This was a wonderful week. For the first time in three months I got to ride 3 times in one week!

I got to ride Mia twice at Debbie's, which was nice. Even though it was still hot on Friday I gave up ignoring Mia's hooves and hoping that what the farrier did would be enough to see her through. So I got out my rasp and hoof knife and started on her front feet, trimming the sole a little and evening out her hoof wall. Her back feet may have to wait a few weeks as I get…

We had a series of severe thunder storms here in Ontario last night. The thunder and lightening were spectacular - we had quite a light show and it reminded me of our days living in Florida during hurricane season.



The weather is an unpredictable force to be reckoned with and it is up to us to be prepared as we can be.

A ounce of preparation NOW can mean a ton less worry and panic later.



Top Ten…

A common problem that riders have is what we call "rushing". That is when the horse has misinterpreted the signals to the fence.



When you first present a horse to a fence he often stops, spooks, or runs away from it. The rider then puts his leg on and encourages the horse to go. The horse then misinterprets this instruction and attacks the fence. The horse feels that the rider is trying to encourage him to speed up at the fence and that in turn becomes…

Lots of you tell me you're confused about the correct length and height of your horse's neck so I thought I'd address that in this article.



Neck too high: The height of the neck is determined by the degree of engagement of the hindquarters. So, the height of the neck changes as you go up through the levels and your horse becomes more collected.



Always keep in mind, however, that if you ride with the neck too high and short and the angle of the throatlatch too…

Ride your HORSE to MUSIC and solve training issues! Whether you are riding a dressage musical freestyle, or just riding your horse to music, there are TIPS you should know before you start. Over the years, you have told me that the most important thing to you is that you want the RIGHT MUSIC for your HORSE and you WANT TO HAVE FUN!!



You've also told me that:



You want help recognizing the rhythm of your horse's gaits.



You can't maintain a rhythm.…

Well this week I got to ride Friday and Sunday on Mia and Mars. I did not get too tired from riding Mia, the poor mare was still sore from her last trim, very reluctant to extend, but being the Arab that she is she tried to do everything I asked for even though she hurt. So I practiced my jumping position at a walk, trotted some and worked on my leg position. I did not get terribly tired.



Then on Sunday I rode Mars. He is getting resigned to being ridden again, but I…

Since very few horses, are ambidextrous, it's inevitable that the lateral dressage movements like leg yields, shoulder-in, haunches-in, renvers, and half passes will be easier in one direction than the other.



Your goal for lateral movements in dressage (and everything else you do with your dressage horse!) is to strengthen his weaker hind leg, make his stiff side more "bendable", and his hollow side less "soft".



So, for now, let's just talk about making the weak…

Hi Julie:

I just recently purchased a horse in October this is my first horse and boy I am not starting off very well. This horse was 200lbs underweight when I got him so to say the least I baby him (oops). He has successfully gained 100lbs and I am very excited. He is a very loveable horse and has no bad habits except for the following. My first problem is every time I saddle him I cannot get him to walk as soon as I say walk he will for only a second and he immediately goes into a…