LEFT/RIGHT FLEXION: A Basic Exercise in Applied Leadership

Trail riding is a ton of fun, until your horse spooks and bolts off at breakneck speed. Thirteen year-old Ainsleigh found that out the hard way... and wisely chose to develop the leadership skills needed to prevent her horse Chili from bolting again. 

She began by learning that she isn't doing Chili any favors by allowing him to do a whole lot of looking around on the trails. Perhaps when he becomes more confident she can, but right now he finds too many things to spook at. To curb the looky-looky, she must get better control of her horse...specifically his head, neck and shoulders. Ainsleigh has been spending time on the ground learning how to gain that control, and earning some respect from Chili in the process.  She in now ready to ask for that same respect in the saddle.

A great starting point for her, or any rider, is this left/right flexion exercise. The goal of this exercise is to keep the horse traveling in a straight line while turning its head to the left and to the right. It sounds simple but can be quite challenging when the horse isn't thoroughly convinced it should give up control of its head.

As harmonious as the two of them look in the photo on the left, Ainsleigh and Chili started out on a different note...with the clearly agitated Chili tossing his head around, completely ignoring Ainsleigh's leg and stepping off the rail each time she asked him to simply bend his neck. He was challenging Ainsleigh for control just as he had done on the ground.

Ainsleigh felt confident she could prevent this situation from turning into a dangerous one by doing just what she had done on the ground: remaining calm yet firm, trying to be as clear as possible, and taking things step by step. Before continuing on, she donned a pair of blunt spurs to remind Chili that he should move away from the pressure of her leg rather than lean against it.

She then began encouraging him to bend his neck by riding in small circles in a corner of the arena. Coming out the circle, she did her best to resist Chili's effort to take away the bend, while guiding him to stay along the rail with her inside leg and an opening outside rein. Most importantly, she asked for only one or two strides before softening her aids and circling around to start over. Chile quit the violent head tossing almost immediately.

After a few more attempts, Ainsleigh was able to maintain a smidgen of bend and keep her horse's shoulders a tad bit closer to the rail.

After several more tries, she succeeded in getting Chili to take a couple of straight steps along the fence line while keeping him flexed to the right. As they progressed, the exercise became easier for the both of them. 

Putting her newly acquired leadership skills to good use, Ainsleigh no doubt got the same respect she'd earned from Chili on the ground...and then some. 

To ride safely, whether out on trails or in an arena, you must have full control of your horse. This exercise helped Ainsleigh take a big step in that direction. I encourage you to try it with your horse. 

LOOSEN UP: Two Simple Exercises to Get Your Rides Off to a Better Start

An athlete’s muscles should be as flexible as they are strong.  In fact, stretching out stiff muscles ahead of time is a great way to get your rides off to a better start. But don’t just think about stretching out your own.  Help your horse limber up, too.  The lateral movement in these two exercises helps your horse get rid of stiffness in his hips, shoulders and ribcage.

Turn on the forehand:

• Holding the reins in your left hand, keep yourself at your horse’s shoulder as you get him moving beside you in a forward, energetic walk.

• To make the turn, bring your horse’s head slightly toward you as you touch behind the girth (or as far back as his hip if needed) to encourage him to swing his hind end out and away from you.  Just ask for one or two steps at first, looking for your horse’s inside hind leg to step well underneath his body and in front of the outside hind.  

Work with your horse in both directions until you get him to make a complete small circle around you keeping the forward motion of the inside hind stepping in front of the outside hind.  As your horse begins to loosen up, you will start to feel him lightening up on the inside rein as he begins lifting the shoulder nearest you.

Leg yielding:

• To help your horse understand what you will be asking of him, use a fence or wall to prevent forward motion.  Keeping yourself at your horse’s shoulder, start out in a forward energetic walk with your horse on one side and the fence on the other.

