All Disciplines

There’s no doubt that one of the biggest concerns for everyone, while the UK is in lockdown, is how to maintain fitness levels. With the new regulations meaning even tighter rules on our ability to go outside, and movement restricted to ‘essential’ travel, the unknown amount of time we will be spending at home is a daunting prospect, to say the least. Exercise plays a major role in our mental state, as well as our physical fitness, releasing positive hormones and reducing st...

Before a competition and in between competitions it’s vital to practice at home, reflecting on what went well and then working on the bits that didn’t. In dressage, identifying the weaknesses is usually easier as you have the judges comments which can be helpful. When judging I see many combinations competing in the same class at the same show week after week, getting more or less the same score. This can be good if you are enjoying your horse, however sometimes it’s better to ...

Sitting trot is easier said than done, especially if you have a horse who tends to be rather bouncy or you haven’t done it in quite some time! But we’re here to help! So here are some top tips, but remember to stay safe at all times. 1. Start off by doing just a few steps of sitting trot at a time. This will stop you from feeling unbalanced and you can build up gradually. A good exercise to start with is to come onto a 20 metre circle and ride a few steps of sitting trot, then go...

The dark nights have started to set in and every night it’s getting darker earlier and earlier. It’s hard not to lose motivation when the weather starts to change, but here are a couple of great exercises if you find yourself short for time, just want a quick but beneficial workout, or you don’t really feel like riding but your horse needs to keep fit. A 20 minute lunge session (10 mins each side) will stretch their legs and help to keep them fit. Bailey and I love doing ground...

During winter our bodies and muscles, as well as our horses', are naturally colder so it's important to give your horse a lot of time to warm up, gradually increasing their body temperature. Typically, horses feel very tight when it's cold so I normally warm up Bailey for a lot longer, allowing him a lot of time to walk and gently stretch laterally before asking any work from him. I aim to do both directions at the same time, bending him both ways to encourage equal muscle development. If I do f...

I’ve been spending more and more of my time teaching long reining this year, which is awesome, because I love it, it’s amazing to see the horses and riders changing, and the riders love it too. I couldn’t imagine training a horse without long reining, it’s just such a big part of what I do. And, it’s made it really clear to me, as I watch long reiners battle to steer – you’ve got to have a plan about where you’re going. It’s no good staring a...

I like each session we do to be very different from the last. The reason for this is I like to break up the schooling so he doesn’t go sour just doing one thing all the time – he can also get too confident and assumes I’m going to ask a movement of him before I have. I've had this before with him, where we stuck to the same old school work and then he started to become naughty, finding things in and around the arena to spook at. Switching it up has meant that he stays really...

We regularly set up grids to work on striding and elasticity. Gymnastic exercises are much more important for horses than scope testing or even jumping courses, they actually give the horses the skills to jump around said courses. This grid is bounce, bounce, two stride.  We find the best striding for bounces is about 3 human strides, not too big or too small, just an easy, natural stride. For a two stride double, we use 11 human strides. As a general rule of thumb, we then ...

This time I’ve decided to design an adaptable exercise which can be beneficial when jumping to help with balance. This layout is great as you don’t need a huge arena and you can do numerous exercises without changing the design. (Please see the 3 below) This exercise can help improve balance and consistency in striding/rhythm. Ride as shown over the green line. Ensure before riding that you know the strides in between each fence and that you keep to them on each attempt....

Maintaining a commendable quality of life for your horse can sometimes be tough, especially without any guidance. As a horse gets older they are far more vulnerable to disease and illness that could potentially threaten their later years. It’s daunting to think that keeping your horse in good health when they are much older depends on how you’ve treated them right from day one. Training routines are vital in preventing conditions like arthritis and diabetes, which can be very common ...

The Spanish walk is a trained movement that is carried out by a horse. With a little bit of work, you can train your horse to walk in this manner. The horse, when doing the Spanish walk, will raise each foreleg off the ground in an exaggerated upward and forward manner.    The Spanish walk is loosely affiliated with dressage, however, it is often seen as more of a trick or circus movement, and is not included in any modern dressage tests. It is often taught to horses of the And...

Arabians are fantastic horses; they are extremely sensitive to all of your movements. Arabians are extremely agile and strong and have unmatchable endurance. Horse riding with an Arabian horse is very exciting and you will love every second when you know how to make the most of it. Saddles Make sure that the saddle fits correctly. The back of an Arabian horse is usually shorter than other breeds, if your saddle is too large it can hurt and pinch your horse. Do not use a square...