lessons/training – Page 12

Purchase Here! Horse Listening – The Book

Horse Listening - The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding is available for purchase through Amazon

*Update: Over 5 months in the top 10 list on the Amazon Kindle-Horses category! 37 5-star reviews!

What readers have said:

Excellent book! This is now my "go-to" book when I am not connecting with my horse. I totally get that it is typically rider error (me!) when I do not get the response I am expecting from my horse. It gives me a clearer picture in my head as to what body part I need to engage when asking the question. I have been waiting for a guide book such as this one to help me visualize lightness and balance in my riding. I can't put this book down! I carry it in my gear bag and even to work in my work bag so that I can reread certain segments of the book.

– East Coast Horse Lady

On the "must read" list for my students. Especially if you are a dressage oriented rider every page will hit home (or needs to!) Well worth the price of the book if you consider the cost of lessons and here you have reading that will sustain you for years. Can and needs to be read over and over.

– Sheryl Butler

Have you ever wished your horseback riding lessons could come with a user manual?

Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding focuses specifically on riding as a means of improving the horse. Based on the popular blog, HorseListening.com, the exercises and ideas are purposely handpicked to help you develop your path to becoming an effective rider, not only for your own benefit, but also for your horse's long-term well being.

Over 30 chapters on the most fundamental aspects of horseback riding have been collated according to five themes, and prepared in a tidy, all-in-one package for quick and efficient reading (or alternatively – long, thoughtful perusing of deep and meaningful concepts)!

You'll get 196 pages of information on the fundamentals of riding - terms are examined and strategies are discussed. Best of all, there are many practical, ready-to-use exercises and ideas aimed to help you improve your riding skills.

The book is divided into five sections.

Section I: The Reason is an analysis of why we are so enamored by horses. What drives us to put in the time and effort needed to rise to the challenge of becoming the best rider we can be?

Section 2: The Essentials is devoted to some of the basic riding skills that form the way we communicate with the horse. These techniques are the building blocks of future success.

Next, we look at Section 3:The Specifics - particular exercises that develop the quality of the horse's movement.

Section 4: The Solutions presents several chapters that give insight into correcting common problems. Try some of these exercises to develop good rhythm, hind end engagement and turns. A section on rein lameness analyzes something that is very common but rarely discussed. These solutions might help to put you on track toward developing your horse's highest potential.

Lastly, we pause to take a look back at Section 5: The Result of our work - what have we learned through this process? What happens when we dedicate ourselves to a regular routine of self-improvement and development of the horse?

Special feature: the In The Ring sections at the conclusion of many chapters. These sections are designed to give you suggestions on how you can take the ideas from the chapter into the riding ring. No book can ever take the place of a live teacher. However, what this book can do is give you action plans and strategies that you can take with you to your rides.

The book is thought provoking but also chock-full of useful, ring-ready practical suggestions. As with all Horse Listening material, the purpose is to help the rider improve so that the horse can benefit.

Purchase Here!

Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding is available in both digital and print (paperback) versions.

Buy the print version ONLY $24.99

Buy the digital version (supports all Kindle and iPad/iPhone readers). ONLY $9.99

Both versions of the book are available internationally. ** Additional charges (such as duty) may apply. **

PayPal/Personalized Signed copies!

Would you like your own signed copy? I can sign one and send it directly to your mailing address! Pay by PayPal.

Click here for more information.

Kathy Farrokhzad is a talented writer. She has a unique ability to write about dressage and horse training in general. The principles of dressage can seem very complicated and overwhelming. Kathy has a special gift in communicating the concepts clearly and logically without making it seem like rocket science. I love her Horse Listening Blog and the book is a must have for dressage riders or riders of any equine discipline who want to learn effective and humane riding techniques that can improve the human-equine relationship, be more effective in their cues and free a horse's potential for flowing and powerful movement.

– Barbara

Finding the Magic of the Inside Rein

Well, I have to confess that it isn't really magic at all. In fact, it's purely physiological and once learned, the results can be duplicated over and over again.