• Turn your horse's face slightly toward the fence and touch in front of the girth applying as much pressure as needed to encourage him to step sideways away from you.   Just ask for one or two steps at first since you are only trying to get him to understand that you want him to move away from the pressure.  

Once he gets the idea, help him loosen up by working with him until he can move fluidly down the fence line in both directions with hardly any pressure from you. When your horse clearly understands this exercise, you will no longer need the support of the fence or wall.

Both exercises can be performed in the saddle, but performing them on the ground first helps your horse tune into your aids and gets him carrying himself in a more balanced manner before he has to carry you.  Only good things can come from that!

A HAUNTINGLY TRUE TALE ABOUT HORSES: Not for the faint of heart, but what rider is?

Sit, dear rider, and close your eyes,

if you would be so kind,

    for I'd like to take you on a trip 

inside your horse’s mind.

Pretend we’re at a haunted house...

how would it make you feel

to know the ghosts and ghouls inside

are not imagined but real?

Behind every door and every wall

creatures lie and wait

to make a meal of you and me

if we dare to tempt our fate.

Could you bring yourself to enter in

just because I say?

Would you happily skip the halls with me

if I wanted you to play?

Could you sit still for a cup of tea

or relax while I brush your hair

in a house where there is danger

lurking everywhere?

Would your nerves be on edge?

Would you be prepared to run?

Would you try to tell me

you are not having fun?

A silly question, you might think,

but this I know for sure…

that’s what horses try to do

but often they’re ignored.

Predators are real to horses,

even if they can’t be seen…

every day of every year,

not just on Halloween.

When horses snort and stomp and bite,

when they buck and bolt and rear

they are trying desperately

to tell us of their fear.

It is frightening to ride horses,

if you can't get them to behave.

Do you know that when your horse acts up
he is not feeling safe?

So when your horse acts scary or spooky,
know this without a doubt...
BY BECOMING A BETTER LEADER
YOU CAN HELP YOUR HORSE CHILL OUT!

P.S. If you'd like to get started 
but just aren't quite sure how,
order yourself a copy of
The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge now.

LUNGING FOR CALMNESS: Get Your Horse Tuned In, Not Tired Out

Doing some groundwork before riding gives you a feel for how your horse is feeling that day.  If he’s feeling a little stiff, you can loosen him up.  If he’s feeling a little lazy, you can get his energy flowing. If he’s feeling distracted, you can help him focus. Never is groundwork more crucial than when your horse is feeling like he’s ready to jump out of his shoes. 

On these days, you might be tempted to lunge your horse just to wear him out. Before you go that route consider these two things: 1) the more you allow your horse to blow off steam and get his bucks out on the lunge line, the more your horse will think it is okay to behave in a steamy, bucking manner when he is with you; and 2) speeding around on the lunge line will cause your horse to waste a ton of energy. 

Wouldn’t it be nice to save some of that energy for the ride ahead?  Wouldn't it be even nicer to get to the point of just being able to hop on your horse anytime trusting that he will behave calmly? Lunging can help get you to that happy place… but not the kind of lunging that just tires a horse out.  So when you feel you need to do that, use your lunging session to help your horse tune in to you by helping him calm down as quickly as possible.  Not only will this allow you to reserve your horse's energy for a pleasant ride, but it will get your horse understanding that he is to behave calmly whenever he is with you – even on the lunge line.

Here are some tips to get you started lunging for calmness:

Create calm energy in you. Think about how you are feeling. If you are ticked off or frustrated that your horse is high as a kite, your horse is going to sense it and the lunging session will turn into something of an adversarial experience. Take control of the situation by remembering that you can guide your horse to calmness only if you are calm yourself. 

Spiral in and out. Smaller circles are harder work for horses so use them to your advantage. When your horse starts flying around and kicking up his heels, spiral him in toward you until he comes to trot.  Keep him on that smaller circle until he gives you a calm rhythm at the trot, and then allow him to go back out onto a larger circle as a reward.  If he speeds up again, repeat the spiraling process.  As soon as he is able to keep himself calm for at least one large circle, reward him.  Bring him to a halt, give him a nice rub, and then just let him walk around for minute. Make it very clear to him that you reward calmness.

