Randi Thompson. The timing of the rider's aids at the walk. The Steps to...

"The timing of the riders aids at the walk. Is your horse hearing what you want them to do?"

In this blast from the past, I asked Trudy to become aware of when Melody was listening to her aids. These are the steps that she is using. 1) First Trudy needs to be aware of when Melody's hind foot is off the ground. 2) Melody needs to soften her jaw. 3) Melody will flex her neck (so the muscle falls to the outside) 4) Trudy aids her inside calf muscle to see if Melody is responding to her leg by shifting her weight to the outside. 5) Next, we add the outside rein and leg to soften Melody's poll. Sounds easy right? Watch to see how what we are doing makes a difference in how Melody is responding to Trudy's aids. What I found interesting is that by asking Trudy to say words as she is riding that it is easier for her to time when she is using her aids.

Can you see how the timing of the aids depends on where the horse's hind foot is? (on the side you are using the aids on...) Try this on your horse (or student) and let us know how timing your aids makes a difference for what you are doing with your horse at the walk.

Randi Thompson.Is your horses back up in the half halts? The Steps to Co...

Is your horse lifting it's back while you are asking it to half halt (rebalance mentally and physically)?

In this session I cover the steps to the half halt as she focuses on keeping the horses back up. We are using the Steps to Connection to see if Melody is listening to Trudy's aids by softening to her jaw, poll, releasing her neck and lifting her back. How cool is this?

Now that you can see the steps broken down even more... are you ready to try this with your horse or riders?

Randi Thompson. Riders Test. Is your horse listening to you? Walk/trot. ...

Randi Thompson. Half Halts at the trot. Is your horse listening to you? ...

"Can Your Horse Feel Your Half Halts at the Trot? What can you do to improve your half halt and become more aware of when your horse is responding?"

In this blast from the past, Susan practiced the half halt as taught by Robert Dover. To do this, she breathed 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. Beau had been doing half halts but has never really been thrilled with them. (for whatever issues he might be having that day) Since he was now competing in the 2nd level we needed to be able to balance him more than ever so that he starts to "engage" his back end and shorten his body from the back to the front. Lucky you as you get to watch him go through the process. This is their warm-up trot and Susan is already asking Beau to listen to her half halts. By the end of this session, you will see that Beau is starting to get it.

What have you been doing for your halt halts? Is your horse really responding to them or are you hoping that it is?

Randi Thompson. Is your horse in front of the aids? Walk/trot. The begin...

"Did you know... that when a horse is in "front of the riders aids (connected from the back to the front) that the base of the horse's neck gets thick?" Now you can watch this blast from the past to see how this concept brought Trudy and Ani to a new level of connection"

In this session, we continue with Trudy teaching Ani how to keep an even feel on both sides of the bit, the beginnings of "contact". Before this session, Ani was ridden like a green horse and on a loose rein. Contact is new to her and so is stepping up for Trudy's leg into the connection of the reins. In this session, you will see how Trudy and Ani connect better when Ani is “thick in the base of her neck. (I was thrilled to be able to film this part of the training process as many riders have never seen what happens with a horse and rider going to the next level)

The next time you ride try this on your horse. Can you feel the difference in the connection when they are thick in the base of their necks?

Randi Thompson. Straightness. How your lower leg matters. Walk. Steps t...

"Are you ready to finally... ask your horse to stay connected from your seat and legs at the walk? What does that mean?"

There comes a time when a rider and horse are ready to go to a new level of balance and communication. Melody had some serious issues in the past. It has taken us several years to bring her to this point and now it it is time to ask her to connect between Trudy's rein and leg aids. In this blast from the past we asked her to "round up, connect, get packaged" (there are so many words for this). This was still new to Melody and is the perfect opportunity for you to watch what happens when a rider first begins to ask a horse to connect between the reins and the legs of the riders.

https://youtu.be/zGqHX6q-lgY

Randi Thompson. Walk/trot. Connecting a training level horse (8th time)...

"Do you shake your head and maybe get a little dizzy just trying to understand how you can connect your horse?  What does it really mean? How can you tell if your horse is connecting?"



In this blast from the past, Trudy brought Ani to another barn and had to focus on keeping Ani's attention.   Ani was moving up the training scale is and is going from a "green horse" balance and connection to "training level" where she is being asked to stay more connected. We started with the Steps to Connection where Trudy checked to make sure that Ani is soft in her jaw, in her poll and loose in her neck. at the same time as Trudy is using her leg aid, (when the hind foot is leaving the  ground on that side)  During that process Trudy focused on feeling when Ani was pulling on the rein contact (which is still new to Ani)  This is a sign that Trudy was really holding the rein to long and is something that happens to all riders.  Once we knew what was happening I started to ask Trudy to connect Ani on one side of her body, than the other.  It was a great way to break up Trudy's old habits and to build a foundation for her to feel that she can connect Ani for a few steps.  I started calling this the "2 Steps"  It is a form of a half halt on one side of the horse and teaches the rider how to feel when the horse is "against the outside rein and leg"



Are you ready to take your horse to the next level of connection?  Try the Two Step Connection process and see how it works for you.