All of these exercises are designed to improve your horse’s co-ordination as he learns how to navigate different objects and terrain. The sensory feedback improves proprioception and you’ll find your horse becomes more aware of his feet and body through these exercises. Of course, it’s not just about the physical benefits; all of our training […]
Teaching your horse to move their shoulders over is a great exercise to encourage your horse to take more weight on the hindquarters and lighten the shoulders as they have to do this in order to be able to step across with their shoulders. It also builds body awareness and builds into many other exercises,
How to Teach Your Horse to Move their Shoulders Over Read More »
I was delighted to be asked to speak at the Equine Behaviour Forum Seminar. The EBF was very important to me when I started out on my equine journey. Coming back into horses as a “born-again” horse-woman, it seemed that everything had changed from my simple childhood experiences with horses. Then, we just chucked them
Talking Emotions at the Equine Behaviour Forum Read More »
Walking with your horse is such a fundamental part of training and interacting with your horse. Walking together is all about keeping that connection with your horse in movement and is so beneficial because:> Movement helps horses to relax. They are physical animals designed to move a lot and incorporating plenty of movement right from
How to Start Clicker Training Part 3: Walk Together Read More »
Standing Quietly with you is the first behaviour we teach in Connection Training. This is about your horse learning to be relaxed and polite, while also remaining tuned in and connected with you. It’s an important exercise because it teaches horses: > How to NOT mug and push for treats> That their behaviour earns them
How to Start Clicker Training Part 2: Stand Quietly Together Read More »
This exercise is great to build your horse’s confidence over a wide range of fences, no matter what types of fillers you’ll encounter! I’m working with India on generalising her confidence to jump first time, even as the jump changes and I add spooky objects around it. We’ve spent loads of time prior to this
De-Spooking Your Horse Over Jumps Read More »
Along with all the more ‘serious’ stuff I do with my horses, I love to teach tricks. They’re just a lot of fun and they make me smile. Because they’re easy, stand-alone behaviours, my horses seem to love them, too. They become something we just love to do together. For that reason, they become an
Trick Training: How to Teach ‘Catch’ Read More »
I love working with all the different characters in my herd and making their training as fun as possible. This compilation shows me working on liberty loading with my horses, building their joy and confidence around the horse box. It’s fun to get creative like this but finding the fun in your training (for both
Liberty Loading Fun Read More »
If your horse knows a behaviour on the ground, it’s a simple process to transfer it to the saddle; you don’t need to teach it again from scratch. The basic steps are: 1. Think about cues you can use both on the ground and in the saddle to help your horse understand what you’re asking
Transferring a Cue from the Ground to the Saddle: Rein-Back Read More »
When thinking about training steps, we tend to think in, well, steps. You complete step 1 and then progress to step 2 and so on. This is logical for our human brains but isn’t actually the best way to train our horses (or ourselves!). The problem with progressing in steps is that you repeat the
How to Make Steady Progress With Your Horse Read More »
Lunging is a great exercise for your horse that I use regularly for: > Teaching horses to remain calm and focused in faster movement > Building strong voice cues for transitions > Creating motivation for forwards movement > Staying connected at greater distances and higher energy > Shaping a horse’s movement to be balanced and
Why and How to Lunge Your Horse Read More »
I have practiced Pilates for many years now after discovering the benefits after a serious riding accident in which I badly damaged the soft tissue in my neck. My body became very stiff and I was carrying a lot of tension because of the inactivity, the feeling was awful as I was only 21 but
Pilates Alignment for Riders Read More »
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