Riding the flat and running walk on a Walking Horse is like floating through air—it’s the ultimate ride,” says performance horse trainer Wendy Said, who has trained pleasure (flat shod) Tennessee Walking Horses, among other breeds, in Southern California...
Did you know that the word "dressage” comes from a French word that means "to train”? Every time you sit on a horse and school him on the flat, you are doing dressage. Doing flatwork may seem boring at...
Practice makes perfect, right? Yes, but if your speed event practice consists of running a pattern over and over again, all that hard work could backfire. Horses that run a barrel or pole pattern for practice begin to think...
For many riders the days of learning to post the trot are relics of the past. The hours spent listening to our instructors shouting "up down, up down" (as if that made it any easier) are over. Our time...
You can't expect to adequately control a horse, especially an energetic horse, if you are longeing in a loose halter. If you do longe in a halter, it must have a very close fit and not be able to...
When schooling, the majority of western riders focus their attention on establishing consistently slow and steady gaits, which are essential for competition in many western events. However, there is a downside to reducing a horse's speed—he can lose the...
A good equitation rider will always stand out by creating the impression that horse and rider are one, riding effortlessly and effectively so that it appears he or she could just as easily be sitting up there having a...
When purchasing a horse or choosing one to ride, we tend to be smitten by a horse's appearance and abilities. Unfortunately, we often neglect to consider the horse's basic temperament. If that doesn't complement our own riding capabilities and...
One of the things that draws us to horses is their beauty. In halter classes, this attribute is center stage. Both grooming and health care play a role in creating an eye-pleasing picture.The single best thing you can...
It's amazing that horses agree to our strange requests—and this includes wearing a flashing Rudolph nose and reindeer ears at Christmas. But every now and then horses draw the line at some sort of human behavior. Baths often fit...
