I know it is difficult for those with physical disabilities and those with physical limitations. I also know it is hard for a person without these to help and teach these people how to improve, but I would appreciate the inclusion of these issues and how they effect your riding. It is easy to understand why you are having trouble if you are dealing with a limitation but much harder to figure out a solution that allows you to ride better and better.
Thank you for teaching so clearly how to hugely improve my riding - I have learned so much and helping my green horse to understand better...we are feeling the benefits.
This video is very timely and helpful to me. I've got a new OTTB and am working on eliminating any brace from my seat position to allow him to move forward more freely.
Great video, I'll try this! Thing is, I don't own a horse - I ride a school horse. Because of the many different signals, she(the horse) gets from inexperienced/beginner riders, she's a pretty hard-mouthed horse. I don't like using a whip on her, but sometimes it's the only thing that'll make her move forward. The first times I rode her she wouldn't even trot no matter how hard I tried (that was without a whip). Even though I don't own her and only ride her once a week, I've still grown to really like her, and I feel the most comfortable riding her. I want her to feel comfortable too, so I want to ask what I can do to make her move forward without using a whip or kicking so much... I try to not kick very hard, but as a result at that, she won't go forward. Hope to find some advice :)
Not sure if you're riding the same horse but here's something to try. From a stop, squeeze her with your heels until she takes the tiniest step forward, and then STOP SQUEEZING. Then ask again- same thing- one tiny step, stop squeezing. And again and again until you barely have to squeeze anymore before she "anticipates" the tiniest leg movement and takes a step. Then you can gradually ask her to take a full step then two steps then more and more steps using the same method. Then you can work on this from walk to trot and trot to canter. Another thing to try is the 1-2-3 method, squeeze her for 3 to 4 seconds, then kick her (not hard, just enough to bother her) for 3 to 4 times, then sharp whip while kicking. Once she moves forward (in any way- a jolt or a surge or a step or anything in between), STOP BOTHERING HER, no matter what step you were on or what part of the step! No more squeezing, kicking or whip, until she stops maintaining forward motion. Then repeat as many times as necessary til she maintains forward motion on her own. Eventually you will only have to squeeze her for barely a second before she moves more forward. Another thing to try is to make sure your movement with her is in sync. At the walk, let yourself go almost totally elastic- let your hips and legs sway with her back and your arms pump back and forth with her head's up and down movement. As you're walking, each time your leg swings backward, put a little pressure with that lower leg- almost like if you were walking yourself and are trying to get her to keep up with you. At the trot, use your posting trot to your advantage- post higher and faster as she trots and she will keep up with you. You can use your leg a little bit when you feel it come closest to her body to put a little pressure on with your lower leg as well, but don't do that constantly- just only until she gets more forward, then just ride with a nice quick post.
Thank you for this video! The part I`m not sure about, is how to ask for a stretch. The horse I ride is likely to raise his head and get exited when asked for a trot or canter (which is often turning into a gallop). He has had little training and only been on trails for the past ten years and is now over 20 yrs old. So he was basically always asked to just pick up speed an nobody cared for the way he did that. But to be safe to slow him down and be able to stop him, I think he should first be more relaxed an forward downward stretching when we pick up a faster gait. He will try to get behind the bit or toss his head when too much contact is applied while his head sticks up in the air (we even checked his teeth). How could I practice that? PS: Love that the horse is bitless! I started riding in a rope halter with only little contact in the moment I want him to slow down, and the head tossing stopped. But he is not 100% safely stopping or braces to the opposite side when he doesn`t want to turn. Maybe he also had bad experiences with riders pulling hard on the bit before. You have a great way of teaching by the way.
+Stefanie Grimme Once she got to the part about asking for a strtch, notice how her hands widened, leaving the horse to extend the neck longer and down more, its at the part where she was talking about reign aids
What my horse does now is when I ask to soften, he bends his head behind the bit. I give a little bit of a nudge to bring it up, but then he swings his head up to far and is hollow. Uggg! I give release when he does put his head in a soft position and is round but it does not last long at all. It is like I am battling two things at once now. He recently discovered that lowering his head behind the bit is a way to get out of the frame I am asking for. I have even tried lifting the reins quickly to get him in frame, but the minute he gets that release, down that head goes. He is physically okay, such any dental problems, the bit fits well...he just is doing this now and it is frustrating. Thank you for all your help!
Could you do a video on horses with "hard mouths." e.i. wont stop easily off of your reins), wont turn (from reins) etc? or do you have a video on that already?
Use your body to steer - look where you want to go with your head and slightly turn your shoulders towards the direction you want to turn. Don't use the rein to steer it's painful for the horses.
Natasha Gardner you are right, Natasha. If used properly, the bit does not hurt the horse. It’s just that pulling on the reigns to steer IS improper usage. The reigns are there to regulate the position of the head. You get a change of direction by a change of your position on the horse, use the leg and weight aids to change the direction in which the horses back end pushes both you and his or her front end.
What should you do when: 1- Horse doesn't give you any more when you ask for it 2- Horse decides additional aides means you should stop and stand (bad attititude)
On a previous video you mentioned using Elastic Bands, Would you post more information on the exercises you do? And any other trick and tips to help us that struggle with balance?Thank you.
