Now that you can easily jump your horse on the ground at both a trot and canter it is time to move on to under saddle work. To begin tack the horse up and do some groundwork, adding a few jumps to remind him of your previous lessons. Continue reading Stirrup Adjustment and Ground Poles
Riding patterns are great for any discipline or skill level. Patterns teach horses to be more focused on their rider and teach the riders precise steering, speed control, and to have a plan for their ride. Continue reading Basic Riding Patterns Part 2
Every horse should be responsive to all of your aids, but some lazy horses will learn to ignore them. While others will move off, but not at the speed you want. Instead, they will plod along barely picking up their feet. This lesson will teach you how to make your horse listen to your leg, and go forward quickly at the speed you want. Continue reading Teach Your Horse to Be Responsive to Your Leg
Do you dream that you could come from a full gallop to a walk by only using your seat? It is all very possible by practicing subtle cues in your training sessions. Here we will start from a walk and build up to stopping the horse from your seat at faster gaits. Continue reading Downward Transitions Part 1
Now that you can confidently stop your horse with your seat from the walk on a loose rein, it’s time to advance to stopping from the trot and canter. Continue reading Downward Transitions Part 2
Lots of riders have trouble keeping their lower leg in the correct place. They also have difficulties with posting, falling forward, or having the leg swing. Here I’ll give you some exercises to help secure your position in the saddle at each gait. Continue reading Improve Your Leg Position
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.
Training for a cross country course can be challenging, but its rewards far outweigh its difficulty. Cross country jumping exercises will directly improve hunter and jumper horses by exposing them to new obstacles and approaches to obstacles that will help them when on course. These lessons can be beneficial cross training exercises to horses of other disciplines as well. Continue reading Cross Country Lessons
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
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