Leg Up Equestrian Enterprises

11/10/2024

I know I have shared this in the past( It came up in my memories) But such a great visual it is worth looking at again....and for those of you who are newer and or don't understand the movements( how to do or why we do ) now is your chance to educate yourself :)

To develop the horse symmetrically in body and limbs you can use gymnastic exercises.

*** CORNERSTONES ***

The core of the gymnastic exercises consists of the circle, shoulder-in and haunches-in. All the other exercises are derived from these cornerstones.

🐴 The circle is used to develop the Lateral bending of the body and spine, the Forward down tendency of the head and neck and the Stepping under the center of mass of the inside hind leg (LFS).

🐴 Once the inside hind leg can step under, this hind leg can also start to take weight. To do so we use the shoulder-in and counter-shoulder-in. These exercises are designed to school the hind leg in function of the inside hind leg. As a result of taking the weight, the horse will bend the inside hind leg more and free the outside shoulder.

🐴 Once the horse can bend the hind leg as an inside hind leg, we can also start to school the hind leg as an outside hind leg. To do so we use first the haunches-in (travers) and later on the renvers. In the renvers the horse can lean less against the wall/fence with his shoulder, so it's a bit more difficult than the travers, but as a result he really supports himself with his hind legs.

*** ALL EXERCISES ARE RELATED ***

All exercises relate to one another and differ slightly:

🐎 The only difference between shoulder-in and counter-shoulder in is the position of the fence/wall. The same applies to the haunches-in (travers) and the renvers, also there the only difference is the position of the wall.

🐎 The difference between shoulder-in and renvers is the bending in the spine, which is the opposite. In these exercises the same hind leg has the opposite function ('inside' in shoulder-in, 'outside' in renvers). The same applies to counter shoulder-in and the haunches in.

🐎 The half pass is 'just' a haunches-in over the diagonal, and the pirouette is 'just' a haunches-in on a small circle. Both half-pass and pirouette require support of both the inside as the outside hind leg. Therefore in both exercises the shoulders must lead to be able to keep the center of mass in front of the direction of the hind legs, only then both hind legs can support the weight. So both the half pass and pirouette also relate to the shoulder-in.

*** NUMBER OF TRACKS AND DEGREE OF BENDING ***

Now all exercises can be done on 3 or 4 tracks, or 2,5 tracks or 3,75 or 3,99 ;) and your horse can have more or less bend in his spine. Now there is no 'perfect' number and the exact degree doesn't matter. What matters in ST is that you choose the number of tracks and degree of bending where your horse can support his body and center of mass best with both hind legs. And that depends on the conformation of your horse: if he has a long back or a shorter one, if he has long legs, or shorter ones, if he has a long neck or a short one. So choose the degree of bending and number of tracks where your horse can move in optimal balance and with most quality.

*** HOW TO DEVELOP THESE EXERCISES? ***

First start the circle, then after a few training sessions add the shoulder-in, and the moment the the horse can do this exercise for 66,6% of quality, add the haunches-in. From there you can start practising the variations.

**** HOW TO DEVELOP THE HORSE EQUALLY? ***

To develop a horse equally in body and limbs all exercises need to be done to the right and to the left (or as they say in English: on the right rein and on the left rein).

When doing these exercises there will always be an 'easy' side and a difficult side. To develop the horse equally, do the 'difficult' side a bit more often and it's also an idea to start with the 'difficult' side and to end with the 'difficult side'.

The moment the horse starts to feel more equal, switch to train the exercises 50-50.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Click here for more information:

Circle:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/circle

Shoulder-in:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/shoulder-in

Haunches-in:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/haunches-in

Renvers:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/renvers

Half pass:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/half-pass

Pirouette:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/pirouette

Lateral movements:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/lateral-movements

Ladder of exercises:
www.straightnesstraining.com/straightness-training-exercises/a-logical-system-of-ever-increasing-exercises

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11/09/2024

11/08/2024

Ok the giggle for today....:)

11/08/2024

This is a nice little clip :) So when you are told to keep your hands quiet/that doesn't mean a locked in a position...it means the "connection is still/ consistent/steady but following " and can still be primarily within the 6 inch box:)

11/08/2024

So fun / educational to listen to the rider as they go thru.....enjoy :)

11/04/2024

I would say this isn't just novice riders.....

11/03/2024

OMG I cant believe I found THIS this morning....I am sure he is wayyyyy out of my budget but I burst into tears when I saw him......No he is not our Wynnie But is related:)

✨Sale Alert✨

Ohmychrome
2022 Pinto GOV Oldenburg Gelding
Precipitation CF (Palladio x Rainbow) x Canthargo x Deutschmeister
EMH - 17hh
Registry - Oldenburg
Inspection - Westfalen
Location - Alberta Canada - We are travelling to New England Oct 25 and can bring him along - But time is running out for paperwork!

Your next 3 ring superstar! Striker is a stunning and tall Oldenburg gelding with the most pleasant personality. He is quiet and unphased by new places or environments, which I believe will contribute to his success in a showing career. He is easy to catch in the field and is eager to have a job to do. This big fella has been worked lightly on the ground and around obstacles through this life. Striker is kind and respectful with extensive age appropriate handling. He will be a very easy start for someone next year. He has NOT been formally started and any work he has had done thus far has been light and age appropriate, mostly for mental stimulation purposes.

