Not having a designated space to ride in, like an arena, can often feel like a big disadvantage. If you have been riding in an open field or been confined to roads for any length of time, you’ll probably know what I mean! However, while an arena does help with some aspects of riding, having no arena will also force…
![[Training Scale Series] Part 6 – Collection; Starting Today?](https://stridesforsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Copy-of-training-scale-i-1_jpg-770x433.jpg)
For many riders, collection can feel like an exotic and luxury destination that they can only dream about visiting. It can feel very much outside the realms of possibility when they consider their riding abilities and their horse’s abilities as well. Now, the flip side of this is that there are also a smaller group of riders who feel entitled…
![[Training Scale Series] Part 5 – Developing True Straightness](https://stridesforsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Copy-of-training-scale-i-2_jpg-770x433.jpg)
When I was first starting out as a rider, I thought that straightness was a simple and easy concept. I remember the first time someone told me that one of the hardest things to do on a horse was to ride a straight line. I didn’t believe them! However, turns out they might just have been right… This is part…
![[Training Scale Series] Part 4 – Creating True Impulsion](https://stridesforsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Copy-of-training-scale-i-3_jpg-770x433.jpg)
How do you know if you have actually achieved true impulsion? What makes this ‘real’ impulsion different from simply running around the arena like the energizer bunny with your horse? This post is the fourth in a series I have created about the training scale. I suggest also checking out the previous posts on rhythm, suppleness, and contact. At ‘Step…
![[Training Scale Series] Part 3 – Contact in Your Riding](https://stridesforsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Copy-of-training-scale-i_jpg-2-770x433.jpg)
Contact and connection; hot topics for many riders. This is often because they can feel quite elusive. There is confusion regarding what needs to happen in order for contact to occur. And, how can you tell if the contact is correct and ‘good’? This post and episode are the third in a series about the training scale. We have already…
![[Training Scale Series] 2. Suppleness in Your Horse](https://stridesforsuccess.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/DAILY-STRIDES-PODCAST-3_jpg-2-770x433.jpg)
What if I was to say that suppleness is less about being ‘bendy’ and more about how energy flows in you and your horse… Would that challenge you a little? Or is this something which, if you think of yoga, makes sense? If you sometimes struggle to maintain that lovely ‘loosey gooseyness’ in your horse, is it possible that you…
