The Ride Better Podcast

This weeks podcast episode is all about the outside rein.

This is a great topic because its one of those ones that you think is all about dressage, but its not.

Understanding the outside rein is for everyone because if you and your horse have a really clear understanding of the outside reins role in connection and contact, then you have more effective communication, which ultimately creates a more safe and secure relationship between you and your horse.

This episode covers:

• What the outside rein is
• Why its important
• How you can maintain an outside rein and improve the connection between you and your horse
• We discuss a few myths that instructors often say about the outside rein and why they don’t work.
• I share my tips on improving the connection you have into the outside rein.

If you enjoy these podcast episodes I would love it if you could leave a rating, share this on social media, with your family and friends and help me help people on their journey to a harmonious relationship with their horses.

In this weeks episode we are talking about having a training plan and a schedule, I think its something that most people don’t have and Most people really need! A plan and a process to follow with your riding because riding is like anything, you need to have clear goals and a clear plan of attack so make sure you make progress and don’t just while away your time going round in circles (which can become quite literal with some riders!)

In this episode we cover:

• Why having a plan is so important
• What makes an effective plan or schedule
• Tips for success with your training plan
• Example of my training schedule

Having a training plan is a really powerful way to consolidate your training for both you and your horse. It helps you stay focused, calm and confident in your work.

If you would like help making a training program tailored to you and your horse send me an email, id love to help you out! [email protected]

Welcome to this week’s episode, please prepare yourself for some tough love. Frustration in horse riding is so prevalent and I really have made it my life’s work to reduce people’s frustration in riding because ultimately horse riding is supposed to be fun. We all want to ride essentially because it brings us joy. So, in this week’s episode we cover the following:
- Talking about why we get frustrated and lose our cool when we are working with horses.
- The impact of frustration on our horses.
- Tools to help you become a calm, consistent and confident rider, and trainer
This week’s episode is near and dear to my heart, we talk about the emotional side of riding and the impact our emotional state has on our horses.
I’m really passionate about this topic because I think it’s important that we take our responsibility as riders and trainers very seriously, so we done create horses that have emotional scares learned from us and that if we have horses that come to us with emotional scars, we do our best to help heal and retrain them!
Overall, I think I could summarise this entire topic by saying that If riders really understand what causes frustration and the immense detrimental impact it has on our horses then riders will almost be able to completely eradicate frustration from their training. Because if you understand just how destructive your frustration is for your horse’s wellbeing then you will understand how GOOD the opposite is for your horse! Calm, consistent, clear communication will create a horse that is calm, consistent and confident in his job, and isn’t that what we all want?
I hope you have enjoyed this week’s episode, I would love for you to share this episode on social media or leave an itunes rating as it helps this information get out there to help more people! Thank you so much for listening and I will see you next week!

If you want help with your frustration when your riding please join our online community here. 

‘This Episode focus’s on the idea that perhaps we can say that rather then seek the right contact, you should be seeking the right connection with your horse.’

This weeks podcast question is ‘How much contact is enough contact’ its a fun question because  essentially no one can answer that, its sort of a case of how long is a piece of string, to understand how much contact you need in your unique partnership with each unique horse your ride, you need to know the FEEL you are looking for. But at the end of the day, I will say this, the goal is to minimise the physical contact you have with the horse- always with all your aids, not just the reins.

In this episode we cover:

• What contact is
• What contact is used for
• Why contact is important
• The elements of contact
• My tips to improve your contact.

Contact its so so much about feel, its something you really need to get feedback and help with until you get the feel. You need help either live on your horse or via a video review. Contact is something I am so passionate about because it is so much more then just how to hold the reins, its about the mobile connection between you and your horse and because you and your horse are unique individuals, learning correct contact is such a personal process. I love helping people find this soft, light, harmonious, connection with their horse.

Happy Listening!

If you want to improve the connection you have with your horse, click here and learn more about the MSW Riding Academy. 

I love this question, because the warm up is often brushed over, often people tend to get on their horse and go without thinking much about the warm up. Its also, I feel, a bit misunderstood, but the warm up is SO important, not just for your horses body but also for your safety and the efficiency of your training.

When I first got this question I was so excited because I thought ‘yes a dressage question’ But its actually not specific to dressage at all, its about ALL disciplines, its about riding in general.

In this episode I cover why the warm up is so important

• Firstly and most importantly you want to set yourself and the horse up for success.
• Secondly you want to warm up the body physically, warm up the muscles.
• Thirdly you are preparing the mind and the body for work.
• Finally, Warming up is about having both structure in your training and flexibility through feeling the horse.

I then cover what the POINT of the warm up is – no matter what you are going to do in your ride that day- dressage training, pole work, laterals, going for a trail ride with friends- it doesn’t matter what your doing- the point of any warm up is the following:

• To get the horse on the aids.
• To get the horse in front of the leg.

So, in summary, in order to have an effective warm up you need to:

• Know what your training to achieve that day.
• Know how to get your horse on the aids.
• Know how to get your horse in front of the leg.
• Know your horse well enough to be flexible and adapt to how he feels that day without compromising the effectiveness of your riding.

We then cover my warm up tips which I think are real gems so listen in for these at the end.  

Having an effective warm up really is so important for the success of your training, but more importantly your and your horses safety so if you want to become more confident in the warm up, and these aspects of the warm up then I really encourage you to join the MSW Riding Academy which is launching very soon!

Do you sometimes wonder if your horse wants to work? Or would he rather be doing something else?

In this Episode we discuss how horses feel about being worked. We talk about how to identify signs of tension and that there are ways you can show your horse how to find relaxation in his body.

Relaxation is the first ingredient of any successful training session. We also discuss the importance of consistency, structure and fairness in your training schedule and the importance of being present with your horse. 

The Key Points of this episodes are:

1. Know how to recognise the signs of tension in the horses body language.
2. Know how to show your horse how to achieve relaxation in his mind and body.
3. Know when to stop in your riding and training sessions.
4. Be consistent, Fair and clear in your communication with your horse.
5. Know that just because a horse is obedient doesn’t mean he is happy.

If you want to teach your horse how to find relaxation check out the MSW Riding Academy HERE

If you have a question you would like answered on the podcast email [email protected]

Follow me on instagram @msw_riding_academy

or facebook @mswridingacademy

No Matter what your chosen discipline, your horses mental wellbeing is key to your and your horses safety and success. 

Do you want to improve your riding seat? No matter what your chosen horse riding discipline, having an independant seat while riding is the key to safety and success.

Todays episode is a question I get a lot from my students and was the most asked question when I surveyed my audience for their top three questions. How can I improve my seat?

Summary and Key Points of the Episode:

• What is the Seat
• Why is it important to have an independent seat
• Elements of an independent seat.
  • Knowing what part of your body should move and when.
  • Knowing which part of your body should be still and stable and when.
  • Understanding how your horse naturally moves so you know how to move with him
  • Understanding how your horse naturally moves so you do not interfere with the horses natural movement
• Tips for improving your seat

For more information on how you can improve your seat while riding check out the MSW Riding Academy HERE 

If you have a question you would like answered on the podcast, email [email protected]

Tell me a little about yourself, your name (or not if you don’t want me to use it on the podcast) and your question.

Follow me on instagram @msw_riding_academy

or facebook @mswridingacademy