Category: Knowledge Base
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Relaxation, Balance, Impulsion: the beginning building blocks
It’s a fail safe recipe. These three qualities (the initial Step 1 of the Training Circle) are the foundation for all we want to do with horses. Without these basics, achieving other qualities (such as in Step 2,3,4) is problematic, and true collection impossible. So, how does this circle work,…
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Opening the Poll
ON, IN FRONT OR BEHIND THE VERTICAL Often we see horses being ridden in a posture that is too ’round’, ‘curled under’ or ‘over-bent’. It may be due to lack of knowledge of how to work the horse correctly, or it can be the horse avoiding contact, trying to hide…
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More inside leg… or neck reins?
When a horse is ‘falling in’ on a circle or cutting corners, the common idea is: “more inside leg”. But often, this is not solving the problem, and can even make it worse, as horses tend to switch off to a constant nagging leg, and riders tend to ‘fall in’…
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Aligning your mind with your horse
When I watch a horse and rider for the first time, or the first time in a while, I look for what is working well – and try to acknowledge and encourage that. Then I look for what is missing: the relaxation, balance, fluidity and synchronicity in the connections and…
Classical Riding & Dressage - Susie Walker 