But when you "find" that feel the first few times, it really does feel like magic.

The horse's reaction might be so overwhelmingly positive that you can't believe you didn't know about it before.

So what is it?

It is all about timing.

We talked about timing of the aids in the past, and we also discussed how we should not pull on the inside rein. If you put the two concepts together, it should come as no surprise that the timing of your inside rein aid might mean everything to your horse.

When we ride a turn, our tendency is to pull the horse, however slightly, in the direction of the turn. But if you stop to break down the effect of the rein aid during the horse's movement, you might notice that about half of the time, while you pull on the rein, you are affecting the inside hind leg in a negative manner.

As it lifts off the ground, the inside hind needs to reach forward underneath the horse's center of gravity. The properly positioned leg can help balance the horse especially around a turn, but also on straight lines.

The inside rein plays into the picture when it pulls during the lifting of the hind leg stride. The rein pressure puts a stop into the energy of the hind leg as it reaches underneath the body.

Then, the horse goes off balance, even if just a little. He counters the action by tensing through the top line, shortening the stride of the inside hind leg, falling to the forehand, bracing with his neck and jaw, and/or becoming stiff through the turn. Essentially, he can't help the rider through the turn.

Try This

release moment — Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography

Some people can easily feel the horse's hind end while riding. If you can feel the inside hind as it lifts, you can lightly release the inside rein as it comes through. If you have trouble feeling the hind legs, use the front inside shoulder as a reference point.

As the shoulder starts to move back, release the rein.

As the shoulder moves forward, take up pressure.

During the rein release, squeeze your legs for a short energy burst from the hind end. This will enable the horse to reach further underneath the body as you lighten pressure in his mouth.

If you're on a turn or a circle, be sure to use your inside leg as needed to help keep the horse balanced and NOT falling to the inside. The inside leg will also be a big help in initiating and keeping the bend by getting the rib cage to move away from the leg, to the outside.

But don't let go completely.

There should always be a light "touch" on the rein. Whether you ride on a long or short rein, letting go completely or "throwing the reins" at the horse's mouth can cause the horse to fall to the forehand. So be sure to find the amount of release your horse enjoys the most.

Then when the time comes to pick up the rein again, you can pick up the rein elegantly and in a way that disrupts your horse as little as possible.

When should you take up the pressure?

If you let the inside rein go for a long period of time, the head might start turning to the outside, thereby throwing the horse off balance. You do need inside rein contact to help maintain the horse's flexion to the inside. This keeps the horse looking in the direction that he is going.

Sometimes, you also might need inside rein pressure to help with a turn, especially when the horse still isn't confidently working off the outside rein. In this case, do use the inside rein. Just remember to lighten the pressure each time the inside hind reaches forward.

What about the outside rein?

Most of the time, both reins should be working together. However, the outside rein might need to take pressure for several situations: for a turn, for a half-halt, or to support the outside leg and hip. In these cases, your outside rein might maintain steady pressure.

However, if you can stay aware of the effects of your inside rein, and give mini-releases forward in rhythm with the stride, you will likely help the horse through any movement.

The "Magic"

The results are hard to miss. Even the less experienced onlooker will notice the differences in the horse. The strides might lengthen, the back may round, the horse may travel more uphill. The horse might just flow better, with more energy and engagement, more bounce and balance.

Surely, the horse's expression will soften, he may snort and become more responsive. The stops will come easier and he will travel more boldly when asked to go.

Try this on any length of rein and with any bit. It isn't about the length or the action of the hardware, but more about the pressure. Find your horse's ideal release point and see if you can improve his way of going just through a planned, timed inside rein release.

What do you think about the inside rein release? Give this a try next time you ride and let us know how it went!

Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding

Personally signed books available! Just send me a message.

Would you like to be the rider that all horses dream of?

