Have you ever ridden in an open space, a large open space? A space with no boundaries, or fences, or hedges, or any natural 'this is the end of this space' obstacles. It takes a lot more focus to ride accurate shapes and straight lines. We tend to 'wander'...

So many of us forget how beneficial an artificial aid the boundary our arena rail creates. Not only does the arena rail or fence mark the 'end' of our riding space, but it also boosts our confidence; "He can't run away, there's nowhere to go"

And it also helps us as an artificial aid. Something that will help us to strengthen and become more focused with our natural aids.

Last week I was working with a rider on another farm, and we didn't have the luxury of a demarcated arena. We were working in a large paddock, which was wonderful. However, the 'fence' was quite a bit away from us. The exercise was to ride a 20m square in the walk.

What became apparent, very quickly, was that without reference points, the square was not all that square! The size was changing, there were curved lines. It definitely lacked right angles at the corners. And, rather than riding the exercise to work on what we actually wanted to work on, all of the rider's time was devoted to trying to actually visualize the square on the grass in this large paddock.

Riding straight lines is a difficult thing to do when there’s nothing guiding you and keeping you on track.

The good news is that the size of your arena is not what’s important here. A 20m x 20m space can be great when working on accuracy and suppleness. What is important is how you use the arena rail to being strengthening your natural aids. This is for those times when you find yourself without an arena rail to follow…

Connect with Lorna

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Additional Resources:-

• Using Artificial Aids when Working with Horses
• Artificial Aids in Your Riding

You know that feeling when you try something new and you get it right. Maybe your trainer or instructor is with you. Or maybe you just prepared. But, for whatever reason, you got it right. You feel like a better rider. Good feeling, hey?  Until the next time you try… Maybe on your own. A couple of days later. Aaaannnnndddd nothing!

Whatever it was that allowed you to create the perfect circumstances before is now missing and you’re back to square one. And a thirsty square one, because now you have tasted the potential of this new thing!

Leveling up in riding is a tough one for many riders. And I believe it is because they don’t take the 3 factors necessary to be upgraded into their approach. Emotional, mental, and physical.

I think as riders, we often underestimate the conversations going on in our heads. We don’t take into account the ongoing chatter that our mind creates when we do ‘the thing’. Which can have a serious impact on what is happening in the saddle.

You can upgrade the skills. Even upgrade the knowledge of what to do with these skills. But if you don’t upgrade what you think about it; nothing will change

It is a harsh fact and one that holds so many riders back. However, mindset is just one element that can hold you back from becoming a better rider… And, as I said, if all 3 are not being developed together, it creates a ceiling for you and your riding.

Read More...

Connect with Lorna

• Connect on Instagram @stridesforsuccess https://instagram.com/stridesforsuccess
• Connect on Facebook https://facebook.com/stridessuccess 

Join Connection; The Online Membership for Equestrians

• Connection; Success has a Rhythm - Make Every Ride Great starting Today!

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Download Your Free Riding Plan:-

• FREE Download:- 1 Exercise Multiple Ways

Additional Resources:-

• Developing and Celebrating Your Unique Style as a Rider
• Riding & Acting; The Connection
• Developing a Rhythm for Your Progress in the Saddle
• What’s Your Riding Number?
• Connection; My Online Membership for Equestrians

Timing... It's an important element of great conversations.  You can give all the correct responses, but if the timing is off - they are not as meaningful.   And this affects the connection and flow. Horse riding is the same.

After all, horse riding is just a word we use to describe the conversation between the rider and the horse.

As a rider, it takes time to learn how to move one part of our body while having minimal influence on other parts.  Part of improving your ability to do this is to work on developing your aids independently of each other.  And the other part is to become very aware of what you are saying and when. It takes time to develop your independent aids and, as a result, your independent seat.

However, while you are working on doing these, you can also start to become more aware of when you are communicating.  You can work on the timing of your seat aids.

In this episode, I want to focus on the 'when' part of your conversation.  And specifically, the aid that we tend to get most muddled up about - your seat.

Read More...

