Contact is something so many riders want to achieve when working with their horses. However, it’s always worthwhile remembering that your horse was not born knowing how to be ridden. This means that contact is something both of you must learn about and then refine through your work together. For many horses, the challenge is made even more difficult when…
As a rider, it is important to always look for ways to keep your schooling work interesting; for you and your horse. One of the ways you can do this is by working on different lunging exercises. And they don’t have to be ‘fancy’ or complex. In fact, there are a few basic exercises you can begin working on introducing,…
Time, or the lack thereof, is often the number one thing that keeps riders from training their own horses. And while time is an essential part of the puzzle in order to develop and grow your horse successfully, often we overestimate how much of it we actually need. In fact, one of the reasons riders often don’t have enough time…
Here’s a confession; for years I used to think of cantering while on the lunge as just something I did to ‘finish the session’. It was like something that I could check off a list. There was no intention behind it (only to get it done), And with any cantering happening while on the lunge, there was definitely no thought…
If you have even been at the other end of a lunge line to a horse who is adamant to show you exactly how fast he can go on a circle… You will know all about ‘that’ feeling! The one where every fiber of your being is screaming at you to ‘stop the horse’. And yet, it feels like there…
It can seem like a strange topic for many OTTB riders and owners. One that, initially, may not seem all that important. And yet, for many OTTBs, the lack of boundaries is the number one frustration. And, it is something that can eventually undermine the whole relationship between horse and rider. Setting boundaries requires that both you and your horse…
