Before you even begin to jump, you need to make sure you have done the groundwork to establish the foundation for success. I'm not talking about pure dressage; I'm talking about the basic skills that are vitally important to a show jumper.



There are 5 basics that will provide an excellent foundation for show jumping. Build them into your schooling program and you will see the results.



Today I will talk about the first three basics.





1. Rider…

Hi Guys,



It's important to have a training system so that you school your horse in a clear and consistent way. The down side of having only one system is that one approach doesn't work for all horses. If a particular system isn't right for your horse, and you try to force him to conform to that method, he can fall by the wayside.



Because I want every horse to develop to his potential, I've come up with my system, which I call "Benign Antagonism". Simply put, if your…

Wow this is my first attempt at blogging of any kind! I felt the need to reach out to other riders and horse lovers alike. My story is sad and I just need to put it out there somewhere. Many of you can probably relate. It goes like this: I bought my dreamhorse 5 years ago. She was a yearling. My first mistake as I am an amature. Things went along ok for the first couple years as I waited for her to get to an age that we could really get going. She is my one and only so waiting was difficult.…

QUOTE . . .

The Chinese Proverb says, "The journey is the reward." It is the quote appearing on my latest painting/quote combo that you can print free from my blog.



It's timely for me, because Thursday I hit the road with the Beautiful Horses of Michigan paintings! I'm so excited about having the opportunity to display the paintings at the Michigan Horse Expo in Lansing, MI. I love…

No other image around the world symbolises the United States like the wild horse, and Americans should respect that God-given heritage, Madeleine Pickens told a House subcommittee this week.



"These are magnificent creatures, a true American icon, and they should be treasured and preserved," said Pickens, who is working to create a million-acre sanctuary capable of taking all 30,000 horses currently held in captivity by the Bureau of Land Management.



Pickens,…

Equestrian

Sport Biomechanics

‘Rider Saddle Horse’







Athletic success is a function of the sum of the parts. In no other sport does this apply more aptly than in equestrian riding.



In equestrian riding, when we are striving for success we need to address the rider / saddle interface, the saddle / horse interface and their reciprocal relationships – horse / saddle and saddle / rider.



Just as humans can acquire and offset bad postural habits…

Pisces -February 19 - March 20



Happy Birthday dear Pisces. Your career with the horses have been very important to you in the past, this trend will continue for most of the year ahead. So try to go that extra mile, and even though you may have reached the pinnacle, there are still hurdles

coming at you. Your horse has been having some health issues in the past year, these will clear up for the most part this year.

Pay particular attention to your horse's hooves this…

Ok, so I've been riding western pleasure the past few years and have decided to change over to an jumping. In what kind of equipment/attire will I need? And how expensive will this switchover be? Oh, and I've been looking around and there are all different styles and colors of breeches... Is there a certain type I'm looking for?? When I looked this stuff up on the internet, I got different answers from almost every site I looked at! ...I'm a little confused. Can anyone out there tell me what…

Frustrations mount.



The open house at Greener Pastures went very well, with quite a large turn out but no real on the spot buyers for that day. For me, salfishly, it was a good thing as no one put their dibes in on the gelding I am hoping to adopt as soon as I can find a job.



It is becoming very frustration. I have been over a year now without a permanent job and still no takers on my resume. I am so ready to bring home my new horse and start with his re-education and to…

Hi, I’m really excited to present an all-new personal fitness for equestrians blog!



Ride Better 1-2-3 is about simple exercises you can do off the horse to improve your riding, and to help you begin to achieve the same self-carriage, symmetry and stamina you expect from your horse.



Ride Better 1-2-3 is applicable to all disciplines and levels. Through the photos you post, I will be analyzing rider posture and examining your issues with strength, balance, flexibility, as…

Well last weekend (Feb 19-22) I spent in Louisville at the AERC Convention. What a great weekend full of seminars, panels and opportunities to pick the brains of some of the top Endurance riders and veterinarians in North America. I came home with pages and pages of notes of things to keep in mind this coming distance season. Not that I haven't been doing badly just I want to up my game a tad bit more, plus you never stop learning.



The bad news is that it was -3 and snowy in…

Hi Guys,



People often ask me to explain the difference between "running" and "lengthenings". In fact, in this article I'm also going to describe the difference between running, lengthenings, medium gaits, and extended gaits.



1. Running- When you ask your horse to lengthen his strides and frame, and you hear his tempo (the rate of the repetition of the rhythm) get QUICKER, he's not lengthening. He's just running.



2. Lengthenings- In a good lengthening, your…

How well do you warm up and cool down your horse?



Warming up your horse prior to working him must not only be in his body, but also in his mind, getting him mentally prepared for the work he is going to do.



Put simply, warming up is getting the horse ready, relaxed and prepared for accepting what you are going to say to him. Time spent warming up will also allow you to release your own tight muscles and warm up as a rider.



During the warm up process, you will…

The Fine Art of Letting Go or Making Go

By Chris Irwin



Hello and greetings to all from Pearson airport in Toronto. As I type these words I’m sitting beside my lovely wife, Kathryn, waiting to board our early morning flight to Bermuda. For the next five days I’ll be coaching dressage riders and jumpers on this small island nation in the Atlantic before flying next week to the Netherlands for the first European Train the…

Horse owners are some of the most passionate people on the planet. It goes without saying, we are passionate about our horses.



Do you have other passions as well? Where will they lead you?



The stallion in this painting is Hereje, from Herradura Andalusians. His owner, Terri Meader's passion for the breed is inspiring! Take a look at her beautiful website and see where her passion has led.…

KPRC

Published: February 25, 2009



A 2-year-old colt’s answer to the call of nature has gotten his owner in trouble with Texas authorities.



“Whatever you want to do on him, you can,“ said Ben McCleary, who has been training Rascal to one day go on trail rides.



McCleary said part of that training means riding him near roads.



“So they won’t spook,“ said McCleary. “And, of course, you don’t want to get thrown 10 feet.“



While McCleary…

I travel from horse show to horse show and see poor-fitting saddle pads all the time. Not enough by itself, some misguided riders often combine a too-short saddle pad with a thick halfpad, creating even more pressure points.

Imagine wearing flip flops where the back of your foot hangs out by an inch. Now go walk for 10 minutes. Comfy? I don’t think so.



So how to avoid that:



1. Buy a saddle pad that fits your…

February 19-22 at the Mid-Winter Dressage Fair in California was our first qualifier for the Junior team. This weekend actually held a lot of firsts for me and Chance. It was our first time showing in California, his first time showing in an Equidome, and his first time showing at the Junior level. He was still a little green going into the competition so I was hoping we would be able to pull it together in the ring. On the warm-up day Chance was good but a little lazy and ended up getting a…

Hi Guys:



Many people are confused about the aid for the canter. What follows are some common questions about the canter and my answers.



Q: I know to ask for the canter it is outside leg behind the girth and inside leg at the girth, however during the canter is your outside leg supposed to stay back or do both legs then become neutral at the girth once the canter is achieved?"



A: Swing your outside leg back ONCE, and then…

Before you even ask your horse to do a flying change, there are a number of requirements that should come easily to you and your horse.



1. Can the horse do collected, medium and extended canter?



2. Can the horse do a clean canter walk canter transition? (no trot steps)



3. Can the horse…