Apr 15 2020
The Queen of Gaits: The Walk Within equestrian tradition, the walk has always deserved to be called the “queen of gaits” because of the benefits that both horse and rider can derive from this gait. The walk is the gait of choice not only when teaching the horse something new but also in confirming and …
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Apr 04 2020
The rider’s hands directing the horse’s front feet through the rein aids, while the rider’s legs direct the horse’s hind feet as the seat drives those hind legs forward. The visual representation of the rider’s hands speaking directly to the horse’s feet through the reins is important to understand because proper timing of these aids …
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Apr 03 2020
“Riding your horse should be a conversation that nobody else can see or hear.” – 8 Your aids are the collection of tools that you use to communicate with your horse. You use your body to speak directly to different parts of the horse’s body. Your aids include hands, legs, seat, weight, energy, and voice. …
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Apr 03 2020
The Jog is the cowboy delight In classical dressage, the two-beat diagonal gait of the horse is called the trot. The trot is characterized not only by its two-beat diagonal movement but by the suspension desired between the foot placement of the diagonal pairs. It is this suspension that give the trot its animated jaunty …
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Mar 27 2020
Short Frame – Short Neck – Short Stride, My Hands are Up. Long Frame – Long Neck – Long Stride, My Hands are Down. Happy Trails!
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Mar 26 2020
I NEVER LEAVE HOME WITHOUT THEM The tradition of having to “earn your spurs” reaches back to the beginning of the cavalry. When green Troopers first arrived at their new cavalry assignments they were assigned a horse with a shaved tail. This led to the nickname “Shave Tail” for newly assigned, spur-less Soldiers. These new …
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Mar 26 2020
“Contact is a private matter between the horse and the rider.” People are always telling others what “contact” they should have with their horse. But the appropriate contact is a conversation that is constantly changing between the rider and the horse. I greatly appreciate Nuno Oliveira believed it to be a private matter that only …
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Mar 26 2020
As the withers lift and rise out of the shoulders, the back is lengthened. The poll is raised and the weight shifts to the back end of the horse as the hip flexors lower the croup. Contraction of the abdominal muscles lifts the back.
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Mar 26 2020
“Hold your reins like a flower, not like a stone. Ride your horse with your core and seat, not by your hands and never by force. If you do it by force, it is not the art of riding, it is something else.”
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Mar 26 2020
RED is RIGHT – LIME GREEN is LEFT Find the connecting parts – Discover the secrets of riding! The rider’s hands and rein should be connected through the bit to the horse’s front legs. The rider’s shoulders are mirroring the horse’s shoulders. The rider’s pelvis should be connected to the horse’s pelvis through the horse’s …
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