7 Steps to a Better Ride

STEP 4 – SCHWUNG! TRANSLATION PLEASE

By Deborah…

Have you noticed that some horses are wimps with a low or nonexistent threshold for pain while others seem to tolerate all sorts of pain. This seems to be reasonable because if I placed a pebble in your shoe and an identical pebble in your friend's shoe then sent you both running, one of you would stop and cry while the other would continue to run.…

So we’ve done it. We’ve got a meaningful result at a decent level. Dell finished 9^th in the CIC* at Hambleden. But

blimey it was a bit of an epic weekend.....

For starters I was missing school on Friday (again) but an early start meant we had plenty of time for Gray and Dell’s dressage.yes""> I’ve often been told that a problem with the junior system

is that you don’t get the experience of competing against…

So this last month has seen some solid progress. Troublesome horses have decided it’s more fun if they play ball and others have decided to let us know that they’re well and truly back on form – let me at it!

A last minute substitution saw Gray head off to Nurstead Court for his first Pre-Novice (PN) of the season. He

did a fabulous…

Horse slaughter rules violated, video shows http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/05/17/f-horse-slaughter.html

Go to this website and take action with your MP and the Minister of Agriculture - this is CANADA - we have rights as citizens to demand the upholding of laws and the right to fight outright animal cruelty and abuse. Go to this website…

This Week in Horse History - May 17th Through May 23rd

May 17, 1875 - The Kentucky Derby was first run. The Derby is held on the first Saturday each May, and is the first race of the Triple Crown. The Derby is run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The winner is traditionally awarded with a blanket of red roses.

Information courtesy of…

Ah, summer is coming, and this week we got a foretaste of what is coming in a month or so. It has been so muggy that in the morning it almost looks like it is raining, and the heat just adds to the misery. This weather is not doing my MS symptoms much good, my left hand started to drop things and my fingers started working against each other instead of cooperating. I was sort of worried about riding in the heat (I go through this each year), but once I got up on…

Does your saddle slide forward no matter what kind of girth or saddle pad you use? This is one of the most common problems my clients approach me with, and I know how frustrating this can be.…

7 STEPS TO A BETTER RIDE

STEP 3 – LET’S TALK

By Deborah Hopkins…

I've know Berit since I was 14. We have always shared an interest for horses and we both lost the true love of our lives. Hers' was a big black gelding called Hector. She swore she would never get another horse ever again, but a few years passed by, and one day she called me up and said, "I just became a horse owner again". She told me that the horse she had bough was a new born stallion. A native…

The following blog was inspired by a rider who told me, "I have a

wonderful, talented thoroughbred. We can do Second and Third level work

at home, yet when we compete, we can barely get through a First Level

test. The missing link seems to be relaxation. My horse is off the

track, and we seem to feed off each other's tension. How does a

normally…

I have a new challenge and a new partner. A six year old gelding who is not very happy. I use the word ‘challenge’ deliberately, not because I am thinking of going into battle but because it focuses my mind on what I need to do in a positive way. ‘Challenge’ is an effective word in the same way that ‘problem’ is not effective. Obviously it is so much more positive and…