it becomes even more cemented in their own mind, and you can more easily help them find it again if they lose it.

"Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift." ~ Chris Evert

Always finish each ride on a good note. Do something your horse does well so he can feel good about himself.

It 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. 

It can be a skill in itself to be able to pick up a quality canter or gallop in a straight line and jump a fence that is a short distance away (as you would coming out of the start box on cross country.) Like any skill, this one will only get better with practice. So this is something to practice at home.

Counter bend is a great tool when your horse tries to bulge against your outside aids. And following that up with a change of direction then further reinforces that aid, teaching your horse to have more respect for it.

"I think the rider's attitude in the ring is transposed to the horse's attitude... I think the difference between the good riders and good trips versus the outstanding trips are in large measure the positive attitude and inspiration that one shows to the judge and the way one  tackles the problems of the course in riding the horse." ~ Michael Page

You have to push YOURSELF to get better, because no one is going to do it for you.

As you complete a halt, lighten your seat slightly to invite your horse to keep his back up underneath you. This will allow you to move off after the halt without the horse hollowing and dropping his back.

A horse can only be straight when they are equally laterally supple on both sides. 

"The idea of Dressage is to be able to slow your horse down while using your legs, rather than by using your reins." ~ Christoph Hess

"No complicated riding before the horses are going truly forward. In dressage, the difficulties are often created by a lack of good basic work (which is the foundation of the house)." ~ Nuno Oliveira

"Riding: The dialogue between two bodies and two souls aimed at establishing perfect harmony between them." ~ Waldemar Seunig

From Facebook fan Judi Martin ~ "Distal dexterity [precise control of your limbs] is dependent upon core stability."

If your horse is not "hot" to your leg, and you therefore need lots of leg to keep him going, how will he ever hear the leg aid that asks for something more, like lateral work or a flying change?

Even the hot horse needs to be ridden forward.

The difference between good riding and bad riding is that good riding is difficult to see. 

A horse's energy flowing through a turn is similar to water flowing through a tunnel. Just as the outside wall of the tunnel is paramount, a good connection on the outside rein is crucial to a successful turn. 

Do not miss the possible opportunity to shorten your reins when your horse changes his balance in the direction of increased collection. If you do miss it, and are riding with a length of rein that was more appropriate to the longer, lower frame that you had previously... you risk losing the amount of increased collection that you had just attained.

"Remember, the conversation between you and your horse must never be dull or inert. It should be, 'Ask, receive, give. Ask, receive, give.' Ask with your body and legs; receive through your body into your hands; give primarily with the hands, but also with your body and legs, so that you can ask all over again, receive again and give again. The give is your thanks. If you don't give, you must ask harder the next time, and even harder after that, until you end up with a dead or resistant horse." - Sally Swift

It 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. 

When asking for a canter lengthening or medium canter on a hot horse or one that is prone to tension, it can be helpful to initiate the upward transition with a bigger scoop of your seat rather than your leg. This helps the horse to understand that you want a bigger stride, rather than simply more speed.

With many horses it takes at least 10 to 20 transitions in a row in the warm up to get to the point where they are really balanced, rideable, and listening equally to all of the rider’s aids. Do you do enough in your warm up?

Happy, fresh, relaxed, and supple horses always perform better than horses that are drilled and drilled!

Always use both reins together to steer, especially when jumping. Using one rein only turns the horse's nose - but using both reins turn the horse at the shoulders, which means his body will more accurately follow your chosen line.

When a horse is crooked his energy gets stopped up like water in a hose with a kink in it. 

From Facebook fan Kelly Turman-Meyers ~ "The longest paths [in learning how to ride and compete] are usually those people without good trainers. The shortest path is to find the best classical trainer you can and ride as many horses as you can."

"Regularity and rhythm have to go through all the collected work as well. If the horse gets heavy, use the energy more. If you remember this rule, it will stop you making mistakes even if you are not as experienced as a rider. Keep going back to the basics." ~ Jonny Hilberath

In any lateral movement, keep your eyes pointed to the spot that you want your horse to go to. 

"Beginners are not bad riders, they merely lack experience. The only truly bad riders are usually 'experienced' in the poorest sense of that word; those who blatantly and ignorantly bully their horses." ~ Egon von Neindorff

Having sufficient energy in your canter allows the horse to jump more smoothly and easily. Make sure you are truly riding forward!

Whether flatwork or jumping, you never want to look at any time like you would flip off the back end of the horse if someone were to cut your reins.

You must train your horse to understand that he should stay at whatever speed you put him in until told otherwise. Remember that every time you allow your horse to make a decision about his speed or energy level (or don't realize that he has done so), you are training him to make these decisions on his own.

"If the horse has a high opinion of the rider, he will let himself be guided, if not, he will resist." ~ Nuno Oliveira

"If you put a muscle where it doesn’t want to be, it is broken down – not build up." 

So don't go thinking that you are building the right muscles when you force a horse's head into a position. The horse has to be using those muscles correctly to actually develop properly.

Always remember that the hot horse must learn to control his energy, not do without it.

Correct Dressage training will improve the balance, carriage, responsiveness, strength, and confidence of the horse of ANY discipline.

"Working over a single pole on the ground, notice if the young horse prefers to chip in a short stride or stretch for a long stride. Then remember this is the default that they will return to when things go wrong." ~ Eric Smiley