Catalina

Today Catalina showed some real signs of maturity.
She will be 5 in July of next year and when i rode her today she was very focused.
I had not ridden her in a week due to personal things and so by all accounts she should have been very fresh.
There was a horse in the ring lunging and he gave out several big bucks while I was riding Catalina.
She never for a moment took her focus off me and stayed very relaxed throughout the whole thing.

Considering she was a very nervous horse at the start and quite "hot"
a year ago something like that would have set her off and made her quite tense.

Today a bomb could have gone off and she was my horse from start to finish.
She still sneezes when she gets nervous and this is a normal healthy reaction to nerves, however she still needs to learn when she does sneeze not to try and pull the reins out of my hands.

Today was a good day; I also began some work in hand as her piaffe steps will start next year.

young horse thoughts

I read an article recently that stated by the author young horses in America are not as "strong and fit" as the young horses in Europe.
It got me really thinking......
Yes, to have a top young horse that is keeping up with the current standards of being able to do the PSG test by age 7, the horse must be strong enough to handle that test and it's collection and length of time.
However in an effort to keep the lessons age appropriate and not "overdue or over tax" the horse  how as trainers do we achieve this?

In Europe and top barns in the US other fitness tools are used to help with fitness.
Some are hot walkers, tread mills, and water tanks which are useful tools that can be used to strengthen muscles with out making the horse sour or sore from the rider doing too much.

Also some people use hormones to muscle up the young horse and we see this many times with auction horses. I do not recommend that any horse age 7 and under have any growth hormones or steroids.
 However, I have  no problem with mares starting on a hormone to regulate their cycles at any onset of marish behavior.

I would also say that riding a young horse 2 times a day is a wonderful way to  get them very strong and trained quicker as well.
My Dad use to say "you can take a horse out many times a day for short periods and they will learn faster" but you can't do it all at one time.
 Many short periods do get the horse strong and smart! Always remember proper form is vital to the horse developing the proper muscles and a good fitting bridle and saddle.

Stay tuned for more young horse thoughts

Catalina

Hello Readers

Catalina my  4  year old is back to work.
She has been really good and after 2 months off to heal her injury she didn't   forget a thing.
the most wonderful thing is she loves to go to the ring and is so willing and eager to work.
This make me really happy.
She needs to build a lot of muscle and strength this winter and that is my goal, however keep in mind with these young horses the most important thing is that they learn to be aware of their body and learn to be obedient and learn in their mind what is happening .
Strength is huge but knowledge for the young horse is also very important.
when training your young horse remember length and repetition is never as important as correct form. It's important that they mentally understand what is happening and one must always keep the boundaries of manners at the forefront.

Key to remember. the "school master" and Grand Prix Horse that is competitive always have something in common. They know the "rules" and willingly except them.  In the end you want  your horse to fully understand their "job" and really like their job. this is what makes a great competition horse as well as a great school master.

Please feel free to challenge me with your questions and interests in what you want to learn.

Tonya

2012 Spring Routine

I'm already beginning to think about what rider I will use next year for breaking the three year olds in the spring.
I really put a lot of thought into who rides the young ones. They are all different and need the "right rider" I manage all the ground work and stay on the ground throughout each ride, but i have someone younger and braver actually sit in the saddle.
It's imperative that the first rider be very  confident in their ability to ride forward and with giving hands
It is not necessary at all for a 3 year old to have an advanced rider or one with a large show career, however the first rider must have great balance, giving hands, ability to ride forward and not complicate things when the babies are trotting and cantering.
I also like a rider who can help me with the lunging . I train all the three year olds to lunge with a second person helping me.
Unless you have a round pen teaching a horse to lunge alone can often create bad habits such as the horse staying on to small a circle.
My 2 year olds have already had the saddle and bridle on and became familiar with free jumping. They will complete their training at the end of October and then have November-March completely off in the field.
As 3 year olds they will re-enter the main barn for work about 4 days a week and refresh their skills on ground work and begin learning to lunge. Depending on the horse we'll be on their back by May 1st. some go faster some go slower but they need to be very well mannered and secure before we mount them and very good on the lunge line.
This does not take more than 30 days if you have 2 people working with them at the same time.
The most important thing to remember is that horses are creatures of  habit and learn the good with the bad, so we try and make sure every experience is a positive one and a good one.
By the end of their 3 year old year they should really enjoy going to the ring and be very bonded with people. The 3  year old should learn to look for his or  her handler and rider for instruction and confidence.
I keep the 3 year olds in the indoor where i can use the walls and keep the environment safe and quiet until we they know how to go forward and stop. The 3 year olds are rarely in the ring more than 30 minutes which is about how long they are able to focus. Keep it short and keep it fun.

