Dressage tests all pretty much start the same way – Enter at A and go down the center line. Sometimes you halt and sometimes you do not, or you do a transition from trot to walk. They also end the same way - get to the center line and either halt or transition to halt. These are little things that make a big impact on your test and also on your riding because they are very much tied to your aids. And, it is something you should spend a few minutes working on every ride beca

Ask two people a question about any horse-related topic—health, training, tack, theory, practice, etc—and you will get three answers. And they are all probably right and all probably wrong at the same time. Training horses is a little like crawling on your hands and knees with a blindfold that has holes in it across the country. You will eventually get there but it's going to be one heck of a journey and you're going to miss some things for sure. Each horse is unique, each r

It's a total bummer, but rain happens when you're riding! So, ride in the rain, already! OK, if it's a miserable downpour of cold rain and I cannot see my horses ears as I sit in the saddle, then I will be a weenie and go to the barn. I'm not fond of cold rain. But the best way to teach your horse to go well in the rain is to ride in it when it comes. Of course, you have be safe. If the footing is slippery and the horse is sliding out from under themselves, then don’t risk th

I love to canter. Really. It’s a gait you have to love on purpose, sometimes, to make it happen and improve the horse’s strength and balance. The canter gets better by doing it! Then work on improving it and let the perfection go and focus on the progress. Sometimes the canter is so floaty and lofty I feel like I’m on a ride at the amusement park. And, sometimes it’s not so fun, especially for a horse that’s building up strength or is in retraining. But that doesn’t mean I w

The days are shorter and colder right now so it's harder to get motivated to get to the barn, tack up your horse, and ride. Then you have to cool them down and put them away. This is when I really need a plan to ride my horse so I can get on, get warmed up, get the exercise in and get done. Sometimes I even feel my whole ride is basically a warm up since I can’t feel my fingers and toes! But that's OK, too, actually. This is where I try to keep the basics in mind – simple wal

I was walking a student through the aids to ask for a walk-canter transition. It was her very first. She was so intent on every word that I said. She had watched me do several on my horses and also several on her horse, and I could see her as she watched moving her leg and hands, trying to get the feel of it in her body by imitating what I was saying. Now it was her turn. Her horse knew the basics of it, but I wouldn't say he was confirmed 100%. I asked her to bend the horse