By following simple, useful exercises, you will be able to develop a better understanding about many topics including:

- the rider’s aids

- the use of the seat

- the half-halt

- accurate turns and circles

- transitions

- horse ownership and horse care

- goal setting for the rider

- rein lameness

… and much more!

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Two Upper-Body Secrets to Riding Success

Sometimes it is better to focus on just one or two skills than to try to fix everything all the time.

We've previously considered the importance of the riding seat in all things horseback. The seat is the source of all strength, balance and looseness. Without the seat, all other aids become postures at best and completely unusable at worst. So before all else, put your effort into your seat.

However, as your seat develops, and improvement in balance allows you to become more aware of your arms, legs, torso and weight, you can begin to put more emphasis on other areas of your body.

In typical riding lessons, we often break down positional faults into bits and pieces - inside leg/outside seat bone/outside rein/watch your head tilt/dropped shoulder/collapsed hip - and the list goes on and on. It is true that as riders, we need to become as body aware as athletes in other sports that require balance and positional outlines (such as ballet, gymnastics, skating or dancing).

But instead of critiquing each movement into a multitude of positional corrections, it is possible to simplify things to get the best out of your body, in a way that is easy to remember and perhaps even easy(-ish) to do.

There are two essential upper-body skills to learn so that you can maintain an ideal balance and support your horse in his movements to the best of your ability.

1) Position Your Core To the Direction You Want To Go

Think of your belly button area as your core. If you are going straight, your core should be straight. It should also be in line with your horse's shoulders. If your horse isn't straight underneath you, you might need to correct his position with a shoulder-fore, a straighter use of the outside rein, or some other aid that will allow your horse to align his body.

When you go to turn, open your core into the turn. We often tend to point our shoulders too far to the outside, or too far to the inside, depending on the straightness of our bodies. Know your own tendency and work to counter it.

If you know you tend to point your core to the left (regardless of direction of travel), be prepared to put in the extra work to open to the right. You might also have to reduce the "openness" when travelling left, because that direction is likely easier for you to turn into. Try not to over turn in that direction.

Now the key: keep your head, shoulders, elbows and hands aligned with your body (the hands should not have a mind of their own). Instead of letting each body part do something on their own, keep them working in coordination with each other. Become "one".

What to Avoid

- try to keep your shoulders level while you open into the turn; don't tilt into the turn like a motorcycle

- try to stay "tall"; many people have a tendency to collapse through the hip area, thereby dropping their inside shoulder as they negotiate the turn

2) Loosen Through the Lower Back

The second most important skill is to be able to loosen your lower back at will. I'm not talking about being a jelly-backed rider that flip-flops even beyond the horse's movement. But most of us ride with tight, tense lower backs and that controlled looseness takes quite a bit of practice. When your back moves less than needed, you might be restricting the horse's movements without even knowing it. The bigger your horse moves, the more your lower back needs to be able to give.

As your horse moves, your lower back loosens (momentarily in stride) to allow your lower abs to come through to the front of the saddle. This happens in both the trot and canter, although there is more movement when cantering.

If you can move with your horse, you might notice that your horse takes more confident, forward-moving strides. As you develop your strength, you can even dictate stride rhythm through the movement of your seat and lower back, alternating resistance with following.

***

By focusing on just these two aspects of riding, you should be able to fix many other smaller positional problems that depend on a supple, correctly held upper body. Remember that by keeping all the "pieces" together, you can become much clearer and more balanced to the horse.

Next time you ride, keep your upper body in mind. Try these skills and let us know how it went in the comments below.

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An Easy Way to Turn in Horseback Riding

Inside leg at the girth! Outside leg behind the girth! Shoulders to the turn! Outside rein... inside rein... lean... collapse... head!

There are so many components to a turn that sometimes we feel like we have to become a pretzel before we are finally in the correct position! There HAS to be an easier way.

Forget all the well-intentioned instructions. Although focusing on specific body parts is useful during the fine-tuning process of the riding position, it can become confusing and sometimes downright difficult during the initial learning process.

