It presents step by-step training programs and showing advice from recognized experts in hunters, jumpers, equitation, dressage, and eventing, along with money- and time-saving ideas on health care and stable management.
I’m addicted to coaching. I read books about coaching, and when I watch professional sports, I’m focused on what the coaches are doing to lead their teams. Do they need to get after their players a bit and motivate them or do they need to make them believe in themselves more? I wouldn’t want to play for someone who dictated, screamed and made me feel I wasn’t good enough. Understanding the qualities of a good coach is the first step to being able to coach your horse well. The second step is knowing your horse. Those two abilities work for you as a rider to optimize your horse’s chance for success. Skills of a Great Coach The ideal coach: ... is a great motivator ... makes his athlete believe he…
Riders often get too addicted to the aids on the inside of the horse in shoulder-in and in other movements, too. Riders think about how the inside rein feels and if the horse is bent around the inside leg, but while they’re feeling that bend, they’re too often ignoring the opposing side. The inside is only 50 percent. The shoulder-in has no chance if the horse is soft on the inside but flat and dull on the outside. If the horse is dull on the outside rein, he is leaning on it and there is no longer a connection. The horse needs to feel as alive on the outside as he does on the inside, so riding the corner or circle correctly before any movement is critical. Without help from…
In my mind, horses learn a movement such as shoulder-in through a progression of three phases, and the more you understand your horse in these three phases, the better you understand him: Phase 1—The Experiment. In Phase 1 of the horse’s learning a movement, it is an experiment—a new experience. At this point, you’re doing a little research to see how your horse responds. The horse is seeing what the shoulder-in is like, and you’re observing how your horse manages his new challenge. Phase 2—It is Understood and Mature. The movement becomes understood and mature gradually. During this phase, you don’t want to give your horse a lot of options that would be frustrating and confusing to him. He needs to have a clear understanding of exactly what shoulder-in is.…
In my role as an independent equine nutritionist, I work with a lot of equine dressage athletes. For the most part, these horses are fairly straightforward in terms of their nutritional needs. However, there are three common problems that I have observed: insufficient trace minerals, inadequate vitamin E and a lack of quality protein. Signs of inadequate vitamin E supply include muscle soreness, stiffness and slower-than-expected recovery after work. Many dressage horses are relatively easy keepers, able to maintain their desired body weight with little more than quality hay. As a result, owners often feed minimal amounts of fortified commercial feeds. As these horses are used for competitive goals, the products selected tend to be performance feeds. On the surface this appears to make sense. However, these feeds typically have…
