If your dressage horse is struggling in a movement or exercise, ask yourself 4 questions:

1. Is he going too fast or too slowly?
2. Is his neck too high or too low?
3. Is his frame too open or too closed?
4. Am I asking too much?

If you're not sure what the problem is, adjust one of the 4 things above to see if that helps your dressage horse.

A Happy Horse

On February 8th Hartpury College in the UK are hosting an International Eventing Conference entitled ‘Training for Safety’. An admirable aim without doubt and some great sessions are scheduled for the day, so the organisers are to be congratulated. However the description of one of the presentations worries me greatly. The title is Dressage – the relationship with Jumping. The description explains that Pammy Hutton FBHS will dispel the ‘myth’ that the higher level of dressage can be…

I have had a client who questioned the appearance of blisters after riding, which then disappear again after about 20 minutes. I suggest the following might be happening. The spinal vertebrae have three processes. Between the spinal processes, you will find the spinal dorsal ligament system . There should never be any pressure on the spinal vertebral processes, however, if you have a saddle which has a too narrow chamber and has been lying on the spine itself, probably at least one of the 7…

This Week in Horse History - December 28th Through January 3rd



December 29, 1945 – The record for the slowest winning time for a steeplechase race was set by a horse named Never Mind II. Never Mind refused the fourth fence during a two mile steeplechase and his jockey, assuming they were defeated, returned the horse to the paddock. The jockey was then informed that every other horse in the race had either fallen or been disqualified. On learning this, the jockey brought…

Ah, the last week of the year. Since I won't get to ride this week, I decided to reflect on this past year.



I went to my calender and counted all the horses I rode and all the times I rode this past year. I had a pretty good year, I went over my goal of averaging at least one ride a week, though some weeks I did not ride at all. All together I rode 80 times.



I also achieved my goal of riding more horses, I got up on 6 different horses this year, though on…

When riding your horse, it's important to keep your hands forward in what I call the "work area".



The work area is just in front of the saddle above the horse’s withers. Put your hands in that position and draw an imaginary box around them. That box is your work area.



No matter what rein aids you're giving, keep your hands in the work area. If you bring your hands closer to your body, you steal power from the hind legs. If you put your outside hand forward, for…

Dear Julie,

My question to you is what is your opinion of Myler bits? I came across a book recently that talked about the Myler comfort snaffle. I was surprised to learn that not all snaffles are exactly what they are supposed to be. The reason I'm asking is my horse Montana is in a D-ring snaffle. I have noticed at times him pulling the reins and opening his mouth. Even when I put him in the round pen with saddle and head stall on he does the same thing and I'm not even on him. It…