The Performance Demands of Backcountry Riding As a trail rider you are a high performance rider, and your horse or mule is your high performance partner. By “high performance” I’m not only referring to the various extreme trail riding events we often see. Even away from judges, spectators, crowds and … Read More
Strategies to Help Make Every Ride Count When training a horse, there are so many things to take into consideration that it can become a bit overwhelming. One article says this, a video says that and another clinician said something different. How does a person know what to believe? It … Read More
Applying Observations of Balance to Under Saddle Work Alice riding with a garrocha poleLast month we observed balance primarily from the ground. I asked you to watch balance shifts within movements along with rhythm, carriage, and overall structure of the horse. We looked at some specific maneuvers and attempted to … Read More
One Step at a Time Through a Water Obstacle by Marilyn Pineda Navigating a body of water—even if it’s only a puddle— very often results in the classic “I don’t want to” response from horses that have not yet developed confidence in their trail training. While it’s possible for … Read More
Become an Effective Leader by Working with Your Horse’s Natural Instinct by Mark Bolender The principle of “thinking it through” applies to both horse and rider and is a powerful tool if used properly. It is a change from just lunging the horse next to a scary obstacle (which … Read More
Train Your Horse to Calmly Negotiate Rolling Logs by Mark Bolender A scramble is an obstacle designed to teach the horse how to walk through a set of small rolling logs that move. This obstacle is a result of a real trail situation where I was riding near Mount … Read More
Learn How to Build and Train this Challenging Obstacle by Mark Bolender More and more trail challenges include a small 42 inch box that requires the horse to step up onto it and turn around. When you see an experienced horse negotiate the obstacle it looks very simple. This obstacle … Read More
by Marilyn Pineda We have been working on building blocks toward side passing in our Riding Well Grounded exercises on the ground with focus on bending in the neck, yielding to subtle pressure, moving the hindquarters from the ground and from the saddle and moving the front quarters. This … Read More
Part 5: The First Ride By Brent Rollins The first ride is a very exciting and scary moment in training a mustang. This is what you have been waiting for and working towards. It is a day you will remember in the years to come when you and your … Read More
Why Location and Setting Makes All the Difference to Your Horse By Vickie Zapel Your horse crosses anything, anywhere out on the trail, but when asked to negotiate a man-made obstacle, suddenly proceeds to turn himself inside out. What is going on here? This is a common and frustrating … Read More
