Tip/Quote of the Day # 553If your instructor is the type that teaches you the reasons behind each aid or exercise used in each specific circumstance, you will become a more educated rider with a greater ability to be productive on your own time. So many do not - and with this type of instructor, you are much less likely to become an independent rider.Tip/Quote of the Day # 552You can tell how correctly a horse works on a regular basis by looking at his musculature. If his neck muscles are "upside down", or if there is any lack of topline muscle between the withers and the croup, the horse does NOT work correctly over the back on a regular basis.Tip/Quote of the Day # 551“Generally, the most dedicated and disciplined and focused athlete is the one who will win the most.” ~ Michael Barisone Tip/Quote of the Day # 550I don't even think about aiming a young or green horse at a jump until I have them 100% in front of my leg on the flat. If you do, and the horse thinks about stopping, you will have no recourse, and will end up teaching him that he doesn't have to jump if he doesn't want to. Tip/Quote of the Day # 549
The mouth is never the real problem, what you feel in your hand is a reflection of what is happening behind the saddle. Get the back relaxed and swinging, and the hind legs active, and the horse will feel like putty in your hands.
Tip/Quote of the Day #548Great advice from member Kate Pacey Saulle! ~ "When you let go of the fear, the fear lets go of you. I am ( after a few years of struggling with it) fear free when faced with jumping. It is so overwhelming wonderful. So, my advice, don't give up! How did it happen? A little background, I am a lifelong rider. In my mid-late 30's I had an erosion of confidence. Too much riding alone, green horses, no trainer to help. A mess! I moved, started fresh, found a dressage/eventing trainer. Still something was not right, more erosion. Nothing I knew was right and unknowingly I was not making the forward progress I needed. So, enter the beginning of the solution. This is where it gets good! Find someone to ride with. Not a trainer, a good, steady confident rider. Someone who has your back. Someone that at the drop of a hat would pony you, hop on your horse, turn around and start home because your nerves are shot . Very important here, get out of the ring! Go ride terrain. Go up hills, down hills, through woods, creeks . Do it at a walk, then trot, then canter and finally fast. Next thing, this one is hard to swallow for many, ride the right horse. This might not be the horse you own. You will not conquer your fear if you fear your horse. I gave my young, I spent too much time on being afraid of horse, to a talented young rider and I got myself a horse I can be successful on. It has been life changing! Final step: jump. I have many straps to hold onto but with the right horse and the fitness gained from riding terrain, I jump stuff without fear. It is so much fun, I am addicted. So, ladies, it can be done but some hard decisions and choices must be made. Good luck."Tip/Quote of the Day # 547I can tell much about the level of rideability you will have at the jumps by watching you perform simple changes of lead through the trot.Tip/Quote of the Day # 546The more you can leave your horse alone through gymnastic work, the more he will actually learn from it.Tip/Quote of the Day # 545Proper hand position will help you to remain loose and supple in your arms. Deviating in any way from the perfect hand position will immediately cause your arm muscles to tighten.Tip/Quote of the Day # 544When you realize that you are meeting a jump on a half stride, it can be challenging to keep a calm, clear head! Give yourself something constructive to think about, and tell yourself to just stay still and keep riding your horse's hind legs all the way till the takeoff. Tip/Quote of the Day # 543Many riders place their saddles too far forward! Make sure that the solid parts of the saddle are behind the horse's shoulder, to allow for freedom of the shoulder.Tip/Quote of the Day # 542Many riders have a tendency to throw away the rein contact when asking for an upward transition. All that does is encourage the horse to make the transition by throwing his weight forward onto the forehand. Stay still, and make the transition by asking the horse to step up INTO your contact from behind to start the transition. Tip/Quote of the Day # 541A trick to help you find your "bearing down" core muscles when riding is to cough quietly.Tip/Quote of the Day # 540The more well trained the horse is, the more often the rider can sit in "neutral", with no aids on whatsoever. Tip/Quote of the Day # 539"When you have really long legs, don't be swinging them around and using them like clubs." ~ Catherine HaddadTip/Quote of the Day # 538"Adopt a classical position, resist all fads and gadgets, and ride the horse quietly and softly between the two straight lines of the stirrup leather and the elbow to the horse's mouth. It's simple. It's just not easy." ~ Jimmy WoffordTip/Quote of the Day # 537Every galloping fence is an opportunity to awaken your horse's initiative, and show him how FUN it is to run and jump - and should be used as such.Tip/Quote of the Day # 