Listen to the horse

03/28/2025

Lateral moves in dressage always have forward movement, but in western riding sometimes functionality takes precedence. Out on the trail we have to be able to maneuver over obstacles and the side pass is an integral part of this. This video is of a horse in training and is not supposed to show perfection, but rather point out what goes on in real life. I'm asking for more bend and he initially responds by throwing the haunches out. Bend is crucial and as you can see losing the bend for even one step will mess with the correctness of steps and fluidity. In the beginning I also always have the shoulder lead a bit. This will make it easier for the horse to understand what I am asking, as well as preventing the legs from knocking into each other. The side pass is an important movement to teach your horse, but be sure to only practice it for a short time to prevent undue stress and torque on the horse's body!

01/10/2025

09/10/2021

The canter or lope
The most exhilarating of the gaits. Can you enjoy it without knowing it's mechanics? Absolutely!
But, to influence your horse correctly, timing is everything and that can only happen if you know where your horses feet are. While this is true for all gaits, it becomes more crucial for the canter, since it is a 3 beat gait. The uneven number of beats is why there is a right and left lead and therefore there has to be a right and left cue, if you don't want to leave it up to the horse which lead to pick!
Below are labeled photos of each beat on the left lead, including the suspension phase, which of course has no beat but is an important part of the canter! Come fly with me! 🐎

06/12/2021

Have you had trainers like this? I sure have and I pride myself on not teaching like that. I'm not interested in the mystical guru status, my mission is to improve communication between horse and rider for a happier partnership!

02/06/2021

Yup 🐴