Western Pleasure

Love Your Horse, but Riding Scared?, April Clay, M.Ed., afraid of horse, fearful of your horse, anxious horse riding, overcoming horse riding stress, breaking up with your horse, make up or break up with your horse

If you have been riding for some time, chances are you have come across a mount that challenged you. Or maybe he scared you. Perhaps the horse forced you to face that very difficult question: Is this the wrong horse for me… or is it just me? What can you do when fear cripples your riding experience?

Lindsay Grice, how to enjoy fall winter with Your Horse, meeting your equine goals, explore alternate activities with your horse, horse training, bonding with your horse, winter horse riding, autumn horse riding

Fall fairs, circuit championships, and club awards banquets signal the end of another horse show season. So how did it go? Did your shows, rodeos, or competitive trail rides meet your expectations? For the majority of horse owners, the answer to this question will likely be no. Stuff happens. And so we look toward the next year. But with chilly fall and winter weather looming, we all need some goals to motivate us to get off the couch and out to the arena on those cold nights!

hunter patterns for horses, equitation patterns, showmanship patterns for horses, lindsay grice

Each of us memorizes material in a different way. Knowing your learning style is helpful. Try a number of memorization styles in each of these categories and see what works.

Equine Symptomatic Lameness, Why is my horse lame? Why does my horse keep stumbling? Why does my horse trip over his own feet? Symptomatic lameness right hind leg, detecting Equine Symptomatic Lameness

Why is my horse lame? Why does he keep stumbling? Why does he seem to trip over his own feet? The horse suffering from back pain or injuries can exhibit symptomatic lameness, which can also manifest as behaviour issues including stubbornness or resistance. When the horse is displaying symptoms of lameness and logical treatments are not working, the horse’s owner may turn to injections, anti-inflammatory creams, or chiropractic adjustments at the sacroiliac joint.

Shaping Your Horse's Canter, how to develop a nice canter, how to canter a horse, lindsay grice, horse crosses leg behind, horse won't canter

Q: I have done most of the training on my four-year-old gelding myself. He will yield off my leg, do a turn on the haunches, and collect his trot to a jog. I just can’t seem to slow his canter down. When I try, he just breaks into a trot. How do I keep it together?

Lindsay Grice, prepare for horse show, prepare for equine show, showing a horse, how to show a horse, prepare for a dressage test, prepare for a horse jumper class, prepare for a Western horse class

Seated at the head of the quiet classroom, I watched the students in the classes I teach write their Equine Behaviour and Equine Business final exams, noting the happy faces of smug recognition (“Yes, I studied that!”) and the winces (“Rats, I’d hoped that material wouldn’t be on the test”). I empathize with them. I know what it’s like to sit in the “test seat” – as a student in university and, more recently, writing judging exams. And as a competitive rider, every horse show is a test.

am I overtraining my horse? drawbacks of overtraining your horse, how much should I train my horse? how much time should I leave between horse training sessions?

If you are repeatedly training your horse to do the same task every day, a recent study suggests that you could well be spending your time more productively. The research, by equine scientists from Germany and Australia, found that allowing horses breaks of two days between training sessions rather than training daily results in similar learning progress over a period of 28 days. The researchers suggest that such a training schedule might be considered to make more efficient use of trainers’ – and horses’ – time.

Equine Guelph researchers are continuing to put Canada on the map in the world of horse welfare research – this time focusing on the use of training equipment in horses. The researchers, led by Dr. Katrina Merkies, were interested in how often riders and trainers use training equipment, such as whips, spurs, and head-control equipment (martingales, draw reins, etc.), and how often horse enthusiasts not actively involved with horses think that the equipment is used.

horse safety, equine safety, horse helmet, equestrian helmet, horse rider safety, horse helmet expiry, horse helmet expiration, horse helmet fit, riding helmet safety, Equine Guelph, horse helmet fitting tips, purchasing equestrian helmet

Experienced riders know that riding is risky business. Falls and other horse-related injuries are a real possibility, and even top riders cannot prevent all riding-related accidents.

With Lyle Jackson, By Jess Hallas-Kilcoyne - In reining, rhythm, or “cadence,” is necessary when it comes to executing all aspects of a well ridden pattern. The horse should be balanced and responsive while willingly accepting the riders aids which should appear seamless. Establishing a consistent rhythm which can be adjusted accordingly is one of the fundamental building blocks that will assist the rider in achieving the ultimate goal in reining, which is a horse who appears to be executing a flawless pattern without the interference of the rider.

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