Instead of focusing on each and every body part and aid component, morph yourself into one whole. Do everything all at once, let your body respond accordingly, and simplify the aids not only for yourself but also for your horse.

Here's How

Try this off the horse.

Stand with your weight evenly balanced on both feet. Your knees and toes point straight ahead. Your hips are parallel to the front of the room and your torso is in line with your hips. Hold your forearms as if you are holding the reins, with your elbows at your sides, slightly bent into a soft "L" bend.

Turn Right

Now, turn right, but don't let your feet slide out of position. However, your toes can slightly point in the direction of the turn. The depth of the turn determines the size of the circle you ride. So, do a slight turn for a larger circle. Do a deeper turn for a smaller circle. Then take a look at what happened to your body.

Your hips (and seat bones) open to the right. Your weight will naturally be on the right (inside) seat bone. Your torso will point in the direction of the turn, and because your arms are on your sides and acting in tandem with your body, the reins will move exactly according to "textbook" requirements. The inside rein will open slightly while the outside rein will sit on the neck, creating an outside indirect, or "neck" rein.

Now take a look at your leg. The right leg will end up being positioned a little ahead of the left leg. The right knee will open and point slightly to the right. This will serve exactly as it should in saddle: right (inside) leg at the girth, and left (outside) leg behind the girth. Soft, inviting knee on the right, and firm, supporting outside leg on the left. Everything is just as it should be.

And all this happened simply because you turned your torso, from the hips up, in the direction of the turn.

Left Turn

Now try the exact same thing to the left. Feel how your left leg is now at the girth. Your outside leg is slightly behind the girth. Your left rein opens off the neck and your right rein sits on the neck.

Now Teach Your Horse

Positioning yourself while riding is one part of the overall picture. I'm sure you've seen horses run through the rider's aids - it happens all the time. Even if the rider can position herself accurately and set up her balance, it is very possible for her horse to not understand, ignore, or contradict her aids. And so it comes down to the rider to teach her horse how to respond to the body aids.

Be ready to reinforce your aids - maybe you need a stronger outside rein for a few strides. Maybe you should use your inside leg to help create a bend in your horse's body. Perhaps a half-halt is required before the turn to help balance the horse going into a circle.

What we really need most of all is practice. Position yourself into the desired turn and give it a try. Practice some more.

Make sure that your whole body gives just one message: "turn here." Then wait for your horse to respond.

Even if you don't get the desired response right away, don't worry. Be patient enough to repeat many times over, wait for your horse to do his "homework" (back in the stall or the field) and one day, it will all come together.

Do you have a method you like to use to simplify the turn aids? Comment below.

Horse Listening – Book 2: Forward and Round to Training Success

Just as with all the Horse Listening Collection Books, this book is focused on helping the rider improve for the sake of the horse. But this book goes deeper into the best training articles from the blog - horse-centered theory, strategies and ideas you can try with your own horse.

The book begins with the horse's hind end (!), considers the horse's back, moves on to rider development, and fills it all in with the fundamentals of horse riding so your horse can be:

happier in his body

happier in his "work"

better balanced all-around

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Why You Don’t Need to Force Your Heels Down in Horseback Riding

Everywhere we go, people focus on the one position fault that is easiest to identify: the heels. In general, it is perfectly obvious if the heels are up, level or down.

I know that everyone has always told you to get your heels lower. You've probably been told that you have to drop your heels so that you can have better balance and contact with your horse's side. They've said that the longer leg stabilizes your balance and gives better aids.

All over the Internet, people give good advice: "Try to get your heels lower. Then your position will be perfect."

So we grin and bear it. Despite the discomfort, we push those heels down. We grunt and groan while we try to keep the heel down through the transitions, bends, and canters. We do what we gotta do to make it look good.

Why We Shouldn't Force the Heels Down

Some of us have an easy time getting the heels down. If you are one of those people, you will wonder why the rest of us have to work so hard at it. For other people, overall body tightness plays a factor in how they can release through the legs.