Yealing by Kevekko

When we school the yearlings and 2 year olds we loose lunge them in the indoor. What that means is that we command them to walk trot or canter and dictate which way they go, but we allow them the full use of the arena. they are not restricted by a lunge line. I don't like to lunge them until they are 3 years old as the circle can be hard on their legs and I can teach them a lot with out the lunge line.

We have become a bit relaxed about shutting all the doors since our kick board doors are 5' high and no one has ever tried to jump out.
Well on Saturday our yearling Francesca decided to jump out of the arena. She just leaped around the turn as if she was circling half the arena and made the most beautiful jump out. She was just cantering, not galloping so it really surprised me.
She was very calm and easy to catch. She just walked back into the barn.
we then shut all the doors and allowed her to go around again to make sure she was really confident and she was fine.

needless to say we'll be shutting the doors every time from now on. I haven't had a horse like that in a long time but if they know they can jump they don't think anything of jumping out of a ring or paddock.
I think she is quite athletic. 

Babies

We will be working babies tomorrow, free jumping the two year olds and taking photos and video.
Hopefully will have some new coverage of these horses ready for viewing next week.
Also we'll add some conformation photos to web site.

Equistride International Dressage Retreat

                                        Hello Readers!

We just wrapped up our 3^rd. annual Dressage Retreat at Equistride international

I still feel it’s a work in progress and we are learning each year how to make it the best experience we can for our riders and auditors.

I’m looking forward to hearing back from our participants and learning how they feel it went.

As for the trainers Mette Rosencrantz and Susan Harris they did a great job again.

We will be deciding on our trainers in the next few months for next year.   I would very much like to have Susan and Mette back next year, but we’ll confirm later if they will do the retreat again or a single clinic here at Equistride International.

This year we had 9 riders which made a full day and Susan Harris did her painted horse demo with Ann Stahl riding through some movements.

All the riders and horses improved throughout the weekend and the emphasis was on position of the riders and the riders taking more responsibility to ride and train their horses properly.

My in hand work was fun as usual. It’s something I have a lot of experience at and really enjoy.   I think when people see the in hand work they have a bigger appreciation for how hard the piaffe is as it takes many pieces of a puzzle for the horse to put together and execute passage and piaffe.

Thank you so much to our helpers Karen Bartholomew, Marie Joppich, Jamie Kruithoff, Eduardo Martinez and Haley Prout.

I could not have done it without you!  Also thank you to Carole Grant; owner of Equistride for allowing our trainers to stay in her house and allowing us to use the facility for this event.

Please continue to spread the word about our retreat as we would really like our auditor participation to increase each year as much as possible.

Dressage Retreat

Hello Everyone

Please check back to my blog after the retreat. I'll report on the event in early September.
My 4 year old Catalina had a small injury this month and will not be back to work until late in September. I am also recovering from a broken foot. I guess it's good we are both out at the same time.
in light of this i will not be doing my young horse demo at lunch on Saturday; so please enjoy the vendors during this time.
Also I will have a list of young horses for sale if anyone is interested you may make an appointment to see the horses after the retreat in freedom.
During the retreat feel free to see young horses in the barn or in their pasture, see Tonya if you are interested in learning more about my young horse training program.

Debbie McDonald Clinic with Catalina

I took Catalina to the Debbie McDonald clinic at the end of July. I was so impressed with Debbie but was reminded that everyone at the “top” is saying the same thing but in different ways.  Debbie focused on “connection” and also that the horses except the right rein better.  Many horses do not except the right rein due to the natural  crookedness of the horse as well as the tendency for the rider to pull on the left rein more because they can. In other words horses in general are born wanting to put their heads more to the left making it easier for the rider to work the left side than the right.

In light of this there were three main things I got from Debbie “connection”   Right rein and that the horses kept a long neck. She wanted everyone’s horses “Up and out” reaching for the bit in a balanced way.  She wasn’t impressed by the frame of the horse but looked for the pitfalls of the connection in each horse.

