Have you ever become frustrated when someone is failing to understand and respond appropriately to your requests and communications? Have you ever experienced this in the saddle? For many riders, they noticed that, even more frustratingly, this often occurs when they feel their riding should actually be improving. You’re not alone. Many riders begin to feel this way after they have taken action…
So you have made the decision to get back into the saddle. You feel great about it. Making a decision, one way or another, often has a way of settling us a little, even if the road ahead is less than smooth. But there you are, big girl pants on; all mounted up, bum gently lowered into the seat of your saddle… And…
So there you are, walking along and at some point or another, you find yourself having to ask for trot. You might walk a little faster, perhaps include a little jig jog or two until, 4 or 5 seconds later, you are finally trotting. This is not ideal at all! But what is it about transitions between walk and trot,…
Crookedness – it is a word and a concept that is continuously showing up when we talk about horses, riding and training… It is also a little like the ‘chicken and the egg’ – which comes first? Many riders make the mistake of thinking it is only the horse we are speaking about. Meanwhile, riders can be just as crooked, if…
Most riders have heard about how they should ‘ride from the inside leg to the outside rein’; but really – what does that mean?! How exactly do you ride from what seems like a bit of a diagonal and what about all the other aids? Should we forget about them? The term ‘riding from the inside leg to the outside…
Are your horse’s response times a little dismal? Do find yourself asking… and then waiting… and maybe asking again… and maybe, just maybe, on the fourth or fifth request you are lucky enough to get a response?! Responsiveness is the factor which can make all the difference with you and your horse when working together. Riding is a little like…
