Tip/Quote of the Day # 904"Stay dedicated to the quality of the basic gaits—the suppleness and balance of the walk, trot and canter. Then as you cultivate the movements, those gaits improve." ~ Volker BrommannTip/Quote of the Day # 903A rider's rigid elbows will cause the horse's back to become correspondingly rigid.Tip/Quote of the Day # 902If you think it doesn't matter if your horse drifts a tiny bit one way or the other when jumping, you are wrong. It almost always effects the horse's balance in a negative way.Tip/Quote of the Day # 901The more stable you are able to keep your outside rein connection, the more quickly your horse will learn to accept it. Stable, yet elastic... like a bungee cord. Tip/Quote of the Day # 900Imagine the rider's body as a tree… the rider's seat and core need to be engaged and strong like the tree trunk, their long draped legs are the roots, and their arms are supple movable branches.Tip/Quote of the Day # 899"All work should be able to be done in a snaffle. Double bridle is not an instrument to get the horse’s head down!" ~ Carl HesterTip/Quote of the Day # 898If you try to teach a horse something while tension is present, his learning will be compromised. And you will be more likely to run into problems associated with the flight response.Tip/Quote of the Day # 897Horses don't generalize as easy as humans do. When we teach the horse something new, he doesn't easily apply that knowledge to other situations. You have to consciously show him how to apply it elsewhere. For example when you teach a horse to move off of your right leg, he doesn't automatically understand how to move off of your left leg. And just because he gets comfortable crossing one water jump, doesn't mean the next one is automatically safe in his mind. You may have to expose him to many different water situations before he may decide that all water is ok. Tip/Quote of the Day # 896“Look for a genuine coach with real coaching skills rather than a rider who may know how to do something, but not how to teach it. Also, find someone who has solid experience of working with riders of your level." ~ William MicklemTip/Quote of the Day # 895"Collection is a gathering of the energy – not something you get by using the reins, it is something you get by using your seat and legs." ~ Marilyn PayneTip/Quote of the Day # 894Riding with your thumbs on top keeps your hands, wrists, elbows, shoulders in a "neutral" position, which allows your joints to move most freely for an elastic rein connection.Tip/Quote of the Day # 893"Riders tend to lean back and pull on horses who are rushing, which makes a bad situation worse. When you pull back against your horse, he will usually invert, drop his back and lean against your hand. Once he is in this shape, no bit in the world will solve your problem." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 892“The horse has to learn to look after himself, otherwise I might as well get off and just chuck him over. And I’m not that strong. I don’t go to the gym.” ~ Ben MaherTip/Quote of the Day # 891Land from a jump thinking about what you are going to do next. Don't land thinking about what you just did.Tip/Quote of the Day # 890Half halts are one of the most important ways of increasing the horse's carrying power. Tip/Quote of the Day # 889Always remember that every top rider was once a beginner. You will progress the most if you walk that fine line between being patient with yourself as you learn and improve your skills, and pushing yourself to do what is most challenging for you to do. Tip/Quote of the Day # 888Only precise riding trains the horse correctly. Be exact in your geometry, figures, and lines.Tip/Quote of the Day # 887Keep your hands forward thinking at all times - don't be "stealing" from the horse's hind legs.Tip/Quote of the Day # 886"Nothing is as impressive or as valuable for the training as being able to control the impulsion and the desire to go forward to such an extent that the rider is able to bring his horse to a standstill from an extended trot or canter without the slightest effort or disturbance. Conversely, departing immediately from the halt into an extended gait is an equal proof of the absolute desire to go forward." ~ Alois PodhajskyTip/Quote of the Day # 885Riders can benefit SO much from discussions about their riding. Riding is as much cognitive as it is physical - both aspects need to be exercised to truly improve!Tip/Quote of the Day # 884"I don't want riders who work physically hard. Work by thinking." ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 883"Relaxation is first mental, then physical. A horse in pain or one who fears you will never relax his body." ~ Charles de KunffyTip/Quote of the Day # 882The rein back is a great exercise to "fold" the joints of the hind legs and increase the "sit" behind, but only if the horse remains straight and relaxed in the back when performing it.Tip/Quote of the Day # 881
“You think it’s quite boring, but this is the foundation. It’s like building a house. If you have a bad foundation, you’re going to have a bad house.” ~ Charlotte Dujardin
Tip/Quote of the Day # 880"A horse with impulsion will display rounder, more fluid, and more continuous action and will develop supple joints and an elastic musculature. There is a subtle vibration in the impulsive horse's body." ~ Charles de KunffyTip/Quote of the Day # 879The best way to fix a bad habit is to exaggerate the opposite for a while. So, what will YOU be exaggerating for a while?Tip/Quote of the Day # 878The more "black and white" you can be when working with horses, the more confidence they will have in you. They have to have a clear understanding of your aids and your expectations.Tip/Quote of the Day # 877To get the best out of a horse with a sense of humor, you must be a rider with a sense of humor :)Tip/Quote of the Day # 876"If you know enough, you know that it is not worth experimenting or using gimmicks, you know there is nothing you personally can invent right now, because both equine and humans structure and psychology have not changed much over the last centuries. The body of knowledge handed down to us represents the sum total of the best results from the past." ~ Charles de KunffyTip/Quote of the Day # 875Change only happens when we do things differently consistently, not just once! So cut yourself some slack when you are struggling to improve certain skills. It will take time and repetition! Tip/Quote of the Day # 874"What is most important is how the horse travels between the jumps." ~ Bill SteinkrausTip/Quote of the Day # 873
