Shoulder influence is not talked about very often but really should be.
In the most basic way the ability to influence the shoulder is required to be sure you can ride your horse on purpose from point A to point B. And maybe it would be easier to think of shoulder influence as front end influence.
When riding the horse it should be evenly bent from the tail to the ears. When you are riding that can be really hard to judge. The most common mistake is not having influence on the horse's neck or shoulder area. The horse either over bends its neck to the inside or counter bends.
If the horse overbends to the inside, it will feel like its shoulder is stuck on the wall and you will have a harder time starting a circle. On the otherhand if the horse is carrying his neck to the outside the rider will talk about the horse falling in on their inside leg.
I have actually stoped asking riders to bend the horse's neck. I have actually started asking them to flex the horses neck (about 1") and then if they need to turn the horse's front end to move both reins with equal pressure to the direction they would like to move the horse. This really helps if the rider then also pushes the horse with their legs. Really the reins act as a frame in and the legs push the horse into the frame the reins have established.
If a rider overbends the horse to the inside or counterbends the horse to the outside the shoulder is free to do whatever it wants and more often than not - the shoulder blocks the goal of the rider.
The hint is ride the whole front end of the horse for better shoulder influence!
Enjoy your horse every single ride!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saddle Fit Issues May Look Like Training Issues
Training young horses is challanging for sure but the most challanging part about it is that as they build muscle and change shape they can have saddle fitting issues that creep into your everyday riding. A young horse has basic muscle but nothing added from riding which can significanlty change the shape of their backs.
Timid horses that are starting to have trouble with their saddles may want to run away from the aids or buck and brave alpha type horses may have trouble focusing and start acting pushy. The changes can appear gradually but once you notice the change, take a good look at saddle fit right away. The saddle you started with may no longer be appropriate.
Dressage saddles that are made to a specific horse in a custom fashion still need to be monitored. Even if your horse stays somewhat the same shape, as the saddle ages the stuffing can change and become hard and inflexible. So having your saddle restuffed and reshaped to your horse's b ack can be invaluable.
Our horses are generous and want to please us. Lets make it easy for them! Happy riding!
Karen
Timid horses that are starting to have trouble with their saddles may want to run away from the aids or buck and brave alpha type horses may have trouble focusing and start acting pushy. The changes can appear gradually but once you notice the change, take a good look at saddle fit right away. The saddle you started with may no longer be appropriate.
Dressage saddles that are made to a specific horse in a custom fashion still need to be monitored. Even if your horse stays somewhat the same shape, as the saddle ages the stuffing can change and become hard and inflexible. So having your saddle restuffed and reshaped to your horse's b ack can be invaluable.
Our horses are generous and want to please us. Lets make it easy for them! Happy riding!
Karen
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy NewYear! Riding resolutions!
Welcome to 2011. January 1st is a time for new years resolutions. This is the day I ask myself what I resolve to do and follow up on with riding goals.
What are your riding goals? Sometimes it is really hard if you just have long term goals and do not break the long term goals down into short term goals. One of the largest pitfalls is to set a goal that is too large and takes too long to obtain. If you do that the goal may seem too overwhelming and may not get done.
Keep your goals attainable and fun for both you and your horse. Remember to have a great time while you work towards your goals.
One of my goals this winter has been to help my dressage horses relax in their work. I have several obstacles in my arena I use on a regular basis. This is so not dressage like but sure does seem to make a difference in the horse having confidence when faced with something unexpected.
O.K. I am off to pencil in the clinic and show schedule for the year.
Happy New Year!
Karen
What are your riding goals? Sometimes it is really hard if you just have long term goals and do not break the long term goals down into short term goals. One of the largest pitfalls is to set a goal that is too large and takes too long to obtain. If you do that the goal may seem too overwhelming and may not get done.
Keep your goals attainable and fun for both you and your horse. Remember to have a great time while you work towards your goals.
One of my goals this winter has been to help my dressage horses relax in their work. I have several obstacles in my arena I use on a regular basis. This is so not dressage like but sure does seem to make a difference in the horse having confidence when faced with something unexpected.
O.K. I am off to pencil in the clinic and show schedule for the year.
Happy New Year!