When you push down, you drive tension into your leg. Invariably, the tightness in the heels cause the knees to pinch on the saddle. The knees cause tightness in the thighs and then you find your seat has an uncontrollable tendency to bounce against the horse's movement.

Aside from the effects on your body and position, you also affect the horse. The tight knees prevent the horse from moving freely and might contribute to sluggishness in the horse's movement, reluctance to swing through the back and in the long term, even gait abnormalities.

There is no way to force your heel down without causing some sort of unwanted result. The tension in your heels can transfer all the way up the leg and into your seat.

What To Do Instead

In order to get your heels down the way we see in the equitation books or by more advanced riders, you need to develop suppleness through your joints and tendons. This requires a long-term commitment to changing the way your body moves. You simply cannot force the joints and tendons to position themselves in a way that helps both you and your horse without either having natural softness in your legs, or by developing it over time off the horse's back.

There are several ways to train suppleness into your leg. Many activities can help - dancing, gymnastics, yoga - anything that helps to stretch and loosen and strengthen especially the legs.

If you are not the type to cross-train, you can work on the same thing by standing on the edge of a staircase. Hang your heel off the edge of the stair and let it lengthen so that it drops below your toes. Then stay there for a minute or so, just letting the joints and tendons learn to release in that position.

Once you are on the horse, the key is that the whole leg has to stretch - right from the hips. The hips release, the knees soften and the calves sit even closer to the horse's side. Only then will the heels stretch below the toes - all on their own. It's not good enough to just push those heels down.

When you first get the "real" stretch, it feels incredible. The leg truly becomes long and you feel like you've wrapped your legs right around the horse in a wonderful bear-hug. The hips open enough to let the legs dangle down so that the legs and seat seem to just flow effortlessly along with the horse's movements. There is less struggle to stay with the horse because you supple into the horse. The best part is that your ankles just naturally "drop"- in the sense that they couldn't possibly be anywhere other than below your toes.

There is no force, no push, no positioning. It just is.

In the Meantime...

Riding more frequently will definitely help. But remember one thing: don't force the heels.

If you ride with level heels, then ride with level heels. Although you shouldn't ride with lifted heels, be aware of the opposite extreme: the forced heels. If you do push your heels down, be cognizant of the effects on your seat. If you notice your seat perching in the saddle, or your knees pinching on the saddle, lighten up the pressure on your heels.

Know that correctly dropped heels are a product of suppleness and length in the leg. Work on changing your body, not on just the appearance of your position.

If you enjoyed this post, read more riding tips in our book, Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding

Personally signed books available! Give the best gift for the horse lover in your life (or for yourself!

). Send me a message for more information.

From the first book in the Horse Listening Collection: Horse Listening, The Book

"There are many reasons why we enjoy riding horses. Maybe one of the most appealing facets of riding is the sense of freedom: freedom from our own limitations, freedom from gravity, freedom to (literally) roam the Earth. Time stands still while we have the privilege of feeling movement from the back of our four-legged friend.

Riding gives us the place to just be.

Of course, there are other purposes too. Some of us revel in the challenge of learning the skills required to becoming a good team member of this unlikely duo. Riding is like no other sport or recreational pursuit simply because of the equine partner that must not only carry us, but also do so effortlessly and gracefully. As we develop our specific skill sets, we also grow as human beings in character, emotional maturity and mental acuity.

But there is one other motivation that drives some of us to persevere in the never-ending learning process that is horseback riding: improving the horse. As your own skills develop, you begin to realize that not only can you meet your own needs through riding, but also that you can even become an instrument of benefit for the horse."

And so begins the book that reflects the most important learning I have had in all of my riding years: that I want to be the best rider I can be for the sake of my horses.

This book is geared toward the rider:

- the rider's motivations

- the essential skills for the rider

- some specific strategies

- solutions to common problems

- and the results: the great horsey moments we get to experience

Along the way, you will find chapters that discuss everything from the seat to the leg aids to the reins, discussions on half-halts, imbalance, halts, straightness and more!

