Do you have 5 or 6 poles that you can use in the arena? They don’t have to be the same length or width. In fact, the more variations you have, the better. If so, I am going to encourage you to ride this exercise a few times this week and begin noticing the differences. It is one of the…
As a rider, it can be easy to think that the only way you can improve your skills is to ride. And yes, riding is important; obviously! However, you can also use lunging as a way to develop your coordination and aids. And not just on the ground, but also to benefit you and your horse when you’re in the…
Sprinkled liberally all over the arena and every ride. That is how important the half halt is to your riding. However, it is also an important aid on the ground with your horse. And, it consciously practicing it on the ground can really help to clarify the aid for you, as a rider. So many riders think that the half…
Quick question… If you were to guess, how many times did you halt throughout your last ride on your horse? Was it a ‘one time only’ event? Or perhaps you halted two or three times throughout the ride? Or was it into the double digits? Once you have that number, here’s another question. How many of those halts was the…
Have you ever had a horse step on your heel while you were leading them? Or maybe it was your toe while tacking up or grooming? These are pretty memorable experiences due to the amount of pain they cause! Horses are great at being really transparent around the consequences of doing something, or not doing something. And if you have…
Have you ever considered all the different ways you communicate with your horse, every day? All of the aids you have at your disposal to ask your horse to do things the way you want him to do things. Imagine if you could become a little more mindful about what you are doing and how you are doing it… When…
