Do you pull on your horse’s mouth even though you know you shouldn’t? Does your instructor tell you to “give to your horse” all the time? Do you try to throw away the reins after you have used them in an attempt to stop yourself from pulling?
Finding Good Thigh Contact
Do you have trouble getting your horse to go forward? Do you bump or hit the front of your saddle with your pelvis? Do you feel insecure over the fences? The answer may be caused by not having good thigh contact with your horse and saddle.
Hands On Saddle Fitting
Does your horse show any of these signs? If so, a poorly fitting saddle may be the cause. 1) showing any objection to being saddled 2) being “cold-backed” during mounting 3) slow to warm up or relax 4) resistance to work 5) resistance to training aids 6) hock, stifle, or obscure hind limb lameness 7) […]
Handling Those Show Jitters
Have you ever sat ringside at a competition and watched the competitors? Some look like they are about to throw up just before they enter the ring. Others look cool and calm, their dog is attentive and they are working as a team. Have you ever dreamed of being like the calm cool type while […]
Grounding
The last of the Centered Riding® Basics is Grounding. Sally Swift calls this the glue that binds the other Basics together. The roots-of-the-tree image in the book, Centered Riding, illustrate Grounding. Grounding provides supple stability in riding while lengthening provides the power. (We will leave lengthening for later. Without Grounding you can’t lengthen.) Grounding is […]
Finding Your Way Through The Maze
Ever wonder where your riding is going? Or perhaps it is trying to figure out how to do a new exercise or movement with your horse. You know innately that something isn’t right but “how” to fix it is beyond you. You go to riding instructors and they tell you “what” to do – “more […]