She was very simple and steady with my 4 year old and we both had a great experience.

Catalina (lessons with Carole)

Yesterday I rode Catalina outside and there was a lot going on. She was very quiet and well behaved. The day before she had a nervous day so i was cautious not to put too much pressure on her in the beginning of the work out.
I went right away to my  square and when she was balance did my leg yields.
Carole watched and said to start adding more inside leg and outside rein to the turns.
Catalina was very good about not running away from my leg and did the right thing by engaging her inner hind leg and coming more onto the  outside rein.

So the message of the lesson was when the young horse is good on the outside rein begin with the inside leg to the outside rein.
Remember in the beginning of the square we are just teaching outside alone as we approach the turn and then inside leg and rein alone as we step through the turn.
now we begin adding the inside leg and outside rein together.
we can not use two aids together until the horse understands each aid alone.

Remember as we advance along the training scale with a young horse they will need many reminders along the way of prior lessons.  Sometimes it's 2 steps forward one step back but remember that the big picture should always show steady improvement and the young horse must go at their own speed so as not to ever loose "heart" or confidence.

Catalina and the lawn mowers

Yesterday Catalina had her first experience outside with the outdoor ring surrounded by lawn mowers.
She lunged good but i could tell she was a little worried.
After lunging i walked her around from the ground for quite a while and when she took a deep breath and relaxed i stopped her and mounted from the ground.
No one was holding her and she stood perfectly still the whole time i mounted and waited until i asked her to move forward.
She seemed completely comfortatable with the mowers.
I only walked her as 40 minutes had already passed and that was enough of a lesson for the day.
we walked back to the barn through the feild and I got off her very pleased.
Next time i might even be able to give her a normal workout dispite distractions like loud lawn mowers.

These things can be great training opportunities for any horse but one must not push the horse past their ability to be relaxed and focused.
My Dad use to always say "a nervous horse can't learn anything"

Catalina

Catalina was  very good today.
She lost her focus when a 2 year old came into the barn and was making some noise, but after a few minutes of being steady with her she regained her focus completely
It will be a while before she is completely straight to the right, but each day she is willing to allow me to ride her into straightness.
Because she is so forward and active naturally it's a challenge to get my leg on her and have her "wait" for it.
this requires some help from my mom to ensure i do not go to my hands and keep riding her back to front.
She has a really nice long neck and reaches out to the  bit with her nose in front of the vertical.
This is very important and one must take care not to loose that quality and allow her to become short in the neck.

It is hard to find trained horses that truly stay in front of the vertical but that is a sign of good training and allows for much more honest connection.

update on Dynasty and Evekko

Friday was a good day for our two year olds Dynasty and Evekko.  They were both free lunged in the indoor. After free lunging work we put the saddles on in the indoor and got the girth almost tight enough to put them loose with the saddles on.  I usually take about 2 weeks to get the girth really tight so the horses are comfortable and never afraid of the girth being tight. If this process is rushed horses can become “girthy” and “cold backed” even if they are not predisposition to do so.

We started with saddles being put on in the stall and now we will put the saddles on for a while in the indoor until they are more use to the girth being tight. Once they get use to the girth being tight we will again go back to putting the saddle on in the barn.

We have started putting the bridle on in the barn but will not add this to the ring work for another few weeks.

Both horses still need to learn to jog along side of me with good manners. Dynasty is much more respectful of the indoor gate and is focusing more and more on her handlers and less on the other horses.  Living with a heard of horses that are different ages has been very good for her.

I strongly believe in raising horses in their most natural environment until they are 4-5 years old.

This means they have to learn to socialize

Young horses born in 2009

I have not written much about our 2 year olds yet but would like to start as they are also in training and progressing along nicely
Check back for more info on Evekko a Dutch gelding born in 2009 and Dynasty a Dutch Mare born in 2009
They are both getting use to the barn, learning good manners and learning about the saddle and bridle.
Both have learned to go through the free jumping shoot.
the next big thing for them to learn is to be comfortable with the girth being tightened and when we can get the girth completely tight we will begin turning them out in indoor with the saddle on their back and eventually with the stirrups hanging down.
By mid August they will be able to free lunge in the indoor with the bridle and saddle and will be starting to get comfortable with the stirrups banging against their sides.