Special in this book are the "In The Ring" sections that give specific suggestions based on the preceding chapters. Take these to the barn to try with your own horse!

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Why You Must Shoulder-Fore On the Rail and How To Do It

The shoulder-fore is the like the little sibling that always plays second fiddle to the shoulder-in. But don't discount its power.

When left to themselves, most horses will travel crookedly up a line. In fact, they may also be crooked on circles.

On a straight line, they tend to lean outward toward the rail with their front end. So, if you watch a horse go up a rail from behind, you will clearly see the front end traveling on a line closer to the rail, while the hind end drifts somewhat off the rail. There might be a tendency for the horse's head and neck to point outward, away from the direction of travel. So if the horse is going right, the head and neck point left.

Sound familiar? If so, you're not alone. Most horses start life with a stronger side and a weaker side, and if left unchecked, that crookedness can maintain itself or even become more pronounced through riding. So it falls to the rider to become educated and sensitive enough to feel the crookedness - and then correct it over time. As with all other skills, if the horse is ridden in a manner that encourages suppleness and flexion, the horse will overcome the crookedness.

The rider, too, has a significant role in the process. For if the rider just follows the horse's movements, she will also be riding in a way that points her core to the wall, travelling with a crooked seat and imbalanced posture.

What is the shoulder-fore?

Although we often hear about the shoulder-in, we tend to overlook the shoulder-fore as a less worthy exercise. This is far from the truth. The shoulder-fore is easier to learn for both horse and rider and sets them on their way to becoming straighter and more supple.

The shoulder-fore is a movement that positions the horse's shoulders slightly to the inside of the hips. The way you know the horse is "in" shoulder-fore is by looking at the horse's footfalls. Simply put, the horse that has hind footsteps falling into front footsteps is straight. The horse that has the front footsteps landing slightly to the inside of the horse's hind footsteps is travelling in shoulder-fore.

The shoulder-fore requires the horse to "articulate" more with the joints in the hind end, encourages a deeper stride length, and helps the horse balance better, allowing the energy to come over the topline and release the muscles over the back. It is a movement that should be in your riding vocabulary from the beginning to the end of the ride.

How to shoulder-fore:

1. Negotiate a turn or corner in the same manner as usual. Position your body on the bend to the inside, with your seat weighted slightly to the inside, inside leg at the girth, outside leg behind the girth and rein aids following your shoulders toward the turn.

2. Then come out of the turn.

3. But keep the horse on the same mild bend, going straight on the rail.

4. Feel for the horse's shoulders. They should feel slightly off-set to the inside.

At this point, the novice horse tends to want to fall into the middle of the ring, coming off the rail. It is the job of your inside leg, seat bone and rein to keep the horse on the line. Your outside rein can also help to keep the straightness by half-halting to counter the horse's momentum toward the inside. It can also keep the neck fairly straight.

Get a friend to monitor your horse's foot falls and let you know about the angle of the horse's body. She should tell you when you have it right so that you can memorize what it feels like to have straightness in your horse's movements.

Shoulder-fore everywhere!

When you get good at it on the rail, try it off the rail. If you go straight up the ring on the quarter line, you will have enough room to your outside so that you have to really use your outside aids to help maintain the shoulder fore, but not so far that you can't use the rail as a reference point to see and feel the position of the shoulders.

Then try it on center line. It gets harder to feel the angle when there is no wall to gauge your position with. But eventually, you should be able to actually feel the angle of the horse's body regardless of whether or not you have a wall to refer to.

For more shoulder-fore fun, start up the center line with a right shoulder-fore, then as you cross X, switch to a left shoulder-fore.

Finally, give it a try on a circle. At this point, you should be able to identify the shoulder position on a bend. So when you feel that your horse is pointing his shoulders to the outside of the circle, be a responsible rider and bring those shoulders into the shoulder'fore position, even while you are travelling on a bend around the circle.

