This could be one of the toughest concepts that I see riders struggling with. For some reason riders seem to have a very hard time grasping the importance of the outside rein even when pointed out. The key to dressage and all riding is balance. When you and you horse are in perfect balance you could say you are in perfect harmony making every movement look easy and effortless.

Showing can be stressful especially in a dressage test. The purpose of a dressage test is to ride certain movements in a sequence and get scored on how well they are executed. You can throw away easy marks by not knowing your test before hand. You can also gain extra points by carefully and strategically riding your test.

Owning a young horse can be a very rewarding and exciting adventure. It is a chance to start fresh and have a clean slate to bring up and train the way you want. However, like a young child, horses have their own minds and ideas and they are also a product of their environment. It is easy to make impressions on a young horse good or bad, and these impressions can last a lifetime.

Riding a circle seems like one of the most basic exercises; it is probably one of the most poorly executed ones as well. Circles are ridden in every discipline from english to western. One of the first things you probably ever did on a horse was learn to ride a circle. As you grew up and advanced you probably used a circle as a useful training tool. When used correctly great results can be achieved.

When you are out working with your horse, does he sometimes cut in too close to your body, or bump you, and that makes you step out of his way? Does he come running to you in the pasture, and then push a shoulder into you as he walks by? When you groom him or tack him up, does he make you move your feet around him or else you feel like he will step on them?

Even if you have the nicest horse at the show, turn out is important at all levels of dressage. First and foremost it shows respect for the judge, your competitors, your sport as well as your self. Being properly ‘turned out’ is very important and should not be taken lightly. This is your time for you and your horse to shine so putting a little extra effort in goes a long way.

Your first dressage show is all but one month away and it’s crunch time. You obviously know what level it is that you are going to be showing. Maybe you stayed back a level to fix what happened last year, or you’ve made the jump up to the next level. Even though at most shows that aren’t championships you are allowed to have a caller call your test (except FEI) it is a good idea to actually know your dressage test! Things can happen at the last minute. You can’t find a caller, your caller isn’t loud enough to hear. Maybe you are just relying too much on your caller to tell you what to do, and you forget to do your part of the deal. Learning your test before hand is a sure way to easily help improve your scores and your santity. You know what to expect so you can use it to highlight your strengths and minimize your mistakes.

Trailer loading: It is probably one of the most common troubled issues in horses of all ages, disciplines and breeds. Some have had bad experiences, some no experience at all, and others just give you the run around because well, they can. Sometimes we think there is no explanation as to why they “just won’t go in” but if we put ourselves in their shoes we can begin to understand why so many have trouble.

There is one obvious and easy way for your horse to get his point across: Kicking. It is one of your horse’s most powerful forms of communication. Sometimes even the threat of a kick is enough to get his point across. But what causes a horse to kick? There are several reasons your horse might kick:

Like the first day of introducing the saddle, I allow lots of alone time for the young horse. I wait until I see that he is relaxed and looking almost bored before I go in to work him.