Mix things up at the slower paces. When you start thinking about it, you can come up with tons of things to ask your horse to do at the walk and trot, such as: trot one circle, walk one circle, change directions and repeat, halt, back up, step sideways, come forward, step over a pole, back up over a pole, take one step forward and one step back, etc.  By asking your horse to do lots of different things, you encourage him to settle down and focus on you. Make that your number one goal, and then ask for canter only when your horse is completely calm.

A huge part of providing good leadership to your horse is helping him make decisions that make his life easier and more pleasant. The phenomenal benefit to you is that it makes your own life easier and your time with your horse so much more fun! To learn more about developing your leadership skills, buy your copy of The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge today.

ZEN YOUR WAY TO CALM RIDING: Five Tips for Overcoming the Jitters

Today I talked to a woman who was perfectly comfortable on her horse until it was time to canter.  Just thinking about it made her fear rise and her muscles tighten.  Letting your nerves get the best of you around horses, especially while riding, is never a good thing. Part of a rider’s job is learning to remain calm no matter what. The following techniques work wonders in helping you reach that goal.

Tell a success story.  Thoughts and words are energy, so use yours to send yourself in the direction you want to go. “I’m afraid to canter,” leaves you stuck in the here and now, focusing on the negative.   “I’m in training for the canter. Like all great riders, I’m learning to remain calm and focused at all times.”  Both statements are true, but try saying them out loud and see which one makes you feel as if you are already in a better situation.  Which one sparks some excitement and gets you looking forward to the journey ahead?

Learn to breathe from your belly. Deep belly breathing oxygenates the muscles, clears the mind to help you focus, and is one of the easiest ways to relax anytime. To learn how to do it, lie on the floor and put a book on your stomach.  As you breathe in, try to make the book rise. If your chest rises instead of the book, you are not breathing deeply enough. Once you get it down, make it a habit in the saddle. Check frequently to make sure you are deep belly breathing by placing your hand on your stomach. 

Develop better body awareness. To stay calm, you must train yourself out of unconsciously tightening your muscles. Develop better body awareness by consciously tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups.  Hold the tension as tight as possible for five seconds. Be aware of your breathing as you do this. You will notice that the tighter you tense your muscles, the shallower your breathing becomes.  As you release the tension, use your deep belly breathing to allow for total relaxation.

Visualize the new you.  Visualization is priceless because your subconscious retains memories of events whether you imagine them or if they happen in real life.  If cantering is your challenge, visualize yourself making canter transitions remaining perfectly calm and everything going right.  Think about how you will ask for the canter. Are you in two-point or sitting position? Are you asking for a clear balanced transition, or allowing your horse to dribble into the canter?  Try to feel yourself riding ten or twelve strides, then easing back into trot. Cantering for longer periods, speeding up, slowing down...a marching band popping up out of nowhere, and although you wonder what the heck, you remain calm and focused...breathing deeply from your belly...feeling the pure joy of following your horse’s movement in perfect harmony. Do you see yourself smiling?

Practice, practice, practice.  Remaining calm and focused is a learned behavior so plan to practice. Each day before entering the barn, take a moment to remind yourself that you are in training to become a bastion of serenity. Do some deep belly breathing until you actually feel yourself relax...then go greet your horse. 

Challenging yourself to step outside your comfort zone allows you to reach greater levels of calm confidence. Let yourself have fun and enjoy the process by taking one small step at a time.   

GET OVER FEAR OF UPSETTING YOUR HORSE: Horses Need Us to Challenge Them

Jennifer Kutch messaged me through Facebook to tell me that reading my book helped her solve many problems with her horse, Mack.  But she still struggled with a bolting issue and wanted to know if she could call and discuss it with me.  “Absolutely,” I replied!  (I’m thrilled when readers contact me!)  When we talked on the phone later on, I learned that Jennifer would have four or five good rides in a row, and then suddenly Mack would spook at something (anything, nothing) and go bolting off.  She wanted to solve the issue for once and for all.  I don’t blame her.

