Practical Horseman Practical Horseman Extra Volume 14

We ride and compete because for us there is nothing better in the world than the horse/rider connection. Yet we know it’s not always perfect. I teach many clinics for riders of all levels, and I often need to help students who are passionate about riding but whose enjoyment of their horses is compromised by a lack of confidence. I don’t have a magic formula for building rider confidence, but I have something almost as good: tools a student can use to address just about any issue she is having with her horse. My starting point is that in the competitive partnership that is your relationship with your horse, there needs to be a leader and that leader must be you. Think about it. You’re the only one in the…

“As the rider who is a student, you want to be learning with someone who makes you feel like you can do this, whatever the challenge of the moment is,” says five-star international eventer Sharon White. The teaching/training program at her Last Frontier Farm in Summit Point, West Virginia, is just such a source of encouragement and confidence. Her students’ appreciation is obvious to anyone who has ever experienced the wave of cheers from orange-clad supporters who follow Sharon around the cross-country course. Sharon’s career has been shaped by some of the greats in equestrian sport. Early on, she rode with eventing legends Bruce Davidson and Torrance Watkins. A consistent influence has been international star Jim Wofford, who continues to be a sounding board for her riding and her overall…

Q This is my first season eventing at Preliminary level and I’m learning some new techniques for getting my horse fitter. I’ve heard of several trainers who trot their horses on hard-packed dirt roads to strengthen their legs. I was always told that the concussion of trotting on roads is bad for horses’ legs. Was that an old wives’ tale? LAURA WERNER, DVM A Walking and trotting horses on firm footing is a common practice that racing, foxhunting and eventing trainers have used for years, particularly in Europe. Their reasoning is that the physical stress caused by controlled amounts of concussion stimulates the tendons and ligaments to grow stronger during a young horse’s development. Scientific studies have shown that early exercise, though not specifically on roads, is critical to tendon…