If your horse is ‘lazy’, ride a lot of transitions. Right?
Perhaps you’ve heard this phrase before: If your horse is ‘lazy’, then you have to ride a lot of transitions within the gait. Then he will react better to your leg aids and become more active. But is that really the case? Transitions within the gait means riding forward and also taking back the pace. […]
Learn how to ride your horse in his natural balance
IN THIS LESSON Rider: Nicole Horse: Kenzy (5 years old) Biggest challenge at the moment: “Ride my horse active/ in front of my leg” After the warm-up, Rien explains how he thinks that Nicole can improve her horse. The horse should move more in his natural balance. At the moment the head of Kenzy is […]
Alternative Medicine: The Dunning-Kruger Effect
– Written by Morgan Lashley – Black and white vs. fifty shades of grey When I heard the topic for this blog, something started itching in me right away. Because I have enough to say about alternative medicine. And also enough to nag about… Let me start with the fact that I myself, with my […]
Is There Harm In Trying Alternative Medecine?
– Written by Annika Rettig – ”Well, there’s no harm in trying” I hear my stablemate say for the umpteenth time about a certain remedy she’s going to try for her horse’s summer eczema. And I think this is how people often think in our horse world. We try all kinds of things for our […]
When It Doesn’t Help, It Does Hurt?
– Written by Jasmijn de Bruijn – Many horse owners like alternative medicine, herbal mixtures and ‘natural’ solutions for ailments and problems in their horses. ”They often have a certain mistrust towards regular veterinary care. A certain arrogance plays a role in this.” The arrogance lies in the fact that they think they understand the […]
Science With Golden Glitters
– Written by Anne Loosveld – As the daughter of an oncologist and an occupational physician, the dinner table conversations of my youth were mostly about very sensible things. “Sensible” to us meant mostly: reasonable. Rational. When you say something, you have to be able to prove it. And arguments based on emotion or gut […]
My new project horse
My ‘new’ project horse If you follow me on Instagram you might already know it… I’ve got a new horse! Her name is Dina and she arrived at our yard as Deborah’s ‘project horse’. But Deborah has discovered that she is pregnant (with twins!!!) And she didn’t feel 100% comfortable riding an unpredictable horse. Understandable, […]
Most common mistakes when straightening your horse.
Got the idea that your horse is not entirely straight? That can be right! Because every horse is somehow crooked. Just like we are left- or right-handed, every horse has a preference for the right or left hand by nature. Therefore, we often speak of left-bent or right-bent horses. With a right-bent horse, the left […]
Making a training schedule for your horse: tips and common mistakes
As a rider, you are the ‘personal trainer’ of your horse. However, to become a personal trainer, you’re required to follow an official education where you learn how to train someone in a sustainable way. But where do we riders learn this? Where do we learn what a good training schedule looks like? Which ways […]
A tip to check whether you’ve got the right connection
When do you have the right connection? Is that when your horse walks in a certain position? And how does that differ between a young horse and a horse that competes at the highest level? Rien van der Schaft has a very handy check that applies to both a young horse and a horse that […]
