articles

Apr 09

An Australian Outback Blog

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship One Comment

It has been a little while since I last put pen to paper. I was then in Western Australia, this time I am in North Western Queensland at Barkly Downs cattle station. Barkly Downs is a large cattle station, owned by the Australian company, ACC. To be able to come out onto large cattle stations of this nature is an extraordinary experience. Words do not do justice to the size, scale, the great people and hospitality of all involved here at Barkly.

At home, it has been busy with stock work and outside horses, plus a home course. This continues to be the case for May and June. It has been a wet year, and thankfully without major flooding. We are very grateful for the rain, and thankful to not have incurred stock losses or property damage.

Towards the end of July, I travel back into the U.K. for an August schedule. Hopefully the weather will be kind .

With these articles it is sometimes a little challenging to know what to write, that is going to be helpful to those reading.

In a recent conversation late in the afternoon and with daylight fading. I was reflecting, and trying to find words to encourage a small group of riders that had just finished a 3 day young horse course. This course was quite diverse and included starting horses under saddle, handling foals, plus some slightly older ridden horses. Everyone had done very well and it had been a really good 3 days with great outcomes for all. I have tried to write a version of that conversation here.

The horsemanship path, can at times be a lonely path, where it is just you and your horse. There is nobody to take photos or video, no one to tell you that you are doing well or encourage you. It is just you and your horse.

There will be times of despair and am I doing the right thing or otherwise. There will also be those times when it starts to fall into place. The words, cliches and sayings that your teachers, mentors constantly said to you. That you first listened to intently and could recite in a heartbeat, start to have meaning, with time they become your words.

Flexion means more to you, than just bending your horses head around, even though you will still check your horse out on it. The quality of what you are offering your horse is more important than just going through a series of check list exercises and ticking boxes. You are feeling for your horse both on the ground and when you ride. While having your horse jump a jump or work a cow or just ride down the road is still important. You are thoughtful, considerate, understanding of your presentation and preparation and of your horses needs.

Everyone is on their own road and in those moments where things fall into place, even if it was only briefly and your horse feels right on. Those times are what make those days that are long and or challenging times worth it. It is your horse giving you feedback and saying your good.

Money cannot buy the above, you have to do the homework and gain experience to give you perspective and judgment. The horsemanship road is not all about technique, when starting off, you may need to have some ground and ridden skills to stay safe. Your attitude and having a good heart is equally important.

Safe Travels to all.

Online Course – The Start

The online course – The Start; is exactly that, it is designed to get you started. There is 4 videos with 2 hours and 40 minutes of video content. The videos include ground and ridden work. In addition there is also a trailer loading, plus a saddling and bridling video. The lessons and notes associated with each of the videos I trust all will find useful.

While this course may not replace attending one with your horse. We sincerely hope that this online course provides information to all that are wishing to progress in the pursuit of developing a nice saddle horse.

While the information is applicable to young horse starting, this is not a young horse starting course.

You have unlimited access to this course for 12 months

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Feb 18

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Western Australia

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship

It seems that only recently I put together a January blog and now we are nearly through February. At home in Queensland we have been blessed by good rain for the start of this year. Causing us to reschedule our home course for March. There are only a couple of spaces left on the course, if you are interested please message me for more information.

Presently I am in Western Australia, with a day or so R & R waiting for the dolphins to appear down here at Mandurah. On my return home in the next few days there are outside horses arriving and stock work and flood fencing to get done.

I should also mention that we are presently looking at doing a course in the Brisbane area at the end of April, again if anyone is interested then please email info@davidstuart.com.au Below there is a short video of one of the horses that I have started while over here. I think to date this horse has 5 rides on him. There are a few other short videos available for those interested in viewing and there is an online course available from the website www.davidstuart.com.au

I have added a horsemanship article below , hopefully these small articles are of help.

Horsemanship: The horses in the images and video have only had a handful of rides and are rising 3 year olds. At the end of yesterday’s session a question was asked of me. When would you turn these horses out? Many may have different answers to this question. First I do not have competition or the outside influences of others to contend with here. I am just looking at what is going to be the best outcome for the horse.