Karen
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Rescue Horses - A difficult rewarding experience
In June of 2008 I was involved in a rescue operation that was so large that it involved three Wisconsin Rescues. Midwest Horse Welfare Foundation, St. Francis Rescue and Retirement and Refuge Farms. I had not done anything charitable for a while - so I decided to help. Well what a ride it turned out to be.
Hazel and Amore became permanent residents at Hay River Equestrian. Both horses were unhandled and unhaltered adult horses at the time of their adoption. This made it pretty hard to start. I decided both horses would have to be started with food as a bribe. I decided this because it would have been impossible to even try to halter them without grain. Both horses became gentle enough to be touched on their heads while eating and then eventually allowed halters to be slipped over their heads. They were so big and strong that they learned how to lead by following the grain. I would apply halter pressure and if they walked forward and released the pressure, they were allowed a bite of grain. I did it this way because I thought it would be safer than making them stand tied with no knowledge of how to release halter pressure.
They were both very smart and caught on fairly quickly.
Amore was less worried about being touched and allowed us to carefully start petting and touching him farther back on his body and then legs with very little trouble. Hazel was terrified of being touched and could be dangerous if you stood past her shoulder. So many hours went into touching her so she could understand that touch was not so bad. It took using fat soft ropes though to go around Hazel's hind leg so I could pick it up and stroke her leg safely. It took months for me to be able to pick out her hind feet. But it took a whole year before the farrier could trim her hind legs.
Both horses were with me for a year before they were ready to be trained to be riding horses. My friend Pam and I worked with them together until they would take saddles and learned basic lunging. Let me say that they were so scared at times that I had to be on full altert and very awake to be sure I did not get hurt while introducing them to new things. Amore was much more afraid of the saddle than Hazel. Hazel was scared of living things and Amore was afraid of inanimate things. This basic training was the most difficult time I have ever had with ground work. But when I say ground work, what I really mean is I had to change their reality of people and that is why it took so long.
Then I had a young trainer do the initial riding on them and in 2010 they were shown at horse shows. It was quite a reward to see them go to shows and act like well adjusted horses.
It does sadden me that there were 27 horses in this rescue in 2008 and to my knowledge only three of them are riding horses. The two here and one in Milwaukee WI. I now wonder with a 10% rehab rate into riding horses what could have been done differently? How can the rescues get a higher rehab rate? I think that most of these horses were basically healthy and had rehab potential. The biggest issue in my mind is rehab. The rescues do well at saving them - but then what?
Karen
Hazel and Amore became permanent residents at Hay River Equestrian. Both horses were unhandled and unhaltered adult horses at the time of their adoption. This made it pretty hard to start. I decided both horses would have to be started with food as a bribe. I decided this because it would have been impossible to even try to halter them without grain. Both horses became gentle enough to be touched on their heads while eating and then eventually allowed halters to be slipped over their heads. They were so big and strong that they learned how to lead by following the grain. I would apply halter pressure and if they walked forward and released the pressure, they were allowed a bite of grain. I did it this way because I thought it would be safer than making them stand tied with no knowledge of how to release halter pressure.
They were both very smart and caught on fairly quickly.
Amore was less worried about being touched and allowed us to carefully start petting and touching him farther back on his body and then legs with very little trouble. Hazel was terrified of being touched and could be dangerous if you stood past her shoulder. So many hours went into touching her so she could understand that touch was not so bad. It took using fat soft ropes though to go around Hazel's hind leg so I could pick it up and stroke her leg safely. It took months for me to be able to pick out her hind feet. But it took a whole year before the farrier could trim her hind legs.
Both horses were with me for a year before they were ready to be trained to be riding horses. My friend Pam and I worked with them together until they would take saddles and learned basic lunging. Let me say that they were so scared at times that I had to be on full altert and very awake to be sure I did not get hurt while introducing them to new things. Amore was much more afraid of the saddle than Hazel. Hazel was scared of living things and Amore was afraid of inanimate things. This basic training was the most difficult time I have ever had with ground work. But when I say ground work, what I really mean is I had to change their reality of people and that is why it took so long.
Then I had a young trainer do the initial riding on them and in 2010 they were shown at horse shows. It was quite a reward to see them go to shows and act like well adjusted horses.
It does sadden me that there were 27 horses in this rescue in 2008 and to my knowledge only three of them are riding horses. The two here and one in Milwaukee WI. I now wonder with a 10% rehab rate into riding horses what could have been done differently? How can the rescues get a higher rehab rate? I think that most of these horses were basically healthy and had rehab potential. The biggest issue in my mind is rehab. The rescues do well at saving them - but then what?
