Having your horse consistently pick up the lead you want and maintain it when you ask improves your performance in flat classes, helps get you to the right spot over fences and ground poles, and makes your horse more balanced overall. Continue reading Correct Canter Leads
Backing up correctly can become confusing for a horse when unclear or clashing aids are given to him. Also, the fact that moving away from pressure is unnatural for horses as they are programmed to press into pressure to escape from predators. However, with consistent cues and training your horse will be backing up as fast and as far as you want him to. Continue reading A Better Back Up
Combination fences can be challenging, and require you and your horse to be athletic and adjustable. These fences also allow you to show off your riding skills and your horse’s ability. Lots of practice is necessary to master combinations as they are fast, fun, and can make or break your course. Continue reading Combination Fences
Jumping fences at a full gallop is thrilling for all experienced riders. Mastering this exercise takes a lot of practice and control from both horse and rider. Continue reading Jumping At Speed
There are four important angles that are key to correct riding. Those four angles include the elbow, hip, knee, and ankle. Using these angles effectively allows you to give subtle aids to communicate with the horse. Continue reading Riding From All Angles Part One: Upper Body
All good riders have one thing in common…an excellent lower leg position. Having the correct angles in your lower leg help to absorb the concussion of riding, give proper cues, and hold you securely on your horse’s back. Knowledge of this important ingredient of riding is invaluable and sometimes overlooked. Continue reading Riding From All Angles Part Two: Lower Leg
Now that you and your horse have mastered walking through a series of poles, it is time to continue building your skills by trotting through them. Trotting poles brings your control, timing, and rhythm to a new level. Continue reading Pole Progression: The Trot
Now that you have gotten your horse through the ground poles at the walk and trot it is time for the best part, the canter. When the horse can comfortably canter through a line of poles you are ready to tackle many other challenges, such as jumps and trail obstacles like boxes and gates. Continue reading Pole Progression: The Canter
The turn on the haunches, hindquarters, or spin which are all essentially the same movement at different speeds, bend, and degrees on a circle. For clarity, I’ll refer to the movement for this article as a turn on the haunches. Training the horse to turn on the haunches benefits all riders and horses. Reining is all about body control, as is dressage, therefore any maneuver featured in these two disciplines will be helpful to all riders. Continue reading Turn On the Haunches
Maintaining a consistent speed and changing directions at the cue of the rider are two basics that all horse should know and respond to. However, many horses will anticipate what the rider wants, or worse completely ignore the rider’s cues. Sometimes cues may be confusing to the horse such as constant contact on the reins, yet the horse is expected to stop when pressure is applied. This pattern will separate specific cues, making the correct response easy and the wrong one hard. Doing so allows the horse to figure out exactly what is wanted of him. Continue reading A Pattern For Speed and Directional Control