David Stuart

 It is certainly summer time in Australia with fires and storms, sun and cricket and with the Australian tennis open next month. I am currently back home in Central Queensland, riding horses from the current young horse intake. In riding around home it is a stark contrast to the climate and countryside that many riders in the Northern Hemisphere and elsewhere have available.

Over the years when owners/ riders come to pick their horses up after starting, the question gets asked what do I do now. Most times I will say ride your horses for another couple of weeks and do so outside of an arena if you can. I appreciate that many riders may feel safer in an arena than outside of one and may not have an “outside” to ride.   So I am speaking from what I believe is good for the horse and what has worked for me from my own experiences over the years. This is really about the benefits of riding outside versus an arena.

One of Australia’s many friendly faces

Quite quickly with most “young horses” that are in to be started I like to get them riding outside of an arena as soon as I can.  By getting outside I am able to help the horse to become more self confident and forward going.  There are many outside experiences that can help with this from crossing creeks and streams to going over logs and up and down hills. Of course in Australia there is also the odd kangaroo that is jumping by and I have cattle as well.  All experiences of this nature I really believe help the horse to develop more self confidence. While I am riding I really pay attention to my horses expression and where the horses mind is at. When riding outside I am often looking at cattle or checking waters in other words I am doing a job. Riding with a sense of purpose also helps the horse to learn to walk out.  While some horses are more forwards than others, many riders will say that they find their horses more forwards outside than in an arena, the horses expression will often be more positive when outside of an arena.

One of the U.Ks. many friendly faces

When I am outside I try and take advantage of  logs to jump, water crossings, trotting up hills or walking down hills and keeping the horse’s weight back.  I often ride around water troughs or tanks to help the horse take the arc of a circle or turn around. Many horses that have been raised on small acreages will not have had to cross a creek or drink out of a stream so can find water crossings quite a challenge.

Being able to utilise an arena is also important and will cause you to be more accurate and precise, with the timing of your cues and in the way that you set your horse up for different movements.  There is so much to the old saying of:  preparation to the position for the transition. The way you arrange the life in the body of the horse for the transition becomes really important. Not just in an arena but outside as well. Many riders will struggle with the life coming up in the horse when riding outside. Learn to give that life a direction.

I often see many riders that can ride in an arena but when they go outside they have a different horse. Over time you should be able to ride both outside and in an arena without feeling you are riding a different horse. A healthy balance between the two is important. There are so many props and I don’t have to set any up, they are already set up.

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year and I look forward to seeing everyone in the new year.

The End of the Day and an Australian Sunset

It is good to now be back home in Australia and it has been a very busy October with young horses and courses. Scott O’Malley from New Zealand also came across for two weeks. He was on hand for the Horsemanship and Cow Working course in Nebo at home. He did create some banter from the locals, while having the last laugh with the rugby. The October intake of young horses were varied , with two of the horses not having any prior handling.

Working one of the unhandled young horses from a saddle horse.

This is not unusual in rural areas, horses from rural areas will often not have had a lot of interaction with humans and often will lack confidence around the human and our environment, their self preservation will be close to the surface. Horses from urbanised areas are often more sure of the human but perhaps have become a little to familiar and learnt some things that they would be best not to know.

This year I have tried to highlight the importance of having horses that are confident in the human and have good ground manors. We would like our horses to respond with respect but without fear. This comes from the horse understanding what we are asking. In the images to the left I am using a saddle horse and lariat rope to work with two of the horses that were not “halter broke.” The saddle horse also gives the young horses a little more confidence  and gets to see a rider from above. The lariat rope is a little like a halter and lead but not as forgiving and you will have to understand your positioning to the horse a lot more.

The month of November is now upon us and I have more horses in.  (There are a couple of spaces still available in the December young horse intake due to a couple of cancellations.)   This weekend I have  a course at home in Nebo for one of the zones of the  Queensland Pony Club, the Qld State Pony Club has really tried to highlight the importance of developing the horsemanship of all that are associated with the pony club and they are to be congratulated for taking this initiative . As many will have heard me say countless times that if we make our goal to develop a good saddle/ riding horse the rest is so much easier. In order to develop that good saddle horse you are going to need to work on yourself and your horsemanship.

