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?

Contact. The beginnings. Walk trot. The Steps to Connection

"What if... you have finally come to the point in your horses training where you are ready to ask them to stay connected.  What should you expect and what should you do?"

When a horse is learning how to stay connected they are not sure what is going on.  Especially if this is also new for the rider.  Now you can watch what happens as I use the "Steps to Connection"with Trudy to show her how to keep Ani focused and connected walk halt transitions for the 4th time.  

Can you see how important understanding the Steps to Connection are to what you are doing with your horse?   

Improve your Canter. Serpentine's with collected and counter canter.

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"How to get the rocking horse canter. We all dream of that canter where our horse willingly canters around in balance. Now you can see what happened as Susan asks Beau to stay balanced and relaxed (this is a blast from the past) when they started focusing on a new level of balance and connection"

Wait until you see the changes in Beau! This is the 4th time that Susan had asked Beau to stay in a 2nd level balance for the canter. Beau was still not sure what that meant, but was accepting the changes and even starting to show off a little. We start with Serpentine pattern at the canter/trots and move up in collected canter and counter canter.

Did this Horse and Rider Awareness video give you more ideas on what you can be doing so your horse is more comfortable to ride at the canter?

Rein contact at the trot. Engagement and more balance with the Diamond e...

"Is your horse in balance? It's time to practice with the 'Diamond pattern.'Can you keep your horse connected from your leg to the rein at the trot?"

The Diamond Pattern is a great way to teach your horse (and yourself...) what a horse feels like as they are "sitting down" more or "engaging" This is a blast from the past and was when we were first asking Beau to stay in a different balance. To do this, Susan focused on keeping an even feel on both reins as she asked Beau to step up more from behind with her seat and legs as she rides the Diamond pattern. As a result you will see that Beau began to use his haunches differently.

Are you ready to try the Diamond pattern with your horse?

Keeping a horse's back up at the trot. On the aids. Retraining a Schoolmaster

"Sometimes... we all wonder if we will ever get to the next level of connection and balance with our horses. This is normal for many riders. At the time of this filming, Darrien was finally relaxing more (and breathing) we were focusing more on keeping him balanced and connected with his back up and a long neck. Now you can watch what Susan was doing with him during this part of the training process"

It's true. it had taken us almost two years to get Darrien to where he was at the time of this filming. A year ago he was still rooting on the reins (pulling Susan out of the saddle) rearing and running. As you can imagine... he did have some serious behavioral/training issues. You have also seen the process that Susan has been using to retrain him (Darrien is 18 years old) That year, we have switched back to a snaffle bit. Darrien is an FEI dressage horse and they normally wear a double bridle. Little by little he is getting more responsive and at times, even seems to be enjoying himself. smile emoticon

Are you in the process of re training or simply training your horse to be more "on the aids?"  Did you imagine it would take as long as it does? More importantly... how do you feel when your horse started to understand what you wanted? Did you feel your horse trying to connect with you?

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

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

On the bit at the walk. Contact. Do your reins feel alive? S4 dressage

"Oh, what fun it is to feel your horse seeking the contact of your reins!. How do you know when your horses is seeking the contact from your hands? You can feel it in the reins. Now you can watch as Beau begins to understand that concept and allows Susan to feel the life energy in the rein contact.


Contact comes in many layers as a horse and rider become more connected and aware of each other. At first a horse needs to be comfortable as we position his head and supple their jaw or poll to keep them loose. Next, we start positioning the horses head where we want it. For some, there will be a magical moment when the reins become more than a tool, they take on a feel that I like to call, "coming alive". This is when the horse and rider are communicating. The horse is in front of the riders aids, in front of the aids, or whatever you might call it. Now you can watch what happens as Susan feels Beau becoming alive through the reins. This was a very exciting session for all of us. 

Can you see what is happening? The next time you are riding ask yourself if your reins are "alive" yet. It's OK if they are not. As those who have been following the progress of Beau know, it can take a few years to get a horse to respond that way. Good things take time.