Because of Horses

She knows communication is a two-way street and listens as often as she speaks.

She clearly reads your nonverbal body language.

She knows how to follow effectively but can also lead along with the best of them.

drift out — Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography

Because of Riding

She can weave through heavy traffic with the precision of knowing exactly which wheel is where in a given moment.

She knows just when to ask a little more and when she should back off.

She organizes her time effectively and multitasks like a pro!

She is a life-long learner.

Because of Showing

She can break down seemingly impossible responsibilities into small manageable steps.

She does her "homework" knowing that the extra effort usually pays off.

She perseveres especially when things get difficult.

Because of Horses

She knows when it's time to say goodbye.

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At Horse Listening, we are emphatic life-long learners of all things horsey. You will be reminded time and again about how there is so much to be learned from horses and other horse people, if only we listened.

This guest post is by Laura Kelland-May, a Sr. Judge in Hunter Jumper Hack and Equitation and founder of the Thistle Ridge Skill Builders Series © of Horse Show Clinics andThistle Ridge Skill Builders©. She is available for judging and developing clinics and riders in your area.

A well thought of and ‘in demand’ coach and trainer with 20+ years of experience, Laura continues to develop and brings her experience online and has been featured guest with “How to Market Your Horse Business” (Facebook discussion) and Featured Guest with “Horse Family Magazine” on #horsechat. In addition Laura offers weekly lessons on her weekly live Q & A session.

Scoring the Hunter Round

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Laura

Hunter Horse — Hunters should have good form and have their knees up and even

Riding a show ring hunter has come a long way from the field hunters of yesteryear. Originally the horses found in the hunter jumper show ring were field hunters that used to be ridden to the hounds. Now-a-days show ring hunters are a breed unto themselves and are required to be superior athletes, easy to ride and sound competitors.

Have you ever wondered how the judge keeps track of the horses they like?

We have all lamented about “the judge just doesn’t like my horse”. Well, that usually isn’t the reason why you placed or didn’t place in the show ring. The judge probably DOES like your horse and is hoping it will put in a good trip. Your horse may not have won because it didn’t perform as well as some of the other competitors –OR- you don’t understand what the judge is looking for.

When I sit in the judges stand I often see a horse come in and think, “ ohh, what a lovely horse. This is going to be great!” Then all of a sudden the rider buries the lovely horse in a bad spot or falls into the trot through a corner. As judges we are looking for the best in your horse and we are rooting for you. If you find a bad take off spot or get a wrong lead, then we will have to penalize you.

Judging Criteria for Show Hunters

People who take their showing seriously know the rules and have an understanding of “what the judge is looking for”. Sometimes, however, people (by people I mean trainers, coaches, riders and parents) overlook what the judge really wants to see (an athletic horse that has good form over it’s fences) and concentrate on whether the leads, striding and braids are good.

Ideally, the judge (that would be me) wants to see a well turned out horse and rider combination come in, with purpose, and jump all the jumps out of stride and in good form. It is important to remember that anything that detracts from a rhythmic, steady round (breaking to a trot, wrong leads, adding and leaving out strides) will cause the score to go down. Major errors such as refusals, nappiness at the gate, bucking, rearing (God Forbid!) and knock downs are heavily penalized.

Usually judges are in the same ball park for major errors. A refusal will be scored in the 30’s. A horse that refuses may have the best form over fences but a refusal should knock it out of the ribbons.

A knock down is also heavily penalized. I score a horse that has a knock down with a front leg more severely than if it hits a fence with a hind leg on the way down. This is from the old field hunter school. If a horse hits with its front legs taking off for the jump, it may have a terrible fall or flip. For this reason I score a rail down with the hind legs less severe than a rail with the front hooves. A knock down is considered a major error and I score a 50 for a rail. If it is a bad jump with a rail down I will note its jumping style and a rail by giving it a score in the low 50’s. If it is a rub that robs a nice horse of a first place finish – I may be generous and score it the highest of knock downs.