The answer I gave to the above question was, I would turn them out now. I would give them 3 -4 months spell then bring them back in for a few more rides and I might repeat this again and by the time they are 4 they will be in a good place to start riding on a more regular bases. Some horses are going to be more physically mature than others. A lot of what I would do would be more at the walk and trot and while not avoiding the canter. The canter would only consist of a small amount of the ridden work.

With more sensitive horses I think that this approach also helps them to be more settled mentally and emotionally and not be overtaxing on the horses physically.

When horses have been handed well prior to starting under saddle. There is going to be a lot less stress on horses and humans when it comes to starting under saddle.

Online Course – The Start

While the information is applicable to young horse starting, this is not a young horse starting course.

You have unlimited access to this course for 12 months

$170.00 inc. GST

Shop now

Jan 30

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A Belated Happy New Year

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship

A little late, but a happy new year to everyone. For many, the holiday season is now over and we are embracing the start of another year.

What’s Been Going On Since my last blog we have stayed busy with horses and stock work and property improvements. Horses that came at the end of December are now almost ready to go back to their owners. I have courses coming up in Western Australia and locally in February. I will also be back in the U.K. later this year, a busy schedule depending on which hat I have on. My current 2025 course schedule and relevant educational buttons below.

2025 Course Schedule

Blog Archives

Media & Video

Horsemanship: During December while sorting cows and calves, I used Rachael’s 17″ hand thoroughbred horse, Harvey. While he is not going to be a competitive cow horse, to be able to rope and sort cattle, adds a stronger Foundation and gets him more solid, making a better riding horse all round. Also with horses of this height you will not have to get off your horse to check the water level in the water tank.

The Walk is said to be the mother of all gaits and as mentioned above, in December I was riding a big thoroughbred horse to muster and gather cattle on. Most thoroughbreds have a wonderful ground covering stride and with an active walk, you can cover some country. Listening to a Carl Hester masterclass some years ago he spoke about how he liked a horse to over track by 3 hooves, ( I hope that I have not misquoted Carl here )

I would also mention that with horses that may have a nervous nature or their self preservation is close to the surface, walking is going to help them to relax and settle. There are lots of things that you can do at a walk even when you are out gathering cattle or on a trail ride. ( Being on your phone is not one of them.)

An active walk is going to help your transitions have more quality. It is also hard to lame a horse at a walk, although I have had a rider tell me they were successful. A good active walk is going to be engaged and balanced, with your horse not running off at the walk but in front of your leg and carrying you within gait.

It is going to be along day if you have to peddle him along all day. Enjoy your horses and stay safe and I look forward to catching up with you all in 2025.

Online Course – The Start

While the information is applicable to young horse starting, this is not a young horse starting course.

You have unlimited access to this course for 12 months

$170.00 inc. GST

Shop now

Dec 12

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Merry Christmas

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship

It has been a couple of months since my last website blog. The end of the year is upon us and I wanted to take the opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The year has been a very busy one and since I returned from the U.K. I have felt like I was chasing my tail catching up on things, that is not necessarily a bad thing either. I was also wanting to thank everyone for their continued support and friendship. To be around people who are genuinely wanting to continue to improve themselves and their horsemanship is very satisfying.

Next year is shaping up as a busy one as well, the U.K. schedule is already on the website as are the dates for Western Australia. There is a home course planned for early next year as well, the date will be up on the website shortly. We continue to have horses in for starting with the last two horses for the year due to go home on Thursday. I have included a horsemanship article below, happy reading.

Confidence / Rapport

When people watch, participate or become involved with horses, it can be for a variety of reasons. I guess, I would hope that one of those reasons would be that there is a love of horses.

When you look at horsemanship, from the outside. You may ask, why would you want to throw your lead rope over the horses back, rub them with a flag, lead them backwards with their tail. lead them forwards with a rope around the front leg, straddle a pole on the ground, mount from the fence. Ride them with a flag.

There can be a variety of reasons and answers for the above. When you look at things from the horses perspective and understand their self preservation needs and how strong this can be at times, that goes along way to answering the above.

