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The 5 Basics Every Horse Should Know by Al Dunning Question: When training a horse to do a particular task, how long will you continue to use a certain approach if it doesn’t appear to be working? Answer: Horses learn from repetition—good or bad. If you are using proven … Read More
On Western Riding: Styles, Fads and Trends by Al Dunning In the horse world, fads and styles come and go not unlike what happens in the fashion industry. Some training trends are detrimental to horses, both physically and mentally. This month Al shares his thoughts on western styles, both … Read More
On Becoming a Better Rider by Al Dunning In this issue we celebrate the equine centered lifestyle. As most equestrians strive to improve their skills in the saddle, it seemed natural to ask Al his thoughts on becoming a better rider. Question: How much of good riding do you … Read More
How to Select an Equine Athlete by Al Dunning Many people wonder how to predict the next champion, whether considering a homebred youngster or while searching for an unproven horse to buy. We asked Al these three questions about selecting a quality equine athlete. Question: When selecting horses … Read More
3 Factors to Improve Your Horse’s “Golden Years” by Jackie Davenport In the past months I’ve talked about how indoor or “arena trail” work can benefit both horse and rider and it is a discipline that many horses and their riders can continue doing very successfully as they age … Read More
by Jackie Davenport In the horse show world nothing is static: events develop, new events are added, rules change and rules are added as needed. The relatively recent addition of English riding styles to arena trail or, “English trail” as I call it, is one of these evolutionary steps. English … Read More
by Jackie Davenport As you read last month, arena trail is all about negotiating obstacles with style and agility while, ideally, never touching a thing. Horses must be able to work over and through obstacles and turn and maneuver in tight spaces and this can be challenging. However, practicing … Read More
by Jackie Davenport Whatever the trail course or its obstacles, it can be a blast to watch the “go” of a well schooled horse that is confident, curious and athletic. Arena trail is not only fun to watch, more importantly some amount of trail training benefits all horses and … Read More
The Speed and Cattle Phase by Kim Roe The goal of working equitation is to highlight the qualities of a horse that is going to be useful on the ranch. The first two trials are dressage and ease of handling, and judges test the accuracy, suppleness, fluidity of movement, … Read More
The Ease of Handling Trial by Kim Roe Last month we covered the dressage phase of working equitation, now we explore phase 2: the “ease of handling” trial. This trial involves a course of 8 – 15 obstacles ridden slowly and precisely, like dressage through obstacles. The objective of this … Read More
