Learning to be a good rider is a combination of knowledge and learning how to be in your body in a way that helps you partner with a horse. In this section, I collect articles on both topics intended to build your knowledge to help you become a better, more responsive rider, as well as exercises to help introduce you to the body movements necessary for comfortable, confident horseback riding.
Both novice horse riders and non-equestrians alike often wonder what, exactly, is the difference between a horse and a pony. This question has both one pretty straightforward answer as well as some nuanced complexities, in this article we will discuss the most straightforward answer as well as some of these more nuanced answers to the …
Everything you ever wanted to know about horseback riding lessons – from your first lesson to becoming an instructor. Horseback riding lessons are many people’s first experience of horses. Unlike generations past, few of us have lifestyles that allow us regular contact with horses. Instead, horseback riding has become a rather unusual hobby, often accessible …
One of the most frustrating parts of being (or living with!) someone who rides horses for fun or as part of professional work on a farm, stockyard, or race track is dealing with the unique odor that makes clothing stink after horseback riding. In this article, we’ll be talking about a few effective ways to …
Has your horse or pony recently started tossing their head up in the air when you are riding? When horses start head tossing behavior, it often indicates one of a few things, which we will discuss in this article. Because head tossing can have a few causes, it may take some detective work to …
Most horses have four main gaits: the walk, the trot, the canter (called a lope in Western riding), and the gallop. Within these gaits, horses have a huge variance- horses can be taught to trot or even lope as slow as other horses walk! The speed of each gait depends on many factors- just like …
Learning to sit the trot is something western rider must learn, and something most dressage riders dread! It’s the most difficult gait for most horseback riders to learn to ride, but our sitting trot tips are here to help. Below you’ll find a few easy exercises I picked up during training, competing, and teaching dressage …
When people use the word saddle sores they might mean two different things: either sores that develop on riders due to sensitive skin being irritated during riding or sores that develop on a horses body underneath the saddle. What are saddle sores and how do riders get them? Minor saddle sores are part of …
The diagram below provides an important tip for equitation classes that many beginners learn the hard way – by performing the pattern incorrectly in the show ring. As this diagram shows, to correctly execute a figure 8 in an equitation class at a horse show, it is important to not ride the pattern in …
Sometimes the technical terms and jargon used by horse owners and horseback riders can be confusing to beginners and those outside of the “horse world”. Recently, we’ve been exploring some of these concepts through a blog, and today we are going to talk about what it means to say a horse is “heavy on the …
What is Neck Reining? There are many ways to cue your horse when riding. One of the most popular ways, unique to the Western style of riding developed in the United States, is called neck reining. Neck reining is in some ways the “opposite” of what is called direct rein riding. In …
Recent Comments