I am not sure that you can have a horse distrust you on the ground, but trust you in the saddle or vice versa. You may get along a little better in one situation or the other. Gaining a horse’s confidence, and developing a rapport with some horses, particularly where the self preservation is really strong is not going to happen in 30 or 60 days. It is going to take a lot longer. With some horses, until you have their confidence and a level of trust on the ground, they are not going to allow you to strap a saddle to their backs and clamber on up.

For the many that commit to this road, it is not a straight one , there are many bends. Your horse now gives you a nicker or calls out to you and that horse a year or so ago would be at the back of the stable or yard and be hard to catch etc, that is a gold medal. Many things will be gained from the road of experience.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year. I look forward to seeing you in 2025.

Online Course – The Start

While the information is applicable to young horse starting, this is not a young horse starting course.

You have unlimited access to this course for 12 months

$170.00 inc. GST

Shop now

Oct 02

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Back In Australia

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship

It has been nearly 2 months since my last website blog. It seems ages, since I was in a hotel in London, writing a blog for August. My U.K. tour went very well and it was wonderful to catch up with everyone in the U.K. To be able to pick the conversation up from where we left off 5 years ago was amazing. Thank you to all those that made it possible. This was also true of my short time in Spain, Rachael also enjoyed her time over there. Her Spanish vocabulary has certainly increased, my Spanish is still very elementary.

Presently, I am half way through my Western Australia schedule. Again it is wonderful to catch up with all over here in W.A. Jenny Jackson welcomes all who come through the front gates and are wonderful hosts. The horse, in the left image is of a young trakehner horse at the current course in Western Australia.

Current Schedule: When I return home shortly, I have young horses coming in plus a home course at the end of October. If you are interested in the home course, message or email me, as these do fill up. Towards the end of the year, I hope to have next year’s schedule up on website.

I have again put together a couple of horsemanship articles below, happy reading.

Getting Down To The Feet: I am not the first one to mention about getting down to the feet and have spoken of the relevance before. When I heard that said 38 years ago, I could say the words, but nothing more. In learning how to be effective in getting down to the feet, I sometimes did too much and other times not enough. Sometimes you could get things to happen on the ground, but not in the saddle or in the saddle and not on the ground. I had to develop my feel and timing and so now as I look at images I can see that I am having an influence on the horses feet.

What does it mean to the horse: On a horse that I was riding recently, I could feel that the horse was tight and bothered. The horse did not try and buck me off or do anything of that nature, but there was a tightness on the inside of that horse and at some point that was probably going to come out in one form or another.

Through working with that horse in the saddle and freeing the feet up, by moving the hind and forequarters and getting to where I could direct those feet, you could feel the horse start to loosen up and that tightness start to disappear and the horse start to tune in to you mentally.

The images above are of a mate’s horse that I rode in the U.K. This was not the horse in the story above that I speak off. The images show a little of how you can get the horse to start reaching with that front inside leg.

Giving a Horse a Purpose: The video below is from a U.K. Cow Working course that I did in August at Sudbrooke Park Cattle Company. I am of the belief that while there needs to be principle, it is important to give the horse a sense of purpose. While cow working does not always have to be that sense of purpose, hacking out or riding horses outside an arena helps to keep their mind fresh.

Details below, for those that are looking to continue your education.

Online Course – The Start

While the information is applicable to young horse starting, this is not a young horse starting course.

You have unlimited access to this course for 12 months

$170.00 inc. GST

Shop now

Aug 04

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Back In The U.K.

By David Stuart Blog, Food for thought, Horsemanship

We have finally made it back to the U.K. after 5 years. The flight over, has not shorten in duration, but it was smooth flying all the way. Now resting up, before starting on Tuesday and then it is a busy schedule there after. For more course schedule details please visit https://www.davidstuart.com.au/courses/

It has been a very busy 2 months since my last blog. We have had cattle work at home with weaning and preg. testing our breeding herd, plus outside horses in for starting and a home course and the general day to day duties and chores of normal station life.

