Football players wear them. Same for major league baseball players awaiting a pitch at home plate. Even bicyclists and many professional skiers consider them part of their standard attire. So why do a large percentage of equestrians continue...
You’re in the midst of a hotly contested hunt seat equitation class. Thankfully, your horse is listening to your aids and you’re zipping along confidently at the posting trot. And then the judge calls for the sitting trot. Gulp....
In Part One: Teaching Aids for Riding, Not Racing, we offered some firsthand tips and expert advice on how to begin reschooling the off-the-track Thoroughbred (OTTB) for a new career. It can be a tough assignment, but by understanding how...
Perry Wood, British clinician and author of Real Riding, How to Ride in Harmony with Your Horse, offers these exercises to teach a feel for the half-halt.Wood’s unique training style makes hard-to-grasp riding concepts easy to understand. The half-halt...
Q. What exercises can I do to get my harness horse driving from his hind end?
A. Let’s assume that your driving horse is going down the road and in the ring quietly and willingly. He’s nice and forward and...
Q. What is the difference between a side check and an overcheck? Do they make a huge difference in performance or purpose?A. There is a huge difference between an overcheck and a side check.The overcheck is a strap that...
Decorative markings brushed into the horse’s coat--quarter marks--enhance the conformation of a well-muscled hip and croup, and draw attention to the cleanliness and shine of a well-conditioned show horse. Quarter marks not only highlight a horse’s conformation and give...
Many saddle seat riders believe their sport is misunderstood by those unfamiliar with the discipline. Here, Carole Stohlmann, a United States Equestrian Federation "R” saddle seat equitation, Arabian, National Show Horse and Saddlebred judge from Oklahoma City, clears up...
Q. I currently ride my 10-year-old gelding in jumper classes. He is very smart and a beautiful jumper, but he is also very sensitive. When we come up to a fence, he gets kind of strong, so I tense...
There is more to dressage competition than the ability to create a good pattern. Correct basics, a proper seat and a display of good horsemanship can go far to impress a judge. However, you can also leave a bad...
