This is what an improvement in diet, exercise, feet and pain relief can do in 7 weeks. Even at 24yrs old.

Patience makes progress. Rushing anything only gets you to the wrong destination more quickly. Your horse did not learn bad habits overnight. You did not learn bad habits overnight. You can’t fix either in a day, a week, a month. You need to set your goals with a long term mindset....“In a year from now I would like to be better at x.” Then you work to improve 1% each ride. Figure out what puzzle pieces need to be developed to achieve your goal. Be patient. Each piece take

Support the horse from the hoof up. Learn about the horse from the inside out. Ride the horse from the hind leg forward.

Sidepass. In a perfect world your horse is bent the direction they are traveling. They have their shoulders slightly leading. Their legs are crossing deeply under their body.

DQ’s are learning opportunities! Education isn’t free.

I am so incredibly blessed to have the opportunity to learn from Ida Hammer I’m a closet hoof nerd.

Do not forget to get your questions or topics to me by June 1st!

“Lessons in Lightness“ by Mark Russell. Contributions by Jillian Kreinbring.

Here is a slow motion video of canter. See if you can see the three beats and the suspension phase.

Let’s learn footfall sequence of canter

Big hides bad. Big is easier.

If you can tell me your horse is distracted by something, that also tells me you are distracted by it. You allowed the horse’s distraction to become your distraction. You reinforced the horse’s distraction. Stay focused. The more focused you are, the more focused your horse will be.

Judging takeaways: These are my opinions based off my experience, study, practice and knowledge of the sport. Know your rules Understand obstacle requirements Your geometry being off says a lot to the judge about the effectiveness of your aids Choose the course lines that work for your horse. Going into an obstacle with tension because the line was too short or approach incorrect for your horse will affect your obstacle score and your course navigation/ transitio

Teaching takeaways

I love the Total Equine western girth. I have clients that use the English and Australian ones as well. The horses seem more comfortable and I feel the saddle is more stable. I avoid the neoprene, while easy to clean it creates more friction but if you aren’t spending hours everyday in the saddle it will be fine.

Common rider errors:

The horse does not know your goals nor do they care.

Fear and anxiety are real emotions. To be successful in the saddle we have to learn to control those emotions

Leave your ego, expectations, frustration, fear, anxiety, stress, attitude at the gate. Ride the horse you have. The more you push your goals and desires on the horse, the more frustrated you will be. Take each ride as a new ride. Don’t bring yesterday’s baggage and don’t have unreasonable expectations. The best rides happen when you just let things flow as they were meant to on that day. Even the rides that start out challenging can end well if you just focus on creating rel

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