I like to start this ground work when they are 2 so that i don't feel rushed .
I have until April/May of next year to have them ready to be backed. This means that the horses get to be totally comfortable with everything before the first rider sits in the saddle.

Catalina

Catalina and i have began to work on should fore and more leg yielding excersises which is very exciting.
We are still waiting a bit longer to begin canter work until the trot is fully rideable and organized.
She is really understanding the work and maintaining a great attitude.

Her bowing is becoming very consistent and soon she will be able to do it with me on her back.

catalina is very active behind and so we are going slow because she uses her hind end so much that her muscles get tired fairly quickly.
Mentally she will go forever and in the wrong hands i think this horse could be easily over faced.
If you over train a young horse when the muscles are tired you risk that the horse will loose heart and become discouraged.
It is so important that we ask to do the young horse only as much as they can physically handle.

One month to the Debbie McDonald clinic and Catalina's first adventure off the farm.

Catalina

Catalina has been very good outside this year; however I feel like I’m losing her focus a bit and her concentration is not as good.
This is understandable of course but today I’m going to go back into the indoor to work on her concentration skills.

She is a very good girl and has learned its ok to look around however now in preparation for her 5 year old year she needs to learn that she needs to keep her focus on me for longer periods of time.

While I always teach riders to allow their horses to look they should immediately come back to following instruction from the rider.

Today I have a lesson on Catalina with Carole; so I will report on any new exercises later today

Fun Day for Catalina

Today Catalina got to free jump in the indoor.
She is familiar with this from learning it last year.
This is a good excersise to teach her body control and use her muscles in a different way.
After her free jumping she enjoyed a massage from Karen Bartholomew who is very good at horse massages.
it is always important to change the routine with  young horses so it's always interesting for them to go to the ring.
Keep the sessions short and at 4 years old she only needs to learn a bit everyday and have lots of possitive experiences

We also free jumped the 2 year olds today for the first time and they were great and seemed to like it right away.

First week in outdoor ring with Catalina

Well it’s been a few days since I’ve written but I want to update everyone on Catalina’s first week outside.

She was very good. I rode her on Thursday in the outdoor for the first time and just gave her a relaxed good experience, not asking too much of her and finishing a bit earlier than normal to reward her for her good behavior.

On Friday I had a lesson with Carole. Catalina was a bit more nervous starting out as the dogs were running in and out of the Gazebo and there were a few people watching.
However I gave her a bit of time to look around and start to breath and when I got started on our first trot exercise she was all business.

We started out working on the big square and getting my outside rein more confirmed.  She loves the security of the outside rein and is accepting this very well.

Carole wants her to be “warmer on my legs” and so we worked on half halts through my square turns and then closing more leg on her as we went out straight.

Carole calls this “smothering the horse with your legs” It is not that your leg should be tight by any means or that you should constantly squeeze but you should have your legs wrapped around the horses belly and this helps to fill up the contact.

We also worked on our walk halts; again halting with the outside rein and allowing Catalina to fall in a little with the inside hind.

When halting a young horse it is important that they do not feel too confined so you should halt one hind leg and let the other fall out a bit. With a young horse you halt the outside rein as this should be the first thing to get really confirmed in a horse.  The outside rein will forever be your balancing and straightening rein.

Remember when we talk about the outside or inside rein we are really talking about the whole side of the horse’s body and all of its parts. The feeling on the rein is a result of how the horse is carrying his or her body.

I’m happy that Catalina is enjoying the outdoors. She got the weekend off to allow her muscles to rest and will start up again on Tuesday.

Daily Quotes to help inspire you

My Dad use to always say;

“The horse can do all the movements but we are the ones who have trouble communicating with the horse.

He also said the horse only asks for Food and shelter in return for all we ask of them.

George Morris said,
“The greatest reward you can give your horse is good riding!”

Saturday ride on Catalina

My ride on Catalina this past Saturday was the best ride I’ve ever had on her.

She was very relaxed and was much more willing to flex and relax the neck muscles as well as use her back.

Her halts are improving and when I halt and ask her to flex she no longer wants to back up.

Carole had given me some exercises to do before the Shannon Peters clinic and Shannon gave me more exercises along the same lines which were very helpful.
Now that Catalina is understanding to follow the reins better and also to yield the leg in a more relaxed way it’s time to move on to more excersises.

