Clyde Valley Trekking Centre

08/01/2024

To create throughness with correct bend when your horse is crooked...

Imagine your crooked horse as a kinked hose. You need to straighten him to get the kinks out and get the water (his energy) flowing. Then you can bend him correctly.—Annie Morris

🎨: Sandy Rabinowitz

07/01/2024

Colic in horses can occur all year round and it can be fatal. The earlier you spot the signs and call a vet, the greater the recovery chances

07/01/2024

Percherons come with style, grace, gentle temperament and, of course, size, but did you know the story behind their big hoofprint?

07/01/2024

Brabants are a heavy draft breed that originated in the Brabant region of Belgium.

07/01/2024

"A horse that remains unchallenged is a horse that can become naughty" 🐴

06/01/2024

Electric fencing for horses – so useful, yet so infuriating. Whether it’s trying to set up your poles in a straight line, or trying to untangle your tape, these 10 commandments are sure to sound familiar to any horse owner who’s had to deal with it. 1. Do not covet thy neighbour’s electric f...

06/01/2024

In Romania, it is a common practice to use chains on a horse’s front or rear legs to hobble them so they cannot run away. Of course, hobbling is an old practice that was common

05/01/2024

05/01/2024

An iconic picture of Harvey Smith riding high above Bingley, Yorkshire, with his young son aboard Warpaint.

Did you enjoy Harvey’s exclusive interview in 29 December issue of Horse & Hound?

📸 credit: Getty

05/01/2024

Once you discover the power of the neck rein, you’ll wonder how you ever rode without it. Using an effective neck rein is one more step in the direction of becoming more subtle and harmonious…

05/01/2024

04/01/2024

“losing the shoulder”
“shoulder falling out”
Are you confused by these terms?
When beginner riders start to learn bend, us instructors are not looking for perfect bend….. WE STRUGGLE with “perfect” bend!!!  So initially, we are just happy if our students can steer the horse’s nose separate from steering it’s shoulders.
So if your horse looks like the sketch on the left while going left, but no longer looks like this while going to the right, CONGRATULATIONS!!!! 🎊🍾🎉
That’s a huge accomplishment.

But then, eventually, you take a clinic, or your instructor gets pickier, and you start hearing phrases like “his shoulder is falling out! You are losing his shoulder!” Since you just spent the last six months learning how to tip the horse’s nose towards the inside of the circle, without the entire horse spiraling into the middle of the arena, the shoulder going out kind of sounds fantastic to you!

But as we get pickier, improve the horse’s balance, and prepare to learn new movements, we don’t want the horse to over bend at the base of the neck. Instead, we want the horse to “bend” through the rib cage (what is technically happening is axial rotation, not lateral bend, but it feels and looks like lateral bend, so don’t worry too much about the semantics) and lateral flexion at the poll, BUT NOT much lateral bend at the base of the neck.

If the horse is straight in the rib cage and straight in the neck, but practically hinged where the neck meets the spine, it gives the feel/appearance of the shoulders bulging outward. To fix it, we start to utilize inside leg to outside rein connection.

This is when the magic starts to happen in your riding!!!! It’s not the easiest stage to understand but stick with it. You are now at the point that you can start to really influence the horse in a positive way.

Instead of taking from the horse, you are soon in a position to really give to the horse, and make them feel better in their body!

04/01/2024

Self carriage of the rider involves sitting on your tail bone more than the front of your pelvis and having a deeper seat on the horses back instead of perching, this allows for a more comfortable ride out when doing trail rides of any kind or doing show jumping/dressage/ cross country & stops the rider feeling stiff through the legs and up the spine

04/01/2024

Never perch in the saddle, but sit at the back of your seat bones (sitting on tail bone area instead of front of pelvis), this will feel strange to those who sit forward a lot. but when sitting on your tail bone more, you invite a better riding experience for both you and your mount, which is also safer for both of you

Are you struggling to master the sitting trot? If you find yourself bouncing uncomfortably, try putting these five tips for a better sitting trot to use.

01/01/2024

❤️✨💙You are Spectacular💙✨❤️

01/01/2024

In order for the equidae to do this with lifting their backs, we as the raiders must stop leaning on their shoulders , so sitting/ leaning back in our posture is the key to correct riding position and better balance for both horse and rider

To lift the back, the horse must be able to reach forward and stretch downward with his head and neck …

Imagine that your horse’s shoulder blades form a slot through which his neck must fall in a downward direction. In order to reach and stretch, his neck must come straight out of his shoulders. If his neck isn’t aligned with the slot, the horse is unable to lower it.—Beth Baumert

🎨: Sandy Rabinowitz

30/12/2023

So we come again to the second time of the year when fireworks are used for our enjoyment.
please, please 🙏 remember that animals, war vets and those with sensitive hearing are at risk during these times, so let your neighbors and any horse yards and farmers know of your intentions to set fireworks off, as it will help us all stay safe and avoid high vet bills for those with animals

With the New Year just days away, get ahead and prepare now to help your horse cope with fireworks.

🤳Logging any concerns using the Horse i app will also help us to lobby and influence change in firework laws.

📝 Our top tips 👉 https://bit.ly/3Nbn8ZB

30/12/2023

Is your horse trying to tell you that he's 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲? Watch for these 𝟔 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐬 that might be red flags for pain.

30/12/2023

Have you ever heard the manager having conversations with the musketeers?
All animals can communicate with their humans, but not all animals find it easy to convey what they want or how they are feeling. The musketeers and friends do enjoy how they are heard and can gain what they need fairly quickly

We all are guilty of having those long conversations with our horses; we are horse people and look forward to it! Sometimes we even catch ourselves asking our horses questions and swear that they answer

29/12/2023

Can a horse go lame because of extreme hoof cracks and not being trimmed regularly?

29/12/2023

We've put together a list of things you should be doing between farrier visits so your horse can get the best service possible.

28/12/2023

In this video from Andrea Fappani, brought to you by Polyglycan, learn how your simple cues are impacting your horse.

26/12/2023

“Even though it was a very long time ago, those are memories that will last forever,” says Ginny Elliot recalling her favourite rides

26/12/2023

Do you know your horse's body condition score? Here are 8 things to look for when assessing your horse's weight and condition.

25/12/2023

Feeding your horse treats is a huge debate in the industry. Some swear it makes their horse pushy and disrespectful, while others use...

24/12/2023

Here’s what might be on your senior horse’s wish list this year.