Striker loads, bathes, ties and stands for the farrier. He is sound and has always been utd on deworming and farrier. He is good in a herd setting and would benefit from having other horses his age to play with as he grows. He is currently penned with my gelding and they are constantly tearing around and having fun.

Strikers sire, Precipitation CF, is a full sibling to pinto Warmblood stallion Pallido Blu CF. Precipitation was trained to third level dressage and was showing in the 1.20m jumpers and hunters, with scope to spare, before being lost to colic. His lineage includes famous pinto Warmblood stallions Palladio, Samber and Rainbow, all of which have contributed greatly to the pinto Warmblood lineage today and proved to be very successful in sport. Precipitation was known locally for his rideability and quiet nature and was suitable for all levels of riders.

Strikers dam, Cara, was a premium Oldenburg mare who has proven to be a great amateur jumper mount in Ontario. Her lineage includes the highly successful jumper stallion Conthargos, and three ring Oldenburg stallion Deutschmeister. Both stallions have produced many dressage, jumper and eventing horses.

Striker will be best suited to an adult amateur or professional who will take the time to develop him properly given his size. He has the height, mind and talent for either jumping or dressage. We had planned to keep this fella and start him lightly under saddle this winter, but we have decided that he is just so big and feel he would benefit both mentally and physically from some extra time to mature before he is started under saddle. Thus, we have decided to offer him now at a discounted rate before starting him in the spring.

I can help arrange transport and am well versed in cross border requirements. We are also heading to New England this fall and could offer him a spot on our trailer since we are going anyways.

PC - Prairie Creek Photography

11/02/2024

Now this would be fun to watch/do!!!!

11/02/2024

Well if I ever see our Cozy Lead doing this.......

Send a message to learn more

11/01/2024

Always try to remember your horse will give you their best when they feel supported and understood. Be patient, be kind, and most importantly, be consistent. The trust you build today will lead to the brilliance you seek tomorrow.
Feel free to share around our equine community.

11/01/2024

Ahhh yes...love this quote!!!Having been a rider most of my life( since I could get a job and pay for it myself ) I have always loved everything about horses and have done many disciplines to enjoy them/learn from them. I have a deep love and appreciation for Dressage but LOVED the thrill of Eventing where I competed up to Advanced Level BUT as I get older I am simply fascinated with HOW everything works....discovering small details in myself( humans) and my equine partners that fulfill you inside...that IS one of the most lovely things about horses and riding...there is SO much to learn:)

Every now and then, one of my students comes to me with the wish to make faster progress or with questions about how to make faster progress. While I understand the sentiment, and I do try to give them the best advise I can give, these kinds of talks often leave me contemplating the nature of horsemanship.
I truly believe that when it comes to our horsemanship journey, we are exactly at the point we’re supposed to be at. If we feel like our progress has stalled, it’s for a good reason. And until we haven’t learned what we had to learn, we are not going to make progress.
Besides, progress might not be what we envision it to be. For us, progress could mean being able to show more fancy exercises. But maybe what we are supposed to learn right now is a totally different topic, and that’s why we feel “it’s so slow”.
When we feel the urge for progress, be it because of our personal ambitions or because we want to grow our business, we might visit lots of different clinics and do lots of different online programs. The problem with that is, that all those might have a slightly different approach and we just end up being confused. We might still not close the gaps that we have to close before we can come to a deeper understanding of something.
Going deep with one thing will develop us a lot more quickly than doing everything a little bit.
When we have a genuine wish to develop and to help others, we will be exactly where we should be, work on what we are supposed to work on, gain the isights we are supposed to gain right now, and as teachers, we’ll have the exact amount of student we should have, and our business will be exactly where it’s supposed to be.
When we loose our patience with the learning process and with our organic growth process, I do believe we will experience setbacks and frustration, because we strive to be somewhere where we are not ready to be, or where we’re not even supposed to be.
I do believe that we have to give ourselves fully to this process and have a deep trust that everything turns out the way it should. As the saying goes, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. And when we are ready, progress will come. It might not be what we have envisioned. It will be what we needed.
I’m writing this as someone who was frustrated about the lack of progress with my horse Nazir for quite a while. Progress in my mind was piaffe and passage. Something that would impress others. Today I know that’s not what I had to learn from Nazir. At some point, I just gave up wanting to do anything with him. I just let it be. I accepted that I didn’t know enough to be able to train him. That’s when progress came, the moment I let go of the idea of making progress. And it didn’t come in the form of learning fancy dressage exercises. It came as an understanding of the horse’s nature and clarifying what kind of horse trainer I would like to be.
If we are open for what the horses have to teach us, we’ll be amazed at the insights we’ll gather and that they will come seemingly out of nowhere. Suddenly it’s there, a very clear message. Or a learning opportunity that helps us understand what we have to understand.
Heartfelt greetings from Eumundi, Australia.