Do You Know How to Establish Clear Communication with Your Horse? Video with Callie Klein
Are you and your horse speaking a common language? Do you know what your horse is really trying to express through his behaviors?
What is the Benefit of Liberty Longeing for Your Horse (and You)? Video with Callie Klein
How connected is your horse really?
Just take off the reins and halter and you will find out! I like to do some circles at liberty before I ride sometimes; it's a great way to know how your horse really feels!
Stepping Under – A Lesson in Straightness Training for Your Horse: Video with Callie Klein
Three key components of Straightness Training include the Lateral Bend, Forward Down, and Stepping Under. Stepping Under helps improve the horse's biomechanics and leads to improved horse and rider harmony.
How to Bridle Your Horse with Ease: Video with Callie Klein
Respect, partnership, and ease.
These fundamentals of communication will help you in all you do with your horse and they will go a long way in helping you to confidently put a bridle on your horse.
How to Train Your Foal to Load into a Trailer with Ease: Video with Callie Klein
With early training of consistent pressure and release, any foal can learn to load in a trailer with ease and confidence.
The Importance of a Pre-Ride Check with Your Horse: Video with Callie Klein
Doing a Pre-Ride Check with your horse is always a good idea so why not take the line off and see how your horse really feels about being with you. A few circles engaging the horse's active mind will get you connected for a great ride!
Does Your Horse Have Safe Manners? Video with Callie Klein
Simple test is to observe his behavior when entering and exiting the stall, or any gate!
Online Horse Training and Riding Education
I subscribe to several online horse training and riding education websites. It’s an amazing way to educate myself about horses in the comfort of my home. Plus I get to listen to and watch amazing Internationally-recognized Trainers and Judges while they teach their students. I’ve been a subscriber of few professionals for many years and am always learning new and wonderful things. It’s not only dressage but there’s a myriad of different trainers from all over the world. The most important thing to me is to see the riders and horses improve their horseback riding abilities at all levels. And it’s cool to see the Horse respond to the riders and different trainers.
It’s interesting to watch how the trainers teach. One of my favorite instructors and who has a few nice videos is Mary Wanless, author of Ride with Your Mind , who has a lot of fun ideas and pictures and concepts she uses when she teach her students, like boingy balls.
Another new trainer I’ve found and love is Suzanne Von Dietze, and I just ordered her DVD and book, Balance in Movement. I really like her training also and hear such amazing feedback from the students she teaches. I noticed she uses the same exercises and routines I have used in my horseback riding lessons, so that confirmed we are doing great things. This gal is a physical therapist from Germany and has ridden to Grand Prix – she offers some great ways to improve posture, strength in the back while riding, and helping the horse with his straightness.
I’ve noticed a difference between those trainers who are teaching the body to ride better, and getting a great result from the horses, and those trainers who tell the rider what to do with the horse and leave it up to the rider to figure out how. One of my associates said “Some trainers teach you WHAT to do, other trainers teach you HOW to do it!”
I would say that I’m a trainer that teaches you WHAT, HOW, and WHY to do the things I ask. I tend to be big on theory and philosophy, which is why Natural Horsemanship really interests me, and I focus on the WHAT and HOW through my training in dressage. It’s so much fun! How lucky am I to have learned and get to teach all these wonderful things.
Keep it Interesting for Your Horse!
Walk Through Horses, Make Them Move Like The Alpha Does!
Today I was cleaning the grass turnout and my lesson-horse, Trixie, was really interested in joining me! It was kind of interesting because as I was returning to the main arena, Trixie just stood there in front of me! She’s the herd-alpha, by the way! I asked her to move and she just stood there – whew, a little dominance move on her part! So, I asked her to move again by touching her shoulders and neck area with my savvy string (Zone 2 in Parelli-language). Then, she yielded her forehand, stepped sideways with her front feet, backed up, and moved over for me! Yes, Trixie needed to move out of my way. It’s much more savvy to have your horse move out of your way than for you to walk around your horse!
I learned from a natural horseman, years back, that when you want to go somewhere and the horse is standing in the way, it’s imperative to cause them to yield to you, meaning move, no matter how small it seems. Horses Always move out of the way for the alpha! If I want to go to the water tank, I just go there, and if there’s a horse in the way, it needs to just move over. Too many times we walk around our horses and give them the right-of-way! Oops! Important! This is another way to build leadership and healthy authority with our horses!
Stay cool!