Contact can often look effortless for some horses and riders. And yet, for many other riders, consistent contact can seem like an enigma. Any efforts at consistency tend to lead to heaviness. Or a complete lack of any contact! So where is this fine line between consistent, quality contact and washing lines? In order to develop contact with your horse,…
So you are a place in your canter where you want to begin to do a little ‘more’. After a quick ‘google’ of all the different exercises, you see a canter to walk pop up a few times. Canter to walk?! Without a handbrake?! Yes, and even better, this will begin to prepare you and your horse for so much…
The transition into canter is one that always gives us opportunities to develop and improve as riders. And it can do the same for our horses as well. And yet, for many riders, improvement is frustratingly slow! The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. Canter and transitions into the canter are one aspect of horse…
Getting into canter on an easygoing or lazy horse can be exhausting! And while we do love our laidback equines… Can we all be honest in admitting how, sometimes, just a little more enthusiasm would change everything? The good news is that you can quickly begin to change this in your horse. You see, often, the trot to canter is…
Riding, just like life, is about enjoying the journey rather than just the destination. However, when you’re transitioning from the trot into the canter – and your horse seems determined to show you just how fast he can actually trot beforehand; well, the journey is not all that enjoyable! I don’t know of a single rider who enjoys the ‘rush’…
There is a point in every rider’s journey where balance becomes less about staying on and more about increasing overall effectiveness. However, in order to positively influence the horse, the rider needs to begin working on developing better balance. I feel that one of the best ways to do this is by developing independent aids. Independent from both the influence…