Four years ago, I published my first blog post on Horse Listening. At that time, you wouldn't have been able to convince me that in a few short years, I'd be publishing digital and paperback books, communicating with horse lovers from all over the world, and thinking of expanding my skills yet again to provide the best information and guidance I can using some of the newest cutting-edge technologies the Internet has to offer. I've recently begun to tinker with Periscope as a live-streaming opportunity to further communicate with you in video format. 

In 2015, I published over 60 posts, received 213 comments and had over 1,100,000 page views. At year-end, we are getting close to having 10,000 Facebook likes, 2828 Twitter followers, and over 5,500 subscribers on the blog. I continued to provide a monthly column for The Rider, the premier horse industry newspaper in Ontario, Canada.

I'm proud to have published my third Horse Listening compilation book recently, called Horse Listening Book 3: Horses. Riding. Life.  I also put together the first ever multi-month calendar for 2016.

But none of these accomplishments mean anything without you, dear reader, who keeps me motivated, inspired and interested in continuing to share ideas, concepts and love for the horse. I cannot thank you enough for your continued readership, your comments, shares and likes. I love the interactions I've had with so many people, the exchange of information on the blog comments or on Facebook or Twitter, and the feedback that helps to guide me in new directions. 

Although I'm currently looking forward to more of the same in 2016, I'm also looking into different ways I can use the blog to provide support and guidance for those who are interested in more than just the information that can be found on the blog. If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact me personally at fwdnrnd@gmail.com

Meanwhile, here are the top 10 blog posts of the year for you to enjoy. Wishing you all the best over the New Year and health, happiness and horses in 2016.

Kathy

#10

5 Ways To "Relax" While Riding A Horse: Looking relaxed on a horse can be a difficult and often lengthy process of developing your riding skills to the point of maintaining good basic equitation. Here's how to Magic Carpetfind the medium between tension and blob!

 

 

#9
17 Things I Learned While Developing My Riding Seat
seat learned: Like many other things related to horses, there is no end to the levels you can get to, especially when it comes to riding with the seat. Here's what I've learned so far.

 

 

 

#8

What To Do When Your Horse Pulls: “Pulling” is something that is absolutely under your control agivend something you can change if you focus on your aids and timing.

 

 

#7

stretchHow To Stretch Your Horse Over The Topline: Here are the aids to develop a functional (or effective) stretch over the topline. The stretch is most useful for encouraging the horse to release the muscles especially over the back and under the saddle.

 

 

 

#6

The Top 8 Biggest Riding Mistakes: Making mistakes isn’t always a bad thing. It’s quite natural to make mistakes while we learn new skills, and often, they send us onto more appropriate paths. However, in horseback riding, there are mistakes and then – there are Mistakes.

#5rein pressure 1

Try This Exercise To Improve Your Rein Contact: If you can learn to give and take the bit in a calm, sure way, the horse will always benefit. It doesn’t matter if you ride in a snaffle bit, a curb bit or riding bitless – the technique works the same way on all reins and on all rein lengths.

 

#4

Keep Riding10 Ways To Spot A Horse Person: Here's how you can spot a horse person from ten miles away!

 

 

 

 

#3canter long

The Benefits Of Cantering Round And Round The Ring:  Although we often ride the three-beat gait during any given ride, chances are that you’re in and out of it in less than a minute. Because even just one minute of consistent canter seems like an awfully long time when you aren’t used to it!

 

#2

comfort6 Ways To Know Your Horse Is Comfortable: Is your horse really comfortable while you ride? If you listen carefully enough, he will tell you using his own form of communication.

 

 

 

#1

The One Answer To Most Riding Problems: There is one solution that will improve if not completely resolve the issue – whether it be straightness, slowness, speed, or any of the other problems listed below. Click on the image to see a mind map of behaviors that can be improved using one back-to-basics technique, in any discipline and riding style.

Riding_Problems (1)