During the course of our conversation, I asked Jennifer lots of questions.  One of them happened to be, “Do you feel comfortable disciplining your horse when you’re in the saddle?”  Her answer revealed an important clue.

“No, I really don’t,” she said.  “When I first bought Mack, his previous owner told me that she found she could only push him so far without upsetting him.  That thought has been stuck in my mind since day one, so I’ve always gone a little bit easy on him.”

All horses get upset when we start pushing them outside their comfort zones.  They throw fits. They have a right to.  They are prey animals.  Comfort zones to them are literally a matter of life and death.  But it is only by calmly, steadily, fairly pushing horses beyond their comfort zones that we actually become their comfort zones. 

Horses’ fits can be intimidating, but to become good leaders we have to learn how to deal with them calmly.  Horses can’t help the fact that they are a lot bigger than us and can easily hurt us.  We just have to be aware of that and be smart about a) pushing our horses past throwing fits about stuff while we are standing on the ground; b) keeping their bodies away from ours so they can’t possibly hurt us; and c) trying our best not to push horses so far that they panic and hurt themselves.

Here’s an example: Suppose I try to lunge a horse over a little jump but the horse stops right in front of it, turns to me and rears up instead.  I’ve clearly pushed the horse far enough to upset him. That’s okay. What’s not okay is for me to allow his rearing to scare me.  Even if it does, I’m going to pretend like it doesn’t for the horse’s sake.  (Horses can’t stand it when their behavior freaks us out.)  Once the horse settled down, I would resume lunging and pretty quickly try to send him over the jump again. He’ll be much more likely to jump it this time (here’s the important part) because I didn't allow his fit to intimidate me.

 

Bomb-proofing exercises help Jennifer
build Mack's trust in her leadership.

Now if the horse happens to rear a second time, I would help him out by breaking the exercise down into smaller pieces.  I would walk with him over the jump a few times, and then send him out on the lunge to walk over it alone before bringing him back up to a trot.  I wouldn’t let the fact that he threw a fit about it at first prevent me from pushing the horse outside his comfort zone… but nor would I hesitate to make it easy for him to go there without throwing a fit.

Jennifer is on her way to becoming a great leader, but Mack knows she is still a bit intimidated by him.  After dealing with enough of his challenges, the time has come for Jennifer to get confident challenging Mack without fear of upsetting him.  I suggested she start by asking a friend to help her create bomb-proofing sessions that push Mack outside his comfort zone.  By working with her horse amidst all kinds of distractions that might upset him, she will give herself ample opportunity to become the calm, stabilizing factor that can prevent him from bolting anytime, anywhere.   

CARPE DIEM AND HORSEFLIES: Recognize Teaching Moments and Embrace Them!

Just recently I took into training a small but gifted young horse. Because of his size, his owner would like to see him eventually leased to a 4-H’er or some other young rider.  He’s pretty spooky right now so I take him through one or two bomb-proofing exercises each time I work with him.  One of our sessions was on a very hot day, so I cooled him down with the hose afterward. Right about the time I was finishing up, a giant horsefly came zipping in. The horse started bucking like mad. “Oh no,” my client yelled. “Quick, get him into the barn!”

“What," I asked? "And waste this perfect opportunity?” I had to smile, though, because I knew where she was coming from.  It is human nature to want to shelter horses from things that upset them.  We think we’re being compassionate… doing them a favor. But we’re really not. Teaching moments don’t come when horses are standing around behaving calmly. They come when horses are freaking out about stuff. We must embrace those moments because they are our opportunities to help our horses grow emotionally, and to help ourselves develop better horse-handling skills.

