horse riding – Page 3 – Horse Listening

How to Loosen Your Way to A More Effective Riding Seat

seat learned — Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography

Many of us have less than adequate movement through our hips and lower backs to start with. Whether our joints, ligaments and tendons are shortened (tightened) through age, or through tension, or (over)use - or for whatever other reason - I think that more of us have tight lower backs than not. Many of us have to work hard to "loosen" through the lower back - which then translates to a more active and released core, hips, legs and even upper body.

There are some people who have wonderfully flowing backs and soft but toned abs, cores, and upper backs. So if you are one of those people who have little to no issues with following the horse's movement, please disregard the rest of this article!

On the other hand, if you bounce in the saddle, fall out of sync with your horse's movement, or otherwise feel less than balanced and effective, maybe some of the following ideas might help.

Bring Attention to the Lower Back

One of the easiest ways to isolate the lower back area is to touch it while you are riding. So, put both reins in one hand and place the back of your other hand in the small of your back. Feel the amount of movement that goes on there. Is it flowing easily with the horse's movement? Is it too tight? Could there be more movement and release?

Try this at the walk, trot and canter as it will be different at each gait. Don't be surprised if you find tension even at the walk. We often carry more tightness than we think we do.

Keep your hand over the lower back area and start playing with movement at each gait. Try some transitions and see how the energy flows (or doesn't) through your lower back in the transitions. When do you brace? Where do you flop?

Once you have a good feeling of what is actually going on, work toward moving that area more with the horse. Look for better flow, better rhythm through your own back and less bounce in the saddle (especially in the canter).

The Secrets to the Looseness

We're taught very early in our riding careers to not "arch" the lower back. There are many good reasons for this, with the most important being that your seat will not make correct contact with the saddle and the pelvis will tilt incorrectly. The other one, of course, is that we don't want to cause injury to the lower back in the first place. But there is one thing that most people don't mention about the "arch."

Many of us (*again, please disregard if this isn't you!) are so tight in our lower backs that we have lost the natural arch that should be there. So while riding, even if you feel like you are arching your back, you likely won't be arching in the way that causes a negative effect to you and/or your horse. Precisely because of your stiffness or tightness, what feels like an arch is likely more of a straightening of your lower back. So while you feel like you are in the arch moment, you are in fact only allowing your pelvis to tilt enough to actually keep position while the horse moves.

The other secret is that you must "loosen" in movement. Your supple back will allow the horse's supple back. You will be moving into and out of the arch in rhythm with the horse's movement - thereby not really holding an arch at all.

Once you have the feeling with your hand in your lower back, remove your hand and take up the other rein again. Think/feel to the lower back and keep it moving as if your hand is still there. Any time you feel the stiffness coming on, take your hand back there again and find the looseness.

What Not To Do

Finally, beware the "flop." The opposite extreme of the tight back is the jello back. If you find that you let your lower back go too much, thereby really arching too deeply, you have to hold more tension at the end of each stride so that you don't just flop into the saddle.

There is such thing as too much of a good thing!

There are many more details to developing an effective riding seat, but finding that flowing lower back is the first step.

All you really need to do is become more aware of the movement through your lower back, to know what it feels like to really allow the back to move in tandem with the horse's back, and to release enough to be able to maintain an honest three-point position in the saddle.

How do you ensure that you have a "loose" lower back when you ride your horse? Let us know in the comments below!

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

From 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.

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.

The Horse Listening Book Collection

Beautiful paperbacks with all the excellence of the blog - in your hands! Click on the image for more information.

5 Ways to Amp Up Your Warm Up in Horse Riding

It happens all the time.

Horse and rider stroll into the arena, all set to get started on their ride. You can see it from the moment they enter: the rider is walking nonchalantly to the mounting block. Her horse is even less inspired. He ambles along five steps behind her and seemingly requires coaxing, begging - maybe intimidation - to finally set up close enough to the mounting block for the rider to mount.

Once mounted, the "feel" of the ride doesn't improve. The horse continues in his lackadaisical manner. The rider is busy doing everything but riding. She adjusts her clothes, fiddles with the reins, chats with other riders or checks out the car that happens to drive by at that moment.