• • • Conscious Transitions Between Walk & Trot
    • Connection in Your Riding; Seat and Legs
    • FREE Download:- 1 Exercise Multiple Ways
    • Join Connection Today
    • Online Community for Equestrian focusing on Planning and Mindset
    • Lunging for Riding

Landing on the correct diagonal can be hit and miss for many riders. Let’s face it, there’s a chance you’ll get it right 50% of the time! And while most riders are pretty well versed on their diagonals in the trot… It’s ‘feeling’ the diagonal that causes confusion.

Trotting has a two-time beat. The 1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2,1,2 that you experience and feel when you’re in the saddle. If you do sitting trot, it will result in a sit,sit,sit,sit,sit,sit,sit,sit rhythm. However, most riders can ‘tire’ a little when it comes to riding a constant sitting trot! And so, we learn to post or rise in the trot.

The 1,2,1,2,1,2 is matched with an up,down,up,down,up,down of the riders backside. The rhythm of up-downs and the rhythm of the trot are a perfect match.

The reason your horse creates the 1,2, rhythm in the trot is because of how he moves his legs while he is trotting. The right-back foot moves with the front left foot. This is the ‘1’ part of the rhythm. Then the left-back foot moves with the right front foot. This is the ‘2’ part of the rhythm.

The trot is very ‘even’ with regards to what is moving where… This is also the reason it can be hard to ‘feel’ what diagonal you are on at any given point!

The correct diagonal is when you are moving with the inside hind leg - and, by association, outside front leg - of your horse. There is a little rhyme, ‘rise and fall with the shoulder by the wall’. That about sums it up. As your horse's outside shoulder is forward, you want to be ‘up’. As this shoulder moves back, you want to be down.

I have a post and an episode HERE about how to identify the correct diagonal through sight and voice...

Read More...

Connect with Lorna

• Connect on Instagram @stridesforsuccess https://instagram.com/stridesforsuccess
• Connect on Facebook https://facebook.com/stridessuccess 

Join the Free Private Communities

• Connect in the Mindset & Fitness for Equestrians Private Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/SFS30DayRiderFitnessChallenge
• Connect in the Virtual Stable Lounge Private Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1499737810323191

Download Your Free Riding Plan:-

• FREE Download:- 1 Exercise Multiple Ways

Additional Resources:-

• The Correct Diagonal in Trot
• Conscious Transitions Between Walk & Trot
• Rising or Posting in Trot
• 3 Mistakes Riders Makes when Riding the Sitting Trot
• Avoiding the Trampoline Effect in the Sitting Trot
• Join Connection Today
• Lunging for Riding

It can often sound like a jackhammer... Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr.  Instead of the 1,2,3...1,2,3...1,2,3... that the canter should produce when you listen for the rhythm.  And once either a horse or a rider has become 'used' to a different way, it can be a real challenge to get things back on track.  Or on beat, as the case is when the rhythm is lost in the canter.

Some things are taken for granted when we ride horses.  Rhythm is very often one of those things.  And many riders think that, if there is a regular enough repeating sound, rhythm is good.  But sometimes, the rhythm itself is not right.  And when this happens, no further development can happen within the gait until this is corrected.

I am sure that you are well aware of the fact that your canter should have a 3 beat rhythm.  I am going to also assume here that you understand what causes this gait to have 3 beats (as opposed to 4 or 2 like walk or trot).

However, what many riders fail to realize is that rhythm in the canter can be lost without your horse becoming disunited behind!  I mention the disunited behind because this is one of the most talked-about and common ways for the canter to develop a 4-time beat.  However, let's assume here that your horse is indeed united in the canter.

All feet are moving where they should be.  And yet, you're just not hearing that distinctive 3-time beat...  Now what? 

Read More...

