Last week, I started this series to help you decide how and when to introduce new work. That blog focused on Training and First Levels. What follows is Part 2 of that series.



Let's say your horse is solid at first level. Look ahead to the Second Level movements. Check out the dressage tests. You'll see that you need to work on shoulder-in, haunches-in, renvers, simple changes of lead, reinback and turns on the haunches.



You'll also notice that the big…

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…

Riders often ask me, "How do I know it's the right time to start training something a bit harder?"



This is a big topic so I'm going to cover it over two blogs. In this blog, I'll give you a way to come up with a logical plan for introducing new work at Training Level. Next week, I'll show you to plan to move up to Second and Third Level. I'll also show you how you can use feedback from competition to help you decide whether or not you're ready to move up.



First, I…

Hi Guys,



I received an email from a rider who said, "Can you help me with a problem I have with "locked elbows"? It is a bad habit that I've been trying to break forever. Any tips or visualizations would be really great!"



So, here we go:



In general, elastic elbows allow for movement. In the walk and canter, your elbows need to open and close to allow for the movement of your horse's head and neck. In the rising trot, your horse's head and neck is still, but…

I know that riding a spooky horse can be challenging and frustrating so here are some tips to help you understand why your horse spooks and to give you some tools to help cope with shying.



*You might be more patient with your spooky horse when you understand that horses have survived in the wild all these years because of their natural flight response. So, when you think your horse is being unreasonable because he's shying from something that seems benign, change your…

The following blog was inspired by a rider who told me, "I have a wonderful, talented thoroughbred. We can do Second and Third level work at home, yet when we compete, we can barely get through a First Level test. The missing link seems to be relaxation. My horse is off the track, and we seem to feed off each other's tension. How does a normally tense person learn to relax?"



This rider is right in thinking that relaxation is her priority. When you're tense, your work can't…

By Chris Brooke The Mail Online

Last updated at 12:54 AM on 01st May 2009







For the average pet rabbit, the daily routine involves nothing more strenuous than chomping on a carrot.



But life is very different for the Haslam household's six showjumping bunnies.



Under the guidance of twins Mathew and Thomas, they have learned to leap over miniature fences in the back garden.

Hop…

To understand and work with your horse’s stride length, keep in mind that whilst you are riding, the horse’s legs are your legs, and your brain needs to react to what they are doing.



Try this exercise:



Build two fences five canter strides apart. Warm up your horse, thinking about the canter rhythm.



As a very simple way of understanding your horse’s stride length, call out the strides as you ride the fences. This will help your brain tune in to what your horse…

Hi Guys,



No matter where I travel, the most frequently asked questions I get are, "How do I put my horse on the bit...and how do I keep him there consistently?" This concept baffles many riders. My hope here is to simplify the process for you with the following information.



First, you need to know that there is a SPECIFIC AID to put your horse on the bit just like there is a specific aid to ask for canter or for a leg yield. That aid is a half halt. (Don't groan...I can…

WHY DO WE TRAIN



I have would like to put across to you some part of my philosophy with regard to the very important subject of why we train. I have also given some part of this blog to what to look for in a good trainer.



BEFORE WE START TO TRAIN OUR HORSES I BELIEVE THAT A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE REASONS BEHIND TRAINING ARE MADE CLEAR.



What about human beings?



All of us human beings are capable of certain moderately athletic functions which…

Related distances seem to cause a lot of problems but for no real reason.



Once you understand what they mean, if you concentrate on your horse’s rhythm and stride regularity you’ll have no problems.



Course builders build jumps that are related to each other in some way — this means that there is a set number of strides between the fences, usually between three and seven. At more advanced levels, the course builder uses half distances, so instead of say five nice…

Hi Guys,



Do you want to know how to become a better rider without taking tons more lessons? Do what I did. By putting the same amount (or more!) of effort into mental training as into skill development, I was able to realize my dream of representing the United States in international competition.



Here's how it worked for me. Back in 1980 I picked up a book called, Psycho cybernetics, by Maxwell Maltz. This book literally changed my life. I had always wanted to compete…

I wasn’t quite honest last week as I praised Arkle, arguably the greatest steeplechaser of all time…or to be more exact I was being disloyal. Disloyal to my childhood hero Mill House, who was the magnificent winner of the 1963 Cheltenham Gold Cup, and destined to be the King of steeplechasing for many years. So in 1964, when Mill House was hot favourite to win his second Gold Cup I could only watch in shock as Arkle swept into the lead to record the first of his three triumphs in this…

As the days are getting longer, competitors are moving outside, preparing their horses for the upcoming outdoor show season. The long hours of training will soon be tested in show rings across Canada. And we as Equine Canada officials are not immune.

Evie Frisque is an EC and USEF senior and "R" hunter and jumper judge and course designer. I am Chris Brandt, an EC and USEF senior and "R" course designer. In the last year I was named the Chair of the Jump Canada Course Design Committee,…

My Ultimate Grid



This is an exercise that I do with all my horses and riders to help them improve their techniques and most importantly the way they work together.



I call it the ultimate grid because the first part of it is designed to help the horse develop a good basic shape and technique over a fence and to use the shoulders, whereas the second part of it is about getting the horse to come back onto his hocks and go up. It’s simple but tests the horse in all…