Recent Articles in Tip/Quote of the Day!

"So long as we allow riders with an incorrect seat, with incorrect aids, to approach horses, then we will only have an accumulation of mistakes. The longer they ride a horse, the more damage they do, and it should be the opposite. The longer a good rider rides a horse, the more glorious the horse gets." ~ Charles de Kunffy

From Facebook fan Kate M. Severson ~ "Sometimes taking a step back, looping the reins, and just letting the horse do its job is the hardest thing to do! I need to let go of my perfectionism and stop trying to always micromanage, especially in the show jumping. Sit up, leg on, and let the horse jump!"

With green horses that don’t yet fully understand the bending aids, or for those who struggle with bending one direction, it can be helpful to bring your outside rein a little away from their neck (to the outside) as you bend them. This makes the outside rein a little more inviting for them to move into. 

"Where it tips over, that positive tension, is if you let the horse get strong in the bridle. Once you let the horse become heavy on the hand and strong in the bridle, it’s not positive any more, because then there is a block. If you can create what we try to create, without heavy hands, without hanging onto the rein, if you can do it with self-carriage, then it looks beautiful. It’s this word, expression, which is a dangerous word because once you put expression into it, like heightened suspension and things like that, then if you have got the wrong rider, or a rider who doesn’t ride with an independent seat, then they use their hands and that’s when you get that horrible looking, jerky dressage. It is something we really work on, to be able to create it, without going over-board." ~ Carl Hester

Every horse you ride can tell pretty quickly if you genuinely like them or not. And it makes a difference.

Horses that tend to hurry need to be ridden at a slower than ideal pace until they are rhythmical and relaxed, and are no longer trying to hurry. 

"'I have time' should be the guiding word especially of dressage riders during the entire course of training and remind him of the fact that the goal of the classical art of riding is to be attained only by the gradual increase of demands." ~ Alois Podhajsky

"I do hundreds of transitions, loads of them, so transitions become like 'pouring cream.'" ~ Carl Hester

If your horse tends to look around a lot when you are riding, keep his attention on your inside leg by asking for an exaggerated bend to the inside. You will know you have achieved putting your horse’s attention on your inside leg when his inside ear looks back at you. 

If you want your horse to truly enjoy his work, it helps to be having fun yourself when you ride. Sometimes when things are difficult, it can be hard to find the fun in that moment. You have to go out of your way to look for it! Your horse will feel the difference if you do. 

"Push him to contact, release and then push to contact again." ~ Carl Hester

"When thinking about collecting a horse--closing a horse from behind to shift his center of gravity further back--many riders only think of closing the horse longitudinally from hocks to bridle. However, one also closes the horse laterally, i.e., from outside leg to inside rein, and from inside leg to outside rein, like an X." ~ Charles de Kunffy

"If you practice being fluid, you eventually will be fluid. If you're casual about it, it will never happen." ~ Joe Fargis

"My coaches insisted that the reins may be used for a thousand things except for two: to inhibit the haunches or to set the shape of his neck." ~ Charles de Kunffy

"A horse's energies are gathered up from behind and by yielding on the reins and giving him the room to step through to the center of gravity, the neck will shape to reflect the activities in the haunches. Trying to achieve collection by working on the horse's neck cuts the horse off in the front, confining him and preventing the hind legs from lifting, suspending and powerfully supporting the rider's balance." ~ Charles de Kunffy

From Facebook fan Firn Hyde ~ "Reschooling a horse with vices and sending it back to its owner is not enough. The vices will return with unguided riding. Only by retraining both horse and rider can the problem be solved."

"Whenever a horse has learned a new movement or a new aid in its basic form, the rider should give him a break and deliberately ride something else for a few days or weeks. When he returns to the movement, he will notice how much more easily the training will proceed." ~ Reiner Klimke

No moment of riding without stirrups is ever a waste of time!

If you fall into using loud aids, and don't have a plan to make your horse more sensitive, you will probably always need loud aids.

The elasticity in your connection should really come from your elbows, not active fingers.

When you find yourself thinking a negative thought about your riding, cancel it out by following it with a positive one. 

Whenever you are facing any type of jump with a ditch in front of it, think of it as a "free" front rail, or a rolled out ground rail. Focus on the top of the jump (ignoring the ditch), and ride freely forward to it in a balanced, rhythmical gallop.

It is very hard to get a horse truly fit in an arena. You need to use varied terrain and footing to build a strong athlete that will hold up to the rigors of Eventing.