Faraway Farm LLC

09/22/2025

There is a reason behind repetition!

HEAVY IN THE HAND?

The unschooled or young horse initially uses his head and neck (and the reins) to balance himself, and it is only through systematic, thoughtful schooling that he will become sufficiently strong and confident enough to transfer the balance back onto his hindquarters.

To do this, you need to work on a combination of correctly ridden transitions, circles, and lateral exercises, all while making use of the half-halt.

These exercises help to encourage the horse’s hind legs to step further forward underneath his body and to carry more weight on his hindquarters rather than on his shoulders, relative to his level of training.

-------

NOTE: We would also like to add that this has nothing to do with the horse's head position. Trying to artificially raise the horse's head will not fix anything. It's the hind legs engaging and stepping under that lift the horse's forehand.

A horse can still work in a long, low frame and not be heavy in the hand, as long as the hind legs are still pushing and engaging.

Illustrations created and copyrighted by HowToDressage.

09/18/2025

Making the most of fall sunshine!

09/08/2025

I interviewed Geoff YEARS ago for a senior college class (Judging, maybe? I honestly don't remember!) and he is seriously just the most down to earth person!!

It's easy to get caught up in the details and endless schedules of lessons and shows. But Geoff Teall cautions against forgetting the most basic truth: horses are still horses. He reminds riders that giving horses real downtime is just as important as training them in the ring.

Teall believes riders too often project human preferences onto their horses. We may love a hot shower at the end of the day, but horses don’t. We may value polished manes and tails, but horses don’t. “I’m quite sure that they don’t like braiding and pulling and twitching and trimming and all of the nonsense,” he says.

Instead, horses thrive when they can live more naturally with turnout, room to move, grass to graze, and other horses to socialize with. Allowing them this downtime is not indulgent; it’s a crucial part of keeping them sound in both body and mind.

One of Teall’s strongest pieces of advice is simply to stop. “Stop picking at him. Stop clutching the reins. Stop smothering him. Stop fussing. Just stop.” Horses don’t need to be micromanaged every second. Constant fussing creates tension, not progress.

Instead, Teall urges riders to make time in the saddle count. Be clear, specific, and fair when you ride, then reward the horse with release, rest, and time off. A horse learns far more from short, focused training sessions followed by downtime than from endless drilling.

Teall even builds deliberate rest periods into his horses’ lives. He likes to pull shoes, let manes and coats grow, and give his horses time to get dirty and relax. This isn’t laziness; it’s an investment in longevity. Horses that are allowed to recharge come back fresher, happier, and more willing to work.

“No work for a period of time makes the horse more willing the rest of the year,” he writes. That willingness is what sustains long-term performance and prevents burnout.

🔗 Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/09/03/downtime-matters-letting-horses-be-horses/

08/28/2025

07/21/2025

Why lessons here... start with walk warm ups!

Warming Up Your Horse Before Exercise and Competition: How To Avoid Injury and Muscle Strain

What is a warm-up? The term 'warm-up' accurately describes what happens when we transition the body from a resting state to a state suitable for activity: the muscles are literally 'warmed up', receive increased blood and oxygen supply, gain flexibility and therefore reduce stress on tendons and ligaments. This also allows time for joint lubrication.

A warm-up will also ensure increased oxygen supply to the blood and the elevation of the heart rate from a resting rate to an activity rate. If you warm up your horse gradually—instead of 'jump-starting' his heart-rate—you will also have a calmer, more relaxed, and more willing horse.

Sufficient warm up before exercise, training, and competition is essential, in order to avoid injury to muscles, ligaments, and tendons. A simple routine can save lots of pain and dollars spent on vet visits.

Why should I warm up my horse before working?
Just like your own muscles after a full day sitting in your cubicle or driving your truck, for example, the horse's muscles are unflexible and his movement will be stiff after a day of lack of activity in his paddock or stall. This even more so in the winter, where movement is even more restricted and the horses cannot kick up their heels on pasture. Many horses spend most of their day in a stall year round, which limits the horses' movements even more warm up your horse

Our bodies-rider's and horse's-are made up of mostly fluids! Warming up body fuids inside muscles reduces the internal friction of a muscle and therefore prevents injury. Mobility and elasticity of muscles is increased, which minimizes the strain on ligaments and tendons.

Avoid muscle spasms, discomfort, stiff gaits and in extreme cases torn muscles or tendons or anxiety and unwillingness to work by warming your horse up properly at the beginning of every ride.

