Jumping, it has the ability to thrill and to strike fear into riders, sometimes all at once! However, if approached in a systematic and patient manner, most of the fear will dissipate allowing both you and your horse to enjoy jumping; whether it be a pop every now and then, or a trip round a course of fences weekly at a local…
Have you ever found yourself riding a hot horse where the slightest touch of your leg sends them shooting forward with the speed of a snake strike? Even worse, once they start on that forward trajectory, they get heavier and heavier on your hand. It becomes more and more unbalanced until, eventually, there is an epic tug of war happening. …
Is there a more frustrating and exhausting experience when riding to match that of being on a horse that is not paying you a blind bit of notice?! You are on board kicking and pumping away. And all the while your horse is just meandering along. Ignoring you completely and acting as though he is on a relaxing Sunday outing.…
Walking… Does your horse do it with a sense of purpose, or is he rather resembling a slowly rolling ball of jelly; going nowhere slowly? The problem many riders have is when we ask our horse to ‘walk on’, he becomes tense and stiff… The walk, when it is a good walk, should be forward-moving, unrestricted, and natural. There should…
I’ve often wondered what it is about the canter that makes riders almost seem to ignore it when schooling in the arena. I see riders put so much time, care, and attention into the trot and to a lesser degree, the walk… But the canter is more often than not relegated to a few ‘laps’ of the arena and then…
Leg yielding is generally most riders’ first introduction to lateral movement. Lateral moving, when we’re talking horses, means sideways. It is a great movement to ride as it allows you to work your horse’s body in a different, yet equally beneficial way. Leg yielding, and lateral movements in general, are a test of our abilities as riders to move each…