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A Recipe for Living

You need:

- one warm, gloriously bug-free fall evening

- one soft, almost soothing "fits-like-a-glove" saddle

- one enthusiastic, steady, energetic, perky-eared red-head mare swishing rhythmically through a sweet-smelling smorgasbord of dried, crispy leaves

- one clear and wide path lined with tall trees, glowing brilliantly with hues of yellow, red, orange and green broken by a background of deep blue evening sky

- one almost indistinguishable white-tailed deer - noticed only thanks to chestnut mare's extra-sensory perception - flitting through the trees with nary a sound (how is that possible with all dried foliage on the ground)

- one busy black-bodied squirrel darting zig-zag patterns underfoot in preparation for undoubtedly colder days ahead (shattering the stillness in grizzly-like fashion)

- several mounds of sweet, luscious grass beckoning the red-head mare for a leisurely pause to quietly munch here and there

- an almost full moon gladly preparing to assume the sun's duty by reflecting light on the earth

- one human (body, mind, heart and soul) ready to appreciate it all.

Just mix and enjoy!

The Truth About Balance

"The classical seat with a vertical alignment of ears, shoulders, hips, and heels, is the 'neutral' position to which the rider returns immediately after all deviations that the horse may have made necessary. It is the position in which the rider is the least burdensome, even to a young horse - because he is sitting in balance with the horse. Leaving this position is either an aid, which helps the horse improve or regain his own balance and straightness, or it is an interference, which destroys the horse's balance and straightness."

- Thomas Ritter, ArtisticDressage.com

One of the "golden rules" in riding is the seeking of the perfect balance. We all strive for balance - in our position, our seat, our movement with the horse. Another fundamental area of emphasis is in the horse's balance: too low, and the horse is on the forehand; too high, and we risk taking unplanned airs above the ground!

But there is so much more to balance.

The secret is identifying when you find the "perfect in-between" - and being able to replicate that just-right-balance regularly enough to reap the rewards.

When considering horses, finding balance occurs in avenues other than just during the rides themselves. Too much of something can be just as harmful as too little, and the horse person must learn to 'listen' carefully to the horses to know how much of something is just enough.

You must find balance in:

- hay: too much is almost as bad as too little

- supplements: too much can be wasteful or damaging, and too little can be similarly wasteful and useless

-riding: too often, and the horse can get "sour"; too infrequent, and your horse becomes less fit, able, and mentally ready

-turnout: too long and your horse gets dirty/cold/tired/ "wild"; too short and your horse gets bored/sour/unhappy

-bathing: not often enough, and the coat gets grimy and bacteria can cause skin problems; too often, and the oil gets stripped from the hair and the coat loses its luster and shine

Well, you get the idea.

There must be balance in pretty much everything, and all you need to find it is awareness and willingness to make the necessary changes to even out the scales. And whether you are sitting in balance on the horse, or achieving balanced nutritional requirements, you can be satisfied in knowing that the perfect-in-between is a great place to be!

What other areas do you find balance in your horse riding and keeping endeavors?

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Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Read more!

What You Ought to Know About Instant Gratification in Horse Riding: There is NO SUCH THING! Why not???

Blueprinting: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly: Why is it essential that you learn how to ride correctly in the first place?

Quit to Persevere: We're always told that we should keep going until the point gets across. Read why it is sometimes BETTER to quit!

In the Beginning (riding): What can you expect when you start riding? Read this article to know about the beginning of "the path".

Is Dressage Judging All That Bad?

Judging in the dressage world has become a matter of concern. From the online forums to the FEI judging seminars themselves, the contention that dressage judging is too subjective and promotes incorrect training techniques has become a rampant topic of debate. Judges are accused of favouring the so-called "dressage breeds" (a.k.a warmbloods) and then within those breeds, they apparently cannot differentiate between flashy versus correct movement.

If you have had the opportunity to scribe for a judge, or shadow a judge, or go to a judges' update or forum, you would be witness to the amount of effort that is being put into objectifying a rather subjective exercise: that of considering and rating a horse's movement against accepted international standards of reference.

Certainly, judging isn't for everyone. Other than the handful of world-renowned judges that make a good living from judging, most judges are dedicated to the job not for the "money" but for the desire to improve the horse, the rider, and ultimately, dressage. It is a task of dedication involving long days, disciplined focus, on-the-spot decision making and criticism from every member of the riding public from riders to people who have never sat on a horse.
The fact that there is a subjective component to judging dressage cannot be denied. Firstly, the judges sitting at different locations around the ring points directly to subjectivity: a judge at C sees a completely different angle than a judge at E. This is why, at the highest levels of competition, there are five judges placed strategically around the ring - the scores are collected from each vantage point and the average is the representation of the overall "picture"that includes opinions from each angle.

Another element of subjectivity includes the score value given to the movement. Like it or not, when one person is scoring a movement, they do have to take a stab at giving it a value. It is possible that one judge sees a 7 when another sees the same movement as a 5. It helps to consider that the different perspective on the movement is a contributing factor to the discrepancy.

