ARTICLES

A horse is a horse, very intelligent, but he is still a horse. And horses are hierarchical—that is, the way the herd is structured means that there is always a leader, and the lower-ranked horses expect that leader to lead. As a rider, you are the leader in your herd of two ...

About Ground Work

There are many different ideas about ground work. There are the horse whisperers who use body language and eye contact. Closely related are the round-penners who believe that horses are afraid of humans because we are predators and the horse is prey, and then they chase the horse around in circles until he gives up. Others see ground work as lunging the horse until he’s tired before getting on and riding. Rarely will dressage people use ground work, even though the word ‘dressage’ literally means ‘training’ ...

Dressage: brutality or finesse?

There is a strange paradox in the world of dressage — theoretically an art, with an emphasis on beauty of form and movement, but in practice an activity that often involves tension, force and harshness. One of the worst abuses is forcing the horse's head to stay behind the vertical ...

What is Classical?

Classical riding is called ‘Classical’ because it has stood the the test of time and because it promotes a system of instruction. It has evolved initially from the works of Xenophon (400 BC), and re-appeared in the Renaissance in reaction against the cruelties that had been practised in the intervening years. François Robichon de la Guérinière was probably the first person to ...

Teach your horse anything

The best way to make sure your horse is calm, attentive and responsive is to teach him to love learning things, and he will do that best if he understands what we want.

Many people say that we have to learn the horse’s language. While this is right, it isn’t enough. We also need to teach the horse our language. Then we can have a real two-way communication.

Altruism and Epiphanies – a day in the life of a nervous wreck

On Sunday morning, the morning of the day I had been dreading for the previous four weeks, I found myself driving to a competition. It was a stunning late winter day, I was driving through sensational landscapes right beside the Hawkesbury River. My darling horse was on the float – the horse I’d bred almost 7 years earlier. And I was terrified ...

The secret of inspired training

All top trainers use this to some degree, some more than others, but the very best trainers, whether they are in racing, eventing, dressage, jumping or pleasure riding, will apply it all the time, with every horse.

And yet, if you asked them, many would probably not be able to verbalise exactly what it is that is so important.

Some thoughts on lightness

Lightness is not something that riders hope to eventually arrive at, but a practice to be employed at all stages, by all riders, regardless of their expertise. Lightness is first and foremost the absence of force or fear. It requires the minimal use of hands and legs, with contact that is not strong, but firm enough to facilitate communication.

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