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January 2009 - Tips of the Week

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Friday, January 16, 2009 9:00 AM

The Different Phases of Driving

by Lisa

Dressage is probably the biggest challenge that drivers face. It is the hardest discipline for combined driving. But once you master that the rest is easy. In driving, I feel that there are many people in the sport for the fun of the marathon. I would have been included on that until I started to learn more and more about dressage and how important it is for all the other phases of combined driving. If you can somewhat master the dressage, marathon and cones are easy to tackle.

--Interview by Jeannie Blancq Putney

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Posted Jan 16 2009, 09:00 AM by

Lisa with

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Wednesday, January 14, 2009 9:00 AM

Showing Affection to Horses

by jgoodnight

Before you start smooching on your horse, it may be useful to understand how horses show affection to each other. Mutual grooming (a.k.a. allo-grooming) is the primary affectionate behavior of horses that isn’t related to reproduction. Mutual grooming is a social, care-giving behavior. Young or adult horses that are buddies in the herd often show their affection by nibbling on one another’s withers and backs. Horses stand facing each other—close at the shoulder—to simultaneously groom each other in the areas hardest to reach alone: the crest of the neck, the withers, along the back, croup and dock of the tail.

When you want to show affection to your horse, stroke him with a massaging motion. Start along the crest of the neck and withers. This calms him and is proven to slow his heart rate and release soothing chemicals in his brain. It’s best to avoid kissing your horse on the lips. Being lip to lip is the same as biting for horses. It has a stimulating effect. You’ll see horses lip to lip when they’re fighting or aggressively playing.

Foals especially love to mutual groom and they love to be rubbed and have close bodily contact. Be careful you do not instill bad habits in your youngster by letting him move into your space to demand grooming; these habits won’t be so cute when he weighs 1,000 pounds. The dominant horse most likely begins any grooming session and he ends it by biting. So it’s best not to ever let a horse groom you back, since you don’t want him to become dominant. He’ll try to dominate by moving into your space, putting his mouth on you, and controlling your actions.

During the winter, or whenever you’ll have less riding time, it’s a good time to do more groundwork with your horse to establish a strong bond and learn more about behavior and your leadership of the horse. Check out my Complete Groundwork Package, including my DVDs on behavior and ground training exercises plus the training equipment you’ll need, at a great discount. Available from my website at www.JulieGoodnight.com

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Posted Jan 14 2009, 09:00 AM by

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Filed under: Horse Behavior, Horse Care, affection, mutual grooming

Monday, January 12, 2009 9:00 AM

Show Advice for First-Timers

by Jannie Giles

When getting started showing horses, the best advice I can give the first-time exhibitor is to first go to horse shows as a spectator. Sit and watch as many classes as possible, observe how competitors enter the ring and how they place themselves amongst the other entrants. Constantly ask yourself questions. Which exhibitors stand out as being superior? What makes them have that special look? Are they performing all that is asked of them at the required gaits accurately? Are horse and rider turned out to perfection with that sparkling shine, appropriate attire and perfect fitting tack? Are horse and rider performing as one unit? How does each exhibitor handle mistakes? Is that top rider considerate of others? Do both horse and rider look like they are enjoying the ride? Then in your mind, place the class before the line-up, and see how close you come to the judge's decision. Use each class observed as a learning tool, learn by others' mistakes as well as their triumphs. Most importantly, be honest with yourself and your ability. Don't ever set unrealistic goals for yourself or your horse. Showing is not just about the ribbons. It is about camaraderie with your horse, your trainer or instructor, and your fellow exhibitors. The more fun you have along the way, the more successful you'll be. Enjoy the journey!

--Interview by Jeannie Blancq Putney

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Posted Jan 12 2009, 09:00 AM by

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Filed under: Better Riding, Success in Showing

Friday, January 09, 2009 2:00 PM

Focus on Goals, Not Nerves

by kristin_bachman

In competition, a huge factor to your success is your ability to handle nerves. Riders at every level get nervous so it’s important to learn how to deal with them. Being nervous takes away from your ability to think clearly, and performing what you are perfectly capable of doing. Everything changes at a show, so set goals when practicing at home to focus on when you get to the event. If you get some really good trot work at home, try to get a few of those steps at the show, whether in the ring, or in warm-up. Focusing on what you know you can do well will greatly help eliminate nerves.

--Interview by Leah Oliveto

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Posted Jan 09 2009, 02:00 PM by

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Filed under: Better Riding, Success in Showing

Wednesday, January 07, 2009 5:11 PM

Teaching Pace

by gmorris

Pace should be taught through miles per hour. If you ask riders how fast they’re going at a walk, one will say, “two miles and hour”; another says, “six miles an hour”’ and another says, “five miles an hour.” Well, a walk is approximately four miles an hour. We teach basic pace control and understanding by teaching miles per hour. We teach basic pace control and understanding by teaching miles per hour. It’s helpful to know roughly how many miles per hour at a walk and also, of course, at a trot, a canter, and a gallop. So, we teach pace rather than use terms such as “shorten stride,” “lengthen stride,” “impulsion,” and so on. A slow trot, a sitting trot, or, later, a collected trot is six miles an hour. A canter is approximately ten to twelve miles an hour. And a hand gallop is approximately fourteen to sixteen miles an hour. So the first thing we teach as a habit about pace control is learning to associate pace with miles per hour. Then we’ll work on increases and decreases—simple ones like trotting and stopping, sitting trot, posting trot, sitting trot, and canter. We never let beginners post into a canter or run the horse into a canter. We ask them to go from a slow rot into a canter. Later on, at a higher level, they go from a walk into a canter. So the increases and decreases are longitudinal controls. What about a simple lead change? That’s a longitudinal control.

Reprinted with permission from George H. Morris Teaches Beginners to Ride by George H. Morris, published by The Lyons Press

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Posted Jan 07 2009, 05:11 PM by

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Filed under: Better Riding

Monday, January 05, 2009 5:00 PM

Breeding the Welsh Pony/Cob

by dr_ruth

Keep a clear picture of what you want to breed. Study pedigrees and the successes of well-known breeders. Don’t be afraid to cull something from your breeding plan when it doesn’t work out. Don’t be “barn blind.” Remember it takes just as much to raise a mediocre pony as it does a superstar!

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Posted Jan 05 2009, 05:00 PM by