Whats Happening: Last weekend Rachael and I had the opportunity to attend a Carl Hester Masterclass in Caboolture, Queensland. Carl is an accomplished Olympic dressage rider, competitor and coach. He spoke on an array of topics while coaching, horse and rider combinations through the dressage levels. A great evening and well worth attending.
Well it has finally happened, earlier in the year I spoke of doing some work on the website and it is now completed. There is a small shop which will I hope will grow over time and an online course.
The Online Course: while not replacing attending one, I hope, will act as a source of support for those that have been on courses or perhaps as a source of preparation for those going on courses in the future. There is quite a lot of video footage plus some notes as well and I trust that the information will be helpful for all. For those that are interested go to the course button on the website home page. There will be a drop down box for the online course.
This weekend we have a 2 day course at Anstead Acres within the Brisbane area. Detail are available on the website. In December I am back in Western Australia for 10 days , again information is on the website.
Horsemanship: Balance is a topic that is often discussed and something that was said to myself a long time ago was: That feel brings you timing and timing brings you balance. As our feel develops so do many other attributes.
When the horse gets out of balance their emotional stability is compromised.
The image on the left is a horse that I started in Western Australia. I was using the flag to help him gain confidence and also to help in creating flexion on the circle and to not have him fall on his inside shoulder. You can note the inside hind leg stepping up underneath the horse.
Having the horse stay balanced through the shoulders is also very important. If the horse is not perpendicular through the shoulders, leads and lead changes are going to prove challenging as well.
Learning not to override your horse and to develop your horse at the walk and trot in preparation for the canter. Encouraging your horse to see you as a place of peace. The meaning of the words above when they were shared with me was often limited by my experience. As my experience and understanding grew so did my knowledge.
Great article Dave with lots of good tips as always
Great news that your website is up & going.
Jackie
A well timed article for me Dave, thank you.
I had one of those schooling sessions yesterday which just had me grinning from ear to ear when, after 7 years, the proverbial penny began to drop into place for me and my horse, and the dialogue under the saddle seemed very grown up.
I thought of you. You told me that people don’t realise how long it takes to produce a good horse and I appreciate that comment more than ever today.
Hi David, I saw you at a distance at Caboolture and with so many people was hard to yell hello. Also found Carl’s master class very insightful. He had lots of moments that displayed good horsemanship making moments easier for the horse to understand. Always beautiful to see when something is done well.