Tip/Quote of the Day # 654From Facebook fan Rachel Rogers Laliberte ~ "The hands make contact with the mouth but the riders use of driving aids (leg and seat) create the connection." Tip/Quote of the Day # 653When jump schooling, it can be a good idea think about changing direction after each jump, unless you have a plan to do otherwise for a specific reason. So every time you approach off of the left lead, you turn right afterwards, and vice versa. This way, you get lots of practice with your lead changes (simple or flying), and you will help to ensure that you do an equal amount of practice jumping off of each lead, which is important. Tip/Quote of the Day # 652When lunging, pivot with one foot so that you keep yourself still and centered in the middle of your horse's circle. This way, he will learn to make an actual circle shape, rather than an odd shape.Tip/Quote of the Day # 651Neutral riding means the rider maintains their position, but with the absence of aids. Aim to return to neutral as much as possible after every aid. Tip/Quote of the Day # 650"Finding an honest connection and throughness can be as elusive as trying to find your true image in a fun house mirror." ~ Yvonne BarteauTip/Quote of the Day # 649"Cross-country saddles should have room for five fingers breadth behind your seat. This allows room for you to slide your seat backwards. This will give you a 'safe seat'. The ability to do that depends on the length of your stirrup--they must be SHORT." ~ Chris BartleTip/Quote of the Day # 648
You turn your car by turning the wheels on the front axle, not by turning the hood ornament (dating myself here... I know). And similarly, you should turn your horse from his shoulders, not from his nose.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 647"If your rein aids are not working it is because your leg aids are not working. Piece by piece fix the response to your leg aids first. Every horse should be able to do a proper turn on the forehand so start there." ~ Yvonne Barteau
I so agree! The turn on the forehand is often overlooked in the training process, and it is the foundation lateral exercise! Master that, and everything else will become so much easier. Tip/Quote of the Day # 646"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 # 645It is commonly taught to wiggle or move the bit when the horse is trying to lean on the rider's hands. But while that makes it less attractive for the horse to lean on the bit, it only covers up the real problem rather than solving it. The only real way to fix it is to solve the cause of the problem, which is to use exercises to rebalance the horse. Tip/Quote of the Day # 644Allow with the reins coming into a drop into water. Holding too much in the last strides can cause the horse to not use his body fully over the fence into the water… which can cause a stumble or fall on landing in the water. Tip/Quote of the Day # 643A sound horse's head does not move in the trot. So if your hands move at all in the trot, you are moving the bit and disturbing the connection from the horse's perspective. Tip/Quote of the Day # 642 The more you can teach your horse to gallop in balance between fences on cross country, the less you will have to do in front of the jumps. And your horse will also be more likely to remain sound. Galloping long distances out of balance is very punishing on the horse's front legs.Tip/Quote of the Day # 641The best reach and push forward through the neck in Dressage comes as a result of the horse's back lifting... much like a bascule over a jump. Tip/Quote of the Day # 640"Never ceases to amaze how many riders think they can get the neck forward by tweaking and twiddling with the reins." ~ Peter DeCosemoTip/Quote of the Day # 639"Make him proudly independent of you so that he understands his job so well you merely walk the course and then show him the way. Tell your horse what you want him to do, and then allow him to do it." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 638When riding, always be true in the moment. You need to react to what is actually happening underneath you, rather than you what you are expecting to happen.Tip/Quote of the Day # 637 The more you can teach your horse to gallop in balance between fences on cross country, the less you will have to do in front of the jumps. And your horse will also be more likely to remain sound. Galloping long distances out of balance is very punishing on the horse's front legs.Tip/Quote of the Day # 636The key to a good trot lengthening or medium trot is in the preparation. If you can sufficiently coil the spring of the horse's hindquarters beforehand, the lengthening will happen naturally when you allow it. If you don't have enough stored energy, and have to push to try to get it, that is when the horse will lose rhythm or balance, or break into the canter. Tip/Quote of the Day # 635Half halts work best when applied within the rhythm of the horse's stride. Tip/Quote of the Day # 634The deeper the water you are landing in at your water jump, the more slowly you must approach the fence into the water.Tip/Quote of the Day # 633"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 KlimkeTip/Quote of the Day # 632
