Groundwork, when referring to horses, simply means working with your horse from the ground in order to train and increase communication skills. In this blog post we are going to focus on ‘Pressure and Release’ and how you can begin to correctly and fully understand the concept in order to further your horse’s training from the ground. This is part…
Coordination; It’s always a wonderful feeling when you can do something effectively without having to put too much thought or effort into it. Being able to cultivate this skill, regardless of what is being done, takes a large number of hours invested in practice. However in order for that practice to be beneficial, it must be correct or perfect practice.…
How much time do you spend strengthening your relationship with your horse while on the ground? Many riders only think in terms of ‘riding’ when they think of communicating with their horse. However there are many other ways you can begin to not only create a stronger sense of trust but also to improve your horse’s overall training. Groundwork is…
You are cantering towards the jump… 3… 2… 1… But instead of the ‘Jump’ that should have followed the 1; you get a chip in. A moment where your usually trusty horse decides to test both of you by inserting a little ‘half stride’ in there before takeoff! The result is you do a great Thelwell impression and your horse…
Have you ever had the misfortune of a plan going awry when in the saddle? Perhaps something small such as a refusal or run out, or maybe something a little ‘bigger’ such as a fall or stumble? Either way, since it happened, you find that whenever you are in a similar situation or are reminded of it… Things are just,…
You have spent the past few months diligently improving your young horse’s standard of education. A lot of time invested on the basics of moving forward in a balanced rhythmic way. He is happy, you are happy and the next natural progression is to ask for the canter. However, it seems all those carefully cultivated hours in the arena fly…
