Tip/Quote of the Day # 1004"The horse is the fastest learner of all domestic animals—including children. If you stay alive by running away, you better learn fast." ~ Robert Miller, DVM
And for this reason, you have be very careful that you are teaching them exactly what you want them to learn, instead of things that you don't want them to learn! Tip/Quote of the Day # 1003“I like to think of the tension in a Thoroughbred’s body as it seeks to learn the meaning of our aids as an intense desire to please us.” ~ Steuart PittmanTip/Quote of the Day # 1002Always 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.Tip/Quote of the Day # 1001"Good contact is like having a conversation with a friend in a cozy coffee shop. Bad contact is like being hollered at by a stranger at the DMV.” ~ UnknownTip/Quote of the Day # 1000The 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.Tip/Quote of the Day # 999"Correctly understood, work at the lunge line is indispensable for rider and horse from the very beginning through the highest levels." ~ Egon von NeindorffTip/Quote of the Day # 998“I start by stretching the horse and trying to make him relaxed and supple. It’s a bit like gymnastics with a horse, dressage is. You wouldn’t expect a gymnastics person to just go and start their workout; they do a nice stretch in the warm-up first.” ~ Charlotte DujardinTip/Quote of the Day # 997“When you train at home, do one thing at a time. Pirouette one day and half pass another, so you have time to do each thing with quality. You might choose canter work on one day and trot work on another.” ~ Kyra KyrklundTip/Quote of the Day # 996The quality of your walk to halt transitions will tell a lot about the quality of alll of your work.Tip/Quote of the Day # 995"Good riders ride the approach, but great riders ride the landing." ~ Brian SaboTip/Quote of the Day # 994It can be a clever time to work on the beginning of a piaffe, or "half steps", when you are out hacking and your horse gets a bit excited and "prancy." Take advantage of the moment, to ask them (and allow them) to do what they are offering you in their excitement. And don't forget the reward.Tip/Quote of the Day # 993When preparing for a jump from a galloping position, one should always sink down into the heel before any touching of seat in the saddle, and only then should you take the mouth if necessary. Taking back on the reins first will almost always cause resistance.Tip/Quote of the Day # 992"Stop being a passenger, and start being a pilot." ~ Mark ToddTip/Quote of the Day # 991The horse that is the fastest on cross country is often not the one that is allowed to gallop at a greater rate of speed, but rather one that is highly adjustable, and is ridden on economical lines.Tip/Quote of the Day # 990When schooling a green horse through complexes where the last element is a tricky jump (skinny, angle, corner, etc), it is smart, if possible, to school the last element first. This will set you up for success as you then jump through the whole complex, as your horse will be more likely to put his eye on and correctly read the jump coming out.Tip/Quote of the Day # 989Horses that have a smooth and naturally balanced gallop stride often have longer careers in this sport. Keep that in mind when looking for an Eventing prospect.Tip/Quote of the Day # 988Riders are often incorrectly told to lean back and against the reins when their horses get strong. Not only will this not work, but it will usually make the horse even heavier in their hands.Tip/Quote of the Day # 987Doing the same thing day after day hinders growth. Think about how that might apply to your riding.Tip/Quote of the Day # 986Even if your horse is beginning to distract you with fussing against the bit, or tossing his head when jumping, keep your top priority on maintaining the rhythm.Tip/Quote of the Day # 985There are some horses that will have a hard time jumping show jumping jumps cleanly at the bigger jumps when ridden like a hunter. A much higher, "jumper" type frame, will help them jump their best.Tip/Quote of the Day # 984Do you want your horse to relax his jaw?? Use exercises that will truly engage his hind legs. That solves the problem at the root cause (which is a tense, rigid back, and hind legs which are not properly carrying the horse and rider), rather than solving the problem at the symptom (which is the horse feeling rigid in the jaw.)Tip/Quote of the Day # 983“Bad jumping can happen at any speed. I have watched some of the most brilliant, stylish jumping I have ever seen at the Maryland Hunt Cup, where the fences vary from 4 feet to 4-foot-10 in height and the average speed for this 4-mile race is about 800 meters per minute. At the same time, I have watched novice eventing riders skidding around like a hog on ice at 350 mpm. The thing I want you to remember is that speed and balance are not mutually exclusive." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 982Every correct step in shoulder in increases the carrying ability of the horse's inside hock.Tip/Quote of the Day # 981"Don't be distracted by criticism. Remember the only taste of success some people have is when they take a bite out of you." ~ George MorrisTip/Quote of the Day # 980From Facebook fan Joan Dunlap ~ "You must conquer your own fears, lack of knowledge and short-comings before you can even start to help your horse with theirs."Tip/Quote of the Day # 979Think "uphill" in your lengthenings. Yes, the horse should be allowed to lengthen its neck slightly into the lengthening, but you still want to feel like you are on a motorboat - nose up, butt down.Tip/Quote of the Day # 978Remember that even a cow can jump a 3 foot fence from a standstill - if it wants to. So never worry about whether or not your horse has enough scope to do lower level eventing or jumping. The bigger issue is whether or not you can keep him balanced at the canter.Tip/Quote of the Day # 977The smoothest and easiest canter to walk transitions come when the horse can canter at walk speed.Tip/Quote of the Day # 976"When you relax your arms and feel the reins softly you need to feel that your horse wants to step into the contact. If you do not then he is behind your leg and seat." ~ Yvonne BarteauTip/Quote of the Day # 975When doing movements