I’ll be working with Carole again next week to begin the next step of doing more transitions and teaching Catalina to use her back more.

As her halts get perfected the turn on the forehand will get better as well.
I had already started turn on the forehand before the Shannon Peters clinic but she was critical of me doing the movement when Catalina was not on the bit.

In light of that I have been working on simple halts and flexion, and now Catalina understands that light contact and flexion does not mean to back up.

Catalina will make her first outing off the farm at the end of July in the Debbie McDonald clinic.

Thursday ride on Catalina

Catalina was really good today

She has been staying in the main barn more lately and getting use to less turn out.
Last year and the beginning of this year she was a bit too fresh and nervous when not living outside, but she is getting better all the time about being inside and also being well behaved.
She is trained to the hot walker now and seems to except changes in her routine better.

Our next goal is to prepare her as best I can for the clinic with Debbie McDonald at the end of July.
I think this will be a good outing for her.

I want her to see the world this year without the pressure of showing.

I’m going to apply for the Stephan Peters symposium; but I’m not sure if they will be needing a 4 year old.
That symposium is the weekend before our Annual Dressage Retreat.

I’m also going to be riding Catalina in the dressage retreat and am really looking forward to allowing Catalina to get use to the activity of all the people during the retreat.

She is a really level headed young horse but very sensitive and spirited.

She is slowly accepting the contact more and getting better on m y leg.

She is also getting use to staying more concentrated when distractions happen like my son running in the ring and the dogs coming in and out.

She has always been good about people and other horses; in fact she seems to like that.

If the rain ever stops I’ll get her outside on a regular basis and do my video needed for the application for the Steffen Peters symposium

Look for updates and video on Catalina working outside when we get an improvement in the weather.

August Dressage Retreat

Look for more writings on the dressage retreat.
I would like my readers to know the details of the clinic.
Horses can arrive Friday anytime.
If riders would like to arrive earlier they can make arrangements with Tonya to do so.
Some riders may  like to come in early and take a few lessons from carole or tonya to prepare for the clinic.

You may research Mette Rosencrantz and Susan Harris if you are not familiar with them.

My in hand work is good for any age or level horse and is designed around what the horse needs.

Saturday night will be a dinner and movie clip and demo in the indoor arena.
We will have soda water and food. Riders and auditors may bring their own drinks if they desire alcohol of any kind.

we will feed horses and clean stalls saturday and sunday included in the fee of $850
each rider will work with Tonya one time and have one lesson by each trainer per/day.
So the horses go to the ring 2 times a day
Riders and weekend package auditors will work out in the early morning with fitness instructor Lisa Wolfe.

We will also do night check at 9:00 each night.

We have space to hook up 2 campers if anyone needs on site camp hook up please call Tonya

There is also a camp ground 1 mile down the road and many hotels in the area.

For hotels check Fenton or Hartland area.

we only have 3 riding spots left but will start a waiting list if needed.
Also we have a lot of room for auditors so auditors may  pay at the door however for our dinner and demo we request that you please send in your form and check so we can plan for seating and food.
We usually save about 5 extra seats for walk in dinner tickets.

Hope to see you all there; this could be our best year.

Happy riding and learning, Tonya

Funny Quotes from my parents

My mom once said
"It takes 3 life times to learn to ride dressage"
My take on that is that you better enjoy the ride.
The path to success is much more enjoyable if we remember to stop and enjoy the small accomplishments.
many small improvements in one's riding lead to big changes.

Carole Grant Funny Quotes:

"That has nothing to do with Dressage"
"Stop screwing the saddle!"
Chuck Grant funny quote:
"You can do it like that if you want; but it won't work"

FUTURE CLINICS AT EQUISTRIDE INTERNATIONAL

FOR ALL INTERESTED I AM TRYING TO GET ONE MORE DATE FOR THIS YEAR AND ONE DATE FOR NEXT YEAR FROM SHANNON PETERS.
SHE IS HOPING TO MAKE THE OLYMPIC TEAM NEXT YEAR MAKING HER SCHEDULE A BIT UNCERTAIN BUT I AM WORKING ON A DATE AND WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW AS SOON AS I CAN GET ONE.

