Finally, a Lesson

When Thanksgiving, with all the travel and massing of people happened, I realized that it would be best for me to keep away from Debbie's rather large boarding/lesson stable for two weeks. This did not please me at all, Debbie gives me really effective physical therapy, telling me when I start losing track of my limbs and making sure that I keep my base of support on…

Do you find that when you ask your horse to perform haunches in or travers, the forward movement tends to get a little 'stuck'?  It feels as though he is on his tippy toes, pottering along with no inclination to get to the other end of the arena?!

The Daily Strides Podcast on this topic is …

Do you find that when asking your horse for canter, you tend to 'over do' some aspects of your aids?  Perhaps you throw your reins at your horse, or you try to 'push' too much with your seat or upper body...  You are shoving and bumping about in the saddle and when your horse eventually 'strikes' the canter, you are so far from where you want to be position wise, that it takes the first 5 to 10 strides just to get your limbs back listening to you before you can even begin to turn your mind…

Have you ever ridden a horse and they feel so wonderfully loose and pliable underneath you?  Perhaps you can remember how your horse was able to really and truly use his body and how the suppleness made it feel like he was performing movements in the best possible way that his body, fitness and confirmation allowed?

The Daily Strides Podcast episode on this topic is …

Riding through a bend is something you will have to do every time you get in the saddle, whether it be the 4 corners of your arena or just the route you take to get from point A to point B.  It therefore makes good sense to work on your ability to navigate those bends successfully, without losing balance, rhythm, energy and focus each time you encounter a bend.

The Daily Strides Podcast episode for this topic is …

You've just popped the fence and in your mind it was a success, mostly because you managed to stay on board for it!  However, as soon as your horse lands, you are beginning to think that your 'upright seat' is becoming more and more of a fantasy; in fact every stride your horse takes is literally bumping you further and further onto his withers... You lower leg is coming up and back, your sure that you have just lost your stirrups!  Who knew that jumping meant such an up close and personal…

The half halt should be one of the earliest things that riders learn to master when learning to ride their horse. It is a vital part of riding well and being able to performing accurate, balanced movements with your horse. However, while many riders understand the concept of the half halt in theory, unfortunately the carrying out of the actual movement leaves a lot of room for improvement.

You can listen to the audio version of this blog post…

Does the thoughts of riding shoulder in leave you feeling less than confident in your riding abilities.  Are you a little unsure about the angle, the bend and the degree of collection required in order to successfully ride the movement? Shoulder in is super for encouraging suppleness and collection in your horse, however if ridden incorrectly, things can quickly begin going the opposite way of your desired results...

The audio version of this…

Do you find yourself a tad confused as to what exactly to do with your legs while you ride?  Do you find that even if you know what to do, degree of pressure to use or how often to apply the aid is confusing you?

You are hearing terms such as 'Keep your leg on', 'use your leg', 'more leg', 'leg', 'soften your leg', 'support with your leg', 'back up your leg'... leg, leg, leg!!!

You can listen to the audio version of this blog post…

Do you find yourself huffing and puffing after a few strides of canter?  Have you been riding less recently and find that now your back in the saddle, your less effective than before?  Are you spending hours schooling your horse but seeing little to no difference in his way of going...

It often amazes me how much time, effort, planning and work riders put into conditioning and increasing the fitness levels of their horses and yet completely fail to invest even a little of that towards…

There seems to be two types of riders in the world, those that love an OTTB and those that don't!  I am squarely in the former category and if you are also there, well make yourself comfortable because this week on Daily Strides we are focusing on basic exercises you can begin implementing with your OTTB today that will help lay a solid foundation for future schooling, regardless of the discipline.

You can read the original post & listen to the…

Jumping, it has the ability to thrill and to strike fear into riders, sometimes all at once!   However, if approached in a systematic and patient manner, most of the fear will dissipate allowing both you and your horse to enjoy jumping; whether it be a pop every now and then, or a trip round a course of fences weekly at a local show.

You can listen to the audio lesson over on the original blog post …

Developing your riding seat begins with understanding that your seat must be used to signal to your horse, not interfere or disrupt his natural movement.  In order for you to utilize this aid successfully, it is imperative that you be relaxed first.  Relaxation is not floppiness, it is just an awareness of your body and how you are using it without any tension or resistance through your muscles.

The problem and confusion over developing your riding seat often begins right at…

More importantly, how do you know if your horse is falling in?  The quickest and easiest way I can explain this is to imagine you are riding a circle which you have planned out beautifully in your head; but as your horse travels around it you seem to be getting more and more off track with each passing stride; in fact what started out as a 20m circle is soon resembling a 10m triangle, drawn by a three year old...

Or another area this where problem can tend to rear its ugly…

Is there a more frustrating and exhausting experience when riding to match that of being on a horse who is not paying you a blind bit of notice?!

You are on board kicking and pumping away, while you horse is just meandering along...  Ignoring you completely and acting as though he is on a relaxing Sunday outing.

This week on Daily Strides we are focusing on helping you overcome the inertia and begin getting some movement happening underneath you, by…

Leg yielding is generally most riders first introduction to lateral movement; lateral meaning sideways.   This weeks audio horse riding lessons aim to not only explain leg yielding to you in easy to understand terms, but also to give you some nice exercises you can use while riding your horse to begin working his muscles and joints in a different, and beneficial way.

At the beginning of the podcast this week I mention that leg yielding and, quite frankly, riding…

One of the things that a lot of Daily Strides listeners have in common is the fact that the time they have to devote to riding and improving their riding skills, is generally in short supply… And rides can become something that are squeezed in between the million other things we have going on in our lives.

In times like this, when we are riding, we are set out looking to achieve an active, working trot… But due to lots of different factors, this can end up just…

This weeks lesson is a little bit different... I hope you enjoy!

One of the biggest disadvantages to riding alone is the fact that while you may think and feel like you are doing everything correctly, there is a big chance that in actual fact you are not.

Many riding centre's and equestrian facilities install mirrors in the arena for this exact reason; however that can be a pricey solution...

Today, I present you with a much easier, cheaper solution that you can use…

The half halt is possibly one of the most important, and yet most underutilized tools, particularly where novice riders are concerned.

This weeks lessons are designed to make you more conscious of how often you are using your half halt and improving every ride by doing so.

So, firstly, why do we use the half halt?

The half halt can be used for a couple of different reasons;

1. Balancing or 'steadying' your horse
2. Letting your horse…

Here's the second part meaning another 5 of the ten life lessons I've learned from horses so far.

1. You are allowed to make mistakes. Have you ever felt reproach in a horse‘s glance? I haven‘t. Not because my project horse isn‘t fed up with me from time to time. I make mistakes, am unfair (though not on purpose), am not in control of my…