Category: Balance, Straightness and Bend

Bend Your Horse to the size of the circle you ride.

Cowboy Dressage Education The horse should follow his, or her SHOULDERS. A. – On the Straight Line.  B. – On the Carve Line

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The Octagon for Bend

The Octagon for Bend Clay can be dirt in the wrong hands, but clay can be art in the right hands. Mold your horse to the size of the circle you ride like it was clay….   The octagon on the challenge Court is like having your own gymnastic bend tool right in your arena. …

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“Needs Bend in Ribcage”

“Needs Bend in Ribcage” In the walk, your horse’s rib cage swings left and right every time your horse takes a stride. when the horse’s left shoulder is furthest back, the left hind is pushing off and the rib cage is swinging right at the same moment—and vice versa. So when the rib cage is …

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The Bend – Is the Equine Yoga.

The Bend – Is the Equine Yoga. Creating bend in the horse and rider is the equivalent of equine yoga. It strengthens and supples the horse throughout his core. It allows for the horse to evenly develop his spine and engage his frame, creating strength and making the horse travel straighter underneath you—once he has …

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Ground Poles on the Rattlesnake Trail

Cowboy Dressage School of Horsemanship Slow down the Tempo but keep the Rhythm. The Rattlesnake Trail with 24 tree stumps and 24 ground poles is providing the horse’s 120 feet of hands free straight line travel forward, up and down the trail at the Walk, Jog and Lope, developing a strong mental and physical balance. …

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UP AND D0WN HILLS

UP AND D0WN HILLS Riding on hills is part of my daily program. Going up and down hill strengthens the entire musculature, promotes conditioning, and is good for the horse’s balance and steadiness. This is my favorite as it gets horse and rider out of the arena and out on the trails! (fig-1). I am …

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The Thoracic Sling

  The Importance of the Thoracic Sling The goal of riding should be to have as healthy a sling as possible and have the horse use his sling as much as possible. Riders may often focus on the hind end pushing through the back’ or more often the position of the head. Learning to feel …

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down and forward

  down and forward Aiguisons nos yeux encore ! Penchons-nous aujourd’hui sur la question de l’extension d’encolure. Illustration by Eitan translated from French “Let’s sharpen our eyes again! Let’s look at the issue of neckline extension today. First of all, what is the purpose of asking our horse to extend his nose down and forward? …

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Just Let Him Be!

Just Let Him Be! When you are riding, is your horse carrying himself, or are you in-fact carrying him? Self-carriage is the horse’s ability to maintain his balance with my weight on his back. When my horse is in self-carriage, I feel that the next step, or stride will be the same as the last, …

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Straightness

“We bend our horses to ride them straight.” Straightness and Bend are inseparable in the education of our horses. It is the rare horse that is perfectly straight in his movements. The ability to travel perfectly straight is a fairly advanced skill, and the ability to go from bend to straightness and back again is …

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