I did not run the horse back into the barn. I reprimanded his bucking and got it under control.  I knew the horsefly was not going to kill him, so I got him to stand still long enough for me to kill the fly. The poor little guy was shaking like a leaf, but that’s okay. The next time a horsefly comes around we will do it all over again, and he will shake less.  Soon this young horse will be mentally mature enough to behave calmly when horseflies are near… at which point he will be much safer for a young rider to handle.

Growth for both you and your horse comes from facing challenges… not trying to avoid them.  Horses don’t want to go through life afraid of stuff.  So when your horse starts freaking out about something, don’t let it freak you out.  SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY to help your horse become more confident in his surroundings, in himself, and in you. 

WHAT MATTERS MOST TO HORSES? This 13 Year Old Knows!

Juliana Newton became the proud new owner of five year old Neeko just a few weeks ago, but already they are on their way to becoming an outstanding team. To ensure they develop confidence and trust in each other, Juliana took it upon herself to spend time working with him on the ground... in hand, on the lunge line, and in bomb-proofing exercises.  Not bad for a thirteen year old!  I was so impressed I had to find out more.

Me: "Juliana, your riding instructor is also your trainer. Why are you doing this stuff with your horse rather than letting her do it?"

Juliana: "Because I'm the one who's going to be riding him. I want him to trust ME. Plus, I'll be taking him to horse shows so I want to make sure he's not going to be afraid of anything."

Me: "Did your instructor tell you to start doing this groundwork with Neeko?"
Juliana: "No, but she teaches us that we need to be good leaders to our horses, and she wants us to do stuff like this."

Me: "In doing this type of work with Neeko, have you run into anything yet that you felt you couldn't handle on your own? Anything that might have scared you?"

Juliana: "Not on the ground, but when I took him trail-riding for the first time he was afraid of the bridge."

Me: "How did you handle that?"

Juliana: "I let him sniff it, and then we walked away from it. We kept going back to it, and then he just went across it. He was nervous about it though. He circled around a few times after we got across, but then he was fine."

Juliana using a bag of empty soda cans to do some bomb-proofing with Neeko.

Me: "What advice would you give to other riders your age about doing groundwork and bomb-proofing with their horses?"
Juliana: "I would tell them to do it for their horses. All the riding is for us. But this kind of stuff is for our horses. It helps them be okay with us riding them.

Well said! Juliana knows that, to horses, nothing replaces good leadership. Thanks to an instructor who knows the same goes for riding students, Juliana is well on her way to becoming what every rider should strive to be... A Leader Prepared to Handle Anything! I think Neeko is one lucky boy!

Whether you are a riding instructor who wants to teach or a student who wants to learn the basics of providing good leadership to horses, The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge is for you! Order here or through Amazon.com.  Available in Kindle version too!

A KIND TALK ABOUT BEING MEAN TO HORSE: Why Being TOO Nice is Not Nice At All

Put the words 'mean' and 'horse' in one sentence and you're bound to provoke passionate responses from horse-lovers! I created quite a stir with my last blog post by stating "riders who can't bring the mean when needed get hurt by horses." So many great comments warrant a follow-up. Mean is a harsh word, indeed. It makes us uncomfortable, especially when talking about the animals we love. As one reader put it, "The word mean shouldn't even be considered in horsemanship." I disagree. Many years ago I could have used a kind talk about being mean to horses. Other riders might benefit from such a talk as well, so here goes.

It is nice to be nice to horses, but being inappropriately nice is just plain mean. Since they are prey animals and we are predators, we must be nice to them to convince them we mean no harm. But while we are being nice we can't lose sight of the fact that we are not the only threat horses have to worry about. They can't do much for us calmly unless they have some inkling that we are tough enough to protect them from all the other predators. Riders who are nice ALL the time aren't very convincing.

