Everyday Horsemanship

11 months ago

Everyday Horsemanship added 2 new photos.

Horses can become desensitised to constant pressure and a lack of release. This can show up with horses that have become dull to the leg aids or dull to the reins. Horses that have become dull can become more sensitive if you understand how applying pressure and releasing pressure affects desensitising and sensitising.

Knowing that pressure can motivate but it’s the release that teaches can help to prevent horses getting dull, or help them to become more sensitive again.

Constant gripping or nagging with the legs will desensitise a horse – instead develop an independent balanced seat and release & quit leg aids when you get the desired response from your horse. Wearing spurs can improve sensitivity, but horse’s can easily become dull to these too if understanding and skill are not taken in the application and release of pressure.

Applying your leg with the timing of the horse’s leg as it leaves the ground will help even more as the horse is in the best position and balance to be able to respond. For more tips on feeling for the feet, see previous post www.facebook.com/everydayhorsemanship/posts/1755091284705616

Continual, firm pressure on the reins will also desensitise the horse to the feel of the bit. Ensure the reins are not being used for balance – instead develop an independent balanced seat, and release/soften fingers on reins when you get the desired response from your horse. If riding with a connection/contact with both reins, be aware of whether your connection is neutral (so horse can differentiate when you activate a rein for communication) or constantly active (which could cause horse to become desensitised to the reins). There is value to being able to ride on a loose rein as well as with connection with the reins.

Getting your hands in time with your horse’s feet will help even more as the horse is in the best position and balance to be able to respond.

Developing your horse’s impulsion so that your horse can maintain walk, trot and canter without constantly being pushed with the legs, or held back with the reins is also a consideration.

A useful quote to consider; “Absentmindedly holding the reins too tightly – pressure without purpose dulls the aids.” - Melanie Smith-Taylor from her book ‘Riding with Life’ a helpful and practical horsemanship publication I can thoroughly recommend.

**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here;

www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/ ... See MoreSee Less

Everyday Horsemanship

12 months ago

Everyday Horsemanship added 2 new photos.

Knowing where your horse’s feet are underneath you when you are riding can be very useful but is sometimes not given much consideration by riders. Knowing this information, feeling it, and developing timing to complement this, is a great horsemanship skill to learn and develop.

Examples of uses are: being able to rise on the correct diagonal in trot without looking down and putting weight on the forehand; being able to ask for canter at the best time to achieve the canter lead you want; being able to set the horse up to halt squarely; and asking for a lateral manoeuvre when the particular leg you want to yield is leaving the ground…..

“Knowing the horse’s foot falls can help you become a better rider. Feeling the horse’s foot falls can help you become a better horseman.” - Unknown


Learning the footfalls can be done by watching horses move (ideally on slow motion video) to gain the knowledge of the number of beats and the order of the feet in each gait.

Developing feel for the feet within each gait does require riding, but can be tricky to get to grips with as while we feel everything that happens underneath us when we ride a horse, sometimes it can be tricky to know exactly what you are feeling……

Learning the feel of the front feet can be easier to get feed back as a quick glace down can confirm if what we think we are feeling, is what we are actually feeling.

The hind feet can be trickier, but can be felt by the swing of the ribs and/or the dip of the back from side to side. This is best felt in walk – as the horse walks their barrel (ribs) swing and back dips slightly – as the right hind lifts the barrel swings away to the left and the right side of the back dips down slightly (NB as right hind lifts, right side of back dips down – not up as you might expect to feel). Then the reverse happens as the left hind leaves the ground. You may feel the barrel swing with your legs, and the back dipping with your seat. As you develop this feel you may only feel one of these things – some horses have more pronounced or subtle movement than others.

To check you have the feel correlated with what is actually happening check in an arena mirror or a friend on the ground to confirm whether you are correct or not as you call out when a particular leg is leaving the ground (or use a video camera for feedback later) .

Once you get the feeling, feel for the start of the barrel swing, or the start of the back dipping. The start of this phase is when the foot is leaving the ground.

Once you can feel the hind legs in walk, try in trot.

You can rise with the correct diagonal by doing sitting trot and feeling for the inside hind. Once you can feel when it is leaving the ground, rise with it (and sit again as it returns to the ground). You can check you are correct by glancing at the outside front leg and if you are rising and sitting in time with that, you are correct - trot is a diagonal gait – the inside hind and outside fore move together as a pair.

**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here;

www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/ ... See MoreSee Less

Everyday Horsemanship

12 months ago

Everyday Horsemanship added 6 new photos.

Having a horse that will lower its head on request is very useful for grooming, vet checks, bridling, plaiting etc…..but all these tasks can become challenging if a horse holds its head high or has learnt to move their head to avoid being handled.

Teaching a horse to lower its head is a useful education that many horses have not been taught. It can feel like a vulnerable position for many horses so it is important that confidence is put first, before trying to get the procedure done. If the horse is not confident with any of these stages (having their head and ears handled / lowering their head / the procedure or task that is required) they may try to escape or become defensive in their behaviour which can be difficult and dangerous to handle.

To be able to do a task with their head lowered requires the horse to;

1) be confident with their head & ears being handled and with motion over and around their head.

2) understand to lower their head on request and be confident in this position

3) be confident to keep their head lowered for the required period of time.

4) Once all the above stages are in place individually, they can be combined – lower head, able to confidently keep head lowered without holding it there whilst handling head & ears.

5) Once stage 4 is in place, it will be easier to ask the horse to lower their head and keep it lowered whilst completing the required task/procedure (eg. grooming / plaiting / fly repellent etc).

To gain confidence (for lowering the head, keeping head lowered for increasing periods of time, and for handling the head, ears and motion over and around their head), ask in small achievable stages, retreat if unconfident and re-approach, quit on confidence/the behaviour you want.

To teach a horse to yield to pressure, remember that pressure motivates but the release teaches.

When introducing a procedure (eg grooming, bridling, plaiting, checking ears, applying fly repellent etc) - have the horse’s confidence be more important than the task.

Ask in small stages, retreat if unconfident, quit on confidence/the behaviour you want and then build on their confidence over as many sessions as the horse needs.

Once you have communication & confidence with lowering their head, and confidence having their head & ears handled in this position, achieving the chosen task with your horse's head lowered should be easy.

**Shropshire based Horsemanship coach Sally Brett - available to teach ground work and ridden lessons & workshops throughout the Midlands & Wales. Find out more about Sally here; www.everydayhorsemanship.co.uk/instructors/ ... See MoreSee Less