Have you ever looked at photos or videos of your horse and it looks like his hind quarters are, literally, being left behind? They are dragging out behind him, rather than working underneath him. Or perhaps you have gotten the feeling that when you ask for ‘more’ when in the saddle, there is just no way he can provide ‘more’…
The bend is approaching and you begin preparing both you and your horse to ride straight and accurately through the turn. However, as you ‘shift’ your seat bones into ‘position’ your horse begins, well, almost side stepping… The further you get through the turn, the further your horse is from the path you had planned; in fact, he has derailed…
When we begin riding, we are generally told about this almost magical ability that we have to communicate with our horse, known as the weight aids. However, it soon becomes apparent that we have to master many other aspects of riding before we can hope to use our weight to communicate with our horse… Unfortunately for many of us,…
How many times have you asked your horse to leg yield, moving forward yet sideways, only for it to become frustratingly obvious a few steps into the moment that what is happening underneath you is definitely not what you had in mind?! Asking our horses to leg yield is one of the first introductions they will have to lateral movement.…
Think back to the last time you were cantering along on your horse and a change of rein was coming up. You began the task of preparing to drop back a gear into a trot to change the canter lead. “Better than losing rhythm and balance through a flying change…” However before you even got there, your horse (being the…
. Do you find yourself a tad confused as to what exactly to do with your legs while you ride? Do you find that even if you know what to do, degree of pressure to use or how often to apply the aid is confusing you? You are hearing terms such as ‘Keep your leg on’, ‘use your leg’, ‘more…
