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I’m reviewing the video 'First Cross Country Training for the Young Horse' with Ingrid Klimke, on the wehorse site. Anything to do with cross country will always appeal to me over dressage etc, but I was particularly interested to watch this one as it’s with Ingrid. Who, let’s be honest, is a legend. It was initially somewhat off-putting to see that it’s been filmed in German with English translation played over the top. That is nothing against the German language. It ...

As a biomechanics coach, I’m always interested in other trainer’s perspectives on the subject. Recently, I watched Dr. Britta Schöffmann present her video, ‘The Ideal Dressage Seat Part 1: The Riding Seat and It’s Effects’, on the wehorse site. In many ways, our teaching mirrors each other’s – I like her description of the straight line running shoulder, hip to heel, and it was useful to see her standing on the ground alongside the horse and show...

We at Hesteyri Horses have been exploring wehorse.com, a website which allows access to many videos from top trainers around the world. Consider it YouTube for horse riders, a rider can get lost in hours of footage for a small subscription. The site even recommends relevant videos from the one you’ve been watching, which is very handy. We’ve been focusing on the Connected Riding series by Peggy Cummings this week, which starts with ‘Philosophie and Seat Analysis’.

This new training website, wehorse, which appears to have been produced in Germany, is a well constructed, clear and concise online resource which should appeal to all equestrians and their interests. There are over 250 instructional videos covering all aspects from Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventing through to Breeding and Healthcare. The trainers featured are all experts in their field. Although most of them are German, the English translation is excellent, and you quickly get used to t...

British Dressage judge and Horsemart ambassador, Edward Chitty, gives us his thoughts on wehorse, the new Online Riding Academy for both horse and rider. wehorse promotes a horse-friendly training approach, with over 250 videos from 25 or more of the world's best trainers, to help you build a stronger partnership with your horse. Access the training you need, regardless of your level or discipline, and find inspiration to vary your training routine to keep your horse happy and motivated.

Like any mammal with hair, horses can become infested with lice. These lice are not dissimilar to the types found on humans and other animals. The treatment, however, is different, but with sufficient knowledge, equine lice can be treated pretty easily. There are different horse lice treatments available all year round. But, before you begin to treat your horse for lice, it is vitally important that you know how to diagnose them on a horse

Here's a quick tutorial on the movement of the connection, with the horse and the rider working together. So, as you can see, today I am talking about the rising trot. I’m trying to demonstrate how you need to bend and straighten your elbows in the rising trot as you go forwards, up and down! So, as your knees bend and straighten, your elbows need to bend and straighten together; they work in unison to stabilise the contact so the horse can go forwards into a steady bit, in a steady rein.

Today's tutorial is Walk Pirouette. I call this my 'Tuning fork and figure of eight' exercise. Start from a regular collected walk, ride on parallel lines like a railway track. I lineup with my mirrors, one side to the other, riding the short side. Stay within those lines. My mirrors are about 4m wide. Riding in a slight shoulder-in position to begin with, make a U-turn, then ride in a haunches-in position, and make a U-turn, and repeat. Then at the next U-turn, ride a pirouette, which is a c...

Sweet Itch (or Summer Itch, as it is sometimes referred to), is the common name for Summer Seasonal Recurrent Dermatitis (SSRD), or more technically ‘Culicoides Hypersensitivity’, which is an allergic reaction to the saliva of biting midges. There are numerous types of flying insects that can cause skin irritation in horses, however, in the case of Sweet Itch, allergies are most likely to develop due to one of the species of Culicoides midges. As an allergic reaction disease, it i...

There are many types of mite that can affect horses; some more common than others. But all species of horse mite can cause a lot of irritation and distress, both to the horse and their owner. The reaction seen in the horse’s skin and hair is often referred to as ‘mange’. The sooner the mites are treated after diagnosis the better, as left for too long they can cause secondary infection from open sores, with very extreme cases potentially resulting in lameness.

This time I'm doing a quick walk tutorial for you. This is to demonstrate how the rider should follow the movement of the walk within the connection, and how important it is for the rider to not sit still, but to actually go with the movement of the horse. Please do turn the volume up so you can hear my dulcet tones! Please stay safe and look after yourselves. I hope you find this useful and inspirational, encouraging you to think about how you are riding your horses and giving you more focus.

So here it is ... the big one. That scary, wonderful, exciting, and daunting thing. The one us riders pretty much always think about, even when we don’t need to. Buying a new horse. God, it’s amazing isn’t it... horse shopping? Is there anything else more exciting?! Trawling through adverts looking at pretty pony after pretty pony. I guess this is what muggles feel like when they walk through Selfridges, or perhaps when they’re on Tinder. Theoretical horse shopping ...

Lockdown isn’t easy for anyone. It is particularly hard to do when you are isolating on your own or when you are confined without a garden; fresh air; or nature. It’s also pretty tough for us equestrians. We go from living very active lifestyles, to suddenly being limited to going out once a day. While some are fortunate enough to have their own land and plenty of space to move around in, without venturing right out into public spaces - others are not so lucky, and are scared t...

Here's a very quick tutorial on leg-yield. This can be performed in walk, trot or canter. Start in your favourite pace, with a warm horse that is going evenly into both reins, and can be ridden on straight lines and gentle turns. Take an early corner, as you can see from A or C. Keep the horse's outside ear up and towards E or B, depending on what side you’re on. Now, this is the important bit... as you start to make the turn, just after the centre line on the apex of the turn, start to...

It was always going to be luck of the draw, where I ended up getting stuck when the world shut down… I was in Singapore when I started thinking I would get stuck, went to Bali, where the wheels did start to come off. And so, I got to Gili Trawangan to wait it out for a week or two, but I think I’m here for a bit of a long haul. Gili T may be familiar to people who follow me – it’s where the charity 'Horses of Gili' is – and I thought I’d give a little bit mor...

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...

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has left us all feeling pretty despairing, with shops closing left, right and centre, and social distancing leaving people feeling somewhat more detached than ‘distant’. But amidst all this doom and gloom, there’s a positive for those of us lucky enough to have our horses close to home, which is that we will be able to spend more time getting back to nature and enjoying quality time with our equines. It’s all too easy to as...

Hi, Edward here, I hope you are all well and coping ok with the coronavirus outbreak. I thought I would let you know how it’s affecting the judges and coaches. As all British Dressage events have been cancelled, all the judging dates I had booked up have been cancelled. However, I am lucky enough to be a judge for HayGrazer E-Riders, which is an online dressage platform that allows people to compete from the luxury of their yard. E-Riders offers something for everyone, from the...

The one thing that’s clear is that the best action we can currently take towards reducing the spread of coronavirus is to stay at home and wash our hands regularly. But what seems to be less clear is how pet owners and livestock keepers are supposed to maintain the health and welfare of their animals during this time. So we’ve answered some pressing questions, currently being asked by the nation.

Coronavirus..... COVID-19... Let’s be honest, we’re all bored of hearing about it now. But it’s the current, very stark, reality we’re all facing and it doesn’t look like life is set to return to normality any time soon. There’s obviously serious stuff going on in the world, and I could chew over for hours the different perspectives of COVID-19. Biowarfare, climate change, restructuring markets, the east taking over the west.... the list goes on! But enough...