Karen
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Horses Engage From The Back To The Front
I recently had an interesting experience. I watched a horse get trained for the period of three months. This horse hated being touched in the rein and was difficult that way. After some experimentation the horse prefered a nickel free bit. This helped somewhat but she still had a significant problem when asked to bend while traveling to the right.
The rider after switching bits just decided not to touch her and keep her happy. But the correct way to engage a horse is to have the energy come from behind and then guide the energy with the reins. This helps the horse relax and build top line and flexibility. When the rider was asked one day to ride the horse forward into the bridle the horse acted stressed out and refused to go and bend. When this happens it is time to check the teeth for a possible floating issue. The horse was floated and she had three year old molars that were in the process of coming off. She had scrapes inside her mouth from this. If the rider would have ridden the horse forward into a little contact, this problem could have been identified and solved right away and the horse would not had to have had so much discomfort.
If you are riding your horse correctly and you encounter a problem. Please take note and look for a physical problem. The worst thing you can do is pacify the horse and possibly cause more discomfort accidentally.
Karen
The rider after switching bits just decided not to touch her and keep her happy. But the correct way to engage a horse is to have the energy come from behind and then guide the energy with the reins. This helps the horse relax and build top line and flexibility. When the rider was asked one day to ride the horse forward into the bridle the horse acted stressed out and refused to go and bend. When this happens it is time to check the teeth for a possible floating issue. The horse was floated and she had three year old molars that were in the process of coming off. She had scrapes inside her mouth from this. If the rider would have ridden the horse forward into a little contact, this problem could have been identified and solved right away and the horse would not had to have had so much discomfort.
If you are riding your horse correctly and you encounter a problem. Please take note and look for a physical problem. The worst thing you can do is pacify the horse and possibly cause more discomfort accidentally.
Karen
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Eddo Hoekstra Clinic June 11th through June 13th, 2010
Eddo Hoekstra Clinic June 11th through June 13th.
Hay River Equestrian took three horses to this clinic. Jamie rode Hazel, a basic training level mare, and I rode Bacara and Amedeus.
We arrived on Thursday evening and were hoping to get the horses into the indoor arena to show it to them. Le’ts be honest. Bacara and Hazel did not really need it as bad as Amedeus did. He panics at first when away from home. He does o.k. if I can move him around in the arena I later have to ride him in. Minus that and I am not going to have an easy time of it. Well the arena had already been dragged so Amedeus was out of luck. I will have to arrive earlier to be sure next time to get him in there.
Eddo is very straight forward in his teaching style and shows the rider how to ease into and out of movements as to not disturb the horse. That is especially useful if your horses are a bit sensitive like mine are. One thing he had me do was to school the shoulders in and haunches in. What I mean by that is to do shoulder in and then come off the wall and then back to the wall all the while with the same angle. This was really useful in that it made the horse more adjustable within the lateral movement. I see this as universally helpful.
Amedeus benefitted by walk canter walk exercises to help him with his canter elevation. We also mixed up a lot of shoulders in haunches in, haunches out and half pass. I could feel that helping his flexibility and his ability to carry himself.
Bacara benefitted by riding two squares one inside the other. We did half passes in and out and flying changes to change directions. There is a lot going on in the riders head but it later makes the tempi changes feel easier.
Hazel did really well, adjusted to her environment and allowed herself to do lateral movements. Jamie and Hazel have not done that many lateral movements yet and I could really see it loosening the horse. They both picked up a lot of information.
Eddo has a wonderful soft focus that the horses love. He keeps things playful but focused. I noticed the way that this technique made the most out of each horse at the clinic.
Karen
Hay River Equestrian took three horses to this clinic. Jamie rode Hazel, a basic training level mare, and I rode Bacara and Amedeus.
We arrived on Thursday evening and were hoping to get the horses into the indoor arena to show it to them. Le’ts be honest. Bacara and Hazel did not really need it as bad as Amedeus did. He panics at first when away from home. He does o.k. if I can move him around in the arena I later have to ride him in. Minus that and I am not going to have an easy time of it. Well the arena had already been dragged so Amedeus was out of luck. I will have to arrive earlier to be sure next time to get him in there.