When horses doubt our ability to keep them safe, they start asking us to toughen up and get with the program. They do so by presenting annoying, pushy, obstinate, spooky and aggressive behaviors. We tend to think of these as "bad" behaviors but they are not bad at all. They are just horses' way of telling us to do what we are supposed to do: be better leaders! Responding to these behaviors with inappropriate niceness, confusion or fear gives horses even more reason to feel insecure with us. Not cool, especially since horses have only one way of telling us we are letting them down in the leadership department - by escalating their "bad" behaviors. That is how nice riders turn nice horses into anxiety-ridden basket cases.

Don't go there. Recognize every "bad" horse behavior as a learning experience for you. Avoid making excuses for these behaviors (avoid that like the plague!) and just learn how to correct them effectively. Show your horse you have some toughness in you by learning how to make him mind his manners fairly and firmly. Develop good horse-handling skills by spending some time working with your horse on the ground in leading and lunging exercises. Then take your horse through some bomb-proofing exercises to prove to him you can protect him from anything. Don't just ride your horse's back - let him know you HAVE his back!

​Taking the first step toward becoming a leader prepared to handle anything might make you feel like a big meanie. That's because the energy it takes to buck up and be assertive is very similar to the energy it takes to get angry. While directing that type of energy toward horses seems mean (see illustration), it's not. It is infinitely nicer than being inappropriately nice. Take that first step to be nice to your horse...and to yourself as well. You'll get over feeling mean about it when you realize how much calmer it allows your horse to behave in your presence.

These folks are showing off their toughest faces and their meanest faces. Can you tell the difference? It's hard to feel/look tough and feel/look nice at the same time. I wouldn't leave you hanging. The mean faces are on the top row, tough faces on the bottom row.

Female Equestrians - How We Fail Ourselves

In my opinion, men have an advantage with horses because they do not struggle with the concept of being mean to the extent women do.  It starts early on.  Tell a boy to hit a horse that bites him and he'll say okay.  Tell a girl to do the same thing and she'll say, "But that's so mean." Riders who can't bring the mean when needed get hurt by horses. Spend some time on Facebook and you will see how many girls believe the exact opposite. "All I know is that if I am nice to horses, horses will be nice to me," girls write.

Then girls walk into barns and see women being nice ("He likes exploring," says the woman who's horse is dragging her through the barn)...women going out of their way to be nice ("Something about that door scares him," says the woman walking around to the other side of the barn)... and women working extra hard to be nice ("He's scared of whips," says the woman struggling to get her horse in front of her leg.)

          

They see women avoid situations where they can't be nice ("I don't feed her treats by hand because she gets too pushy")... women insisting others be nice ("Hey, quiet down before you upset the horses in here")... and women apologizing for not being nice ("It was my fault, I never should have ridden him on such a windy day.") 

        

They watch women find excuses for the niceness not working ("The saddle must be hurting him," says the woman who got bucked off her horse)... and other women supporting this practice ("Yes, it's best to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he's getting too much grain. Maybe you should try a different bit. Maybe his hip joints are out. I know a good chiropractor.")

         

Girls see women remain nice no matter what ("He's always nipping at me but he doesn't do it do be mean," says the woman who's horse had bitten off her lip a year ago.)... they see women be nice even when they know they shouldn't ("I know I should get after her for being so pushy but I just love her too much.")... and they hear women condemning those who aren't nice ("Did you see the way she treated that horse? She ought to be ashamed of herself.") Is it any wonder girls struggle with the concept of being mean?

        

Girls hear women say, "You don't have to be mean but you do have to get your horse's respect."  What??? Why confuse them even more? Sometimes you HAVE to act mean to get a horse's respect! Horses teach this lesson the hard way every day! And right now there is a fresh generation of young girls primed and ready to learn this lesson from their horses too... yep, just like a bunch of sitting ducks. 

       

It is not enough that we teach girls to ride. We have to get them and ourselves over the handicap we created with all this senseless nicey-nice stuff. Until we do, this predominately female industry is failing its majority. THESE ARE OUR BODIES! We have a right to protect them, a responsibility to be mighty about it, and an obligation to act as MEAN AS NECESSARY WHEN NEEDED!

