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 …
After competing in dressage for years, one statement I’ve heard occasionally- especially in the midwest- is that dressage is unnatural for horses. Proponents of this view feel that the way in which horses are “forced” to move during a dressage competition are not natural, and that such movements would never be performed by …
The equestrian world has a countless amount of its own specific language, one of the most common confusing statements is “tacking up” and “untacking”. This phrase, common jargon of horse people and used across essentially all disciplines of riding, can be especially confusing. People who spend a lot of time with horses often use a …
The canter can be a hard gait to learn, and the speed that accompanies the gait can bring anxiety for many beginning riders. In this article, we’ll talk about: cuing your horse to canter relaxing as you transition into the canter sitting correctly in the saddle so you feel secure and connected how to know …
Full cheek snaffle bits are popular in both English and Western riding. They are allowed and legal for most horse sports including the AQHA and USDF dressage competition (the latter being one of the most bit-restrictive horse show organizations). In 2009 I had the opportunity to visit a stable in Germany where the Olympian Isabelle …