Eddo is very straight forward in his teaching style and shows the rider how to ease into and out of movements as to not disturb the horse. That is especially useful if your horses are a bit sensitive like mine are. One thing he had me do was to school the shoulders in and haunches in. What I mean by that is to do shoulder in and then come off the wall and then back to the wall all the while with the same angle. This was really useful in that it made the horse more adjustable within the lateral movement. I see this as universally helpful.
Amedeus benefitted by walk canter walk exercises to help him with his canter elevation. We also mixed up a lot of shoulders in haunches in, haunches out and half pass. I could feel that helping his flexibility and his ability to carry himself.
Bacara benefitted by riding two squares one inside the other. We did half passes in and out and flying changes to change directions. There is a lot going on in the riders head but it later makes the tempi changes feel easier.
Hazel did really well, adjusted to her environment and allowed herself to do lateral movements. Jamie and Hazel have not done that many lateral movements yet and I could really see it loosening the horse. They both picked up a lot of information.
Eddo has a wonderful soft focus that the horses love. He keeps things playful but focused. I noticed the way that this technique made the most out of each horse at the clinic.
Karen
Monday, April 19, 2010
Hay River Equestrian travels to Fargo Horse Fair
The weekend of April 10 and 11 Karen, Jamie and I headed out to North Dakota State University for the North Dakota Horse Fair. Karen was invited to do a demo ride while speaking about dressage.
Karen rode Bacara and Sparky the first day to show a beginning horse in Sparky and a more advanced horse with Bacara. She rode just Bacara on Sunday. Jamie rode Hazel, the rescue horse from Trempeleau County both days.
On Saturday, April 10, Karen talked about exercises she does to improve collection in Bacara. She also demonstrated the difference in collection in a beginning horse and one that is more advanced.
Sunday both Jamie and Karen rode dressage tests to show the audience what a test is like. I got a chance to practice reading tests on the fly. To add a touch of humor the arena was put up backwards. To Karen and Jamie’s credit they just kept riding able to figure out a way to keep going even though what I was reading did not match the arena. Even more difficult was Karen was showing Bacara with a third level test, not designed to be a small arena, which was set up for them. Way to go to keep the show going despite whatever is thrown at you. Jamie did well, despite suffering a cold and cough. She even got a chance to let Hazel take a bow at the end Sunday.
Isabella, the dog, went along. She may well have spent her first night in a motel. The first night she yelped at every noise. I spent much of the night keeping her quiet and missing out on some sleep. By the second night Izzy was a pro and snored the whole night after getting a treat off the local Chinese buffet. Izzy loves her chicken nuggets.
Izzy was quite a hit at the horse fair, enjoying the attention, although she is not sure if she is a fan of cows.
NDSU offered demos of a number of different types of horseback riding, including reigning, cow work and some natural horsemanship along with dressage. It was cool to see many different horses at work and play.
Pam
Karen rode Bacara and Sparky the first day to show a beginning horse in Sparky and a more advanced horse with Bacara. She rode just Bacara on Sunday. Jamie rode Hazel, the rescue horse from Trempeleau County both days.
On Saturday, April 10, Karen talked about exercises she does to improve collection in Bacara. She also demonstrated the difference in collection in a beginning horse and one that is more advanced.
Sunday both Jamie and Karen rode dressage tests to show the audience what a test is like. I got a chance to practice reading tests on the fly. To add a touch of humor the arena was put up backwards. To Karen and Jamie’s credit they just kept riding able to figure out a way to keep going even though what I was reading did not match the arena. Even more difficult was Karen was showing Bacara with a third level test, not designed to be a small arena, which was set up for them. Way to go to keep the show going despite whatever is thrown at you. Jamie did well, despite suffering a cold and cough. She even got a chance to let Hazel take a bow at the end Sunday.
Isabella, the dog, went along. She may well have spent her first night in a motel. The first night she yelped at every noise. I spent much of the night keeping her quiet and missing out on some sleep. By the second night Izzy was a pro and snored the whole night after getting a treat off the local Chinese buffet. Izzy loves her chicken nuggets.
Izzy was quite a hit at the horse fair, enjoying the attention, although she is not sure if she is a fan of cows.
NDSU offered demos of a number of different types of horseback riding, including reigning, cow work and some natural horsemanship along with dressage. It was cool to see many different horses at work and play.
Pam
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