With respect to breeds and "types" of horses: dressage isn't a 'breed sport' at all. It just happens that the warmblood breeding programs, particularly those located in Europe, have been more directly focused on producing dressage-specific horses over the past 20-30 years than the other bloodlines. Accusing judges of favouring warmbloods over say, Thoroughbreds or (insert your choice of breed), is as silly as complaining when a farm tractor doesn't "get to" win at NASCAR racing! You get the idea.....

A similar problem would be evident if you wanted to ask a warmblood horse to do FEI-level reining, or even better - win at 100 mile endurance races. Given the proper training, a warmblood could do a decent sliding stop and rollback. But it would probably never be able to compete against a suitably bred Quarterhorse in terms of picking up speed on a (relatively) small circle in an indoor arena. The length of stride of the WB might be too large and and the knee action too high - he might need a lower and quicker stride to pick up the speed and then sit back into a lope.

Ditto for the endurance race - could a WB go 100 miles? Maybe some horses could be predisposed to travelling that far, but when competing against a small, light, lithe Arabian horse that through specialized breeding over generations, has developed an incredibly efficient air exchange system, the Arabian might have a distinct advantage.

There could be (few and far between) horse breeds other than WBs that can move with the same dedicated dressage-type stride - they need the uphill body outline, the strength and sit-down capability. They need to easily lengthen and compress through the whole body and these days, they need the inborn suspension of the "super horses".

At the lower levels, the playing field might be more even for non-warmblood horses. An accurate, fluidly-executed test might secure higher marks than a sporadically correct test completed by a flashy, "typey" horse. Even though the movement might be spectacular for some movements, if enough errors occur, the less flamboyant but steadier mover could outscore the flashy horse.

However, dressage at the top levels is ALL ABOUT about movement. The assumption at that level is that the training is at par (in general) by all of the competing riders - let's face it, they all have to be strong trainers to get to that level (don't bash me on this one - you can only comment if you are regularly riding at the top of the FEI levels!). Therefore, much of the difference will lie in the suitability of the horses' movements in relation to the requirements of dressage. As the "super horses" improve in their movements, the bar is rising for all the breeds. It's just that the warmbloods are outstanding round movers with suspension.

This is why, at the grass roots levels, the warmblood-cross mare can (in general) get better marks than the QH/TB horse. The first mare simply moves better - more elasticity, better depth of stride, more "throughness", and even more suspension (as little as it might be). Bottom line.

And before people criticize judges and condemn the judging system, they should head off to judging seminars and inform themselves of the requirements of dressage at all levels. They could invest a few years in scribing with different judges, and witness for themselves the decision-making processes that judges go through movement to movement, hour after hour, and sometimes, day after day.

And as wise Morpheus emphatically insisted to Neo in The Matrix,

"Sooner or later you're going to realize, just as I did, there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path..."

Blueprinting – the good, the bad and the ugly

Since the horse's reactions are many times faster than man's, it is only through conditioning with consistent work, and through our ability to prepare both ourselves and the horse with timely aiding, that an element of predictability - the nucleus of a smooth performance - is established.

- Erik Herbermann, Dressage Formula (1980), p.7

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Riding is a whole-body endeavour that involves every part of the rider. From controlling the tips of the fingers to the ends of the toes to everything in between, the body must be engaged in large and small movements over space in time. Aids must be precise, gentle and timed in relation to the horse's movement. At any given moment, the rider must be engaged in some expression of movement in order to follow and guide the horse's next steps.

Blueprinting, in the riding sense, refers to the muscle memory that is developed in both the horse are rider. The whole concept of riding could seem to be a very daunting task if it weren't for the fact that muscles develop a movement 'blueprint' - once the neural pathways are engaged and connected, similar movements in similar circumstances become easier and easier until that particular movement occurs with little conscious thought. In effect, with sufficient practice, the rider can stop having to think about what the body is doing - you can essentially send the body on auto-pilot and think very little other than to get down to the business of 'feeling'.

The Good

Long ago, my instructor explained it to me this way: blueprinting is an advantage in the sense that once you achieve 'autopilot' you can rely on your central nervous system (CNS) to do most of the 'thinking' in response to the many tiny movements required to respond to the horse's movements.

The time it takes to send messages to brain and then instructions back to the body is too long to be able to keep up fluidly with the horse's movements. Letting the CNS take over allows you to release your muscles and joints so they can easily flow with the horse. When you reach this state of non-thinking, you can begin to ride more in the right brain, and start riding with "feel".