Another young horse from October’s intake

Next week I will be back in the South Island of New Zealand for a week long course, details can be viewed on the course schedule of my  website, this is a horsemanship / cow working course. On my return from New Zealand I have the last intake of horses for the year.

Over the next few weeks, I will be updating the website course schedule with new courses for 2015. For those that are interested in hosting a course for next year, please contact me at [email protected]

 Whats Going On:  Autumn is now upon those in the U.K. and of course spring is now in the air for the Southern Hemisphere. My time in the Northern Hemisphere has been busy with horsemanship courses and young horse starting. All has gone well with full courses and starting some 15 head of horses in the U.K. for the 2 months that I was there.

I am now travelling back to Australia, currently enjoying some time in Europe practicing my golf swing. I will be back in the Middle East for a short time before arriving back in Sydney for a course at the end of September at Fullcirlce Farm, Picton, N.S.W. It is then back into my 2014 Australian and New Zealand schedules. My website will be updated over the coming months with my 2015 Australian, New Zealand  and U.K. course and young horse schedule. I also have the second article titled ” Timing” coming out in the e-magazine, The Horseman’s Diary shortly.

Horsemanship: Within the horsemanship courses that I teach I speak of the importance of the horse’s inside leg and also the riders. Equally the importance of your outside rein when you use your inside leg and how that affects the position of your horse’s inside leg.  Many riders may find that when they use their inside leg it will not  initially have much meaning. When used in conjunction with your outside rein your inside leg should help the horse to step forward and track up with their inside leg and become more united and engaged. When your horse’s inside leg is tracking up you will find that your canter transitions should also improve with your horse ” going up into the canter ” as opposed to running, falling or rearing into the canter. Equally when you have both inside legs tracking up equally this will help you with straightness within your horse. It will also help you to have your ridden circles become more even on both reins.

When speaking of the importance of the riders inside leg I am not suggesting that riders not use an outside leg to cue their horses for the canter. The horse is like a ship and steers from the hindquarters. If we become more focused on what occurs behind the withers the front often takes care of itself. Again it is the ” Preparation to the position for the transition.”

This blog has been a while coming and a lot has happened since the last update. As many will have now noticed there is a new website that is up, it has a new look and feel to it. If you scroll down the home page you will find links to different webpages as well as having the buttons at the top of the page to navigate from. If I can navigate my way around others should find it a breeze.

Since my arrival into the U.K. I have started in Scotland and have been out and about doing courses around the countryside of the U.K. We have now taken in our second intake of young horses with the first intake from July going back over the weekend. The Foundation Training Weeks here at Dudgeley  Farm have been very busy with both new riders and of course, well seasoned riders from past years. It is really great to see the progress that riders have been making over the years with not only their horses but in their understanding and knowledge.

In recent courses and lessons etc, I have really tried to emphasise the importance of not just going through the mechanics of an exercise. If riders can obtain a better understanding of what they are looking for in their horses in the outcome and the feel that they are trying to obtain from their horses, the outcome will be greatly improved. In an article I have written recently that can be view from the media page titled  “Feel” I try to get riders to understand that they need to transcend beyond just the mechanics of an exercise if they want to continue to progress with their horsemanship. Where your horse has a good feel and rhythm to what you are doing on the ground or in the saddle your horse is likely to be more let down and relaxed as well.

I made comment today, to the class here at Dudgeley in Shropshire, that when the impossible becomes possible it becomes exciting. For many when we start out we do not even know what is possible. As we all progress in what we have to offer the horse, we will be able to get so much more done yet with seemingly so little.

This year my UK schedule is short and at the end of August I start to head out  for other parts of the world and then back to the Middle East and then back home at the end of September. Of course my Australian & New Zealand course schedule start up on my arrival back home, there have been new dates added to the course schedule for Australia so please check the website course listings for those.

In closing the U.K. weather to date has been very accommodating  and welcoming, I am hoping that this will continue through for the month of August as well.