I finally have my horse to the point where I can control his speed at a walk. But when I ask him to transition from the trot back down to a walk, my horse gets tight; he short-steps and raises his head. It didn't take long to get him walking out, however, I am now faced with ...
As a thank you to her loyal supporters and fans, the world champion has created a list, "40 Tips for the Competitor" to share some of her vast knowledge from her perspective as a judge and as a competitor. ...
From horses that spook at a bird flying out of a tree on a trail ride, to horses that shy away from a jump in the show ring, most riders have had frustrating experiences with spooking. By design, horses are wired to respond to ...
Over the years, people have often asked questions about specific problems they were encountering with their horses and we've tried our best to provide them with the answers they sought. More importantly, however, we try to ...
You've heard it. Maybe you've even said it: "He'll load. He just doesn't want to right now!" And with that, your balky horse has saved himself the trouble of traveling to wherever it was you planned to go. He was rewarded for ...
Does your horse evade you by raising his head when you're trying to bridle him, or give you a dirty look when you tighten the cinch? Does he walk into you, step on your feet, push you around while trying to scratch his head, refuse to ...
I often hear from horseback riders that they have irrational fears about being out of control or getting hurt when riding. The fear seems irrational because they've never actually had an accident or injury. So they wonder where the fear ...
In the world of "Natural Horsemanship", there is a widely used phrase "be as soft as possible and as firm as necessary." It you ask 20 people what Natural Horsemanship means, you will get 20 different answers. There is also a growing ...
In a world full of horse trainers, clinicians and equine professionals competing to make a mark for themselves, many find new ways to reinvent the wheel; however, several try to put their knowledge into some package where we may ...
It's not uncommon for riders to struggle getting their horses to pick up one of their canter leads. The following are some simple exercises to help you pick up the right lead everytime! The first exercise is done completely in the walk. You will ...
You can help your stiff horse bend better by using benign antagonism. Remember, benign antagonism is just a training philosophy that allows you to custom design your program for each and every horse. It simply means that you ...
Working at a walk is great to do in cool spring weather. It also gives you the perfect opportunity to work on your aids coordination and to learn how to more precisely control your horse's body position through the maneuvers. ...
My choice for training and riding horses, ever since I started training back in the early 1990s, is the full cheek snaffle bit. In my opinion it is by far the mildest bit I can find. With my program, this bit makes the most sense because it puts ...
Many years ago while visiting the stable of the late Hector Carmona in New Jersey, I was intrigued by a sign in his indoor arena that boldly proclaimed, "The secret of riding is the outside rein". I soon discovered that the outside rein ...
The Problem: I was leading my horse and he was pushing into me. I tried to correct it with a whip but only thing I could do was move away. Is there something that I should have done? The Advice: This is a very good question and it happens a lot. There are a number of ...
