Recent Articles in Tip/Quote of the Day!

"If I can open the frame a bit more [meaning a longer neck], it is easier for the horses to work in their body, and in their back." ~ Hubertus Schmidt

From Facebook fan Kristen Wiley ~ "Going forward into the outside rein in the corners really does prevent loss of balance! Who knew?!?"

Studying riding theory will make you a better rider or trainer in many ways. Trainers need a knowledge base broad enough to enable them to apply the appropriate system for each horse/rider combination in front of them. Riders need to thoroughly understand what they are trying to do and why.

Riding the horse with its head and neck low is only beneficial to the horse if there is a connection over the back.

"The outside rein keeps the horse straight, it controls the outside shoulder, it helps in the halts, it must always be a connecting feel. If the connection is too strong it blocks the inside hind leg. The contact must be elastic in both reins." ~ Gill Rolton

The hindquarters are the engine, but you turn the horse by directing his shoulders.

"For me to work with a horse, I have to like their movement, and the expression they have – and I don’t like mares. With a mare only one person can ride them, if you change the riders with a mare you will always get problems. I am not home enough for this. I have to leave horses at home when I go to competitions, so no mares." ~ Ulla Salzgeber

A calm yet mobile mouth means that the horse is light in the hand, and relaxed through the jaw and neck, which allows for easy swallowing. 

"For me, I love hot horses. The hotter and the crazier they are, the better. Lazy horses make police horses. Not interested. When you get to top level Grand Prix and you have to ride three days, the last thing you want to be doing is kicking through the first test." ~ Charlotte Dujardin

"Today is the time of the cheap read. Read the old books. In the next generation that knowledge will be extinct." ~ George Morris

From Facebook fan Kathy Wilson Rowe ~ "The more relaxed I can be, the more relaxed and responsive my horse is.......duh!"

From member Kate Pacey Saulle ~ "When the horse knows more than you, open all channels to listen."

The first few steps of any lateral exercise are generally the most beneficial. So shorter periods of lateral work interspersed more frequently into your schooling is often the most productive.

From Facebook fan Rachel Mackmin ~ "Shoulder control established with outside rein and thigh allow us timid riders to let go of that inside rein! It's so hard to give that inside rein to a spooky horse!"

When your elbows leave your sides your shoulders are even more prone to tension.

"Contact has to be just that, contact. People think 'oh this horse is very light I have nothing in my hand' – this is wrong because then you have no contact to his hind legs." ~ Jean Bemelmans

In a good connection, the rider's hands should breathe with the horse's mouth.

If you are working with a very bold jumping youngster, and have plans to take him up the levels, it is a good idea to have a plan to teach him to be economical when jumping into water and off of drops. This means doing something a little different… and coming back to the trot just in front of your little drops, and bringing him right back to the trot when you land. Doing this in training will produce a horse that will be less extravagant about his jumping efforts off of drops and into water. Which will make it much easier to negotiate the complex combinations that will show up as you move up the levels.

The tempo in the rein back should be the same as in the walk. Don't let your horse rush through the rein back.

In your Dressage seat, let your legs hang quietly down - close to your horse's sides for easy and intimate communication, but not tight, which would lessen your ability to communicate in a subtle manner.

The fastest way to get where you're going is to take your time.

"The quality of the seat determines whether we can even speak of 'riding', or whether the horse simply has to 'deal with' the load on his back." ~ Kurt Albrecht

Thinking about keeping your head up and still throughout the jumping motion will help to keep your upper body more quietly poised over fences.

"The seat and weight aids are supporting aids. They support either a leg or rein aid, or both. Don’t underestimate their significance though. They are important aids, especially in the fine tuning of advanced horses. The leg and rein aids will fail to achieve their full effectiveness without the support of weight and seat." ~ Christian Thiess   

A good horse will forgive you when you make a mistake - and expects you to do the same.

"For me, the walk is indispensible. If a horse is not walking correctly – extended, collected, two tracks with all the lateral work – then he doesn’t show that he is relaxed, supple, together. I do it all the time, with young horses, with educated horses, I do some lateral work in walk, some extensions, relaxation and collection, half pirouettes, all this before I come into the trot. It makes the horses calm, makes the rider also calm, it makes the rider coordinate his aids – now I need more bending, less bending, re-balance this half pass, it is indispensible. Also indispensible are the breaks in-between with long reins and free reins. We should start every session in walk – for ten minutes, it should be walk. Not just free reins, working in walk." ~ Rafael Soto

"A rider interfering with the rein on the way down to fence is fundamentally dangerous." ~ William Fox Pitt

If you ask for too much angle in any lateral movement (more than your horse can handle at that moment,) you risk impeding the balance and fluidity of the movement, which should be your top priorities.

Riders who put in the time and effort to learn theory will go much further in this sport.

Always keep your spine stretched upward when riding. When you slump, your head and shoulders will become "heavy", and your horse will likely become heavy in your hands.

"I haven't counted how many strides that line is, it really doesn't interest me. I care about your line." ~ Chris Bartle

Riders who get the best out of the sensitive type of horse are especially good at being tactful.

The bigger the jump, the more the horse must rock back and lift upwards on the takeoff. Therefore as the jumps get bigger, it becomes even more important that you are poised and patient with your upper body off the ground.

From Facebook fan Joan Childs ~ "One of the best bits of advice I was given many many years ago I now pass on freely to all my students. Your hands must be free in order to use them effectively. You can not pull, push, follow, open or close your reins if they are busy being a source of your balance."

"Dressage is about repetition and correction and being strong with yourself to not let bad habits happen. It’s being on top of every little thing. If you make bad transitions at home because you’re lazy or not really thinking of it, you’re going to make bad transitions in the arena. Then you go, ‘oh, he did that,’ but that’s because you allowed him to make all those mistakes in the first place." ~ Charlotte Dujardin

From Facebook fan Krista Fabregas ~ "On an 18h gangley monster, a custom made saddle makes a world of difference... and ramen noodles provide adequate enough nutrition when paying for said saddle."

"The rider contains the horse with the hip and upper body; arms and legs are aids." ~ Nuno Oliveira

Sometimes you can make your circles better by not working on circles! Work on squares, 90 degree turns, and diagonal lines for a while, and maybe some nose to the wall leg yield. Then come back to your circles, after you have worked on better use of and response to your outside turning aids.

In just about all situations, the best transitions are initiated from the rider's seat, not the leg or hand. 

"The motto of instructor and rider must always be forward. Forward in the movement of the horse instructed to his care. Forward in order to achieve his aim in the art of training. Forward whenever difficulties appear." ~ Alois Podhajsky