Does your horse just trot faster and faster when you ask it to canter from a trot? Find out why in this interview excerpt with Dawn Hill Adams, Ph.D. about the biomechanics of the trot to canter gait transition.

Sending a horse away to a trainer requires a good deal of trust, since your horse’s care and wellbeing will be in the trainer’s hands. If you’re planning to send your horse away for training, you will want to make sure that the horse will be safe and that the training will be a positive experience. Here are some factors you’ll want to…

I am currently working on doing Parelli training, I was hoping someone would know of any videos I could YouTube and watch, in English please, because the only videos I found are in German................... 

Thanks. 

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

When sending a horse away for training, that horse may be away for a few weeks or even a few months. And while you may have done your homework before sending your horse away for training, there’s still room for things to go wrong. Monitoring your horse when he’s not at home can be tricky, but it’s also important to ensure that he is safe and training is…

Here's a fun training tip that uses visualization to help you ride your Training Level Dressage horse better. I call it RIDES WITH FRUIT.



I'm sure you remember Kevin Costner's movie, Dances with Wolves. Well, I call this training tip, Rides with Fruit. I thought it was appropriate since it's summer, and many of us start to eat more fruits and vegetables.



So let's use visualization and bring some fruity images to your dressage horse! When you're on a circle, your…

Trail riding is a great summertime activity, but if you’re hesitant to head out on the trail because you feel that your horse might miss out on schooling for the day, that doesn’t have to be the case. There are plenty of horse training and schooling exercises that you…

How much is too much? Some trainers suggest not working the young horse too much, or very often, especially if a warmblood, to prevent long-term injury. Other trainers believe that if you're not at level 5 or 6 by 6 years old, you aren't progressing fast enough. My trainer noticed yesterday that delph is bum high, so is still growing-as you would expect with only being 4. And she is so amiable, and training so well, that we are moving forward. If we stayed at the same level, she would be…

There is so much debate currently about methods of training: German vs. French, classical vs. competitive, natural horsemanship vs. anything with an English saddle. It can get adversarial.

Most people agree that finesse is better than force in horse training, but we seem to have a hard time agreeing upon a definition of what those words actually look like in technique. That…

You likely have a list of a few things you’d like to delete from your horse’s repertoire. From rooting the reins out of your hands to biting at the lead shank to slipping a trot step into a flying change.

“In almost all training, situations, the most effective way to “delete” behaviours is to prevent them from being expressed.” Dr Andrew Mclean,…

Fall is almost here and that does not mean that we stop riding.  Fall and winter are a great time to think about getting your horse into training/schooling. So give us a call to reserve your spot now.  970-260-2660

A colleague of mine recently called the worn path around the outside of an arena the "idiot ditch". Perhaps somewhat harsh, but I had to chuckle.  Riding the rut doesn't stretch riders to make guiding adjustments or challenge our aids and timing, but it doesn't involve risk ether

Doing the same thing over and expecting a different result may count as…

When I started with my first horse over 40 years ago horse training was sort of considered an esoteric activity that only adepts could do.  Most people sent horses to trainers because only trainers had the equipment and the secret knowledge necessary to train horses.  After several months at the trainer’s place the horse came home, hopefully knowing enough about carrying and obeying a…

It's difficult to know what to do with a foal or young horse. 

In this post you will learn: 

• How to put a halter on the first time
• What to do once you get the halter on
• basic prep work when working to gain respect and trust from a young horse

http://www.clinichorsemanship.com/young-horse-exercises-pt1-cc2/…