Correct Fundamentals help you "do the right things right".



As a rider, you need to put the fundamentals in place so that the right things happen by habit. Good riders ride well, because their right habits are so ingrained into their philosophy and their thought processes that they do routine things without thinking.



Developing the correct habits is a bit like instilling good manners into children and teaching them to say "please" and "thank you". This can be quite…

Always have in your mind that horses are unpredictable animals, not machines. Our familiarity can lead to taking liberties and accidents occurring.



How many of these practices are on your own safety list?



1. Always wear clothes and boots that are designed for riding.



2. ALWAYS wear a riding helmet that fits you correctly and complies with current standards.



3. If you are young, your horse is misbehaving, you are out of practice…

Please enjoy these final tips. I hope they have been useful for you and your horse!





31. Don’t come in to the grid too fast in an effort to clear a bigger jump at the end of it. The secret is to maintain a rhythm throughout.



32. If you attack the first fence and then try to shorten the stride, you will confuse your horse and he will resist, and that may cost you a fence. Be disciplined in your approach to the first fence and establish the rhythm you want to…

Please enjoy tips 21-30. I'm a big fan of number 23!





21. Good technique isn’t just about what the horse does over the jump.



22. When jumping a combination, don’t ride into it with too much pace because your horse will learn to jump flat and run on the landing. Give him time to adjust his weight onto his hocks.



23. Canter, rhythm, line. Get it right every time.



24. The better the approach the better the chance of the horse jumping…

I hope these tips are helping everyone. Here are tips 11-20:





11. As a rider you too need to be warmed up. Through warming up you should release tight muscles. Warming up helps prevent stiffness and injury to both horse and rider.



12. It is important to get your horse’s body and his state of mind prepared for what you are going to ask him to do.



13. Get the basics right and you will have a firm foundation for jumping.



14. It is a…

Hello Everyone!



My next few posts encompass an overview of some of my top tips. Some are easier said than done! The first ten...





1. All veterinary care is paramount – your horse is not going to perform to the best of his ability if he is not feeling great.



2. Horses are like people, they have weaker sides and stronger sets of muscles. Work on improving these weaknesses with the help of a physiotherapist.



3. Learn to recognize what your…

What I am looking for in a rider is balance and empathy with their horse as a living creature. Someone who has feel for the basic paces and hopefully able to tell the right and wrong lead and the right and wrong diagonal. They need to be able to maintain a contact without being stiff and heavy and to be concise in what they are asking. This is quite important; if you ask a horse to walk on, you tell it to walk on.



Temperament in the rider

Any rider that is so…

There's not enough room in that saddle for you & your temper.

Your anger makes it harder for your horse to please you, & blinds you to the lesson s/he is offering.





Listen to your horse.

If you're not getting the answer you think you want, try listening for the answer the horse is giving you.





Make…