This lesson is extremely important as it prepares your horse for the movement and noise of the saddle when he is in motion. Lots of horses are fine with desensitizing when they are standing still, but get worried when you start to desensitize them while they are moving. In this lesson you will teach the horse to accept stimulus while in motion, which will prepare him for your movement in the saddle when being ridden. Continue reading Desensitizing While Lunging
After the horse is used to wearing the saddle and you feel ready you can give him his very first ride. Review the groundwork lessons before you saddle him and again with the saddle on. Then when you feel he is ready it is time to get on. For the first few weeks I will ride in a hackamore or a rope halter but you can start out in a snaffle bridle if you’d like. Continue reading First Ride
The horse has five main body parts. They are the head and neck, the poll, the shoulders, the rib cage, and the hindquarters. It is essential that you have control over all five parts of the horse on the ground and under saddle. The basic groundwork lessons that I have described earlier will give you control of all the body parts on the ground. Here, we will talk more about moving all the parts while riding. Continue reading Moving The Five Body Parts
Teaching the side pass will teach the horse to move off your leg and prepare him for exercises including leg yielding and flying changes. When your horse is starting to learn the side pass it is important that you break the maneuver into pieces that he can easily learn.
Blazing fast times don’t come by simply running the pattern at full speed. Fast times require attention to every step the horse takes. Control is extremely important, as the difference between first and second place come down to fractions of a second. Here are a few exercises to help improve your control during a run and overall improve your times. Continue reading Body Control For Better Barrel Racing
Have you ever been upset or at least confused about a placing that you have received after a hunter class? If so, a common response to not placing in a class is “The judge doesn’t like my horse.” “My horse is a paint and the judge doesn’t like paints.” Usually a response like this comes from a lack of knowledge about how hunter classes are judged and how the judge keeps score. Continue reading Hunter Round Do’s And Don’ts
Does your horse stop when you say “Whoa.” or does he push through the bridle and continue on? Maybe he stops when you give him a rein cue but you would like to refine your cues. If either of these situations sound familiar this lesson will help you teach the horse to stop on your seat and voice cues alone from any gait. Continue reading Refine The Stop
Showmanship is a great opportunity for you to show off the horse’s manners and your handling skills. No matter what level of riding or your discipline, showing your horse in a showmanship class has many great benefits. Continue reading Showmanship
Many horses have a less than perfect trot. Two of the most common issues are horses that trot hollow with their head held high in the air, and horses that trot too quickly resulting in a rough ride. Many times both of these behaviors occur together and can be very frustrating to any rider. In this article I will give you some tips on how to quickly and effectively solve your horse’s problems at the trot. Continue reading Softening and Slowing The Trot
Lowering the horse’s head and neck will relax an inverted horse and teach him to give to bit pressure. This is exercise also teaches the very beginning of collection. Continue reading Vertical Flexion