Training

Lungeing Part 1: The Basics

Try lungeing him. Lungeing means having your horse travel around you on a circle at the end of a long line, and it has many uses:

* starting a young horse’s training or retraining a spoiled horse

* improving condition …

The Importance of Collection

My previous article (“Finding Frame” July/August 2011) described five different frames your horse can carry himself in and how each of those frames affects the development of his back, abdominal and hindquarter muscles. There are three healthy frames – long …

It’s All in the Timing

There is a right time and a wrong time to cue your horse for a movement, and if you don’t have the timing right, you could be asking for the impossible. For instance, the only time you can influence your …

Quiet Hands, Quiet Horse

Hands that are light, quiet and soft enhance the horse's balance, suppleness and way of carrying himself by supporting the direction given by the rider.

7 Tips for a Top Show Season

Here are seven attainable goals you can set this season:

1. Focus on your ride, not the ribbons.

Unless you are competing in a sport against the clock such as show jumping, you will find that most horse sports are …

Horse Show Etiquette

Many a sleepless night starts with all those questions of “what happens if….” or “what do I do if…” So, instead of losing sleep, prepare yourself now for how to act when things go your way – or don’t go …

Grooming is Ground Work

When it comes right down to it, grooming is ground work. As with every other aspect of training, it should focus on helping your horse feel calmer and more relaxed whenever he is with you. Too often though, grooming is …

Fit to Be Tied

Tying a horse is such a common part of horsemanship that most people never give it a thought. But if you have experienced or witnessed a horse panicking while tied to a hitching post or a trailer, you know how …

Finding Frame

Your horse’s back has two very important functions that affect his performance under saddle – the ability to support the rider’s weight and to move driving energy forward from the hindquarters. How well he achieves either of these functions depends …

Finding the Right Balance

Riding is not fun if your horse is rushing around like a speed demon or is so slow and lethargic that you are constantly working to keep him moving forward. Horses often get blamed for this kind of unwanted behaviour …