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Guest Blog post # 95: "Situation Critical" by Bill Woods
Does this sound like you? A woman came to my clinic with a fancy but difficult horse whom she had recently acquired. The horse was a schoolmaster and knew lots of tricks, but he had been ridden the last few years only in a double bridle. His poll was very
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Guest Blog post # 94: "Seeing Into the Future (A Few Strides)" by Bill Woods
Recently beyond the "how" I discussed why you should ride accurate arena figures. If you’re having a problem of execution, preplanning and visualization can help. Try to compose a mental video tape (as though shot from the saddle) of what you’re attempting to do. The tape
Educational Discussions
Discussion # 157: How would you ride this cross country complex?
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Guest Blog post # 93: "Convincing (UN)" by Bill Woods
"I’m so glad when my horse acts up because then I have something to do with her." A clinic rider said these very words to me. When I had stopped shuddering and my heart rate had returned to normal, we had lots to talk about. Her comment
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Guest Blog post # 92: "Responsible S’il Vous Plait" by Bill Woods
"I’m going to supple her a minute." That’s what a student announced to me as she was riding. Because I have a kind and generous soul and always display good temper, I did not act incredulous that she should seek permission to do something that riders
Photos
Photo # 77: This is Samantha!
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Guest Blog post # 91: "Roamin Empires - Sad!" by Bill Woods
A new student in her first lesson with me was making all sorts of freeform ring figures. A requested circle she translated as a randomly placed oval. A volte from the track came out like an egg of indeterminate size. When I began to explain about the arena’s dimensions
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Guest Blog post # 90: "Fancy But...." by Bill Woods
As I look back on the hundreds of blog posts I have written, one recurring theme is the need to be clear and definite in the way you communicate with your horse . . . not to be passive, to be the Alpha, not just to ask but to be sure your horse
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Guest Blog post # 89: "> or < ?" by Bill Woods
Sitting with Major Lindgren at the Aachen show in Germany one day he jocularly observed that international judges only needed to know four words – “more,” “less,” “faster,” and “slower” to accomplish their task. Of course that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it brings to mind a very interesting
Tip/Quote of the Day # 1444
"School figures should not be regarded as an end in themselves but rather as a stage in a particular aim, that of control of the horse. Initially, they will be practiced in the school but an early opportunity should be taken to perform them outside so that the rider
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Guest Blog post # 88: "Trainer Relationships: Caustic or Constructive?" by Bill Kraatz
Trainer Relationships: Caustic or Constructive? I read two completely separate posts on social media this morning. They couldn’t have been more opposite! Post One: From a well-established Eventing trainer who was at an Event this past weekend and was lamenting the fact that she heard two different “trainers” screaming