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.…
Have you ever sat down (no pun intended) and thought about how correct your rising or posting in trot actually is? Rising or posting in trot is one of the first aspects we learn when starting out riding a horse. And it is also one of those things that we forgot to come back and upgrade! We happily spend hours…
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…
Do you find that when you ask your horse for a more expressive trot, he just seems to begin running onto his forehand with you, becoming heavier and heavier with each stride? You’re not alone! Many riders set out looking to achieve an active, working trot… But due to lots of different factors, this can end up just ‘running’…
