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 »
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 »
Rowan used to be very head high, tight in the back and toss her head a lot in movement. I used the target to teach her to stretch and lengthen through her spine and now we’re beginning to use it to teach her to change her balance to a more collected position, too. When working
Using the Target to Change Your Horse’s Balance Read More »
🎶 Deck the halls, tree and stables 🎶 Falalala la lala la la Who decorates the Christmas Tree at Hope Pastures rescue centre? The rescued ponies and donkeys of course! Hannah worked with the staff at Hope Pastures to teach these cuties some tricks to add Christmas cheer to the stables. “It’s pretty heartbreaking to see the state
Ponies Decorate the Christmas Tree! Read More »
Ever seen a horse do any of these when being saddled? > Moving away from the saddle > Pinning ears > Nipping when girthing > Tail swishing > Kicking out I’m sure you have. Unfortunately, it’s all too common for horses to be afraid of the saddle. The most common reason is pain – a
How to Solve Saddling fear Read More »
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