How-To

jane savoie, half halt, riding dressage, dressage half halt, robert dover

The secret to riding your dressage horse like a professional is to ride from half halt to half halt rather than from movement to movement. The half halt is your connective tissue between the dressage movements. They’re what make your ride or dressage test look like it flows seamlessly like a dance.

organize horse tack room, horse tack, equine tack, organize equine tack room, horse tack

You’ve finally arrived at the barn after a busy day at work, looking forward to clearing your mind and enjoying some quality horse time, when you open the door of your tack room…. There’s your saddle pad, still damp from yesterday’s ride, in a lump on the floor. Now you’ve located one glove but the other is nowhere to be found.

riding with confidence, rider confidence, anne gage, confident horsemanship, psychology of riding

Losing “your nerve” after falling off your horse is quite common - even if you haven’t been hurt. Your mind is a powerful tool that can work for you or against you. Much of what goes on in our minds happens unconsciously. Here are seven quick techniques to help get you back on track:

equine business, horse business, equine ad design, horse ad design, herbs for horses, redmond rock, we cover, gardner fence, canadian horse journal, horsejournals.com, andis horse clippers

Regardless of the size of your horse business or advertising space booked, the same basic advertising criteria have proved essential to a successful campaign. As the saying goes, a bad product is more likely to be bought with a good advertisement; but a good product won’t be bought with a bad advertisement.

Juliet M. Getty, Ph.D., slow-feeding system, equine forage, foundation equine diet, ulcers, colic, behavioural issues, stall vices, gorging, choke, cribbing, laminitis, equine diet, alternative grazer

Forage is the foundation of every equine’s diet and needs to flow steadily through the digestive tract. Gaps without forage can lead to ulcers, colic, behavioural issues, stall vices, gorging, choke, cribbing, and even laminitis. Truly, the only way to avoid these problems is to allow your horse steady access to forage, free-choice, all day and all night.

horse at fence

A common problem that many horse owners have is dealing with a horse that doesn’t want to be caught. This is particularly frustrating when the horse will allow itself to be caught some days, but not others, or will come for the barn manager but not for his owner. The reason a horse does or doesn’t want to be caught is basically about the relationship between the owner and the horse.

horse cool down, Sponging Endurance Horse, horse walk cool down, horse drinking water for cool down, hose down endurance horse

The last ten to fifteen minutes of every ride should consist of walking on a long or loose rein to allow the horse to relax, stretch his muscles, and, if he is winded from the exercise, catch his breath. This may be all the cool-down the average horse requires in order to physically recover from moderate exercise on a cool to warmish day. But intense workouts can strain muscles, ligaments, and tendons, and when coupled with soaring summer temperatures can cause your horse’s body temperature to skyrocket.

How ride shoulder-in loop dressage, horse trainer Andrea Taylor, dressage exercises

Looking for an exercise to help develop your horse's uphill balance, self-carriage, and collected work? Olympic dressage rider and trainer Andrea Taylor suggests an exercise to improve these and other aspects of your horse's movement and training — the Shoulder-in Loop.

horse spring checkup, equine spring checkup, checking horse blanketing, checking horse skin, check for horse parasites, check horse's teeth, Evaluate horse Feeding Program, check horse vaccinations

Do you ride all winter, no matter how deep the snow gets, or do you hang up your saddle at the first cool breeze in autumn? If the winter season has caused any modifications in your horse’s exercise level or feeding plan, you will need to consider the following points as you bring the horse back into work in the spring.

Pepping Up the Lazy Horse

By Lindsay Grice - Riding should not be an aerobic workout like riding an exercise bike. Self-carriage is when a horse maintains his pace, straightness, and frame or outline when you lighten up on your aids. You’re not really riding until you take the training wheels off!

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