The one thing missing is the enthusiasm and playfulness that characterizes a useful, productive and enjoyable beginning to a ride.

****

I have to admit it - the scene above is an exaggeration. But it makes the point: we often get into a warm-up riding rut that becomes uninspiring and tediously routine. Rather than developing an essential first connection with the horse, the opposite happens. Although the rider is right there on top of the horse, there is so little going on between her and your equine partner that they might as well pack it in before they even begin!

Should you ride effectively during a warm-up?

Of course!

Here are five ideas that you can use to amp up your warm up!

*Remember to play everything by ear; if your horse needs a more gradual warm-up, start slower and then build up to the canter well into the middle of the ride. Also, give plenty of walk time right at the beginning.

1. Go for a warm-up trail ride.

Heading off for even a casual walk on the trails warms up the horse's mind and body in a way that the ring riding never can. Have a bit of fun for the first 15 to 25 minutes roaming the fields and woods, smelling the fresh air and jazzing up the horse's body. Move into a trot and maybe even a canter when the time is right, and even start playing with some of the ring exercises right out there on the trails.

Your horse will almost certainly re-enter the riding ring with a better mental attitude. Add energy to enthusiasm and you will find a calmer, softer, more limber horse ready for the following studying session.

2. Go for a canter.

Although it seems counter-intuitive, hopping off into a canter even at the get-go will give your horse more "go-go" right off the bat. You don't have to canter for long; just transition and take a few strides before heading off into a correct, ground-covering trot.

Sometimes, the horse feels tense and tight and a little over-exuberant at the beginning of a ride. A short canter helps let him know he can move when he wants to, and often reassures him in a way that stifling the energy just won't be able to.

Alternately, the sluggish horse benefits from a quick get-yer-blood-going stimulation. Just get into the canter and then evaluate. You might want to back off into a trot and let him breathe and snort. Or you might get more benefit from a longer canter series until the horse loosens up and moves more willingly.

3. Use ground poles and get creative.

One way to change the routine while warming up in the ring is to walk/trot/canter through randomly or purposely positioned ground poles. Teach the horse to pay attention to where his feet are going and provide some mental challenge as he learns to negotiate space, striding and timing. Once the horse feels fairly secure, throw in transitions coming into or out of the poles. Circle away from the pole and return back on a different angle. Go over the poles on a diagonal line. Halt coming to a pole. Canter away from a pole. Decide on a short pattern and take your horse through it several times.

4. Have some cavaletti fun.

Pull out the cavaletti if you have some (or use jump cups to lift jump poles off the ground) and get the horse to elevate his legs. Raise them to the higher height for little mini-jumps or leave them lower so the horse can go over with just a leg-lift. In both cases, a series of cavaletti can serve as a quick wake-me-up and blood circulating exercise.

5. Play from the ground.

You don't have to ride a horse during the warm-up. Playing with the horse from the ground might be just the exercise your horse wants! Alternate with either a free-lunging session or be more structured with some in-hand work. Although there most certainly is an art to groundwork, and you will notice dramatic development as your skills and ability to communicate improve, there is no harm in some trial and error.

In each of these scenarios, you will notice that your horse warms up mentally and physically toward a more focused, supple and responsive workout. Set up a more productive ride by changing things up, looking forward to new challenges, and stepping out of the round-and-round ring routine that so often becomes our pattern. Add a little creativity to the beginning of your ride and see what your horse has to say about it!

What do you do to amp up your warm-up? Let us know in the comments below.

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

Riding gives us the place to just be.

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.

Top Ten New Goals For A New Year

Looking back on 2013, did you meet some of your goals?

Goal setting is critical to any sort of development, but especially to horseback riding. It is easy to overlook personal development when you ride horses because the pure enjoyment of being with your favorite equine often outshines the sometimes more difficult process of learning.

I feel that I have personally made gains especially in the timing of my aids, my overall balance and my ability to ride the horse with more "commitment" (or engagement?) from my body. Because of those fundamental gains, I feel freer to work on skills I felt were so far beyond my reach before.

