Saturday, February 28, 2015

Diamond Pattern.Trot/Walk Haunches in/shoulder in. SN 3. dressage training



"Would you like to see a horse change it's walk as it learns how to use it's haunches? Now you can! Watch what happens as Melody begins to go into self carriage while using the Diamond pattern"

This was a very exciting session for us. For the first time, Trudy is able to get Melody to carry herself in self carriage! To do this with used the Diamond pattern. The Diamond pattern teaches a horse how to use their haunches better. As a result a horse will lift it's back, shift back more, and the rider is able to feel when they are in balance. 

Friday, February 27, 2015

1st Level Dressage Canters. Working, lengthening. Transitions to Trot....



"Would you like to improve the quality of your canter for dressage?  (or in any riding discipline that requires a balanced horse)"

In this session we focus on improving the quality of the canter by thinking of the leap in the gait. To do this, we are adding half halts and shoulder ins.  This balance is new to Beau and he is not very excited about having to shift back like he will need to for his 1st level canter work. Susan Faulkner Evans can feel when he is in the right balance by feeling if his back is up or down. The good news is that Beau started purring (a sign he was relaxed and using his back)  his trot also got better as a result.

Is your horse ready to canter in a different balance?  What did you learn from watching this video?

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Are you connected with your riding position at the rising/posting Trot? ...



"What would it feel like to finally... feel like you have a secure riding position at the rising/posting trot?"

Watch as these two riders focus on their riding positions at the trots. Once we started focusing on these awareness exercises, both riders found that they needed to go back to some of the basics. Now you can see how much their riding positions change at the rising/posting trots.
Are you ready to try these on your horse? Let us know how they make a difference for you!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Going back in time.The Green Horse Class. S1 Straightness. dressage tra...



"Another blast from the past.  This was when we first started working on straightness and the riders feeling when their horses backs are up with our Green Horse Class. Now you can see how we did it and how we continue to use the ground poles to teach the horses how to push more from behind"

This video is from Season 1 (4 years ago) and is such a great example of how far both of these riders and their horses have come since than. As you can see, both the riders and horses have come a long way since this time. It is good for you to see the difference as now when you watch them as they are today you might think they have always been where they are.  Now you can see where they came from.  I found 70 videos from that time and will start sharing them now so you can be reminded of the actual training process that has been used.  

Can you see the difference?  Look at the physical difference in both the horses and in the riders positions since than.  At that time both of these horses had behavioral issues that required a lot of attention. 

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Going back in time.The Green Horse Class. S1 Adding ground poles for imp...


"Going back in time.  Now you can what we did to teach our than, "Green Horses" the beginnings of impulsion. To do this we added ground poles"

Those who have been following these horses and riders have seen them change a great deal since Season 1 (we are now in Season 4) I saved some of the videos in my hard drive and am going to share some of them with you now so you can see the changes in both of these riders and their horses since than, and what we did to get them to where they are now. 

Can you see how the ground poles helped the horses and riders understand impulsion and thrust? 


Friday, February 20, 2015

Half Halts and Turn Around the Haunches. Staying connected! Dressage t...



"It's time to add the half halt to the turn around the haunches.  watch what happens on this video"

Susan and Beau continue to show us their training progress. Beau is now more willing and we are asking him to stay connected and balanced at 2nd level. To do this we have become very focused on the correctness of the half halts in any of the movements he is doing. Now you can watch the progress we are using to refine the turn on the haunches with the half halt. During this session Susan also become aware of when Beau was "dropping to the inside" This is when he was not between her lateral aids. To isolate what needed to be done Susan practices riding Beau's shoulders. 

Are you riding the turn on the haunches yet? How does this video help you to understand them better?

Thursday, February 19, 2015

"Movers and Shakers of the Horse World" With Liv Gude of Proequinegrooms...




"We had a blast on our first Movers and "Movers and Shakers of the Horse World" with Liv Gude of Professional Equine Grooms It was fun getting to know her better and to hear how she got to where she now is. Check out the video here. It was an adventure as we were (and still are) in the middle of a snow storm where over 25,000 people lost their power. As a result, I was disconnected from the internet a few times"

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Trots. Half Halts in the Shoulder In's and Travers. S4 dressage



"The magic of adding half halts to the shoulder in and Travers (haunches in) a the trot"

In this session we focus on half halts at the trot. Our goal is to make sure that Beau is responding to Susan as she asks him to "round up" and re connect in a new balance that they need for 2nd level. The trick for most riders  who are going through this change of "levels" is to keep their horses in balance for that lateral work with the horses poll the highest point and their strides staying long instead of getting shorter. The good news is that I have captured this moment of the training process on video! Now you can see a real rider (not a pro) who is working through the same issues that you will probably have as you move your horse up the levels and into a new balance and connection.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Half Halts in the Shoulder in and Travers. Walk. 2nd level dressage tra...