HORSE ABUSE - REAL OR IMAGINED? Things to Consider Before You Assume the Worst

Over the years, many people have told me they suspect their horses had been abused based on the behavior of the horses soon after purchase. Perhaps a horse came unglued if someone picked up a whip, had the habit of jerking its head back to avoid touch, or presented some other dramatic behavior a rider had not seen before.  

     

I cannot state emphatically enough that these behaviors are NOT proof of abuse. They are actually very common challenges horses present on a normal basis... especially when they are first getting to know someone, haven't been handled much in the past, or have been handled primarily by people who just don't have good leadership skills when it comes to horses. Seeing a behavior for the first time is less an indication that it is abnormal and more an indication that it is time for you to learn to deal with that particular challenge. 

A rider who assumes a horse has been abused will be tempted to treat the horse differently than other horses. She will be tempted to baby the horse and walk on eggshells around it... causing the horse to feel insecure, thereby forcing it to become more protective of itself around humans.  Ironically enough, treating a horse as if it had been abused is an easy way to cause a horse to act as if it had been abused.  

​       

A rider who suspects a horse has been abused will ask less and expect less of the horse, stunting the horse's emotional and physical growth. Even if the horse really was mistreated and you have solid evidence to prove it, it will do the horse no good if you let that knowledge change the way you go about dealing with the horse.  Get on with your training and let the horse get on with its future and live up to its potential. Horses live in the moment. Allow the horse to grow up to be a calm, confident horse by providing the same fair, firm leadership all horses need.

I wanted to weigh in on this subject because stating a horse had been abused is not a light-hearted comment. It is a serious accusation of a previous owner... serious enough to be based on proof, not false assumptions. If you truly suspect animal cruelty or neglect, report it to the authorities so they can conduct an investigation. But please understand that the horse world could do with more understanding and fewer rumors. When a horse presents challenging behavior, the only assumption you should make is that it is acting like a normal horse. 

PARENTS OF RIDING STUDENTS: Read This Message for Your Child's Safety!

       

Just recently one of my riding instructor friends had planned a day where students wouldn't be riding, but rather staying on the ground to learn a little something about leadership.  Upon hearing this, one parent got very upset and said, "I can't see paying good money if my daughter is not going to get on a horse."  And then she pulled her daughter out of what happens to be a very good lesson program.

Parents, I can't stress how important it is that your child NOT spend every lesson riding a horse! Students who only ride never learn to become good leaders to horses. Leadership skills are built on the ground and then carried into the saddle - not the other way around. When your child learns to ride a bike, she has no need to develop leadership skills. It's different when your child is learning to ride a 1200 pound animal that cannot behave calmly unless it feels safe... and the only way to make a horse feel safe is by providing it good leadership.

      
Before any rider climbs into the saddle, a horse will present all kinds of subtle challenges to determine whether or not that rider knows anything about being a leader. If your child has no idea how to correctly respond to those challenges, the horse will have to assume the leadership position. This is OK to start because school horses are comfortable being in the lead in many situations.  

     
However, the better rider your child becomes, the more she will ask of horses.  Inevitably there will come a day when she will ride into a situation where the horse is not comfortable being the leader.  If your child has not learned how to provide good leadership by then, she's going to find herself in huge trouble! This is exactly how riders, even really good ones, get injured on well-trained horses every day.  So when a riding instructor suggests you pay for some 'non-riding' lessons, do it and consider it money well spent!  You are lucky to have an instructor who knows it is important that your child learn to protect herself and the horse.

     

Some of us in the horse industry are working to make leadership education become a normal part of every riding lesson program, but we have yet to reach the majority of instructors. If you suspect you child may be missing out, step in for safety's sake. Buy a copy of The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge today!  It is designed for students to read and work through, under their instructors' guidance, to develop good leadership skills. 

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