like turn on the haunches, pirouettes, haunches in, and half pass, even the most experienced riders have to remind themselves to sit over their inside seat bone throughout the entire movement. Consciously thinking about stepping into the inside stirrup every couple of strides during these movements is necessary to avoid any tendency of the rider's weight slipping to the outside.Tip/Quote of the Day # 974Quote from Bert de Nemethy ~ "When I think of the rider's aids, I am reminded of an anecdote that is told about one of the world's great pianists, who was asked how difficult it was to learn to play the piano as he did. "It is really not difficult at all," he replied. "You only have to figure out which fingers go on what keys, and for how long. Then you practice for the rest of your life so that you can do it up to tempo." Communicating with the horse is about the same."Tip/Quote of the Day # 973If you don't ride well into the corner, it will have a negative effect on the next movement. The short sides and corners are what set you up for every movement.Tip/Quote of the Day # 972Since many lower level horses anticipate the transition from canter to trot in the Dressage test, it can be a good idea to do a few canter circles when practicing tests at home, instead of just one. This way the horse will not learn that when doing a test he does a quick canter, and then is done. It is also a good idea to canter past the letter that you will be doing the downward transition at in the ring. These measures can help to prevent the very common "falling from canter into trot early" problem.Tip/Quote of the Day # 971Don't use gadgets or your hands to make a "frame", use exercises to change the way the horse carries his body. When he is carrying himself correctly in balance, with his hind legs underneath his body, he will magically become round.Tip/Quote of the Day # 970It can be a clever time to work on the beginning of a piaffe, or "half steps", when you are out hacking and your horse gets a bit excited and "prancy." Take advantage of the moment, to ask them (and allow them) to do what they are offering you in their excitement. And don't forget the reward!Tip/Quote of the Day # 969As you finish a course, ask yourself if you are finishing with the same pace that you started with. If the answer is no… the next question you need to ask yourself is which speed was better for your horse's jumping - the way you started, or the way you finished? Then make sure you use that information on the next course that you jump.Tip/Quote of the Day # 968When you have a green or looky horse, it can be helpful to go a little more slowly on the approach to their fences to let them take it all in. Don't be afraid to come back to the trot if you need to. Rushing them through the approach when they are already rattled will not help them gain in confidence.Tip/Quote of the Day # 967"You can trot and cry at the same time. And if you can’t, this isn’t the sport for you." ~ Kristin CarpenterTip/Quote of the Day # 966From Facebook fan Lee DiGangi ~ "If YOU breathe, your horse will breathe. Especially true with tense mares."Tip/Quote of the Day # 965"Only when the horse is straight, the hind legs can be induced by correct collection to carry more weight and, correspondingly, be gymnasticized by increased flexion. This improves the balance and the suppleness, and it strengthens the haunches for the greater demands to the necessary degree." ~ PodhajskyTip/Quote of the Day # 964Always challenge yourself to use as little hand as possible in riding any exercise. The more freedom your horse has up front, the more expressive his movement will be.Tip/Quote of the Day # 963
"When I think of the rider's aids, I am reminded of an anecdote that is told about one of the world's great pianists, who was asked how difficult it was to learn to play the piano as he did. "It is really not difficult at all," he replied. "You only have to figure out which fingers go on what keys, and for how long. Then you practice for the rest of your life so that you can do it up to tempo." Communicating with the horse is about the same." ~ Bert de Nemethy
Tip/Quote of the Day # 962Every time you change direction, your horse needs to bring his new inside hind leg more under his body to balance. If he doesn't do this, you will feel a loss of balance, and the result will be that he comes off of the aids. This is another example of the fact that you don't fix the problem in the mouth, you fix it in the horse's hind legs.Tip/Quote of the Day # 961If your horse is strung out and on the forehand, they are more likely to slip, trip, stumble, etc. Just one of the many reasons you should strive to keep your horse balanced at all times! Tip/Quote of the Day # 960“I never really work a horse for longer than four or five minutes. I want to take a quick break, and then we go again. Any of you who’ve worked out know how much a break of 30 seconds can help. It gets some oxygen back into the muscles.” ~ Steffen PetersTip/Quote of the Day # 959From member Sharon Fitzgerald ~ "Lengthen the horse's top line so the bottom can engage. Any contracture of the top line will be counterproductive."Tip/Quote of the Day # 958From Facebook fan Barbara Martin ~ "If you don't have ground manners and ground respect, you won't have a completely full and trusting partnership."Tip/Quote of the Day # 957When your elbows leave your sides your shoulders are even more prone to tension.Tip/Quote of the Day # 956“When you get on, you should feel that your [jumping length] stirrups are a little bit short,” he said. “As you warm up, as you come out of the saddle and come forward and jump, you should feel that you’re coming into a more comfortable position. If when you get on, you’re comfortable in your stirrups, they’re invariably too long.” ~ William Fox-PittTip/Quote of the Day # 955Too often I see riders asking their horses to be forward and in front of their leg, and not getting the response they are looking for - yet they still move on to the next thing they had planned! Whether the next thing you plan to do is a jump or a dressage movement, your best bet would be to put that on hold for a moment, and really insist that your horse responds 100% to your leg. You won't get much else done without that quality.