• Connect on Instagram @stridesforsuccess https://instagram.com/stridesforsuccess
• Connect on Facebook https://facebook.com/stridessuccess 

• Connect in the Mindset & Fitness for Equestrians Private Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/SFS30DayRiderFitnessChallenge
• Connect in the Virtual Stable Lounge Private Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1499737810323191

• FREE Download:- 1 Exercise Multiple Ways

• Your Aids to Ride the Half Halt
• Using Your Body to Effectively Influence the Canter
• Learning to Stop Blocking with Your Seat – Part 1
• Learning to Stop Block with Your Seat - Part 2
• Learn to Stop Driving with Your Seat
• Connection in Your Riding; Seat and Legs
• Your Independent Seat is a Result of Your Independent Aids
• 4 Steps to a More Comfortable Canter
• Join Connection; The Online Membership for Equestrians
• Lunging for Riding

What has changed for you in your riding? If you are not intentionally making a small (or the odd large) tweak here and there, I’m willing to guess that your answer is ‘Not a whole lot’…

Albert Einstein said it and there’s a reason it is repeated by people who try to help others. “Insanity; doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”. But it seems that there are a lot of riders out there who think this doesn’t apply to them.

They're riding the same exercises, the same way.  The same thoughts running the show - and then complain when nothing changes!

If you want to change something in your riding, you are going to have to do just that… Change something.  Be intentional about doing something differently.

Now, if you have just had an ah-ha moment, or I’ve hit a bit of a nerve, hold on… Many riders, when they realize that they are the very thing holding themselves back, throw themselves headfirst into change. New saddle, new exercises, new routine, and schedule. New instructor, new yard, or, maybe, new horse!

Whoa there… If you change everything at once, how will you know what has worked?

Read More...

• • • FREE Download:- 1 Exercise Multiple Ways
    • 1. Planning Your Rides - Part 1 Fun
    • 2. Planning Your Rides - Part 2 Partnership
    • 3. Planning Your Rides - Part 3 Training
    • 4. Planning Your Rides - Part 4 One Exercise Multiple Ways
    • Lunging for Riding
    • Online Community for Equestrian focusing on Planning and Mindset
    • Stop Wasting and Start Investing Time with Your Horse
    • What’s Your Number in Your Riding?
    • A Plan for 7 Days in Your Riding
    • Plan Your Ride with These Simple Steps
    • Transform the Next 12 Weeks in Your Riding
    • Connection; the Online Membership for Equestrians

Have you been feeling a little overwhelmed when it comes to finding exercises to ride with your horse in the arena? Have you found yourself creating more and more complex grids, and then struggling to make them work for you and your horse? If so, here is a simple exercise you can use this month to help minimize the overwhelm and get you in the saddle and making progress.

All you need are 3 or 5 ground poles and a fairly flat piece of land to ride on if you don’t have access to an arena.

The key to this exercise is intention regarding what you are doing and attention to how well things are going. Attention to detail is important when working on simple. It is what makes simple really work and help propel you and your horse forward in your training.

To get set up, find the quarter line of your arena. If you are working in an open space, such as a paddock or field, simply find a flat area with enough space to lay the poles out in a straight line.

Read More...

• • • FREE Download:- 1 Exercise Multiple Ways
    • Planning Your Rides - Part 1 Fun
    • Planning Your Rides - Part 2 Partnership
    • Planning Your Rides - Part 3 Training
    • Lunging for Riding
    • Online Community for Equestrian focusing on Planning and Mindset
    • Stop Wasting and Start Investing Time with Your Horse
    • What’s Your Number in Your Riding?
    • A Plan for 7 Days in Your Riding
    • Plan Your Ride with These Simple Steps
    • Transform the Next 12 Weeks in Your Riding
    • Connection; the Online Membership for Equestrians

Is every 30-minute ride starting to look and feel the same for you? Even the ones that you painstakingly chose exercises to work on? Annoying, isn’t it? Especially because actually ‘moving forward' in your riding is the reason you are riding!

If this is the case, firstly, take heart that you’re not alone! Remaining focused throughout the day to day riding can really begin to wear on most well-intentioned riders after a while. And can even cause riding to begin dropping off your list of priorities…!

This is why I suggest a 3 pronged approach to developing your weekly riding plan in a way that keeps things interesting and moving forward...

A plan that will take you, clearly, on a path to your goals. Part 1 is to introduce regular intentional Fun to your riding. From there, Part 2 is working on deepening your Partnership with your horse. Which leads us to...

