A riding arena is often considered to be essential for serious riders, riders training young horses, and for those preparing for horse show competitions- but not everyone has access to an arena. While training a horse without an arena can be a challenge, with a bit of creativity, you can successfully ride, train, and prepare …
Most horses have four main gaits: the walk, the trot, the canter (called a lope in Western riding), and the gallop. Within these gaits, horses have a huge variance- horses can be taught to trot or even lope as slow as other horses walk! The speed of each gait depends on many factors. Just like …
Learning to sit the trot is something western rider must learn, and something most dressage riders dread! It’s the most difficult gait for most horseback riders to learn to ride, but our sitting trot tips are here to help. Below you’ll find a few easy exercises I picked up during training, competing, and teaching dressage …
When people use the word saddle sores they might mean two different things: either sores that develop on riders due to sensitive skin being irritated during riding or sores that develop on a horse’s body underneath the saddle. What are saddle sores and how do riders get them? Minor saddle sores are part of …
The diagram below provides an important tip for equitation classes that many beginners learn the hard way – by performing the pattern incorrectly in the show ring. As this diagram shows, to correctly execute a figure 8 in an equitation class at a horse show, it is important to not ride the pattern in …
The canter can be a hard gait to learn, and the speed that accompanies the gait can bring anxiety for many beginning riders. In this article, we’ll talk about: cuing your horse to canter relaxing as you transition into the canter sitting correctly in the saddle so you feel secure and connected how to know …