It was not until my Singapore stopover, did I actually start to realise, I was en route to the U.K. I am very much looking forward to having the opportunity to catch up and renew the many U.K. friendships formed over a long period of time.

When I return back to Australia in September, I have 9 days in Western Australia. This is from the end of September to early October and is at Horsemanship First with Jenny Jackson and her family. Jenny and her family have been wonderful supporters for many, many years now. They have a great facility and make all very welcome and comfortable. I always enjoy my Western Australian trips and as with the U.K. look forward to catching up with friends.

I have put together a horsemanship article below. This article is more of a horsemanship journal and is of a horse named Elegance or Ellie to her friends. Enjoy the read.

The horse in the image above is of a 7 – 8 year old mare named Elegance, she is owned by Jenny Jackson from Western Australia. I have probably ridden her around 20 – 25 times. I did not start her, she had a handful of rides before. I believe that she was started late in life.

This line of horses goes back to the Abby /Abdul line of horses, who were Australian Stock Horses. They are well known for their abilities in many worlds, particularly the cow working or camp drafting world in Australia. This line of horses are known for being sensitive and hot horses to be around. If you get it right they are wonderful horses, if you do not, we all know how that one works out.

Theo Hill and his family from New South Wales promoted and bred this line of horses for a very long time. I had the opportunity to work for Theo and his family back in the 80s. Ray Hunt would always hold courses on the family station. The knowledge learned from Ray was passed on and while this was mostly above my head at the time, I did remember and apply with time and experience.

Over the years I rode a lot of horses with this breeding and at first I did not always get along with them. I hung in there and learned from my mistakes and successes and with time, experience and thus knowledge, they became horses that I loved to ride. I suspect that there was a strong influence of Thoroughbred within this particular line of horses.

As fate would have it, I am to give a presentation in the U.K. in Newmarket, the home of British racing, this coming Thursday. ( My wife Rachael also has a love of Thoroughbred horses and has owned a few now. )

These horses have a strong sense of self preservation and if you can develop the self confidence of these horses and without trying to push your ideals on to them, get down to their feet and pay attention to their cadence. Their natural athleticism and abilities will do the rest. If they did stumble they will find an extra leg and find their feet again. These horses do not like being out of balance, if they get out of balance you are more likely to experience their athleticism in ways that many would prefer not to.

Horses of this nature have plenty of “heart “ and you will most certainly still have a horse underneath you at the end of a long day. As a side note I would add the traits of their sensitivity and athleticism are what challenges the human in their initial stages. It is also what makes these horses so special.

I am sure that Ellie, will put a smile on Jenny’s face for a many years.

Mar 20

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An Australian Autumnal Blog

By David Stuart Blog, Uncategorized

The year is flying by, and while there is still a bit of heat in the sun in the north of Australia, the cooler months will be here soon. A few horses are already starting to thicken up in their coats.

Whats Been Going on?

To date this year, horses have been coming and going and we have also had a home course as well. I have also just recently returned from 2 weeks at Barkly Downs, a large cattle station owned by the company: ACC. ( Australian Country Choice ). Words do not do this operation justice. This was my third year at Barkly and my role with regards to horsemanship is with staff training. The attitude of all involved, was a credit to the company and those associated. A great experience.

Whats coming up;

I am home now for a little bit with horses coming in and cattle work to see too. In May I am off to Western Australia, preparations for my overseas schedule for later in the year are also underway.

Impulsion:

Can be a conversation that does not have a start or an ending. The horse below is Rachael’s horse and he is a retired race horse. She has named him Clancy, his racing name was a bit long for us. I have ridden him a handful of times and he has a nice nature and a big engine.

In an arena environment, when you ask him to walk, trot and canter, he moves easily up through his transitions and also easily back down through his transitions. At times, off your seat aids.

When you have the life in the horse connected to the horses feet, they become sensitive and light to your aids.

Framing themselves into a frame:

While this is not the first time this conversation has been had, as riders we perhaps need to continue to hear it time and time again to understand and appreciate the significance. Perhaps when you feel it, it gives more meaning to the words.

As your horses balance and impulsion develops, so will your horses emotional stability.

