The rider’s leg position and how it affects the seat
The rider communicates to the horse with three aids: the leg, the seat, and the hands. The rider’s leg asks the horse to go forward the seat balances the torso and the reins steer and regulate the forward energy. The more advanced rider learns to control the gaits of the horse with the seat, and […]
scea article
Second Chance Equine Association (SCEA) is a non-profit organization in Westmoreland County. It was founded in 2006 when Westmoreland County Humane Police Officer (HPO) Elaine Gower and horse owners Bryce and Chris LeJeune recognized two problems. First, complaints of neglect and abuse of horses in the area were increasing at an alarming rate. Second, when […]
Is your Horse Forward with Relaxation and Rhythm or Rushing and Quick?
By Kristin Hermann If your horse is moving forward, that is an indication of the horse using his back or whole top line. You can tell if the horse is using its back or moving forward if the horse is tracking up. Tracking up, or covering ground, means the horse is taking a full stride […]
Riding the Horse “Over the Back”
By Kristin Hermann “Over the back, round, on the bit, coming through, connected, and or on the aids” … what do all these phrases have in common when training a horse? As riders we would like the horse to lift their back and carry our weight, as opposed to going concave and hollow. The back […]
Learning from Source
Kristin Hermann The best teacher is also a good student. All disciplines regardless of activities are a learning process. Learning to ride which has been called a journey, I call a pilgrimage. When I first started my classical education with horses, I went to one of the first horsemanship schools in the country on Long […]
Manon’s Farm
A lot of kids dream about learning to ride horses, and Manon’s Farm is where those dreams come true. As part of their family farm, Kim Manon offers lessons at all levels of riding, with students starting as early as 5 years of age up to adult. The best part about the programs and lessons offered […]
Cover – Shelter _ Rescue
Dr. Marty Adams, PhD, PAS – Equine Nutritionist for Cargill/Southern States With advances in nutrition and preventive health care, today’s horses can expect to have longer and more productive lives than ever before. Many horses are living well into their late twenties and thirties, with a good quality of life. Special feeds have been developed […]
Dressage? (Or You mean Gymnastic Training for All Horses?
From Wikipedia: Dressage; a French term, most commonly translated to mean “training.” What does the word dressage mean? It means training. Training is what most of us do when we ride our horses. I am just not sure why so many riders differentiate between a horse being a dressage horse and one being a hunter? […]
Dressage Education ~ Rider’s Be Wary
Kristin Hermann I came to Pittsburgh in 1978 to train with one of the only dressage trainers in the United States. I found him in the back of a Dressage & Ct magazine and put together that he was just outside Pittsburgh, and so was my grandmother. I interviewed one Easter weekend, totally intimidated by […]
On the Bit,” a nuance of dressage!
A horse on the vertical and working over its back differentiates dressage from other forms of riding. The horse’s nose is on the vertical when the horse flexes at the poll or atlas joint, and its nose is tucked in. And if the horse is tracking up, or taking a full stride under the seat […]