Doing the work. This is part that most riders are good at talking about, planning about, and even trying in the arena. You have probably found yourself on more than one occasion in the arena, exercise all mapped out in your head. And yet realizing, in absolute dismay, that it is just not coming together for you.

The key is to begin making ‘the work’ actually work for you and your horse!

Developing is another name for training. I personally believe that both horse and rider need training in order to move forward in their relationship. Often, most horse and rider combinations begin with one team member not being as advanced as the other. In this case, the more advanced or developed team members will help to ‘lift’ the other to their level. The schoolmaster horse or the more experienced rider.

However, at some point, most horse and rider partnerships will reach a level where they are now matching in their skills and abilities. And this can be where so many begin to plateau.

Read More...

• • • Planning Your Rides - Part 1 Fun
    • Planning Your Rides - Part 2 Partnership
    • Lunging for Riding
    • Online Community for Equestrian focusing on Planning and Mindset
    • Stop Wasting and Start Investing Time with Your Horse
    • What’s Your Number in Your Riding?
    • A Plan for 7 Days in Your Riding
    • Plan Your Ride with These Simple Steps
    • Transform the Next 12 Weeks in Your Riding
    • Connection; the Online Membership for Equestrians

How many days will you ride this week? What will you do on each of those days? Are all of these things moving you and your horse closer to your goals? Big questions… And ones that I think not enough riders are taking responsibility for in their riding.

This is part 2 of a 3 part series to help you really become intentional about your riding plan. 

Each part is an important element that, I believe, is absolutely essential for you in your riding. It is when you combine these three elements on a weekly basis, weaving them throughout your rides, that you will begin to see true success in your riding.

Part 1 was Fun. The reason most people show up for their second-ever ride. And the reason most riders actually stop riding as much as they like. It just isn’t as much fun anymore. Find out how and why you can make Fun an intentional part of your riding plan HERE

It seems so, well, obvious. Partnership. However, because it is so obvious, like fun, many riders forget to actually be intentional about developing this in their riding and relationship with their horse. Partnership is trust. It is the relationship.

A partnership is the ‘liking each other’ part that will be essential to get you both over any sticky situations that show up.

It is intentionally developing the understanding between horse and rider. This allows you not only to trust each other more but also to build confidence in your own abilities as well. Ever noticed how you feel more confident about something you must-do if you have someone who supports you there beside you? That is a partnership.

• • • Planning Your Rides - Part 1 Fun
    • Online Community for Equestrian focusing on Planning and Mindset
    • Stop Wasting and Start Investing Time with Your Horse
    • What’s Your Number in Your Riding?
    • A Plan for 7 Days in Your Riding
    • Plan Your Ride with These Simple Steps
    • Transform the Next 12 Weeks in Your Riding
    • Connection; the Online Membership for Equestrians

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy… Or so the saying goes. I tend to believe this is true. Especially when it comes to riders and their horses. Yes, ‘working’ is important. But, if you are only riding to ride… Well, maybe that is what is actually holding you back in your riding?

I think that in order to really get the most from your riding plan to help you reach your goals, there are 3 key components. Not just work! Fun is just as important. And if you have been riding for any length of time, you will know that fun begins to wane after a while.

One of the biggest reasons that riders don’t ride as much as they say they want to - is down to riding simply not being as much fun as it once was!

Creating a plan for your riding is not just about the days you ride. It is also about finding a balance between 3 key elements that, I believe, are essential. Including these 3 elements will allow you to work towards your riding goals, while keeping things inspired, focused and interesting for all involved. Because, after all, that’s what Team Leaders do, right?!

Read More...

• • • Free 4 Day Workshop in my Equestrian Mindset Fb Group
    • Stop Wasting and Start Investing Time with Your Horse
    • What's Your Number in Your Riding?
    • A Plan for 7 Days in Your Riding
    • Plan Your Ride with These Simple Steps
    • Transform the Next 12 Weeks in Your Riding
    • Connection; the Online Membership for Equestrians