Work on loosing weight, and strengthen your core. A 250 pound rider, if balanced is better than a 90 pound rider bouncing around on the horses back. I'm a plus sized rider, but I have good balance.
We have a horse that stops if you use a whip, but he doesnt move if we have more leg, even trainers cant get him really forward, hes only 8 and no health problems
just wondering why you ride with your hands so far apart? not saying it's wrong cause you seem to be a very competent rider, but i've always been taught to keep my hands no more than a few inches apart and right above the withers
Zora Maxfield, I believe she has her hands low and far apart as a rein cue for her horse. By holding her hands low and apart it is asking her horse to lower his head, stretch his neck and relax. When he does this he can move freely and comfortably and his back comes up instead of being hollow. There are times for hands close together at the wither too😊.
Her heels are down- they're just not forced down like you see in some riders. And they shouldn't be forced down. It shouldn't feel like you're jamming your heels and straining your ankles- that creates tension and tightness. You want your heels as far down as you feel comfortable without straining. Here's an exercise to try on your horse: try standing in the stirrups off the saddle using only your feet for balance with a slight bend in your knees to lesson the tension- no reins, no holding on, no gripping the saddle with your knees or thighs or calves. You'll notice that if you jam your heels WAY down, you'll lose your balance, your legs will come forward and you'll and fall backwards. If you point your toes, your legs will fall behind you and you'll fall forward. Your heels should be down just enough so that you feel like you're standing flat on the ground, so that if the horse were to disappear from under you, you'd land standing straight up and down, not on your back or your face. Hope that makes sense!
You're a beautiful rider and a very good teacher. Thanks for your commitment to horses, people, and their relationship.
I know it is difficult for those with physical disabilities and those with physical limitations. I also know it is hard for a person without these to help and teach these people how to improve, but I would appreciate the inclusion of these issues and how they effect your riding. It is easy to understand why you are having trouble if you are dealing with a limitation but much harder to figure out a solution that allows you to ride better and better.
Excellent video. Wish more people understood this
Your videos are extremely helpful in demonstrating the proper techniques of riding. Thank you for sharing your expertise.
Thank you for teaching so clearly how to hugely improve my riding - I have learned so much and helping my green horse to understand better...we are feeling the benefits.
This video is very timely and helpful to me. I've got a new OTTB and am working on eliminating any brace from my seat position to allow him to move forward more freely.
Looking forward to using these tools when I ride next. Thank you!
Thank you for that video. Just got to try it all now.
Very informative, I’m going to think about the cues when riding. Learning to get more round I trot and canter. Thanks Debbie
Great video, I'll try this! Thing is, I don't own a horse - I ride a school horse. Because of the many different signals, she(the horse) gets from inexperienced/beginner riders, she's a pretty hard-mouthed horse. I don't like using a whip on her, but sometimes it's the only thing that'll make her move forward. The first times I rode her she wouldn't even trot no matter how hard I tried (that was without a whip).
Even though I don't own her and only ride her once a week, I've still grown to really like her, and I feel the most comfortable riding her. I want her to feel comfortable too, so I want to ask what I can do to make her move forward without using a whip or kicking so much... I try to not kick very hard, but as a result at that, she won't go forward. Hope to find some advice :)
Not sure if you're riding the same horse but here's something to try. From a stop, squeeze her with your heels until she takes the tiniest step forward, and then STOP SQUEEZING. Then ask again- same thing- one tiny step, stop squeezing. And again and again until you barely have to squeeze anymore before she "anticipates" the tiniest leg movement and takes a step. Then you can gradually ask her to take a full step then two steps then more and more steps using the same method. Then you can work on this from walk to trot and trot to canter.
Another thing to try is the 1-2-3 method, squeeze her for 3 to 4 seconds, then kick her (not hard, just enough to bother her) for 3 to 4 times, then sharp whip while kicking. Once she moves forward (in any way- a jolt or a surge or a step or anything in between), STOP BOTHERING HER, no matter what step you were on or what part of the step! No more squeezing, kicking or whip, until she stops maintaining forward motion. Then repeat as many times as necessary til she maintains forward motion on her own. Eventually you will only have to squeeze her for barely a second before she moves more forward.
Another thing to try is to make sure your movement with her is in sync. At the walk, let yourself go almost totally elastic- let your hips and legs sway with her back and your arms pump back and forth with her head's up and down movement. As you're walking, each time your leg swings backward, put a little pressure with that lower leg- almost like if you were walking yourself and are trying to get her to keep up with you. At the trot, use your posting trot to your advantage- post higher and faster as she trots and she will keep up with you. You can use your leg a little bit when you feel it come closest to her body to put a little pressure on with your lower leg as well, but don't do that constantly- just only until she gets more forward, then just ride with a nice quick post.
This is so lovely, very helpful advice. I love all of your videos!
Thank you, these things do help a lot!
Thank you for this video!
