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Here and there you'll run across a Total Dressage Masochist--a nose to the grind stone sort of rider whose horse's hooves will dig deep and perfect 20 meter ruts in her arena. More often among recreational riders there's a tendency to practice the stuff
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Yesterday's Gone My student says to me, "I'm so frustrated. He was really good over the weekend– light both days, doing nice changes, and even some pirouette steps." And I certainly believe her. I gently remind her of Kyra Kyrklund's observation about
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The line where collection begins is a blurry one. It's further complicated because too many of us who try to produce it don't quite know how to, and for mercenary reasons some horses are rushed into tests which require collection before they have the strength or
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Owning a sound horse is a blessing that many horse owners have but do not appreciate, until the horse is lame. There are many reasons why a horse may become lame (limp), such as arthritis, wounds, disease, foot problems, sprained /strained tendons &ligaments, and even broken bones. This month’
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Not For Me I'd been riding this horse for awhile.......... and I found him............ terrifying.It was a little odd because he never spooked....... never bucked......... I'd never fallen off of him. The fact that he didn't spook, buck or ditch me would all
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Tabula Rasa Before Michelangelo began his masterpiece he had—pardon the expression—a pristine chapel. That’s how I look at a perfectly groomed arena that’s untrodden by horse or human. It calls to me on a bright morning and says “Don’t deface me with thoughtless, pointless wanderings!
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"Pick the right patterns, execute them correctly and they will school the horse." That was Major Lindgren's message to us back in the day, and a dictum we followed faithfully as we wrote out lesson plans to practice-teach demo riders at the Instructors Seminars. One benefit
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It may come as no giant surprise that what something feels like and what it looks like are often not the same. That’s why we have video, why we have mirrors, and why we have frustrated instructors who can’t figure out why their students won’t do as
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Deer in the Headlights Have you ever wondered how it is that you know how to do something.........Maybe it's something you've known how to do for YEARS.............and in certain circumstances.............no matter how well prepared you are.............you revert to Tweedle Dee or Tweedle
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Wrong! When you think about it, there aren't many sports in which "cheating" isn't de rigueur— not just expected but accepted and intrinsic to the way the game is played. In baseball it's the phantom tag at second base on the double-play.
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For most of us life is dictated by routines. They provide structure and order which can translate to comfort. Or, if unchallenged, they can bury you in a rut. Years ago at my first teaching job my rut took me on the two mile drive from home to barn and
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One Year Later... This weekend is Nick's one year anniversary of actual work. Possibly the only year in his almost 20 years, that anything has really been asked of him since his very brief stint as a race horse in 1997. He's taken it all in
