Haunches-in (or travers) is the most advanced way to teach your horse inside bend. For a correct haunches-in, your horse must move with his front legs and shoulders on the track and his haunches off the track. It isn’t...
The yearling longeline class provides a showcase for up-and-coming English and western pleasure horses and an opportunity for the owners of these young horses to participate in horse show events. In order to compete successfully, these immature horses must...
"I don't just do it for the money," chuckles Mike Flarida, a top National Reining Horse Association competitor. Flarida says that the money is nice, but it's just the icing on the cake. "I truly enjoy riding the horses." Red-Hot Sport
Why...
You ride into the arena and look around you, taking in all the beautiful western pleasure horses groomed and saddled to perfection. Suddenly, you see yourself in the reflection of the arena windows. You are sitting on your beautiful...
Jenny knew she was pretty lucky to be able to school her young chestnut gelding during the winter months in a warm covered arena. "Good thing, too," she muttered to Finnegan as she swung into her well-broken-in close-contact saddle....
They are among the flashiest horses in the flashiest classes — the American Saddlebred horses in the three- and five-gaited events. Like barely controlled dynamos, they charge around the ring with high knee action, willowy necks and proudly held...
Stiffness in the saddle is one of the biggest hidden handicaps to good riding — not the obvious stiffness that shows itself through muscular pains in the neck, arms or legs, but rather an underlying tension that...
A smooth, seamless walk-to-lope transition isn't just a must in the show pen. A horse that can easily strike off without throwing his head up and lunging into the gait, or breaking first into a trot, provides a more balanced,...
Once upon a time Sparky was one fired-up horse. Responsive, alert, ready to do what his owner asked. Now, Sparky acts more like a fouled spark plug sluggish, unresponsive and hard to get going.Then there's Garfield, who was never...
