𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻

𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴...

I seen these photos on Facebook earlier, firstly I absolutely love them as it illustrates exactly what we tend to speak about and because they’re just quite beautiful at showing the harmony between the human and the horse (so enjoy) ❤️

Back to basics, we all know the “engine” “power” comes from our horses hind legs but we all often forget the full picture when all we can see is our horses head in front of us not necessarily doing what we’d hoped. So what do we do about that? Us being humans have traits of being impatient, not wanting to fail, wanting the perfect picture straight away. This leads us to fixate and completely focus on our horses head, leading us to fix our horses into a frame rather than putting fuel into the engine because obviously putting fuel into the horses engine is a lot more hard work then pulling them into a frame.

Some may say, well my horse doesn’t have any issues with power he’s very forward going but will still run through my aids and still isn’t consistent through his back or on the contact. Don’t get forwardness confused with impulsion. Impulsion is a controlled state of forwardness, yes the horse has to be forward to gain the correct contact but it also has to be controlled and balanced otherwise you’ll never get the consistent contact we want for a harmonious ride.

Why is half halt so important?

When you’ve just started riding, or riding at a riding school half halt tends to just have couple of uses. To slow the horse down or to tell the horse something is about to change.

Half halt is used to yes slow your horse down but in more complexed terms it’s there to tell your horse to use his hind legs, to balance and to control his impulsion. Half halt isn’t a continuous aid, it’s quick, release, quick, release aid.

You’ll find with younger or greener horses (like blue) that when you ask them to half halt correctly they’ll fall out of the gait their in as to them that means just completely slow down. Don’t get frustrated instead keep your leg on and half halt at the same time eventually your horse will understand it as, ahh she wants me to keep at the same gait but become more balanced within that gait.

Why is having the horse straight so important?

Imagine we had four legs, if we were in trot going down the long side with our head slightly turned to the left. This will mean our hinds will also be uneven and the contact between the riders hands and horses mouth inconsistent. It’s physically impossible to have a correct contact without straightness.

Why is having the correct bend so important?

Same as above, if we’re going around the corner on the right rein we need our horses to slightly bend and look right. Same if we are riding a circle, this will keep the horses body straight and will make it a lot easier for them to find the contact.

Why do we have our elbows bent when we ride?

If we have our arms straight out in front of us there is no contact between our hands and the horses mouth, as well as we won’t be following the horses movements with our hands leading them to hollow. Think bend in elbows but forward thinking hands. This allows us to follow the horses movements whilst still remaining contact and independent balance.

Above creating a pretty picture, all of the above will create a happier horse by using their bodies correctly, not forcing, getting angry and using gadgets but just by using their amazing selfs.

The correct way of going takes years, so if you’ve managed to fix it within a matter of hours/days/weeks. Really think if you have actually “fixed” it not just covered it up with something they can’t avoid.

•Cheshire Clipping & Show Prep

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