Some sage words of advice from an old friend, the amount of frame on your horse was determined by the amount of hindquarter engagement. With my friends and mentors they all placed impulsion ahead of flexion.

Hopefully the above is helpful and insightful, stay safe out there and enjoy your horses.

Jan 22

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A New Year Begins

By David Stuart Horsemanship

Happy New Year to all, wishing all our followers and readers the best for the year ahead. It was nice to have a little down time during the Christmas and New Year period. We are now back into the swing of things again with outside horses and courses.

The 2024 course schedule has been updated, starting with a home course in mid February. This course is starting to fill up so if you are interested or need information then please email or message. Courses are also planned for Brisbane in April and Western Australia in May, again details are on the website https://www.davidstuart.com.au/courses/ If you are unable to get to a course there is the online course option as well, available from the website.

This year we also hope to make it back to the U.K. , it has been nearly 5 years since I was there last, with covid and a few other challenges. Hopefully this year all lines out.

This coming weekend, Rachael and I are going to Charlotte Dujardin’s presentation in Caboolture, Queensland. We are both very much looking forward to this. We do however have a potential cyclone to navigate around with a few logistics involved.

I have put together a short horsemanship article below, happy reading everyone and I look forward to seeing everyone through out the year. Stay safe and healthy.

What Bit To Use: When you start to speak, or talk about bits, it can be a conversation that has many different opinions and views. It is also a question that I get asked quite a bit, no pun intended, from owners when they are picking their horse up after being started. What bit do you use?

After 4 – 5 rides, I often move to a snaffle, my preference is an eggbutt snaffle. I did ride in a ring snaffle for a long time. I like an eggbutt for riding young horses and have ridden Jeremiah Watt snaffles and saddles for a very long time.

In past blogs I have spoken a little on hands, hopefully the articles have been helpful. When riding young or green horses, I often have a little spread in my hands and a lifting action to my hands. This helps to keep the snaffle flatter in the horse’s mouth and also helps with balance. If you are using the reins for security and pulling back, the horse is probably going to end up travelling more on the forequarters and be troubled.

As you and your horse progress, you may wish to move to a hackamore etc. Some of my teachers start with the hackamore. I am of the thought process that with starting horses for the general public for a long time now, that the snaffle probably fits more situations than not. It seems to fit most horses as well, there will be situations and horses that you need to adjust for.

I trust that the above is useful to all, as mentioned above, bits can start a conversation and perhaps an education. Stay Safe and enjoy your horses.

Online Course – The Start

While the information is applicable to young horse starting, this is not a young horse starting course.

You have unlimited access to this course for 12 months

$170.00 inc. GST

Shop now

Nov 24

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An Australian Summer Begins

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship

It has been a little while since my last blog, so time to rattle the keyboard again I guess. My typing is quite slow, so the keyboard does not get to rattle loudly. Since my last website blog we have been busy with horses, cattle and courses.

Whats Been Going On: We have had 3 home courses in the last 5 months, 2 of which were open to all and a private course for an agricultural company. Horses continue to come in for starting and foundation education. Our country and livestock, like all of us are waiting for rain.

As yet we have not got to putting next years schedule up on the website and that will probably happen in the new year. There will be home courses and away courses, so stay tuned for the schedule update.

I have put together a horsemanship article below, happy reading. In case a December Blog does not happen.

Rachael and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Thank you all for your support over the now many. many years.

When putting these articles together I try to make them of useful nature. A friend of mine told me a long time ago, David you need to read more to confirm your beliefs and understanding and to increase your knowledge and understanding.

I do get writers block and this is where videos perhaps say more than words. The video below is of a horse that I have started recently for a client. This filly is very intelligent and athletic and I am sure will have a successful future. She is also quite a sensitive horse and could also get to taking over as well.

Horses are very sensitive to movement and the horses eye is considerably quicker than the humans. Her sensitivity to movement is also what will make her a very athletic cow horse.

