Going back to the basics. Can you keep a light rein in the trot canter trot transitions? Going back to the basics.

"Have you noticed that your hand "bumps" your horse in the mouth when you are working on the canter?  What about the canter transitions?"



In this session Trudy focuses on keeping an even feel and connection with the reins at the canter..  Many riders start tightening their reins at the canter, especially in the transition up and down from it. Now you can watch as Trudy discovers how to use her legs and seat to keep Melody on her aids and soft on the reins.



Have you ever thought about how you are using your reins for the canter? What did you learn from this video?

How to use your riding position for halting, backing and moving forward....

"What are you doing with your riding position when you ask your horse to back, half halt and move forward?  Watch how we isolate what this rider has been doing with her riding position."



We start this session by showing Trudy how to feel what her riding position is doing when she is riding a half halt.  That way she will have a better understanding of how this feeling applies to how she is backing Ani.   Once Trudy has isolated that feeling, we add it to how she is asking Ani to halt, back up and than move forward again.  What is interesting is that you will see Ani's balance and responses improve as Trudy focuses on old habits she needs to change. Watch as Trudy starts exploring the possibilities of what she can do with her riding position.



What did you see changing in how Ani was backing up?  Could you see the difference in how Trudy is now using her riding position?

Half Halts at the trot. Is your horse really 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 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.  Beau  has been doing half halts but has never really been thrilled with them. (for what ever issues he might be having that day)  Since he is now competing in 2nd level we need 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?

Transitions. Walk trot. What is your horse doing with its head? S4 Dres...

"My horse throws its head up in the trot walk transitions. What am I supposed to do? How can I keep my horses soft to my rein connection?"


This happens to so many riders. It is a common challenge that can be solved by understanding the Steps to Connection. Now you can watch what I do with Trudy and Ani to keep them connected with the walk trot transitions and the different trots. Ani is still new to being on contact/on the aids/on the bit/in front of the aids. Like most horses that are new to this level of connection she is not sure what she should be doing when Trudy takes up the contact. Now you can see what we are doing with the walk trot transitions and changes of gait at the trot to help her understand how to stay connected.

Does this give you a better idea of how you can ask your horse to stay more connected? Practice this Horse and Rider Awareness technique and tell me how it works for you.

"Is your saddle shifting to one side? Amazing technique that will improv...

"Common riding challenges. Is your saddle slip sliding over to one side?  In fact, you may not even know it has been until you try this amazing technique that will improve your riding position"

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.