Results

See what your horse thinks about it. If you get a snort, be happy! If you get a softening of the neck and jaw to the inside, be thrilled. And if you get bouncy-bouncy, rolling gaits (do this in walk, trot and canter) and the feeling that you are spending more time in the air than on the ground, then celebrate!

For helping the horse to release tension, swing through the back, stay straight and energize is the goal of all riding!

*P.S. All the above is also equally relevant to the shoulder-in. But that can be a topic for another time.

Try the shoulder-in during your next ride and let us know how it works for you and your horse.

Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding

Personally signed books available! Just send me a message.

Would you like to be the rider that all horses dream of?

By following simple, useful exercises, you will be able to develop a better understanding about many topics including:

- the rider’s aids

- the use of the seat

- the half-halt

- accurate turns and circles

- transitions

- horse ownership and horse care

- goal setting for the rider

- rein lameness

… and much more!

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Bend: How to Drift Out on Purpose

It is true that we regularly deliberate about the evils of overusing the inside rein.

It is also true that we constantly discuss the importance of the horse responding to your outside aids and how they regulate the impulsion, speed and bend of the horse.

But there is a time that it is perfectly fine, or almost advisable, for you to allow the horse to drift to the outside.

When It's OK To Let Your Horse Drift Out

Have you ever found yourself heading into an ever-decreasing spiral after a sudden sideways step to the inside? Maybe your horse spooked momentarily and did an exit-stage-left - at which point, you fell into the turn with him and almost encouraged the turn to become a tighter-tighter circle that left you unseated and both of you confused.

Or maybe you were indicating a mild turn or heading into a corner, but your horse misinterpreted your aids into thinking that he should drop the inside shoulder and "fall in", thereby reducing the arc of the circle you were intending to follow.

Or your efforts to create an inside bend were met with a braced jaw and heavy weight on the rein.

In any case, you felt a stiffness on the inside aids. You knew that just going with the flow was not conducive to maintaining balance, but you went along because there was seemingly not much else that could be done.

The "Drift-Out"

Letting the horse escape ever so slightly to the outside might be just what you need in those moments.

Although we do go on and on about keeping strong outside rein and leg aids, a brief softening of the outside aids might be just the ticket to allow your horse to shift his weight from the inside to the outside. Use a corresponding inside leg to support the horse's rib cage, and you might find him stepping away from the inside leg, softening on the inside rein and balancing more to the outside (which would then begin to even out his balance).

If you dressage readers think that this sounds suspiciously like a leg yield, you'd be right!

The difference here is that you'd be doing a leg yield on a turn or circle, not just on a straight line.

Similar to the straight leg yield, the legs should cross and the body moves to the outside. However, in the drift-out, you might actually encourage the horse to take a deeper bend through the body. After all, you are on a turn or a circle, and a bend is necessary to allow the horse's inside hind leg to come deeper underneath the body. During a turn, the leg can support the horse's balance better and successfully counteract the force of gravity.

The Aids

It is always better to begin the aids before the horse has fully committed his weight to the inside.

1. Start with your inside leg and seat. In the rhythm of the gait, apply pressure with your leg (can be the thigh and calf) at the girth. Use your seat to push forward toward the front of the saddle.

2. Maintain or if possible, soften the pressure on the inside rein. Be sure you are not pulling back.

3. Soften (but do not completely release) the outside rein and leg aids.

4. Encourage or allow the horse to step to the outside, crossing the legs within the rhythm of the gait.

5. Do this for two to four strides. You might need to repeat this exercise several times to benefit from it. However, it is not necessary to drift out for too many steps in a row, as it is a correction and not a way of going.

Good signs

You know you're on the right track if your horse increases the depth of his bend with less effort.

He might lighten up on the inside rein. His rib cage might actually shift back in alignment with the body and certainly, the leaning pressure on your inside leg will be alleviated.

You might notice that the outside rein "fills up" with the bend of the neck and that there is a place for your outside leg to lie comfortably against.

