Hello Everyone!



People send me riding and training questions from all over the world and I look forward to sharing some of my answers with all of you!



Dear Julie,



Please explain to me the rein aids for English and Western. I would like to know which ones to use for each discipline and what is the difference. For example, direct and…

If you only use your hands when putting your horse on the bit, you're making one of the biggest mistakes you can make. By focusing on the head and "getting the head down", you'll just be creating an artificial "head-set".



Putting your horse on the bit has nothing to do with "head sets". Physically, it's a round silhouette that occurs when you ride your…

So be honest… before buying your groceries who looks at the list of ingredients on the back of the box as well as the appealing tag lines on the front? Probably not many of us, but now the research indicates that we are becoming much more aware of the true contents of the beautifully packaged and photographed goods on display. We have learnt that ‘90% fat free’ actually means 10% fat, which is a high fat content and probably also includes a high sugar content. We have learnt that ‘100%…

Last Sunday I got to ride at Lanolin Farm, and I got to ride Mars again. Now Mars had been on an extended years long vacation due to the arthritis in his knees, and finally Mars got sound enough to ride. Mars does not necessarily WANT to end his vacation, he really likes hanging out with his buddy/girl friend Cider in the cool shade in the one place with a nice breeze. He does NOT want to carry me around in the hot sunshine, doing boring circles around the ring. It took Shannon…

Hi, This week I spotted a great question posted to the 'over 50 rider' group. I've copied it below:



What are you doing to keep fit/get fit, keep supple, improve or keep your balance, stretch muscles or even to control nerves and be calm? And what supplements are people taking, or herbs or meds to keep from feeling pained and creaky before and after…

A lot of riders aren't clear on the difference between flexion at the jaw and flexion at the poll, and how to ask for each of these positions.



Keep in mind that a horse can flex three ways–to the left, to the right, and "in".



When a horse flexes to the left or right, he's flexing at the poll. When he does this, you'll just see his inside or outside eye or nostril. I call this position +1 or -1 because you're bringing his head 1 inch to the inside or the outside of…

When a horse rushes he is running and using the rider's hands as the fifth leg. In other words the rider is trying to support a horse that thinks that it is acceptable to lean on your hands, which it is not.



What the rider must do is to try and be soft in the contact. When the horse starts to go forward the rider needs to bring his body back slightly to let the horse know to readdress his balance, then take quite a strong half halt and soften as soon as the horse starts to…