For those of you with horses that want to "run" into the canter when working on walk to canter transitions (accelerating and taking a trot step or two before picking up the canter), think "halt" as you are applying your aid to canter from the walk.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 872Remember that your "working" trot or canter should show a consistent speed and tempo throughout your Dressage test. It is a common mistake, for example, for the rider to let the trot after the walk be much quieter than the trot immediately after the canter. And this is very obvious to the judge. Tip/Quote of the Day # 871"We teach them collection for two reasons: To make your horse more comfortable to ride and to preserve his well being." ~ Major LindgrenTip/Quote of the Day # 870Counter canter is simply one of the most beneficial exercises you can do for your horse in the canter! In addition to building strength, improving balance, and increasing hind leg engagement, it also improves the horse's ability to be straight in the canter. All of which will improve your regular canter! Tip/Quote of the Day # 869Corners should be ridden as one-quarter of a volte appropriate to the level of the test (10 meters at Training-First Levels, 8 meters at Second-Fourth Levels and 6 meters above Fourth Level)Tip/Quote of the Day # 868For those of you with horses that want to run into the canter when working on walk to canter transitions (accelerating and taking a trot step or two before picking up the canter,) think "halt" as you are applying your aid to canter from the walk.Tip/Quote of the Day # 867If your horse spends a lot of time in a stall or small paddock, it is a good idea to give him extra walking time at the beginning of your warm up routine. 15 to 20 minutes of an active, marching walk will get all of his structures limber, and lubricate his joints, so that he can then move on to more serious work with less risk of injury.Tip/Quote of the Day # 866"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 # 865Don't assume that just because a Dressage trainer has ridden through the upper levels, that they are riding and teaching correctly. There is a lot of incorrect, "front to back" riding going on out there, even at the top levels. Look for an instructor who rides and teaches in a true "back to front" manner - with quiet hands that receive the energy, instead of being used in a "busy" way to keep the horse's head down and nose in. Tip/Quote of the Day # 864When working on the zig zag movement in the half pass (changing from left to right and back again), begin with just a slight bend and a gradual changeover. And as your horse gains confidence and understanding of the exercise, you can then begin to ask for more bend and a more crisp change of bend. As with any exercise, aiming for confidence and understanding first will build a strong foundation for the movement. Tip/Quote of the Day # 863"When introducing new questions make sure they are fair, but don’t over prepare the horse. Let him find out it’s an oxer/filler/bounce when he gets there. They need to learn to react and make quick decisions." ~ Eric SmileyTip/Quote of the Day # 862“When you get on, you should feel that your 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 # 861“At home I never train the changes on the diagonal. I stick to the wall. He has changes that swing from side to side. Rather than pushing forward, he pushes to the side. By using the wall, the wall does the work for me.” ~ Charlotte DujardinTip/Quote of the Day # 860Working on changes of pace and stride during conditioning work can go a long way towards making your horse more rideable on course - as you will be creating the habit of being adjustable and responsive. Tip/Quote of the Day # 859Rhythm is the key to good jumping, whether on cross country or in the show jumping ring. Rhythm and balance go hand in hand, so one facilitates the other. Tip/Quote of the Day # 858
It is very important that your horse does not learn how to run out on skinny jumps or corners. Because once they have learned to associate either type of jump with running out, it can be very difficult to correct. Do not take the schooling of these type of jumps lightly, for this reason.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 857Tightly clamped thighs make you lose your nice deep seat, and drive the horse's back down into a hollow position.Tip/Quote of the Day # 856"If you keep your hands still, you’ll start using your legs." ~ Ulla SalzgeberTip/Quote of the Day # 855"Don't delude yourself into thinking that you have light, soft hands, if you ride with loose, almost dangling reins on a strung out horse. That can be done with insensitive hands as well. A soft hand requires the rider to feel whether the horse is softly on the bit, chewing, and whether it responds to a light pressure, in other words, whether it has an active mouth. If he rides with loose reins, the horse can have a dead mouth, which will only show up when you use the reins to stop or to shorten the strides, as it will either let you pull its nose onto its chest, or it will invert, and in both cases it will open its mouth." ~ Oskar M. Stensbeck