WE ENJOYED SHANNON VERY MUCH AND LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING HER BACK

ALSO STAY TUNED FOR NEWS ON A CAROLE GRANT CLINIC AT EQUISTRIDE INTERNATIONAL
WHILE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS AREA RIDE WITH CAROLE WE RARELY GET THE CHANCE TO GET TOGETHER ON THE SAME DAYS AND SEE EACH OTHERS LESSONS
I'M PROPOSING A TWO DAY CLINIC WITH CAROLE AT EQUISTRIDE TO NOT ONLY GET GREAT LESSONS FROM CAROLE BUT ALSO LEARN FROM EACH OTHER BY WATCHING OTHER  PEOPLES LESSONS

Short term goals for Catalina

Catalina and I are now preparing to get comfortable with more contact and connection and also get comfortable outside.
I'm looking forward to more training with my mom in the next month and my goal will be to get Catalina stronger and more connected for the next clinic with Debbie McDonald.

I am also planning to ride catalina with Susan Harris in the dressage retreat in August

Please stay posted for more news on Catalina;

Our 2 year olds will be starting to have saddles put on next week.
I like to get them use to the saddle in free lunging first and then introduce the bridle; so between now and August we'll get them use to the equiptment as well as more daily barn activities

More about the Shannon Peters Clinic

Shannon Peters worked on each rider’s position throughout the clinic

The theme was rider position being perfect first and foremost and then teaching the riders to get their horses looser through the shoulders in half pass and all lateral work.

Shannon pointed out that many riders make the mistake of trying to fix the position of the haunches before positioning the shoulders.

Some riders were critised for giving too many aids to the horse at the same time therefore making what the rider wanted unclear to the horse. Shannon described many aids at the same time as being like “white noise to the horse”

She mentioned pointing the inside toe toward the marker in half pass work. This was something I had never heard of before but I’m looking forward to trying it.

I will say that it did improve the half pass when the riders did this; however I would point out to my readers that they must be well versed at leg position to do this without mistakenly putting the spur in the horse as that was not the intension Shannon had.

Shannon used a long whip and put it upright at the back of the saddle and allowed the riders at halt to lean back against it.

She was trying to get the riders to use their back and core to resist being pulled out of the tack and loosening their seat.  As a teacher I found this to be a useful tool.

Shannon used the long line with one horse with the rider on his back which was wonderful to watch.

This should never be attempted by someone who is not well versed in long line work as it could put the rider in a bad spot, however Shannon was very confident and knew what she was doing. She used this excersise to stabilize the rider and horse on the outside rein and stabilized the rider’s position.

Several times Shannon came behind horses with the whip. Again this should never be done by someone who does not have good timing and respect for the horse. Shannon was able to help the horses from the ground for more jump in the canter and some passage and piaffe work.

Shannon kept on one subject until both horse and rider achieved the goal. She kept everything simple and pure and there was no flash and dance just correct classical teaching always fixing the rider before the horse.

Shannon Peters Clinic

I had a great lesson today on my 4 year old mare Catalina
There was a lot going on and she handled it really well.
Shannon worked on my position to help straighten her and influence her to better bend around the corners.
She dropped my shoulders and elbows and had me turn my belly button toward the turn using my outside leg to help her come through the bend.
It's important for people not to misread this and think they should turn there whole body toward the turn.
Your hips should always remain straight with the inner hip forward however the upper body apart from your hips and seat may turn in toward the inside.
The mare responded very well.
Shannon was quick to add the mare must release the muscles in the neck and i i will be working on asking Catalina to except more flextion without backing up.
This can be done from the ground or with someone on the ground helping me because from halt when i ask for flextion she wants to back  up
(quite normal for a young horse)

i learned a lot and have many more notes to take tomorrow
I"ll share with you more tips from the more advanced lessons tomorrow.

Time to get outside

                   First Day outside with my 4 year old

Catalina’s first day outside went very well.
We did take her outside last year as a 3 year old, but have kept most of her training inside.

Yesterday I lunged her outside in our arena and she was very good.
I will begin riding her outside this week.

Keep in mind we only have a show ring set up so there is no “real fence “ in our outdoor which means we need to go slow with the babies in the outdoor.

We have many deer, coyotes, and cows near by the ring which is great atmosphere for all horses but they need to get used to it.

We also had a new motorcycle track put up on our neighbor’s property which surrounds our property and is not far from the outdoor, making yet another challenge for young horses.

