This morning the ground was wet, so I looked at the TV weather and it looked like there would be a tiny gap with no rain, so I decided I would ride anyway. Shannon thought her ring would stand up to it as we are mainly riding at a walk now. I got to the stable, it had stopped raining, so we tacked up.



Mars was a little happier today, I changed to my dressage saddle, and Shannon said he…

Today I got to ride Mars at Lanolin Farm. Since Shannon had gotten all her horses in the small paddock, Mars decided to cooperate, let himself be caught at the first try and did not make too many faces over being groomed and tacked up. Just think, Shannon did not have to convince a running, bucking and kicking pony that it was time to be ridden. Sounds good, doesn't it?



But when I got up on Mars's back he WAS NOT HAPPY. Reluctant to move forward, extremely reluctant to walk in a…

Every summer I have to face the fact that my normally good hands deteriorate. My tremors increase, the sensitivity of my skin decreases, and my responses slow down. The horses I ride notice this long before anyone else, and by various means they tell me--hey, time to go bitless.



The first signal of my degredation comes when the horses I ride ACT like they are on full contact, but when I see my reins they are slightly sagging. My horses are still perfectly willing to…

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…

Last July Debbie (my riding teacher) asked me to ride an Arab mare called Mia who had been abandoned at her stable. She (Mia) suffers from arthritis, and back then nobody was riding her, and as her arthritis got more painful she moved less and less. Debbie figured that I would be more patient with Mia than other riders, and being handicapped myself, that I would have more sympathy for her. Debbie just wanted to get the mare moving again, with a hope of working her up to a lesson…

During my youth, I used to read dressage books that insisted that a person could learn to ride dressage only by riding an already schooled horse. I used to dream of finding a stable full of these wonderful equines who could transform me from my usual slightly effective riding to become a polished top rider.



And guess what? I never found that dream dressage riding stable, not that I would have been able to afford lessons at one. When I finally got to go to a…

Most of my riding life I have been trying to lighten my aids, especially with my hands. Since I ride the Forward Seat system I had a wonderful beginning by following their system of riding with loose reins part of the time and hewing to the ideal that no hand aid should ever alter the head carraige of the horse. I accomplished alot, and as I got better my horses got happier and happier with me, giving me quiet and smooth slow-downs and halts. However I wanted to get better and…

Summer has now truly begun here in the South. Days in the high 80's and low 90's with extremely high humidity. I go outside and it is like stepping into a sauna. Next month I face temperatures in the high 90's and possibly up to the 100's.



High temperatures and high humidity make all MS symptoms worse. Within a matter of minutes, on a bad day, I can lose up to a third of my IQ, become almost totally unable to coordinate my body, greatly increase my tremor, and lose…

In 1993, after years of puzzling symptoms, I finally got diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Finally I had the answer to why I could never ride as well as I wanted to. I tried to get back to riding my horses, but the exhaustion, muscle pain, and lack of emotional control when exhausted that come from MS defeated my first attempt to get back riding. Due to owning 4 horses at the time I did not have the money for lessons, or the endurance to take them.

Several years later I…

Back in 1970, when I began riding seriously, my BHI (graduate of Morven Park) instructor introduced me to the concept of behind the bit quite early in my riding career. What she said:

1) DON'T DO IT

2) It was a sign of bad horsemanship

3) Good riders NEVER rode behind the bit, at the top levels it JUST WASN'T DONE.

Almost 40 years later, everywhere I look, horses ridden behind the bit are EVERYWHERE, in all disciplines, winning top prizes, including medals at…

When I started riding seriously 38 years ago, one of the top achievements of any serious rider was to develop SOFT & EDUCATED hands. Beginners rode with loose reins until they developed an independent seat, advanced beginners through intermediate riders concentrated on developing soft hands, and advanced riders were acknowledged for their soft, educated hands. In fact if you did not have soft, educated hands you were NEVER considered an advanced rider, and were spoken of just as a…

For the last two years I have been experimenting with various bridles, both bitted and bitless on five different horses. Although I tend to be picky about the fit of my tack, and read and follow directions well I have noticed various degrees of resistance to rein contact with each different piece of gear. Lately I have been riding two mares (Arab and Arab-Welsh), trying out various bitted and bitless systems. I find that mares often express their displeasure a bit more emphatically than…