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…
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Added by Lorna Leeson on August 31, 2015 at 1:08pm —
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I had a friend who visited my farm during my first years here. She arrived for the weekend with books and wine. We’d cook and stay up late. In the mornings we took our coffee out into the pasture, still in our flannel pajamas, and looked at wild flowers.
I’m sure I talked…
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Added by Anna Blake on April 17, 2015 at 9:30am —
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Photo by Patrick McMahan
The first time I met him, he was two months old standing in a stall with his mom. He was bright and intuitive, an Andalusian/Appendix…
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Added by Anna Blake on July 11, 2014 at 9:00am —
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It goes without saying that Duke Ellington is right, about most everything. And even horses agree.
But I get ahead of myself. This is how it starts: you’re riding, moving in unison with your horse. You’re fluid, and free-…
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Added by Anna Blake on June 1, 2012 at 8:41am —
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I’ve been remembering my first experience in Walk Detention. It was the dark ages and I was a training level rider on a young horse. I was so excited to ride in my first clinic with an Olympian- my enthusiasm sizzled audibly. I handed over a fat check, my horse was spit polished and I was…
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Added by Anna Blake on March 23, 2012 at 8:24am —
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“You know what your problem is? You’re too sensitive.” Ouch. Have you heard this? It feels like being accused of throwing like a girl.
It’s dismissive. This definition of sensitive means I’m not dependable, that I’m an emotional liability. When I was younger, hearing this would make me defensive. My mind ran like a rat on a wheel, I choked on my tongue and my heart rate jumped. I appeared… well… too sensitive.…
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Added by Anna Blake on February 24, 2012 at 8:33am —
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It was big news when Moorlands Totalis sold last year. Zenyatta is due to foal soon and the press is waiting. I see Ravel had a big win in Florida recently. Well, I have some really big news for the horse…
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Added by Anna Blake on February 3, 2012 at 8:33am —
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Some riders are convinced that their horse has a devious plan for world domination- at their expense. Or that their horse is so lazy that any work from him will require a fight. Some riders just think their horses…
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Added by Anna Blake on January 27, 2012 at 8:32am —
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Added by HorseGuard Canada on November 29, 2011 at 3:11pm —
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The connection between horses and music is not abstract. It’s literal.
I was learned this fact years ago riding with a group of friends at a barn party. The sound system was cranked up and Bobby McFerrins’Don’t Worry was playing. I am sure…
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Added by Anna Blake on October 14, 2011 at 8:00am —
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I fell in love with horses all over again this week. Yes, it was a pretty short fall and yes, it does happen every week. And no, it never gets old. Does my enthusiasm make me seem less professional?
It has been also been one of those weeks when most of my clients are having challenges with their horses. Some of the challenges are old ones and some are brand new but regardless of origin or cause- a challenge is an opportunity by another name.…
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Added by Anna Blake on October 7, 2011 at 8:31am —
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… and you get 25 different answers!
This phenomenon is a well-known fact in the horse industry. Over the years, I’ve been approached time and again by people new to the horse world, in a mixed-up state of frustration and confusion. Who do they listen to? How can EVERYONE have a different way of doing something? Isn’t there a ‘standard’ method in the industry?
New horse owners go to look for a boarding barn and discover that every barn has a different feed…
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Added by Kathy on August 25, 2011 at 11:00pm —
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Has it been one of those weeks? Everything that could go wrong–did? We all know how it feels when gravity gets heavy-handed and you begin to feel thick and bound by life. It happens.
Maybe you should go to the barn and let yourself be carried a while.
If you have a partnership with a horse then you know that some days you carry them and some days they carry you.
You carry them…
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Added by Anna Blake on July 22, 2011 at 7:59am —
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Inspired by the "Road to the Horse 2011" on DVD which arrived last week, I've decided to implement an intensive training program to get Brody ready to be ridden. Brody's been with us almost one year now, and he came to us with a suspensory injury. But the vet came last week for Brody's vaccinations, and gave the go ahead to climb on and ride. Woohoo!
Brody may be physically ready to be ridden, but mentally and emotionally he is not. (And, of course, there is the…
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Added by Jamie B on May 30, 2011 at 7:29pm —
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… and Grace gives herself a promotion.
Dressage borrows lots of language from ballet -after all, we are the dancers of the horse world. Pas de Trois is a dance of three. I have commandeered that phrase to describe riding lessons as a conversational dance between horse, rider and instructor. All three participants have to be heard for the dance to succeed.
I am always…
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Added by Anna Blake on May 13, 2011 at 8:02am —
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I was being half-mauled by a terrier. I was running an errand in an urban office and the dog’s owner was horrified. She apologized, explaining that her dog never did that.
In the dogs’ defense, I have a very special stink to my feet. I carry with me a cornucopia of delightful smells from several species in my barn. I smell like an exception to the…
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Added by Anna Blake on May 6, 2011 at 8:00am —
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It’s generally considered good manners in the barn to graciously take the blame anytime your horse is less than spectacular, and give your horse all the credit after a good ride. But it is more than manners, it is also a rider’s responsibility.…
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Added by Anna Blake on March 11, 2011 at 9:30am —
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The head of the herd at Infinity Farm is the kind of horse you might call Grandfather- with reverence. He was a flashy something in his day; what he lacked in confidence he made up for with bravado. We made a pair and a quarter century later, we have both softened and matured with age. He rules the ranch, from the ducks (he shares his grain with them) on up. Not all barns are as…
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Added by Anna Blake on March 4, 2011 at 9:12am —
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I’ve traveled in all directions in the last few months- looking at potential lesson horses. I want to rescue the skinny ones. I try to guess how much retraining will be needed for others. The right horse…
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Added by Anna Blake on February 26, 2011 at 7:34am —
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Whether you are training a show horse or back yard pet,
when you
start training is as important as what you are training your horse to
do. Many people wait until a horse is four or five years old to start
training, suggesting that a horse is too physically immature to bear the weight
of a human on their back before then. That argument has validity because
horses do not physically mature until they are approximately seven
years old. However the longer…
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Added by maryann tobin on November 21, 2010 at 1:31am —
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