Archives: Learning Modules

Goal: Teach your horse to transition down from trot into a relaxed walk and stop using a bend. This exercise builds softness, reinforces relaxation, and…

Balancing the Horse’s Mind and Body Through Redirection The Left/Right Exercise is where steering starts to evolve from a mechanical skill into a mental and…

This section is about assembling the ingredients before you try to bake the cake. Many riding problems don’t come from a lack of effort or talent…

4 Basic Groundwork Exercises These 4 basic exercises will teach your horse many valuable skills, but they will also teach you how to be aware…

Goal: Develop a forward, relaxed horse that can trot on a loose rein with no steering. This helps the horse learn responsibility for maintaining gait…

Goal: Teach the horse to stop softly and safely from forward motion—especially at the canter—by putting a bend in their body, allowing excess energy to…

Goal: Take the soft, multi-step disengage you’ve built and let it melt into forward motion. You’ll gradually release some bend while the feet keep moving,…

In this step, you will begin to move your horse’s feet by asking them to untrack the hind feet. Start with just one step of…

Before you put your foot in the stirrup or swing fully into the saddle, it’s critical to confirm that your horse can respond softly to…

Once your horse has accepted the saddle and girth at a standstill and in motion, the next step is to revisit every piece of groundwork…

By this stage, your horse should already be comfortable with the surcingle or girth preparation exercise. That step taught them how to relax and reset…

Before your horse is ready to be ridden, they must be fully comfortable with pressure around their midsection and the feel of a saddle on…

This is an optional step if you have this piece of equipment.  I did not do this with Chance and Dulce and they were fine…