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Back in the UK

By Uncategorized

MapMarker My U.K. schedule starting off in the north of England at the beginning of July then headed to Scotland. We have also been down south to the New Forrest as well. The first intake of young horses is now almost at a close with the handover course this coming weekend. Many of the horses on this intake have been restarts or have previoulsy been bucking riders off. The image below is of one of the horses that has been here for a couple of weeks. It has been enjoyable riding these horses and seeing how far they can progress in the time available . If we can keep the horse in balance it really helps the horse to not to get worried. This is a life long lesson for all of us.

 

 

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One of the highlights of my U.K. trip this year has been a ride in an Aston Martin DB 9 convertible with the ride living up to expectations.  It has been great catching up with everyone on the courses and the foundation weeks and seeing the progress riders are making. My U.K. schedule is available for viewing on my website. For further enquiries please email or contact Tina at:  infouk@davidstuart.com.au

An Australian May Autumnal Blog.

By Uncategorized

MapMarker It has been a few months since I last updated my website blog. Recent travels have seen me in Perth W.A. and in Hervey Bay Qld, many thanks to Jenny Jackson and family and to Megan Wray and the Qld Pony Club. Without course hosts, courses do not happen.  To the riders and spectators I very much hope that you were able to improve on your horsemanship and enjoyed the class. This week sees me just outside of Sydney for the week and then I have another intake of young horses coming for May and June. There is also another lesson day here at my family’s property in May and in June another 2 day course is scheduled for Victoria at St Andrews.

During recent courses I spoke about riding your horse from leg to hand. Many riders find that when they pick up on a soft feel that their horse starts to slow down or that they lose forwards.  Having your horse in front of your leg but not escaping from your leg was something that seemed to resonate with some riders. Also the use of trotting poles, cavaletties  and small jumps was a means to help some riders and horses regain forwards in their horses.  Equally as the horse’s impulsion began to improve so did the straightness in the horses.  As a result then when they picked up on a soft feel again they had more quality with their horses being more engaged and lighter in the front end.   In regards to straightness I spoke about looking at your horses tracks when you ride away from home and when he is coming home. Most riders will feel their horse rides home a little better than when he is going away from home.

DSC02719The image above is not a trotting pole and the jump the horse took was a little bigger than some riders would like. What was interesting about this horse was that you could tell when he was going to make the jump and when he was thinking of not jumping. When the horse was coming into the jump with ears pricked forward and good impulsion, he would carry you into the jump and over. As a generalisation, a horse with poor impulsion was also expressed in the overall expression of the horse and they would run out or refuse the jump.[ Riders, do not worry if jumping is not your thing, we can just stick to the trotting poles ]

Ray Hunt said more than once,  the horse is the fact and the human has an opinion. Getting our opinion and facts to match up is part of reading the horse and that comes with time and experience.  As I have at times mentioned during courses this will be a long road to ride with more than a few pot holes along the way. At times all I can do is to encourage all to ride forward and straight.

February Blog

By Blog, Food for thought

MapMarkerSince my last website blog, I can now say that we have enjoyed some very much needed rain here in Central Queensland. Presently I have another intake of young horses in at the moment, with a couple having gone home over the weekend. This intake have a ranging of ages from 3 to 8 years of age. A couple of the 3 year olds I started as 2 year olds. To my knowledge they had not been ridden since, what I find really encouraging is that you can pick up right where you left off.  I have seen this happen on many occasions now and I really believe that when the foundation is solid you have something dependable to fall back on, some horses it may take a little while for this to happen.

Throughout my travels, I see situations where riders are bringing their horses back into work after a spell either through the winter weather  or having turned a young horse away after starting etc. As mentioned if you have something to fall back on then it is often a non event.

Other News – I have now had a couple of courses here at my families cattle property in Central Queensland. I have another Horsemanship – Cow Working course planned for the Easter weekend, also in May I have another lesson day planned. More info is available on the course schedule page of the website. Or email me at info@davidstuart.com.au

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Horsemanship –  The image above is from the Legacy of Legends event in Tamworth, Australia that I spoke of in last months blog. Some of the exercises that you do either on the ground or in the saddle, either starting a colt / young horse or with an older horse maybe the same or similar. As your knowledge base grows and you have more depth to your understanding then you will look at the exercises differently and be able to help the horse more with where they are at. To many, I guess it can get a little repetitive and while the message seems a simple one, there is much more to it.  When you see the exercises done with feel and timing, the outcome is often very different to when the exercises are done without feel and timing.

