Stretching over the back and into the rein connection at the canter #3 ...

"Would you like to improve your horses canter?  Now you can watch what happens as Trudy asks Ani to keep her back up as she willingly begins to stretch into the rein connection for the first time in the canter"



This was a break through session.  Finally, (it seems to take forever to get a horse to be soft in the canter...)  Trudy is able to keep Ani connected at the canter with her back up and stretching into the rein connection. Keeping a horse connected in the canter is a challenge with many riders and now you can see e the beginning stages of a horse using its back as it stays connected at the canter.



Is your horse able to stretch in the canter like this?  Try this technique and let us know how it works for you.

Stretching over the back at the trot. Keeping the connection

"If you are riding in contact or connection you will want to watch this series to see how you can teach your horse how to stretch over it's back... at the trot"


Many riders are not sure what is meant by "getting a horse to stretch into the connection of the rein." It is one of those confusing terms that don't make sense until you see it done with a horse that is lifting it's back as the rider feels them taking an active connection with the rein connection. This is when the reins feel "alive" and is the result of the horse coming through from behind. Now you can watch what Trudy is doing with Ani in this break through series. It is the beginning of a new level of connection for both of them.

What did you learn from watching this video? Are you ready to try this on your horse? 

Stretching over the back and into the connection of the reins. #1 S4 D...

"A stretching we will go... a stretching we will go...  What is meant by "getting your horse to stretch over their back"  and how can you do it while they stay connected with an active rein?"

Have you always wondered what a stretch is supposed to be?  Now you can watch as Trudy asks Ani to stay connected as she stretches over her back and into the "alive" rein connection.  This is the goal of many riders, especially those who ride dressage, and can take years to achieve as both the rider and the horse have to "let go" while they do it.  Ani, like many horses, had a few issues and was not able to do this stretch, at this level, until these past few weeks.  Trudy also found that she had to "let go" in her riding position to do this.  It was a break through for both of them.  This is part #1 of 3 (walk, trot and canter)

Are your reins "alive" when you are riding your horse?  Can you see how you can use that feeling to keep your horses back up and more connected with you?

"It's really not a headset. It's a mind set. The mystery of how to get your horses head in the right place"

"It's really not a headset. It's a mind set. The mystery of how to get your horses head in the right place"

Why do we position our horses heads a certain way (or at least try to...) We do this so we can support our horse so that it can stay more "connected" as we balance it between our leg aids and the rein connection"

How a horse understands this process still amazes me. Now that Ani is further along in her training Trudy has found that she likes the feeling of Ani staying more connected with her. On this day Trudy asked me to isolate what she is doing with Ani so that she can keep her more connected with her back up and a "rainbow" in her neck. 

Can you see how Trudy is keeping Ani more connected by working on the Steps to Connection? Have you tried this on your horse? We love hearing your feedback so please let us know how this works for you.

Bending from behind. WOW. New movement! Pirouettes/shoulder/half pass ...

"Woot Woot!  Breakthrough session for Susan and Beau! Check out how we are getting the "bend" behind the saddle and how it changes the way Beau is moving. This is part #2 where we move up into the trot"

What happened?  This is when Beau started using his hind quarters and taking longer steps, even in the in the lateral movements. As those who have been following the progress of Susan and Beau know...  Beau has been a complicated horse who came to us with a lot of serious issues.  With Susan's love for him and dedication to the training process he has continued to improve.  Since they are competing in 2nd level dressage they are doing more "lateral work" like the shoulder in, half pass and turn on the haunches (walk pirouette) These lateral exercises have not been easy for Beau to understand and his tendency, before this day, was to lock up at times and take short steps.  First we had to teach him how to be more supple in the front (bending from the front of the saddle and staying soft to the rein connection) than this day, we were finally able to add the bending from behind the saddle which changed his movement. The good news is that we have filmed their training process for the past 4 years so you can see everything Susan has done to get Beau to this level.  You can find them on this Youtube channel in the playlist area.

Are you enjoying watching the training progress of our featured riders?  As you know, we do not edit any of the videos and are showing you actual training sessions where I am coaching as I am trying to film.  It is your feedback that inspires both the riders and myself to continue sharing this information with you.

A new walk! Feeling when a horse is tracking up though all of the walks....

"What if.. like many riders you keep hearing that your horse needs to be more connected and balanced and connected at the walk. To do this, all we have to do (technically) is to keep our horse tracking up at all of the walk gaits.  What does that mean?  How do you know when "it" finally happens?  Now you can watch what happens as Susan takes Darrien to a new level at the walk by focusing on how he is staying connected in his neck as he is tracking up"



This was a breakthrough session for Susan and Darrien.  It has taken us two years to reach this level as Darrien (Susan's new FEI horse) had to work through a lot of physical and mental issues before he was ready.  In this session he changed his walk!  It was very exciting to see as for the first time Darrien is staying connected and in balance (round/on the aids/in front of the legs, on the bit, packaged and so on) as he tracks up at each of the walks (collected, lengthening/extension and medium). Now you can see the process we have used and the results.



Can you see how Darrien's walk changed?  Are you ready to try this Horse and Rider Awareness technique on your horse?  Stay tuned as there are two more videos from this session and you will be able to see that even Darrien's trot has now changed!

Keeping the horses focus, when it does not want to... Training level. S4...

“What if.... in the middle of a training session, your horse decides it no longer wants to stay focused on what you are doing. What can you do to bring them back into connection?"

In this session we are trotting and Ani decides she would rather look at something outside the ring (this is not her barn..) This happens to so many riders. Something happens in the training process where the horse gets distracted and we need to get it back into connecting with us. On this day, Trudy's response was to start locking up in her hands and holding the reins too tight for too long. She told me that her arms were hurting which told me what was happening. To help Trudy get back in control I asked her to focus on something different. I asked her to focus on connecting Ani on one side for two strides, than the other. It worked! This is a great video as you can see that sometimes we simply need to try something different to get to where we wanted to go.

The "Two steps" on one side than the other is a technique I use to help riders become aware when they get "locked up" on the reins or holding their aids to long. When something stressful happens, like a horse not wanting to pay attention, it helps to keep a rider focused on asking their horse to connect on one side than the other. Once the rider can do this for two steps that can move up to 3 and so on.