Horse Health & Rider Fitness – Page 11

Principles of Horsemanship: Part 5 – Shaping

December 3rd, 2014
Shaping is a term used in behavioural psychology and understood by animal trainers of many different species. It is about targeting and rewarding responses, then step by step adding more refinement towards the ultimate desired response... Read Article Comments Off

The Principles of Horsemanship: Part 4 – Exclusivity Principles

When you communicate to horses (or men!), you have to issue one command at a time otherwise both commands will result in lowered responses... Read Article Comments Off

The Principles of Horsemanship: Part 3 – Pavlov’s Principle

Pavlov’s principle is all about training the horse to operate from light aids, including seat, weight and positional cues... Read Article Comments Off

Principles of Horse Training with Andrew McLean

All equestrian work, whether it is in hand or in any discipline under saddle rests upon sound basics of stop and go. Dressage represents the most sophisticated development of stop and go and the quality of the training of these basic responses is the foundation for a relaxed, problem-free horse... Read Article Comments Off

What Causes Lameness in Showjumpers?

September 23rd, 2014
Our two veterinary experts, Dr Robin J.W. Bell and Professor Leo Jeffcott (University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Camden and University of Sydney) look at the common problems that show jumpers develop... Read Article 1 Comment »

Andrew McLean on Attachment Theory – The New Dimension

December 6th, 2013
I’m interested in the area of Attachment Theory, as it applies to the horse/human bond in the hope it may shed light on the elusive (objectively speaking) qualities of trust, rapport and bonding. Applying Attachment Theory to horse training is new ground, but I think it applies well... Read Article 31 Comments »

Why Is An Understanding Of Biomechanics Important?

October 30th, 2012
Biomechanics is the science of movement of a living body, including how muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments work together to produce movement. Biomechanics explains the negative impacts upon a horse’s body caused by incorrect riding and training methods, such as Rollkur. It is important for riders to understand the physical effect that their aids have directly […] Read Article 23 Comments »

Better breathing for better riding with Lisa Champion

October 23rd, 2012
Did you realize that simply breathing more deeply can have a dramatic effect on how you feel and hence how you ride? Breathing better will give you more energy, help to reduce both mental and physical fatigue, calm your heart rate and help to reduce muscular tension that can lead to all sorts of body […] Read Article Comments Off

Feeding the Eventing Horse with Elizabeth Owens

October 15th, 2012
Before an animal can be classified as an eventing horse, it needs to be in full work and in the run up to a competition... Read Article 1 Comment »

Learning Theory and Biomechanics – with Andrew McLean

It is surprising that while many areas of animal training have been rigorously examined and highly effective training methods established, horse training has remained largely untouched by the light of rationality, a rich field for the fakers and frauds... Read Article 5 Comments »