As with anything you learn, with new mastery comes new horizons to explore and new skills to develop. As we enter 2014 and the Year of the Horse in the Chinese Zodiac (beginning Jan. 31, 2014), here are the top ten areas I would like to keep developing. They are presented in order of importance.

10. Ride regularly.

9. Take more lessons/ride in clinics/audit more clinics/read more books.

8. Initiate more from the seat.

7. Build in more personal challenge. Work more regularly on higher level movements: four tempis, pirouettes, half passes.

6. Keep finding the difference between mediums and extensions.

5. Find more movement (looseness) in my upper back.

4. Keep developing a softer, more inviting contact.

3. Open more through the hip and pelvic floor so that my legs can lengthen. More yoga, anyone?

2. Keep working on developing true collection, with more energy.

1. Listen to the horse.

Do any of these goals resonate with you? What will you work on in 2014?

The Best of Horse Listening in 2013

Kayla Christmas 2013

2013 was a year of exponential growth for Horse Listening. We increased our stats from page views to readership ten times over. More importantly, we enjoyed seeing many more people contributing their thoughts and ideas about the topics being discussed through comments on the blog, on Facebook as well as Twitter.

Readers range from experts in the equine industry to experts in many other fields that have found an interest in learning more about horses. Every riding discipline is represented by people from over 130 countries around the world. Some readers show, some own horses, some ride but don't own and others would like to own. Regardless, we are all lovers of equines and want to do our best for them.

2013 was the first year that HL was eligible for the Equestrian Social Media Awards and we were ecstatic to be awarded "Finalist" (top 10) in the blog category. We received two "Versatile Blogger" awards from readers, and were featured on the "Freshly Pressed" page of WordPress.com for one of our inspirational articles.

For those of you who like numbers: we had a total of 85 718 page views at the conclusion of 2012. To date, we have just surpassed the 800 000 mark. Our average hits per day have increased from 212 in 2012 to 2 025 at the end of November 2013.

With over 60 000 page views on average per month, and new readers subscribing daily to the blog, Horse Listening is trotting into the new year with much to offer and several new projects to be announced! Keep an eye out for our first Horse Listening book, to be available early in 2014!

*****

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday and New Year. We are thrilled to be able to reach you to share ideas, thoughts and comments about horses, riding and life in general.

Here are the 2013 Top Ten Articles (ranked by page views):

10. What Being On The Forehand Means to the Horse: The idea here isn't to cause guilt and doom and gloom; instead, we should learn all we can and take steps to avoid known problems.

9. How to Halt Without Pulling on the Reins: Does your horse get offended when you pull on the reins to stop? Does he pin his ears, shake his head, and keep going? Maybe he’s trying to tell you something: stop pulling on the reins!

8. The Night Before Christmas: Although not written by myself, apparently there are many people who enjoy the beauty of the words as much as I do. Here is the this barn version of the poem written by Doris Elradi.

7. 6 Ways to Unleash the Power of Your Riding Seat: As you become more subtle in the aiding process, you will begin to discover just how powerful the seat can be in guiding the horse without disturbing and interfering in his movement.

6. Here's How (and Why) You Should Ride With Bent Elbows: Have you ever watched riders going around the ring with straight, stiff arms?

What have you noticed?

5.Top 10 Ways to Reward Your Horse: How to reward your horse while you are riding. A happy horse is a willing partner, and many horses will give everything they have if they feel your acknowledgement and generosity of spirit.

4. 20 Ways Horse Riding Becomes Life Itself: You could say that horses are our teachers. Not only do we grow in terms of physical ability, but perhaps even more so, we grow in character.

3. Why You Don't Want to Pull on the Inside Rein - and What To Do Instead: We think that by pulling on the horse from the inside, the horse must obviously turn his nose and then follow it. Right?

2. The #1 Problem of the Year: The Outside Rein! The outside rein is the most underused and poorly understood of all the aids, and here’s why.

1. Ten Habits of Competent Riders: This is our most popular post by far. What do great riders have in common that makes them appealing to watch, steadily develop their riding skills and become role models for others to aspire to emulate?

