Silver Meadow Morgans

12/28/2023

Who needs a riding skirt?! My daughter makes these!

04/22/2023

My biomechanics online course started this week and I’m in Tennessee this weekend, Wisconsin next weekend. Although my summer clinic tour is almost completely full, I do have some availability in my summer seminar series. It’s a new series for this year to help good riders become great!

Stay tuned for dates to be announced on Monday!

02/25/2023

Tuesday Tip:
Remember, this horse showing and riding is supposed to be FUN! That's how most of us got started. Smile, enjoy your your horse and what you are learning. It's all a process. Some days you win and some days you learn! I have found that the more you have fun, the more success you make. Being overly critical of yourself or your horse generally works against you. Always find the good in everything first. Whether you are the rider, trainer, sponsor or parent be positive, be supportive. No one tries to do poorly! SO many riders beat themselves up and are critical of themselves. They don't need help at that! Focus on the positive and you will see much more positive results! Try it and see what happens!!!

02/20/2023

Jim Wofford: “I want your lower leg position to look exactly like this: ball of your foot on the tread of the stirrup, your little toe against the outside branch of the stirrup, heels lower than your toes, weight distributed equally across the stirrup, stirrup leather vertical, and the stirrup perpendicular to the girth. Rather than pressing your heels down, have the feeling your stirrups are pushing your toes up. Your foot should be diagonally across the stirrup with a slight angle to your horse’s body; that angle should be the same as that with which you walk. This angle ensures the correct alignment of your joints and is the most efficient means of absorbing the shock of galloping and jumping.

Pay close attention to the spur and strap in this photo: The spur is fitted correctly with the shaft parallel with the seam of the heel box and the shank of the spur turned down. The buckle is centered above your instep, because in that position it is least likely to hang up on your stirrup when you fall off. Your spur should not be in constant contact with your horse’s side. If your heels are up and you are gripping with your spurs, your horse is behind your leg.

In this column, Jim examines the “tools” we use to ride—the existing tools we can improve and the entirely new tools we can develop during the winter. At its most basic it’s legs and hands, your position, your voice and—maybe most importantly—your knowledge of horses and their responses to various stimuli >> https://bit.ly/2vfJXau

12/07/2022

NEW helmet study: How does your helmet score?

Do any of these scores surprise you?

The eagerly anticipated Virginia Tech Helmet Rating results for 2022, sponsored by Jacqueline Mars, USHJA, USEF, and USEA has been released.

https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/equestrian-helmet-ratings.html

08/23/2022

01/04/2022

One’s duty is to teach the horse what one wants and when the horse gives it to us, reward him lavishly and consistently.
- Charles de Kunffy
Journal of Equitation and Culture, Volume 2

Get all the journals individually or as a package on the website shop: https://www.charlesdekunffy.com/shop

11/27/2021

When I first got out of veterinary school and started looking at horses prior to purchase (usually referred to as a “vet check” or a prepurchase exam), the horses usually fit into one of three categories. The first category was the horse with no problems noted at the time of the exam. That decis...

11/18/2021

An excerpt: Use of Aids in Collection from Training Strategies for Dressage Riders by Charles de Kunffy

The horse should be brought into collection without pulling on the reins. Collection is a shifting of the balance toward the haunches produced by isometric contractions in the rider. Round the lower back and lift the crotch off the saddle with the abdominal muscles. Press the shoulder blades together and straighten the back. With the upper arms and elbows, fuse the actions of the reins to those of the seat. Close the thighs, thereby making the seat bones float forward. Then lighten the inside rein to yield the contact. Such transitions to collection can be understood easily by the horse through repetition and practice. When the transition to collection is performed, the horse should feel “uphill,” as if you could raise him slightly with your spine.

Photo: Jessica Jo Tate