Rein-Aid

10/07/2024

Foster pups Swiss and Gracie's Kit have been adopted. Great day for both with fab homes.

02/19/2023

Jimmy Wofford a fabulous mentor. Always reachable to answer questions right up until his passing. Seems like he was a mentor to SO many more than just me.

In the wake of legendary eventer Jim Wofford’s death earlier this month at age 78, we asked readers and colleagues throughout the horse industry to share some of their favorite memories and quotes—or

12/22/2022

Disclaimer IMO rider should be wearing a helmet but otherwise the advice is perfect and from an expert we all respect.

This is fundamental advice regardless of the discipline in which you ride, I have built my method and career around all of this, if you
Study the greatest horsemen in the world you will see all of the points in action. This was said by one of the best modern horsemen bill steinkrause.

“No. 1. Get your tack and equipment just right, and then forget about it and concentrate on the horse.

No. 2. The horse is bigger than you are, and it should carry you. The quieter you sit, the easier this will be for the horse.

No. 3. The horse's engine is in the rear. Thus, you must ride your horse from behind, and not focus on the forehand simply because you can see it.

No. 4. It takes two to pull. Don't pull. Push.

No. 5. For your horse to be keen but submissive, it must be calm, straight and forward.

No. 6. When the horse isn`t straight, the hollow side is the difficult side.

No. 7. The inside rein controls the bending, the outside rein controls the speed.

No. 8. Never rest your hands on the horse's mouth. You make a contract with it: "You carry your head and I'll carry my hands."

No. 10. Once you've used an aid, put it back.

No. 11. You can exaggerate every virtue into a defect.

No. 12. Always carry a stick, then you will seldom need it.

No. 13. If you`ve given something a fair trial, and it still doesn't work, try something else—even the opposite.

No. 14. Know when to start and when to stop. Know when to resist and when to reward.

No. 15. If you're going to have a fight, you pick the time and place.

No. 16. What you can't accomplish in an hour should usually be put off until tomorrow.

No. 17. You can think your way out of many problems faster than you can ride your way out of them.

No. 18. When the horse jumps, you go with it, not the other way around.

No. 19. Don`t let over-jumping or dull routine erode the horse's desire to jump cleanly. It's hard to jump clear rounds if the horse isn't trying.

No. 20. Never give up until the rail hits the ground.

No. 21. Young horses are like children—give them a lot of love, but don't let them get away with anything.

No. 22. In practice, do things as perfectly as you can; in competition, do what you have to do.

No. 23. Never fight the oats.

No. 24. The harder you work, the luckier you get."

~Bill Steinkraus

11/27/2022

Lovely

11/14/2022

Ingrid Klimke starting to fill in the shoes of her late father.

10/23/2022

Carl Hester clinic.

Blogger Sara Bradley covered the New England Dressage Association’s Fall Symposium, featuring Carl Hester, on Oct. 15-16. What follows is her coverage of Day 2. If you missed it yesterday, you can read her Day 1 coverage here. The second day of th...

10/20/2022

I could not agree more. The human must be in charge. Respect without fear.

Being gentle with a horse does not mean letting the horse push you around and place you in danger. Horses need to have ground manners. They need to stand reliably for the farrier and the veterinarian. They need to stand quietly while you are mounting or dismounting. They need to let you groom them, bridle them, saddle them without dancing around.

It is not that the horse is allowed free rein. Teaching basic manners, though, is a lot different from routinely smacking a horse around, yanking on the bit with rough hands, grinding on the horse in schooling sessions, or cranking the horse into draw reins or other leverage devices.

Part of being well trained is that the horse respects human boundaries, but the good trainers use only as much pressure as needed to create respect and only in situations that to do otherwise allows dangerous behavior.

08/23/2022

Chartotte D with a young horse.

07/19/2022

You cannot go wrong with what Carl Hester advises.

What to look for, great hints from Carl Hester:“If you are riding on your own, which lots of people are when they ride, check, is that part of the neck in front of the wither, round, is it without wrinkles? It’s just a test for you to look at when you are riding, and know that if there is a dip, then the horse is not completely over the top line.”https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/09/carl-hester-top-tip/