In this day and age of instant everything, waiting can be hard to do, especially when you’re training a young horse (or an older horse for that matter). It’s easy to get excited; everything is now or soon. There are show classes for weanlings and yearlings, two-year-old futurities, and derbies … Read More
#1 Let the horse digest a correction. When you make a correction and your horse responds correctly, let him think about it. Literally stop and let the horse stand still and digest what just happened. You’ll find that if you give your horse a chance to process the situation, he’ll … Read More
Resolving Postural Problems, Improving Movement Patterns, and Preventing Injury By Jec Aristotle Ballou Over time, horses (like people) acquire postural habits, compensate for soreness and injury, and develop poor movement patterns. This limits performance ability, causes unsoundness and health issues, and ultimately undermines the horse’s overall well-being. Jec Aristotle … Read More
Direct Your Horse and Let Him Do His Job By Evan Bonner Does your horse take the initiative in his work? Why should we ask our horse to be responsible? Do you allow your horse to be accountable for his actions, and how do you do that? I believe … Read More
Bending Aids and an Exercise By Lynn Palm Last month I described what correct bend is, and the aids to achieve it. In this article I’ll review the key points and give you an exercise to help train your horse to bend correctly. Review of Bending When a horse … Read More
Christoph Hess, a Fédération Equestre International (FEI) “I” Judge in both dressage and eventing, is highly respected around the world as a teacher of riding and the development of the horse according to classical principles. Here he collects some of his very best riding and training tips along with well-honed … Read More
Raising a Baby Deserves Careful Consideration By Kim Roe Purchasing a young horse (weanling to yearling) is something many horse owners consider at some point. Some people reason that it’s a path to owning a higher-quality horse in a more affordable package than a mature, trained horse. For many … Read More
In the Saddle By Allison Trimble Once a horse is being ridden, the wide range of disciplines can make defining a “broke” horse more of a challenge. The culmination of training for a working cow horse looks quite different than a finished hunter. In this article I will focus … Read More
Sequence of the Aids By Lynn Palm Have you ever ridden a horse on a curve or a circle and felt the horse speed up, lose his balance and not be able to follow the path? You may have been asking your horse to trot in a curved arc … Read More
What Does it Mean When Trainers Say a Horse is Broke? By Allison Trimble Hi Allison! Amateurs like me don’t really know what trainers mean when they talk about a broke horse. Would you explain what the term means and some tips for getting our horses there? Thanks, Dick … Read More
