Written by Jec Ballou Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Zen monks for a week last fall made me believe that a rider’s ultimate responsibility is to give up her ego. Human beings carry so much around—stress, thoughts, emotional pain, responsibilities—that we lose clarity in moment-to-moment living. This blocks our ability to genuinely “let go” in our lives, […]
Written by Heather Smith Thomas This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.71 There are several knots that every horseman should know how to tie—that are useful when working with horses. There are times you need a knot that will never work loose, and other times you need one that can be untied easily […]
Written by Wendy Murdoch This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.64 “Jambo!” the soft musical voice of the Daniel floats through the tent flaps as hot coffee, tea and cookies arrive to wake us with the dawn. Dressed and ready to ride we make our way down to the mess tent where we […]
Written by Wendy Murdoch This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.51 For over 30 years I have taught the biomechanics or “how” of riding. The position of the rider’s body is key to good balance and timing. Sitting crooked in the saddle creates excess tension in your muscles, which is counterproductive to good […]
Written by Wendy Murdoch This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.46 Before we progress to lateral movements we have one more topic to cover, that of rebalancing your horse through the halt, half-halt, rein-back and rock back. All of these movements are related in that, when done correctly, the horse learns to transfer […]
Written by Terry Church This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.45 Part III of the Pyramid of Training presented some ideas correlating to tiers 3 and 4 and pertain to the horse and rider (or driver) after the horse has been started under saddle or harness and exposed to a variety of environments. […]
Written by Terry Church This article originally appeared in Eclectic Horseman Issue No.43 Previously, Part II in this series of articles presented some ideas pertaining to the second tier or stage (from the bottom up) of the training scale (Please refer Figure 1, page 10) and how those ideas might benefit horsemen and women of […]
Written by Terry Church Part I in this series of articles described the origins of the Pyramid of Training, its use, and its basic purpose. Figure 1 in this second article hopefully sheds an expanded view of the current USDF model, with my intention being to present a more accessible guide to a wider range […]
Written by Wendy Murdoch Rein aids are the means by which we communicate to the horse through the reins with our hands. Reins aids can be described by the manner, direction or intensity in which they are applied. I will attempt to present all three aspects here, in addition to the underlying anatomy and physiological […]
Written by Wendy Murdoch Hopefully by now you have come to the understanding that the more vertical, level and balanced you sit on your horse the easier it is for him to perform his job. In this lesson, you will learn how to override the influence of both the horse and the saddle, so that […]