StoneRidge Farm

08/27/2023

Performing a shoulder-in on the long side of the arena with a visualization of where the following steps will be marked by the red and blue lines. An easy way to train the shoulder-in is to begin with a 10-meter circle, then maintain the bend of the circle while asking your horse to move away from your inside leg down the straight side of the arena in a manner similar to a leg-yield.

From THE TRAINING SPIRAL by Sue Grice

📷 courtesy of Sue Grice

08/27/2023

"The advantage of renvers is that it really helps increase the engagement and flexibility of the hindquarters...provided it's executed in lightness." -Guillaume Henry, author of RELAXATION EXERCISES FOR HORSES newly available .com.
Illustration: Charles Thiebaut

08/27/2023

“'Extension'” doesn’t mean 'rushing.' In an extended gait, the horse increases the lengths of his strides (which therefore cover more ground than before) while maintaining a cadence identical to the cadence of the working gait. Rushing, by contrast, means the horse is just going faster—not lengthening his strides, only taking more of them and doing it more quickly, which means his cadence is going to accelerate. When a horse rushes this way, his withers collapse, his back turns hollow, and his hindquarters disengage." --Guillaume Henry in his book Relaxation Exercises for Horses, now available from TSB and wherever horse books are sold ❤️🐴📖

📷 by Alain Laurioux

05/23/2023

Maybe some of these will be helpful for you.

03/25/2023

Due to its effectiveness in helping the horse carry his body with good form, the longe cavesson is arguably one of the most useful pieces of equipment to own. Yet, only a surprisingly small number of riders who know about it. While early depictions from the 16th century refer mostly to its value in....

03/24/2023

The exercise below is an awesome way to develop (you and) your horse’s conditioning, work on suppling the horse over the back in canter, play around with balance and hind end engagement, and …

03/20/2023

How to distinguish this collecting exercise from a leg yield, how to ride it correctly - and a couple of helpful tips.

01/28/2023

09/20/2022

TUESDAY TIP 🦄

BENDING EXERCISES FOR A MORE SUPPLE HORSE

Turns, loops, circles, figures of eight and serpentines are all great exercises that you can incorporate into your horse's training.

Combine them together and you have an infinite number of beneficial bending exercises.

1. Begin with shallow loops and large circles to promote balance, suppleness and accuracy.
2. Progress to tighter turns, smaller diameters and exercises that require more changes of bend as your horse becomes stronger and more flexible.
3. The intensity of all these bending exercises can be increased by varying the gait, degree of collection, speed and tempo.

For more great exercises and advice take a look at the book POSTURE AND PERFORMANCE - https://www.horsesinsideout.com/product-page/posture-and-performance-1

Gillian Higgins

08/25/2022

How Does Footing Affect Fitness for Horses? Explore Jec Ballou's Latest Article in the Summer 2022 Edition of the Canadian Horse Journal

08/25/2022

Workout Wednesday: What's the purpose of pole exercises with a blank space? A pattern of evenly spaced sequential ground poles requires the horse to adopt a particular neuromuscular coordination for the rhythm and stride length and height dictated by the poles as well as the spaces between them. When we remove one or more of the poles in this sequence, we test the horse's ability to maintain this coordination and cadence without the physical aid. So, to be clear, we always begin by walking/trotting over evenly spaced poles. Only after sufficient practice do we then add challenges by removing certain poles in the sequence.
Learn more and have fun: https://jecballou.thinkific.com/courses/groundpoles

08/10/2022

**BIOMECHANICS OF THE EQUINE BACK WITH AND WITHOUT A RIDER**

Sunday 14 August 2022 @ 14:00 HRS, BST

The 2-hour online course will present research on the biomechanics of the equine back, including the region of the back beneath the saddle during various exercise conditions with and without a rider.

🐎14-day video replay
🐎CPD Certificates
🐎Q and A

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/biomechanics-of-the-equine-back-with-and-without-a-rider-tickets-311013869857

07/31/2022

07/25/2022

07/18/2022

Some differences between a “back seat” style saddle (top) and a “traditional seat” style saddle (below).

Note the length of overall pressure, placement of the rider’s weight on the horse’s back, openness of seat.

02/16/2022

01/20/2022

Though the undersaddle is only one class, it can be a big contributor to your overall results. Hear what the judges have to say about how to perform your best in the undersaddle.

12/13/2021

04/30/2021

On the farm is the absolute best place to be during Spring Time!
Message us for any of your boarding, lessons, training, birthday party, rehabs, clipping and /or hauling needs! We would be happy to help!

***We are still searching for the right person to join our farm family full time! So if you, or somebody you know..is looking for a full time job (5 days per wk) with living accommodations...please don't hesitate to reach out!

02/08/2021

Today's training tip comes from hunter/jumper/equitation trainer Karen Healey:

"To teach riders the feel of the automatic release, I have them hold the reins as they would if they were driving a carriage by turning their hands over on the reins. The reins go between your thumb and index finger before running through your closed palm. This position encourages you to follow your horse's mouth forward and keep your hands from becoming stiff. You practice first on the flat, then over small fences, smoothly moving your hands forward along the sides of your horse's neck in a direct line toward his mouth. Giving this release exactly at the moment of takeoff and following your horse's motion perfectly, you maintain a light, elastic contact with his mouth throughout the jump."