Circle too small, horse falling off the rail, rider cutting corner, horse weaving down the centerline ... Do these judge’s comments seem familiar? They do to many riders; and like many riders I’ve had them on my own score...
Have you noticed that your horse is flipping his head when you take up contact with the reins? Does he seem to open his mouth as a form of resistance? How about the position of his headset? Is your...
Riding in an arena would be a lot easier if, once the aids had been given for the required gait, the horse simply responded by keeping one eye on the fence and merrily found his own way around. But...
Don’t forget your safety sense when longeing. The following guidelines will help keep you safe. Equipment:
A cotton longeline, rather than synthetic, will stop rope burns.
A broken...
Haunches-in (or travers) is the most advanced way to teach your horse inside bend. For a correct haunches-in, your horse must move with his front legs and shoulders on the track and his haunches off the track. It isn’t...
Wouldn't it be nice to find a single tool that would get your horse's attention, lengthen and shorten his stride, increase his balance, tune up his cadence, fix his rollbacks, teach him to drive and allow him to blow...
Stiffness in the saddle is one of the biggest hidden handicaps to good riding — not the obvious stiffness that shows itself through muscular pains in the neck, arms or legs, but rather an underlying tension that...
You've pondered styles, researched suppliers, sat in seats, evaluated trees, though about girth lengths, decided on the perfect size for your horse and compared prices. Your catalogs are tabbed and dog-eared, and you've visited every tack shop you could...
Conditioning a performance horse for work is an art and requires good judgment on the part of the rider. You need a fine-tuned feel for how much and how soon to increase a horse's work to build up its...