When the horse makes a mistake or misbehaves and you stop him and regroup, you can easily be sending him the wrong message. Stopping and taking a break is often perceived as a reward to the horse. Be careful what you reward.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 631Rigidity in the rein connection, caused by the horse or rider bracing against the contact, will always result in tension in the horse's body. And the reverse is very true as well. If the horse is tight in the body, he will tend to brace against your hand. Tip/Quote of the Day # 630"Our job is to prepare the line and canter, then ride forward to the jump. Riding forward to the jump is NOT accelerating to the jump. There is a difference. When riders got to a longer or shorter distance than ideal, the emphasis is on the rider staying in the moment and conveying confidence to the horse." ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 629Make sure that your flash or figure eight noseband is not restricting your horse's breathing! There should be at least four fingers of room between the bottom strap and your horses nostril, otherwise you ARE at risk for restricting your horse's breathing! This photo shows a flash that is way too low. To fix this situation, the noseband itself needs to be higher and possibly a bit tighter. Then the flash attachment will sit correctly.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 628A correct connection involves the horse's entire spinal column, including the neck vertebrae stretching forward into that connection. Tip/Quote of the Day # 627“It is important that the neck is open at the throat latch. Too many horses too short in the neck in all disciplines. Today’s horses are always in a frame, but often they don’t seek the contact properly, and you can’t give high marks to a horse that is behind the bit.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 626"Riding must be a totality of exercises that bring the horse into the hand without leaning onto it. Putting the horse on the bit means: feeling that the poll flexes, the back rises, the haunches become active." ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 625“You need to produce a walk. So work at the walk as well as the trot and canter. Get a good feeling of the body working in the walk. The walk is a mirror of the training of the horse.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 624The more complex the movements, the more the basic foundation is tested.Tip/Quote of the Day # 623“Often people think that the easy way of stopping the horse from charging is by putting on the handbreak — and that’s actually the cause in the first place." ~ Harry MeadeTip/Quote of the Day # 622“The distance does not matter. What matters is that you don’t fall forward over their necks or backwards off their a#$@# when you get there.” ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 621
"Regularly practice jumping gymnastics on a long or loose rein and remind your horse that he needs to, in Eric Smiley's lovely phrase, 'take ownership of the fence.'" ~ Jimmy Wofford
Tip/Quote of the Day # 619“Riders use the spur instead of the calf of the leg. This is wrong. As trainers and judges, we need to encourage putting the rider in front of the leg, NOT the spur.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 620
“The less you do, the more will go right.” ~ Nuno Oliveira
Tip/Quote of the Day # 617"The less we do on cross country- the easier we are on our horses, learn how to be more still, touch their mouth only when you need too, plan your turns. The lighter we are with them galloping over few fences we save their bodies and legs." ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 616Overbending the neck is especially problematic in lateral work, as it causes the horse to displace their weight to the outside. Tip/Quote of the Day # 615Always be aware of the fact that any movement of your hands is more apparent to the judges if you wear white gloves.Tip/Quote of the Day # 614“Banging the horse’s sides with the ankles, especially in the sitting trot will certainly disturb the horse’s gait.” ~ Nuno Oliveira Tip/Quote of the Day # 613From Facebook fan Suzanne Johnson Dortch ~ "When in doubt, breathe out." Tip/Quote of the Day # 612 “With the bend on the circles and in the travers, it is important to use as little inside rein as possible. If you need the inside rein, there is something wrong with the earlier work.” ~ Christoph HessTip/Quote of the Day # 611The best jumps are when the horse maintains the same rhythm and stride length on the approach AND the landing. You should be able to cover your eyes, and *hear* the consistency of the horse's stride in the final strides, and again on landing. If you can hear that… you know without even seeing it, that the jump was good - no matter what exact spot the horse took off from.Tip/Quote of the Day # 610“Riding forward to the jump is NOT accelerating to the jump. There is a difference.” ~ William Fox PittTip/Quote of the Day # 609Don't let the quality of your transitions suffer in your effort to be accurate. While both are important, it is more important to perform good transitions, than to perform them exactly at the letter.Tip/Quote of the Day # 608Remember 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 # 607When lunging, pivot with one foot so that you keep yourself still and centered in the middle of your horse's circle. This way, he will learn to make an actual circle shape, rather than an odd shape.Tip/Quote of the Day # 606"You're never going to be perfect, let go." ~ Chris BartleTip/Quote of the Day # 605“Only the rider who is free from any contraction will have a horse equally free from contraction. A team such as this is the ideal” ~ Nuno OliveiraTip/Quote of the Day # 604The "hold their head up and gallop" approach to training your horse to jump ditches may get you over, but it can easily cause your horse to be somewhat afraid of ditches for the rest of their life. It is much better to go slow and let them look. Give them the time to figure it out. Once they understand and are confident, they will be safe and happy to jump any ditch.
