In this excerpt from “Ride Better with Christoph Hess,” FEI ‘I’ judge in dressage in eventing, Christoph Hess explains our responsibility as riders when it comes to certain kinds of lameness.
In this excerpt from her book Training and Riding with Cones and Poles, trainer Sigrid Schöpe teaches us how voltes over zigzag poles can improve the use of your horse’s inside hind leg.
In this excerpt from his book Two Brains, One Aim, former international eventer and popular clinician Eric Smiley explains how horses learn and asks whether how we warm up supports or thwarts what we’re trying to teach them.
In this excerpt from Dressage for No Country by renowned classical trainer and author Paul Belasik, he considers the history of bias in the sport of dressage.
In this excerpt from Many Brave Fools, the new memoir about addiction, codependency, and horses by Susan Conley, we are reminded how hard it can be to find and understand feel and contact, especially when your first riding lesson happens at the age of forty-two.
In this excerpt from The Dressage Horse Manifesto, dressage trainer and founder of Horses Without Humans Rescue Yvonne Barteau gives us definitions for what are often confusing dressage terms—straight from the horse’s mouth.
How does one achieve ideal posture on horseback? By practicing — on the ground! This excerpt from The Dressage Seat by Anja Beran details a great standing exercise.
In this excerpt from When Two Spines Align: Dressage Dynamics, Dressage Today Technical Editor Beth Baumert explains how good contact really involves the horse “bouncing off” the bit at every stride.
“Oliveira’s teaching was minimal and personally given. Watching was the only way for me to absorb all I craved to know… watching him over and over again.” Dominique Barbier shares a scene from an early morning watching the master in this excerpt from Riding With Oliveira.
“I’ve got time! I’d like to shout this out to every rider who suddenly runs into problems and can’t come to an agreement with his or her horse.” This excerpt from Dr. Gerd Heuschmann’s Tug of War explores the concept.
“To most of us, a lame horse is a horse in pain. While this is true in the majority of cases, gait abnormalities can also be generated by issues that don’t hurt.” Dr. Bob Grisel explains in this excerpt from Equine Lameness For the Layman.
In this excerpt from the book Long-Reining with Double Dan Horsemanship, renowned entertainers and clinicians Dan James and Dan Steers explain one of the first steps in making long-reining a fundamental part of your training program.
In this excerpt from ‘The Riding Doctor,’ Dr. Beth Glosten talks frankly about how, in order to avoid pain, injury, and lack of riding progress, the shape of the horse needs to suit the rider’s own body.
In this excerpt from the book Good Horse, Bad Habits, horsewoman and lifelong rancher Heather Smith-Thomas explains how to deal with that common problem: treating your horse’s eye injury.
In this excerpt from her new book Horses in Translation, equine behavior specialist Sharon Wilsie follows up the techniques she taught in her international bestseller Horse Speak, explaining how we can learn what our horses are saying to us, as well as how to “talk back” in their language.
Riding with feel is a skill that develops with time in the saddle — but there are exercises that can help you learn faster, such as this one reprinted from from ’50 Best Arena Exercises and Patterns.’
“If you interact with a horse, you have a responsibility toward him.” Christoph Hess, FEI “I” Judge in both dressage and eventing, explains this statement in an excerpt from his book Ride Better With Christoph Hess, reprinted here.
There are a ton of factors that can influence the appearance of a horse’s coat color in his lifetime — even though his genes never change. This excerpt from Vera Kurskaya’s ‘Horse Color Explored’ explains.
Emotional energy can have a big effect on how you ride. Linda Tellington-Jones elaborates in this excerpt from her book Dressage With Mind, Body & Soul.
To the horse, his actions are neither good nor bad — just a response to circumstances. How does that change the conversation about respect? Mark Rashid discusses in this excerpt from his book Find the Missed Path: The Art of Restarting Horses.
Is everything we think we know about horses wrong? Researchers Francesco De Giorgio and José De Giorgio-Schoorl believe there may be a better way: read an excerpt from their book ‘Equus Lost?’.