However I feel lucky to have all this atmosphere right at home to help prepare my young horses for the “real world” meaning horse shows.

Everything can be used as a training tool if one is patient and persistent, giving horses the time they need to handle new things both mentally and physically.

I always work on my young horse’s minds before making anything to difficult physically.

Just like when you go to the gym and are lifting weights or doing a new aerobic move, it’s important to learn to do the move correctly before adding weight and it’s important to also teach the aerobic move in a slow way before making it quicker.

The same holds true for training our horses.

They must understand what to do with their bodies and how to do it, so we do exercises to help the young horse have “body awareness”

Cross training young horses with jumping is a great way of doing that as well as ground work such as jogging, reining back  and high school work such as bowing.

If you are not a jump rider or do not have access to a good jump rider; free jumping works just as well to teach the horse about their body.

Without body control and mind body awareness the horse will never be truly trained.
This is the difference between “riding the horse” and “training “the horse.

My Dad always said “The horse can do all the movements; we are the ones who have trouble communicating with the horse”

Catalina

I had two great lessons with my mom Carole last week.

I've spent the last year really working on Catalina's mind as she is very sensitive and started out as a 3 year old on the hot side.

Now she is ready to begin building her body muscles up and except more aids for straightening and using her back.

I was given a good classical exercise for her and she is already starting to come through her back better.

In rising trot i turn to the quarter line with my inside rein and leg sending her a bit forward.

I then turn back to the wall with my outside rein and leg toward B or E

When I get back to the wall I begin a 12 meter circle sending her forward with a following inside rein through the circle.

Upon returning to the track I regain my outside rein and go straight.

In direction right since she falls on her right shoulder too much I need to put gentle weight on her right hind leg and then ask her to follow the outside rein (left rein) and enlarge the circle many times.

As she begins to follow the reins better she loosens her middle part of her body and begins to stretch.

Carole said she must use her back to become straight as she is naturally quite crooked.

However i can't stress enough when we are teaching a young horse to use their back the trainer must NEVER force this or force the head of the horse down as this causes at best the horse to go on the forehand and worst to feel pain through the back and top line.

Remember in the end the horse should LOVE to go to the ring and LOVE their work or we have failed in our training.

old video of inspiration

I love riding videos. I love to watch the best riders and horses as it gives me inspiration and a fresh eye for the finished product.
while going through videos today i found a DVD of an old Documentary called Riding for America.
It is a wonderful video about the top riders in Dressage; show jumping; and eventing.

My mother is riding at the USET Head quarters and interviewed in this movie.
I will be sharing an edited version of this during dinner at or annual dressage retreat.

I am hoping for an updated version of this great movie.
There are so many new riders; trainers; and horses that this movie deserves to have a "Part Two" series.

Shannon Peters

Shannon Peters wife of World Champion rider Stephan Peters will be teaching a clinic May 14-15

Please see information at Equistride.com
this is going to be a great experience as Shannon is coming fresh off several wins on the Grand Prix tour in California.
This is a perfect opportunity to sharpen your skills before show season and have the same "eyes on the ground" as Stephan Peters uses.

Catalina

My young horse Catalina will be 4 in June. I started her in basic training when she was 2 years old and we rode her last year in May.

She is a small horse with three good gates and a very forward way of going.
She started out very nervous in the beginning and so we went very slowly with her.
I had a very quiet and patient rider on her last year and this year I’m doing all the riding myself except when she is jumped.
Catalina is jumped for the purpose of cross training which is very important for all young horses.
She was only free jumping until a few weeks ago and is now jumping once in a while under saddle.
I am very proud of how relaxed she has become and also how much she truly enjoys coming to the ring for training.
She is beginning to stretch into the bridle and relax her back which has been the biggest natural challenge for her. She is getting confirmed in high school work such as bowing, Spanish walk, circus bow etc.
A few weeks ago I had a junior ride her to jump her and while she was riding my 3 young boys were running around the ring and two dogs were playing.
She not only was very well behaved; she actually seemed to enjoy working around all this activity.
Young horses should never be over faced but it is important that they become comfortable with many different kinds of situations.
I plan to travel this year with Catalina to different barns and places for experience but will not show her until she is 5 years old.
I also plan to take this year to get her very comfortable with outdoor field and ring work.
I will be posting her progress along the way