You will probably feel the shift of the weight to the outside. Maybe your own seat will feel more evenly balanced over the center of the horse.

*****

Once you get good at drifting out, you will find a bend quicker and with less effort. You might want to explore the same idea in all the gaits, including the canter.

As with any correction, too much of a good thing might not make it great. Too much drifting out will result in the horse not responding to the outside aids, becoming crooked to the outside.

(In that case, you could try a counter-bend and drift in! The exact same principles would apply in the opposite way. But this can be a topic for another day.)

Have you ever intentionally allowed your horse to drift out? Let us know how it worked out.

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Can You Accordion Your Horse?

At our barn, we've turned the noun into a verb. We call it "accordioning" because the horse stretches out over the topline and then, a few strides later, he shortens once again. Much like an accordion, the horse expands and then compresses - over the back. In riding terms, we call it longitudinal flexion.

Starting from an uphill working trot outline, the horse responds to forward-urging aids and a longer rein by lengthening the back muscles. He reaches forward and down into roundness, loosening over the topline and striding deep underneath the body with the hind legs.

Then, a few steps later, the horse transitions back to the uphill outline. The reins shorten while the body shortens and rebalances up and back. The horse resumes the regular working trot.

stretchy walk — Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography

The Benefits

While the horse is stretching, the muscles loosen to allow for tension to dissipate. Then, when the horse comes back up, the body is more supple, the gait springier. The trick now is to keep the suppleness that was developed through the stretch.

The change of body position and balance encourages the horse to step under with the hind legs, aiding in the development of collection and hind end engagement.

The joints in the hind end "articulate" better - that is, they show more bend and flexion within each stride. This increase in energy translates into increased impulsion, which you might feel through more bounce, more air time, a rounder back, and a lighter front end. You might even encourage the horse to expel a heart-felt snort!

Done repeatedly, the horse learns to loosen at will. Later, the deep stretch may not be necessary. Once the horse has learned to accordion effectively, the results become apparent even with a small stretch and rebalance.

How to Accordion

The first step to an effective accordion is the stretch.

Tightness - in the neck, the base of the neck, in front of the withers, and behind the withers - blocks the horse's energy. Tension develops and the tightness over the horse's topline becomes visible through short strides, rushing, dullness or lack of response, and more.

Whether in walk. trot or canter, a well-established stretch over the back is the action that releases the topline. Take contact with the bit, use seat and legs to encourage impulsion, and slowly let the reins out as the horse takes up the slack. The key is that the horse should lower the neck and "chew" the reins from your hands, filling the space given by the reins.

Avoid losing complete contact, but continue to allow the rein length as long as the horse keeps reaching for the bit. Take a few strides in this manner.

Ask for a little more impulsion and now begin to shorten the reins. At this point, you might need several half-halts to help bring the horse up again, through roundness. Be careful to not just pull on the horse's mouth - this will cause discomfort and tension all over again.

Once the horse has rebalanced to a regular uphill outline, start all over again!

In the end, the horse that can accordion easily and effectively learns to travel with a more supple topline. The process can teach the horse how to release tension in the muscles and become more forward and engaged in movement.

Have you used this exercise in the past? Let us know how it has worked out for you.

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Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – Book 4: 20-Minute Exercises To Add Variety To Your Riding Routine

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Why You Don’t Need to Panic When Your Horse ‘Falls Apart’: Even if you are not thinking “panic”, your body might be communicating it by either being completely passive or too reactive after the horse is off balance.

Find the Space Between the Give and Take in Horse Riding: As with so many other things in life, we need to find the happy medium.

Why A Release Is Not A Let Go in Horseback Riding: Many people interpret the term ‘Release’ literally – but that’s not what really means.

‘Go and No’: The Connection Between Forward and Half-Halt in Horse Riding: How to develop the two seemingly opposite aids.

Interpreting the Half-Halt: This topic is a tricky one but here is a shot at it.

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Can You Accordion Your Horse?

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