The part I`m not sure about, is how to ask for a stretch. The horse I ride is likely to raise his head and get exited when asked for a trot or canter (which is often turning into a gallop). He has had little training and only been on trails for the past ten years and is now over 20 yrs old. So he was basically always asked to just pick up speed an nobody cared for the way he did that. But to be safe to slow him down and be able to stop him, I think he should first be more relaxed an forward downward stretching when we pick up a faster gait. He will try to get behind the bit or toss his head when too much contact is applied while his head sticks up in the air (we even checked his teeth).
How could I practice that?
PS: Love that the horse is bitless! I started riding in a rope halter with only little contact in the moment I want him to slow down, and the head tossing stopped. But he is not 100% safely stopping or braces to the opposite side when he doesn`t want to turn. Maybe he also had bad experiences with riders pulling hard on the bit before.
You have a great way of teaching by the way.
+Stefanie Grimme Once she got to the part about asking for a strtch, notice how her hands widened, leaving the horse to extend the neck longer and down more, its at the part where she was talking about reign aids
thank you this was so helpful just working on this problem at the moment just nice to no i was doing the right thing thank you
Hi not really sure what you mean by 'ask for stretching' when you are going for better quality fwd movement
awesome Callie...just what the doctor ordered Thanks
I learned a lot from this, thank you!
Callie, I love that you sometimes ride in bitless bridles and your horses go so nicely in them. What brand is the one in this video?
MrsTonySoprano It's called a side pull :)
What my horse does now is when I ask to soften, he bends his head behind the bit. I give a little bit of a nudge to bring it up, but then he swings his head up to far and is hollow. Uggg! I give release when he does put his head in a soft position and is round but it does not last long at all. It is like I am battling two things at once now. He recently discovered that lowering his head behind the bit is a way to get out of the frame I am asking for. I have even tried lifting the reins quickly to get him in frame, but the minute he gets that release, down that head goes. He is physically okay, such any dental problems, the bit fits well...he just is doing this now and it is frustrating. Thank you for all your help!
Thanks. This video helped a lot. Can't wait to ride and try these out =)
Could you do a video on horses with "hard mouths." e.i. wont stop easily off of your reins), wont turn (from reins) etc? or do you have a video on that already?
Use your body to steer - look where you want to go with your head and slightly turn your shoulders towards the direction you want to turn.
Don't use the rein to steer it's painful for the horses.
@@HarleyBreakoutGuy im sorry what 😂 if used properly a bit does not hurt
@@natashagardner5413 I use my body to steer
Natasha Gardner you are right, Natasha. If used properly, the bit does not hurt the horse. It’s just that pulling on the reigns to steer IS improper usage. The reigns are there to regulate the position of the head. You get a change of direction by a change of your position on the horse, use the leg and weight aids to change the direction in which the horses back end pushes both you and his or her front end.
What should you do when:
1- Horse doesn't give you any more when you ask for it
2- Horse decides additional aides means you should stop and stand (bad attititude)
What kind of bitless bridle are you using?
I love that you aren't using a bit. Nice.
lol
On a previous video you mentioned using Elastic Bands, Would you post more information on the exercises you do? And any other trick and tips to help us that struggle with balance?Thank you.
also could you talk about the best head position for the horse during good fwd mvmt
Love your instructions so much, any chance that I come and work for you?
Wenlong Ma antii
What shall I do to maintain balance on the horse if I am fat.?
Work on loosing weight, and strengthen your core. A 250 pound rider, if balanced is better than a 90 pound rider bouncing around on the horses back. I'm a plus sized rider, but I have good balance.
We have a horse that stops if you use a whip, but he doesnt move if we have more leg, even trainers cant get him really forward, hes only 8 and no health problems
just wondering why you ride with your hands so far apart? not saying it's wrong cause you seem to be a very competent rider, but i've always been taught to keep my hands no more than a few inches apart and right above the withers
Zora Maxfield, I believe she has her hands low and far apart as a rein cue for her horse. By holding her hands low and apart it is asking her horse to lower his head, stretch his neck and relax. When he does this he can move freely and comfortably and his back comes up instead of being hollow. There are times for hands close together at the wither too😊.
Omg. I just had two lessons. Im sure it's a great advice but I don't understand any of it.
All you say sounds right but I can see nothing from the demonstration. Item indeed me of important things though, thanks.
I'm wondering why your heels aren't down..are you a dressage Rider? Sorry, I'm new to watching you :)
Her heels are down- they're just not forced down like you see in some riders. And they shouldn't be forced down. It shouldn't feel like you're jamming your heels and straining your ankles- that creates tension and tightness. You want your heels as far down as you feel comfortable without straining. Here's an exercise to try on your horse: try standing in the stirrups off the saddle using only your feet for balance with a slight bend in your knees to lesson the tension- no reins, no holding on, no gripping the saddle with your knees or thighs or calves. You'll notice that if you jam your heels WAY down, you'll lose your balance, your legs will come forward and you'll and fall backwards. If you point your toes, your legs will fall behind you and you'll fall forward. Your heels should be down just enough so that you feel like you're standing flat on the ground, so that if the horse were to disappear from under you, you'd land standing straight up and down, not on your back or your face. Hope that makes sense!
it looks like the gestures vary from horse to horse, doesn't it?
Yu ar agli
why are you bouncing out of your seat?
She's posting....