Horse riding is a kind of sport that demands the skill of riding driving or vaulting with horses. With having such skill of this kind of a sport one can use horses for many practical purposes such as transportation, competitive sport of horse riding or recreational activities along with many cultural horse-related programs.

A General overview regarding the utility of horse riding…

When you really think about it, whipping an animal is cruel. Yet many horse riding methods and those which proclaim themselves to practice 'natural horsemanship' whip horses and use whips in all of their routines. It is surprising when we consider that horses are adored for their intelligence, memories, beauty and sensitivity. Why would anyone teach to whip and cause pain to such an extraordinary animal?

True Natural Horsemanship has done away with the whip and instruments of pain…

There is so much talk about vulnerability, authenticity and self-acceptance these days. I love it. In case you haven’t seen the (by now famous) TED Talk by Brene Brown yet or want to see it again, I'll post the link below.

The process of becoming a horseman is the epitome of the vulnerability, authenticity and self-acceptance trifecta. Living the truth of it……

Today is my Tip number 3 in boosting your self belief in you, with a view to aiding your horsemanship with your horse.

Are you aware of the relationship between your thoughts and how you behave, and what your body language and energy are really saying about you?

Now this is something that I see in a lot of horse owners that I meet, and I have a confession, from time to time, I am guilty of the same thing too.

We unintentionally make life much…

When things go wrong in our horse work, our horsemanship, our riding.....we begin to blame ourselves; but we also take it further.  Sometimes we can blame ourselves so much when things go wrong that we stop trying, we stop searching for an answer, we stop attempting to move forward and begin to move backwards.

This does not just affect our relationship with our horses, it starts to creep into other areas of our lives, how we see ourselves, our social interactions, our careers…

Hi there,

I am writing the current issue of my newsletter. If you are interested you can sign up here.

It's free, no spam, and it comes twice a months (including a short article and some tips about what to read and what to watch).

Nadja

I had the two horses I currently take care of in the arena today. I rode the smaller one bareback, and the other one run free. It was such a nice experience. The horses, both geldings, know each other from the pasture, they are in one herd, and the one I was on is the alpha (which is decent when riding as the other horse can be easily directed). 

I had no idea what would happen and was just experimenting. When I turn them loose, they often go separate ways in…

Some time ago, I was working with a rather stubborn pony (I know this is a human quality and the horse isn't actually stubborn but just has not learned the appropriate behavior). I wanted him to yield his forequarter and move out on a circle. He did not want that. He threw his head, turned his head to avoid looking at me, crowded me or just ignored the increasing pressure. Not long ago this would have frustrated me. But I came across two important concepts that did have a…

After interviewing the Nor Cal Downunder Brumbies coordinator Michael Canfield for our Whoa Podcast and hearing about a Memorial Day gathering at the Bar SZ Ranch in San Benito, Ca. we immediately…

  Re-adjusted my focus!! Cathy River's new blog post The Language of Confidence. Amazing what I've been saying to myself...#shift #mindset....

 …

Love this new blog post by expert Confidence + Money Breakthrough Coach, Cathy Rivers of Big Horse Dreams, Inc.!

Also, I was asked the question not long ago: Do I think that your success and confidence as an equestrian is connected to your relationship with money?…

Hi all! This is a GIFT invitation for 4 Free Discovery Sessions offered by Cathy Rivers, a.k.a. The Confident Equestrian Coach. I'm posting this because an "equestrian" lifestyle can be costly and having a successful relationship with money is key! We all know that! 

Here's the info:

Offered by Cathy Rivers of Big Horse Dreams, Inc.…

  Check-out Cathy Rivers newest blog post! Often over-looked horsemanship lesson! Great info!

  Cathy Rivers, www.bighorsedreams.com

June 19th 2012

At some point in your horse ownership life there will come a time when you won’t be able to make it home to feed the horses. Are you prepared? What if you can’t do feeding and chores for 2 weeks or more? Are you prepared? What if you are at the Emergency Room and…

   Love! that Cathy Rivers is now offering that following: 

Horses know exactly who you are. That’s a fact. So wouldn’t it be nice to know exactly who they are? Especially if you’re equestrian genre is competitive dressage? How about resolving – once and for all – the frustrating challenges in your horse’s training, as well as in your own, that’s keeping you both from the winner’s marks.

Cathy Rivers, holistic horse therapist, accomplished dressage…

   Had the opportunity to experience the process of Inner Nature Design...amazing...Cathy (Rivers) did my design....she's now offering the process to the equine community! It was definitely the missing piece for me...so I want to share and re-post this from her blog!  Also, she's doing a free 30-minute Discover Session if anyone's interested...it's so worth it!

 …

Olympia, Washington, May 4, 2012 -- Everyone knows that confidence and success come hand-in-hand. So whether you need a little boost or a lot of building, nationally known equestrian confidence coach Cathy Rivers, as part of her Big Horse Dreams, The Confident Equestrian Program, has designed a new e-Workbook that provides a proven learning progression for mastering confidence skills in order to improve your training, riding, competing, communication and overall enjoyment…

Think of it as a trip to the amusement park- with your horse.

I didn’t start out doing Natural Horsemanship. I started out before that phrase was invented.  Like a lot of us, I used voice commands while lunging and required good ground manners. I did the rest from my saddle; riding was my thing.

To tell…