"It's time to improve the quality of your horse's shoulder ins and haunches in with half halts" 

The trick for most riders who are going through the levels of dressage is to keep their horses in balance for the lateral work without changing the length of the horses strides. Now you can watch a real rider, Susan (not a pro) and her horse Beau as they work through the same issues that you will probably have as you move your horse up the levels and into a new balance and connection.

Can you see the changes that are happening in what Beau is doing as we focus more on how he is responding to the half halts in these lateral movements?

Friday, February 13, 2015

Half Halts at the canter. It's time to connect and balance for 2nd level...



"The canter.  Is your horse responding to your half halts? Watch what happens as Susan asks Beau to stay connected even more at the canter"

In this session Susan practices the half halt as taught by Robert Dover. To do this at the canter she feels when Beau starts to disconnect.  When Susan feels that happen she breaths in deeply.. bringing that breath up her chest and back into her shoulder blades. Susan  finishes that breath by bringing her seat forward, hugging her legs and closing her fingers on the reins.  This entire process takes only 3 seconds. As those of you who know Beau expect... He is not thrilled moving up into the balance he needs for second level. This is a time of great change for Susan and Beau and I am so happy to have caught it on film as most riders never get to see what can happen as a horse is asked to balance and connect at a new level. 

Can you see how Beau begins to understand the half halts better?  

http://youtu.be/LrYSDtIxOzw

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Half Halts at the trot. Balancing for 2nd level. dressage instructor


"How do You Know? Can Your Horse Feel Your Half Halts at the Trot?"

  In this session Susan practices the half halt as taught by Robert Dover. To do this, she breaths in deeply.. bringing that breath up her chest and back into her shoulder blades. She finishes by bringing her seat forward, hugging her legs and closing her fingers on the reins. This entire process takes only 3 seconds. At first Beau was not sure what was going on. He has been doing half halts but has never really been thrilled with them

Is your horse really responding to your half halts or are you hoping that it is?



Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Straightness at the Trot. How you Can See and Feel it. Trudy Adams and Ani



"Straightness. The secret to having a horse that is more comfortable to ride and easier to influence.  Now you can watch a rider learn how to feel it, at the same time you can see how to be able to see when the horse is straight from the ground"

Most riders are not sure when their horses are straight, in fact, there are also trainers who are not sure. Now you can see how this rider becomes aware of when her horse is straight.

Is your horse moving straight at the trot? Try this and tell us how it works for you.

Friday, February 6, 2015

"Is your saddle shifting to one side? Now you can finally fix it! Dressa...




Most riders know this feeling. All of a sudden their saddle their saddle has shifted over to one side of your horse’s withers. Your saddle is slip sliding away and you did not even notice! This shifting saddle could be happening for many reasons. This could be because of how your horse is carrying you, a saddle not fitting the horse right, or more than likely, this is how you have been balancing your riding position in the saddle for a long time. You are not alone. Most riders do put most of their weight into one side of their riding position, and as a result that side of the saddle. This causes the saddle to shift to the direction where the most weight is. 


What can you do about your shifting saddle? Check out this video and you will know what you need to do. 

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

How do you ask your horse to back? Can you do it from a walk and a trot...



*"How do you ask your horse to back?  Can you do the same training to fix the back of an older trained horse as you do with a greener horse?  Why not?"*

Another blast from the past! In this session you will see how we are using backing to connect Susan and Darrien (her than new horse) To do this, she focused on keeping his shoulders and poll up as he backed. Darrien is still rooting a little with the reins at times (he came to us with this issue) but is much better than he was a few months ago. 

What did you learn from watching Susan and Darrien that you can use while backing your horse?

Monday, February 2, 2015

Does your horse root at the reins or pull you out of the saddle? Showing...



"Does your horse root at the reins or pull you out of the saddle?  The walk"

In this session we focus on Susan and her new horse Darrien. We have found that he will root, or pull on the reins at times and is very strong when he does this.  Our goal in this session is to find ways to change that behavior as we work on the walk and different patters. Darrien was new to Susan during this filming and came to us with this issue.  At the time of this filming Darrien has already become more relaxed than he was.  A month before this he was still "rooting" (pulling Susan out of the saddle) rearing and bolting.  They went on that fall to compete in the USDF Region Championships where they placed 3rd in the AA Intermediate 1.


Trot. Does your horse root at the reins or pull you out of the saddle? S...



'Does your horse root at the reins or pull you out of the saddle?"  Adding the shoulder in"

This is a blast from the past. It is Darrien from last year. He came to Susan with a few issues including "rooting on the reins". Our goal is to show him a new way of responding to the reins. As you will see, he can get very strong when he roots, in fact he can pull her right out of the saddle. Instead of correcting him when he roots (pulls on the reins to get them away from the rider) we focus on showing him a new way to use his body where he does not feel like he needs to pull the reins out of our hands. As you will see, little by little Darrien started getting softer and begins to release his neck and back.

Can you see how much Darrien has changed since than? Now it is very seldom that he roots, rears or bolts. Susan had done an amazing job bringing him to where he is.