Horsemanship | Ride Magazine

Balance Rider For General Physical Fitness ~ Part One

by J. L. Hardesty | | Riding from your Core

We are often asked if the Balance Rider is only for equestrians, or if it has value for people who don’t ride horses. So we’re going to take a little side trip before going on with our explanations/definitions of balance, core strength and proprioception.

Essential facts: Good balance, core strength and proprioception are the basis for healthy/successful performance in any physical activity, from walking to pole-vaulting, from rowing a boat to swimming the English Channel.

The Importance Of Communication With Your Horse And Trainer

by Charles Wilhelm | | Charles Wilhelm, Horse Training

In communication with your horse, one of the first things to understand is that the horse thinks...

Trail Training: Who Wants to be “Leader of the Pack?”

by Lynn Palm | | Horse Training, Lynn Palm, Trail

We have previously discussed important steps to prepare for training on the trail, including reading the horse to recognize his inner energy level and working with him to release it, preparing the rider through warm up and stretching exercises, and building safety and confidence out on the trail.

The Importance Of A Solid Forward Cue

by Charles Wilhelm | | Charles Wilhelm, Horse Training

I believe that the forward cue is the most misunderstood and misused of the riding cues. It is often ignored or simply unrecognized by riders as being a vital component of communication with a horse.

A Horse’s Sense of Fairness

by Julie Goodnight | | Horse Training, Julie Goodnight

Notes From Julie “Does my horse have a sense of fairness?” Recently, one of my Interactive...

Top 3 Saddle-Fit Pains

by Julie Goodnight | | Horse Training, Julie Goodnight

Notes From Julie At each of my clinics, my attention first turns to the horses’ tack to...

Building Confidence In The Saddle ~ Part Two

by J. L. Hardesty | | Riding from your Core

Comfort and confidence rely on balance . . . and balance relies largely on core strength.

In this series focusing on RIDER confidence, we’ll cover a number of ways to develop this fundamentally important attribute.

From this rider/writer’s perspective, the most essential physical attributes of the confident equestrian are:

Balance And Collection

by Charles Wilhelm | | Charles Wilhelm, Horse Training

We often hear the words “balance” and “collection” along with a variety of methods of achieving...

Trial Training: Safety and Confidence on the Trail

by Lynn Palm | | Horse Training, Lynn Palm, Trail

In previous articles we have reviewed important steps to prepare for training on the trail, including reading the horse to recognize his inner energy level and working with him to release it. We have discussed preparing the rider through warm up and stretching exercises. Now we are ready to go out on the trail!

Training Outside the Box: Readying the Rider

by Lynn Palm | | Horse Training, Lynn Palm

This is a continuation of our series on “training outside the box.” We have reviewed important steps to prepare for training on the trail. In the last article you learned to recognize if a horse has inner energy and playfulness and how to release it through forced exercise like longeing.