The first one of Ray Hunt’s courses that I went to in the mid eighties, Ray would have us tell him when one of the horse’s feet where leaving the  ground. The last course I was at in 2009 Ray was still asking us to tell him when one of the horse’s feet where leaving the ground. Many of us know the footfalls of the horses gaits and a few ride the footfalls.

Those from the jumping world will know the relevance of counting strides, but you don’t have to be a jump rider to count strides and you don’t have to wait until you are riding an older saddle horse, you can do this on any horse. It will also help your feel and timing and you can do this on the ground or in the saddle. It will help with lead changes to feeling the rhythm and tempo of the gaits and much more. Even if we are not right all the time, I believe that the fact that your horse can feel you are trying to help, they will fill in for us.

2016, The New Year Starts

By Blog, Food for thought, Uncategorized

MapMarkerJanuary 2016  started with a weeks stay in  Tamworth, Australia for the Legacy of Legends event. It was an exceptional 3 day event and well supported by the southern hemisphere audience with numbers bigger than the first Legacy of Legends event held in Tamworth in 2014.  It was also great to see many friends from the U.S. make it across to Australia for this event.  It may have been just to escape the winter of the Northern Hemisphere. Carolyn Hunt & Buck Brannaman have bought this event across from the U.S. with the enormous help of  Anthony and Deb Desreaux in organizing it.

The schedule consisted of colt starting, horsemanship, cow working  and roping sessions. The image below was from the last morning session of the colt start and was of Buck helping me to get on this filly from the fence. The presentation that Buck gave using this filly and explaining what was taking place was a topic of conversation for many of the audience. A few of the comments Buck made during the presentation were about the importance of changing eyes and not pushing and having good flexion when bringing the forequarters though plus the placement of the feet. While the session did not start here and was a little western at the beginning, to feel the difference in this horse at the end was exceptional. It is difficult to put all the lessons into words and for many the lessons would have been a more visual.

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After Tamworth it was off to Southport on the Gold Coast in Queensland, not for the Magic Millions but for the annual state pony club conference held at the Southport Pony Club grounds.  The Qld State Pony Club have been holding horsemanship courses throughout the state for a number of years now. They are to be commended for seeing the importance of horsemanship in their curriculum.

In  February I have horses coming in for starting,  plus cattle work with a lesson day in early February at my family’s cattle station. I also have a 4 day horsemanship & cow working course at the end of March at home as well. For more information please email me at info@davidstuart.com.au

I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year and look forward to catching up through out my travels during the year.

 

 

Novembers Blog

By Blog, Food for thought, Uncategorized

MapMarkerSince my last website blog I have been in Perth, New Zealand and just recently returned from Melbourne. It is always good to be back in Australia and getting around this big country. I have had the opportunity to travel extensively for over 20 years and while appreciating and enjoying what many other countries have to offer. Australia is a great and lucky country with recent global events.

I have now completed my course schedule for this year and start again in the new year with the Australian Legacy of Legends event in Tamworth and then a 2 day course at the annual Southport Queensland Pony Club conference. I also have another intake of young horses in February for those interested, please email me, places are limited. At the end of March I also have a course here at my place in Central Queensland, this is a 4 day course and will be a horsemanship and cow working course. Again please email if you are interested as places will be limited. There  are also a few more courses for the Australian schedule next year that are in the pipe line so please look at the course schedule webpage for updates.

12189382_1513740505616647_751071905197855176_oThe image above and below is from the week long course in Perth. The horse I am riding is one of Jenny Jackson’s horses,  Jenny and her family educated us all on Alpacas and made all welcomed. The New Zealand course went very well with a very good standard and all making good progress over the course, thank you to Scott O’Malley & Michaela Coombe. The St Andrews course in Victoria was also progressive and a big thank you to Tiana and her husband Stu for their hospitality and in making everyone feel welcomed. The smaller image was of a friends horse that I rode for a couple of the afternoon sessions at the St Andrews course.

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IMG_2504At recent courses, while helping riders on many topics of horsemanship. a couple of those topics have been transitions and the other equitation. For those that are able to take on board the information you see their horsemanship make progress. While all are trying to improve as riders we still have to make sure that we are not riding with a kick to go and pull to stop approach. There is more to being a good rider than not falling off and we all do. Being able to know what your legs and hands and body are doing is very important. Some riders really struggle to isolate their legs and so while trying to use only one leg the other is active as well.  Riding transitions smoothly and keeping the weight correct for the horse is another chapter and verse as well.

To all that have attended courses this year and organised courses or sent horses for starting I wish you all well with your horsemanship. Have a very Merry Christmas and New Year. I look forward to seeing you again next year.

 

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