While she already shows a strong interest in cattle, with a horse that is still very green with a little over 20 rides on. I prefer to get her confident with situations like the flag and swinging a rope and riding outside. With a filly that is small and slight in build, I am also conscious of not over riding her. By keeping things slow and as she gains in strength and confidence, her ability will shine through when she does get in front of a cow.

In case readers where wondering about the baling string, it is a means of helping a horse that may be inclined to put their tongue over the bit. It will not always prevent it, just makes it a little difficult. The audio is poor with the video, but maybe the footage is helpful. My back cinch is also very loose due to not having a smaller one available.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Sep 18

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An Australian Spring

By David Stuart Blog, Horsemanship, Uncategorized

It has been a couple of months since I last put a blog up, so had better make a start on one for September, or December will be upon us all before we know it. Since my last blog, there has been a home course and another week spent in Western Australia. We continue to take outside horses in for starting and beyond, with another intake in progress as we speak.

Whats Coming Up: We have another home course in November on the 11th & 12th. This course is a Horsemanship / Cow Working course. More course information is available https://www.davidstuart.com.au/course/aust-horsemanship-cow-working/

Our online course is also available at https://www.davidstuart.com.au/courses/online-course-the-start/

The video below, is old footage filmed in the U.K. and is of a foal and a young horse that I handled. It was a case of just going with the flow and what was offered and every situation is different. The horsemanship article below is a little longer than previous and is on the topic of hands. Happy Reading.

Hands, as many coaches will tell you are not easy to teach or to understand. Developing good hands as a rider and understanding how they affect your horse is important. Perhaps this article gives a glimmer of understanding to the subject. For riders to have developed their seat to where they are not using the reins for their balance or blocking the horse with their hands or reins is a really important aspect of riding a horse.

The image below is from Western Australia at Horsemanship First and is a lovely 6 year old mare owned by Jenny Jackson. I have had a handful of rides on her over a couple of trips to W.A.

In this image, the mares frame is quite open and I am riding the mare towards my hands. My hands and arms are not pulling back and my fingers are open, so that I am not blocking my horse from going forward.

Developing feel in your hands, legs and seat is easy to say and another to live. It takes time to develop feel and awareness and I believe feel is a quality that you are always developing. When you reach for your horse, what sort of feedback do you get? Does your horse feel braced or nervous?

In a conversation with a jumping coach sometime ago, they said, ” It is called riding and not sitting.” Riding is about being effective with our aids, some horses will require much less with our aids and some horses may need more initially.

A quote that I read recently by Thomas Ritter; “The legs bring the horse to the seat, and the seat brings the horse to the hands. When the teacher says ‘shorten the reins’ it needs to be translated into: ‘engage the hind legs, sit on them, and then take the slack out of the reins’, because if you shorten the reins from front to back, the horse will only resist.” ~ Thomas Ritter

A good friend said to me, a long time ago that the amount of frame that you have on a horse is dependant on the amount of engagement that you have. When horses are ridden from the front to the back you may also tend to see a shortening of the neck and the horse may not be accepting of the hands.

The horse in the image on the left is again the mare in the above image. She is starting to find forward and carry me in the gait and be in front of my leg. She has a little more frame on her than the image above as a result.

The image below is an old one from the U.K and was of a horse that I started and had a handful of rides. His frame and head carriage is again fitting for where he is at in this image. Note that there is a float in the reins here.

Riding your horse to your hand or riding your horse into a frame rather than just shortening the reins at the front is a concept that is hard to teach in practice.

If your horse lacks forward and impulsion riders can tend to frame their horse up off their hands and this tends to lead to the horse being on the front end and over bent. Horses may still be over bent or on their front end if they are impulsive or running through your hand as well. Good Impulsion may help you to have better hands. I hope the above creates some awareness and insight in the importance of having good hands when riding. Stay safe and enjoy your horses.

An Australian Outback Blog

Online Course – The Start

Western Australia

Online Course – The Start

A Belated Happy New Year

Online Course – The Start

Merry Christmas

Online Course – The Start

Back In Australia

Online Course – The Start

Back In The U.K.

An Australian Autumnal Blog

A New Year Begins

Online Course – The Start

An Australian Summer Begins

An Australian Spring

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