4 Steps to Help Your Horse Through A Turn

go and no — Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography

I’m sure you've seen it before – there are many situations where a horse turns too abruptly, unbalancing himself and also the rider. Most often, the rider hangs on but other times, she might be unseated, losing balance, stirrups and/or seat.

It happens when the horse turns too soon, cutting the arc of the circle so small that he has to catch himself with his front legs in order to avoid a fall. It can happen in the hunter/jumper ring especially after a jump, on a dressage 20m circle, on a reining or horsemanship pattern or on a trail that winds its way through the forest.

Regardless of the situation, there are several ways to help the horse through the turn. By being an active rider, you can:

1. Predict the lean into the turn.

2. Support before the horse loses balance.

3. Teach the horse to reach straight through the turn.

4. Release (lighten contact and follow the horse with your seat) as soon as possible.

Let's take a closer look at each step.

Predict the Lean

You know it's coming! So instead of waiting for it to happen and THEN trying to do something about it after the horse is off balance, prepare several strides ahead of time. Shorten your reins if they've become too long (but keep the bend in your elbows). Sit tall in the saddle. Use your inside leg more actively before the lean. Keep the horse's neck straight (although the head can slightly flex in the direction of the turn).

Support

Use an active seat, leg and reins to lightly carry the horse several strides past the point where he wanted to lean. Your legs and seat can act as a wall that prevents your horse's rib cage from leaning. You might need a stronger inside rein if the horse is travelling with his head and neck flexed to the outside. You might need a stronger outside rein if the horse is swinging his head to the inside. In any case, keep your horse's neck aligned with his body.

Half-halt once, twice, or several times, at the right time, in order to help rebalance the horse's weight to the hind end. For the horse that rushes, slow his leg speed. For the horse that slows down, ask for more from the hind end.

Straighten

Even though you are on a turn, the horse does not have to feel like he has to scramble through it with a tight, tense body. Break down your turn into a number of straight strides, and ask your horse to go straight longer, and turn for less strides. Imagine that your turn or circle is a hexagon, with many short straight lines attached together.

Find all the straight lines in the circle. Then ride the turn that way.

Make sure you are not leaning into the turn yourself. We often lean without even knowing it. Stay tall, stay straight with your own seat and shoulders, and follow the arc of the turn at the right moment.

Take as many strides as needed to make a better balanced, more controlled turn when you finally ask for it.

Release

Well, this doesn't mean throw the reins away. It does mean that you can stop resisting through your body and flow with the horse. You can lighten the rein contact and encourage the horse to reach forward with a bold stride or two. It also means that he can find his balance once again in preparation for the next turn or movement.

It might take many repetitions before the horse can maintain better balance. It is often more tempting to give in to gravity than to carry one's weight with strength and agility. But it can be done.

Once the horse has better understanding, you will notice that he becomes less tense as he nears a turn. You might feel that he begins to swing through the back better, become bouncier in his gait and maybe even take bolder steps with his hind legs coming further underneath the body. He might snort, soften through the poll and ears, and generally give you a feel-good message.

You will also have an easier time because you can maintain better balance and prepare for the next movement up ahead.

And the onlooker will see a horse that calmly but boldly negotiates a smooth, easy turn without fuss or scramble, appearing to be so athletic that he could turn on a dime - if he wanted to!

Do you help your horse through a turn? If so, how? Please comment below.

Buy the book for many more riding tips! 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

Riding gives us the place to just be.

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.

Horses. Riding. Life.

Tag: horse riding

How to Loosen Your Way to A More Effective Riding Seat

Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!

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

Two Upper-Body Secrets to Riding Success

Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!

The Horse Listening Book Collection

Beautiful paperbacks with all the excellence of the blog - in your hands! Click on the image for more information.

5 Ways to Amp Up Your Warm Up in Horse Riding

Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!

Horse Listening – Book 2: Forward and Round to Training Success: a beautiful paperback with all the excellence of the blog - in your hands!

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

Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!

Top Ten New Goals For A New Year

The Best of Horse Listening in 2013

4 Steps to Help Your Horse Through A Turn

Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!

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

Eight Legs Plus Two

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