A simple basic warm-up for recreational riders of all levels:
- Warm up your horse on a long rein in the walk
- Alternate the pace of the walk
- Start with straighter lines
- Then continue with large circles, squares, serpentines, & shallow loops (20 meters, through the width of the arena)
- After 10 minutes, make squares, circles and serpentines smaller
- Warm up a total of 15 minutes at the walk for best results

For more advanced warm up exercises for FIT horses at least 8 - 10 minutes into their walk warm up:

Ride Walk Single Ground Poles
Ride Walk Shallow Loops on the Center Line
Ride Walk Shallow Loops Down the Long Side
Ride Walk 4 Loops Down the Center Line
Ride Walk 2 Loops Down the Long Side
Ride Walk Shoulder Fore and Counter Shoulder Fore
Ride Walk Leg Yield Right to Half Pass Right
Ride Walk Leg Yield Left to Half Pass Left
Ride Walk Leg Yield In, Half Pass Back
Ride Walk 10 meter Circles
Ride Walk Shoulder Fore and Counter Shoulder Fore (one of my favorites!)
Ride Smaller Walk Squares (Integrates a Few Steps of Turn on The Haunches)

As a note, in the warm up I usually limit the lateral work to a few “baby steps” as the purpose of these exercises during the warm up phase is to supple and loosen the horse up purely for their benefit. If you feel your horse become more anxious or tight, re-evaluate how you are utilizing the exercise or consider waiting to do the more difficult exercises later on during the work session once they are better warmed up.

I would also encourage you to experiment with a few minutes of in-hand or lunge line walking for a start to the warm up from the ground before adding your weight to the horse’s back. I’ve seen some very positive differences with horses by allowing them a few minutes of walk warm up time without the weight or interference (or micromanaging) of the rider so an option I highly recommend playing with in the warm up phase as well! This also allows you extra time to evaluate from the ground how your horse is doing physically and mentally that day, puts both horse and rider in a more relaxed state of mind instead of rushing to jump on and ride, and allows you to make any tack adjustments, if needed.

05/30/2025

05/26/2025

We all have those days, even those of us teaching it!

“This makes me feel like I don’t know how to ride!”

I hear that all the time when I’m teaching and I always have to chuckle. There is nothing I can relate to more deeply!

There is a huge difference between mashing a horse’s body around, and actually riding them.

When my teachers taught me to truly ride generating energy from behind and steering the shoulders, not the mouth, it became very apparent I was relying entirely on the head for control. It was extremely humbling, and very frustrating. I had many lessons that felt like purgatory - not advancing until I could learn to direct with my seat onto a track of travel, learning not to let my Tourette’s hands get involved and to actually funnel the energy through.

I went from overactive, micromanaging riding to being floppy and ineffective, afraid to be at the helm. I’ve been at this a while, and I always remind my students of this : I did not pop out of the womb understanding this- and if you are naturally gifted at it, I’m happy for you - but don’t be alarmed if it is hard.

If it were easy, everyone would be doing it!

If you’re feeling frustrated, inept, stuck in purgatory, and so on, try to remember this is not easy. It’s very simple - but it is the most difficult task you could undertake: mastering your body and mind to ride in a harmonious way with a horse. There are no shortcuts, no easy get out of jail free cards for learning how to direct fluidly without interference. Buddhist monks study a lifetime at a monestary to get control of their minds - so you have to direct that kind of energy and dedication into it, within the walls of your own arena.

It’s hard, and you will struggle and make mistakes, but you will be just fine, and so will your horse. It will come together in glimmers, in tastes- you’ll get motivated by a little feeling here and there, and you can remember that feeling to get you through the next plunge back into purgatory.

05/09/2025

Dressage is not a sport of spectators.
It’s a discipline of solitude.

You can be surrounded by trainers, riders, judges, and still, you're alone.
Alone with your thoughts.
Alone with your horse.
Alone with every choice you've ever made in the saddle.

Most people quit dressage because they expect progress to feel like applause.
But here, progress feels like stillness.
Like tension giving way.
Like a breath you didn’t realize you were holding… finally let go.

The horse doesn’t care who’s watching.
And eventually, neither do you.

05/07/2025

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀

To negotiate trot poles sucessfully requires increased momentum, flexion of all the limb joints, power and spring.

Trot poles encourage your horse to push equally from behind, and are an excellent exercise for developing an equal stride length and for improving symmetry, straightness and coordination.

𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝟭.𝟮 - 𝟭.𝟳𝗺 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁

05/01/2025

04/20/2025

Some rides are fantastic. Some are a touchstone on what needs to be worked on more. If we wanted consistent and easy, we'd ride bicycles!

Dressage is tough. It’s technical, mental, and sometimes frustrating as hell. You’re constantly working to improve not just your horse, but yourself. And that means you’re going to hit walls, have bad rides, and feel the pressure to get everything right.

But perfection isn’t the goal progress is. Mistakes aren’t failures, they’re feedback. Even the top riders screw up; the difference is they keep showing up, learning, adjusting, and moving on.

Your horse doesn’t need a perfect rider they need a consistent, fair one. The real work happens in the struggle, in the repetition, and in those small breakthroughs that no one else sees.

So when it’s hard, when the pressure is on, just keep showing up. Ride the horse you have that day. Put in the work. Trust the process.

You’ve got this.