536Ask, insist, reward.Tip/Quote of the Day # 535"Everything you teach your horse can and will be used against you." ~ Brian SaboTip/Quote of the Day # 534“I like to think about making my body longer in the front to make me sit up instead of thinking ‘shoulders back,’ which can make you stiff.” ~ Mary KingTip/Quote of the Day # 533Always finish each ride on a good note. Do something your horse does well so he can feel good about himself.Tip/Quote of the Day # 532From Facebook Fan Elizabeth Owens ~ "My 'aha' moment... when I finally realized that my horse's lead issues were due to the fact that I sit crooked. It's rarely the horse's fault... look to the rider's faults first." Tip/Quote of the Day # 531Good, correct Dressage is the best physical therapy for horses. Tip/Quote of the Day # 530 When half halting between jumps on course, try to think about doing so in rhythm of the horse's canter stride, rather than at random moments.Tip/Quote of the Day # 529From Facebook Fan Erin Kavanaugh Kirkley ~ "If you don't know how to use your core, look up some core strengthening Pilates moves. You will discover the transversus abdominis and your riding will improve in many ways." Tip/Quote of the Day # 528Fall into using loud aids, and you will always need loud aids.Tip/Quote of the Day # 527The most important part of a half halt is the give at the end.Tip/Quote of the Day # 526Timid horses often love a consistent routine. Bolder/braver horses often need more variety in their training.Tip/Quote of the Day # 525To change behavior, you need to change the incentives that lead to the behavior.Tip/Quote of the Day # 524Generally, the slower you are approaching a jump, the more leg you may need to apply in the final strides.Tip/Quote of the Day # 523The hot horse must learn to control his energy, not do without it.Tip/Quote of the Day # 522
You drive your horse heavily into your hands when you lean back even slightly behind the vertical.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 521"A horse seeks where it's most comfortable." ~ Ralph HillTip/Quote of the Day # 520Always begin each ride with specific goals for that day. Yet be be flexible, and ready to adapt the plan as necessary - based on what you feel at the moment, and how your horse is performing that day.Tip/Quote of the Day # 519Keep the horse's back up into the halt by riding each step from behind into your hand. Tip/Quote of the Day # 518You have to have an organized plan before you can execute one.Tip/Quote of the Day # 517If you and your horse have been having the same problem for a while, chances are the two of you have developed a set of reactions that serve to trigger each others behavior. You will need to figure out what those are to get past it. Tip/Quote of the Day # 516"If the rider can halt his horse in any lateral movement, so that it stands quietly in the same position, or ride straight forward without hesitation, it is proof that the horse was going well between hands and legs." ~ Borries von OeynhausenTip/Quote of the Day # 515Let the turn into the fence be your half halt.Tip/Quote of the Day # 514From Facebook Fan Clarissa Groesbeek ~ "Your job is to ride to the base of the fence, your horse's job is to jump it."Tip/Quote of the Day # 513Too much repetitive motion has a tendency to inhibit muscle symmetry. Always aim to mix things up in your training (whether horse or human), so that you can develop balanced musculature. Tip/Quote of the Day # 512
If you want your horse to look after himself when jumping, you must allow him to do so in training.
Tip/Quote of the Day # 511Throwing the reins away to the point that they are so loose that there are loops in them is not the answer to solving your problem of being too strong/tense/rigid in the hands and arms. You must keep a connection, and learn to be elastic within that connection. That is the only way to advance.Tip/Quote of the Day # 510On the turn to each jump, think about riding forward through the turn with your outside aids, to engage your horse outside hind leg, and help him come into a more uphill balance.Tip/Quote of the Day # 509Horses that don't find trot lengthenings easy often figure out how to lengthen rather than quicken when asked on an uphill gradient. So if you have a hill that you can work on, do a large figure eight on the side of the hill. Work on half halts and downward transitions down the hill, and lengthenings up the hill.Tip/Quote of the Day # 508The horse shouldn't feel punished for trying to escape the connection, they should just feel unsuccessful.Tip/Quote of the Day # 507Test the horse's balance with a half halt and a test for self carriage before asking for any transition.Tip/Quote of the Day # 506A tip from Facebook fan Kathi Knox Hammond on the half pass - "If I look AHEAD toward where I want to end up, and quit looking down and worrying about whether I have enough bend and am angled correctly, things kind of work together on their own. I finally "get" that looking down kills energy."Tip/Quote of the Day # 505You cannot train a horse with shouts and expect it to obey a whisper. Keep your aids light.Tip/Quote of the Day # 504To improve your security over jumps, think about sinking into your ankles as you land.