Then the magic happens - you no longer feel earthbound - your horse floats along with ease and the rules of gravity seem to no longer apply. Similarly, your horse resonates with bliss - with snorts, soft floppy ears, and effortless flow of the back. For all intents and purposes, it appears as if you and your horse are moving 'as one', thinking the same thought, dancing the dance.

The Bad

The bad news about blueprinting is that the same learning process occurs with all body movements - even the ones you'd rather NOT duplicate! We usually consider these movements to be bad habits, things we know we are doing but we shouldn't be doing!

The trouble with blueprinting in the negative sense is that the undesired movement becomes the 'autopilot' movement and so a vicious cycle begins to reproduce itself. And the biggest obstacle comes when you try to undo the physical movement and try to replace it with something more suitable. Now, you have to THINK about each aspect of the new movement - and tell each part of your body to make that movement one step at a time... which in general, ends up being too slow to correspond to the horse's movement. The reeducation process takes much time and effort - in fact, much more effort to undo than if it was correctly learned in the first place.

The Ugly

Worse still, is when you are so permanently blueprinted that you don't even recognize that you are producing a movement. It becomes unconscious, and your body effectively begins to lie to you - you think you're doing one thing when in fact, you're doing something else. In this case, it becomes difficult to even identify what is causing the situation, never mind try to find a solution.

What to do?

It seems that the situation is pretty daunting. What is a rider to do, especially because everything we do in the saddle influences the horse, either positively or negatively? The obvious answer is to get the right blueprinting in the first place. Your first riding experiences can set the stage either way - for the good or the bad.

The key, as always, is to find a good riding instructor. Also, find a good "school master" - a horse that is well trained, good minded and reliable, so he can teach you. Progress on to younger/less educated/more sensitive horses only after you have developed sufficient skills and then, keep getting guidance from a good instructor.

For those of us who are already not-perfectly-blueprinted: be ready to buckle up the seat belt and stay for the long haul. It will take time, patience and perseverance. Be forgiving of both yourself and your horse. Ride with a kind sense of humour.

Be satisfied with small steps in the right direction. Know when to quit, and when to try again. Stay determined, but stay gentle and calm. Enjoy the path, and don't be too quickly discouraged. And above all else, listen to your horse, for if you can hear, you will get all the answers you need to succeed.

Buy the book for many more riding tips! Horse Listening – The Book: Stepping Forward to Effective Riding

Available as an eBook or paperback.

Read more here:

The Pinnacle of Horseback Riding: Riding toward the ultimate release – this is the stuff riders dream of.

Finding Your Comfortable Un-Comfort in Riding: Being uncomfortable is often a good place to be in riding.

23 Ways to Solve the Riding Problem: Of course, we rarely speak of the one “true” way…

Rarely Considered, Often Neglected: Lunging to Develop the Riding Seat: The secret to developing an effective seat.

Interpreting the Half-Halt: This topic is a tricky one but here is a shot at it.

Enjoys Being Brushed!

This guest post is by SnarkyRider, who is not one but two people: Dressage Empress (SE) and Jumper Girl (JG). Together, they permeate the horsey Internet world with sarcasm and "snarky-ness". So get your snark on and let's get down to business!

Originally posted here.

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Enjoys being brushed!

Posted by snarkyrider

Appaloosa Colt – $300

For sale is a stud colt, approximately 16 months old. Enjoys being brushed. I do not believe he is a tri color, but his tail does have brown in it, and his sports are black and brown. He trailers easy and gets along with the other yearlings as well as the older gelding in my pasture. He is a beautiful horse and should turn out to be a valuable one, but due to financial situations, I am putting him up for sale. Make an offer. After my current riding horses’ training is complete, I will begin working with him, and the price will increase accordingly, or I will keep him for myself. He has his current coggins, and has had vaccinations as of July 1, 2011.

He is halter broke, and we are working on leading, but he probably only gets 15 minutes of practice every other day.

Woohoo! I finally found him! I cannot tell you how long I’ve been looking for a horse that enjoys being brushed! And a stud, no less. Hopefully he’ll pass that on to his foals. Those babies will sell like hotcakes!! Well, just as long as he doesn’t pass along the mile-long back, crappy hips, upside down neck and cow hocks too. But what are the odds of that?

Seriously, craigslist is chock full of winners. Someone needs to inform his owner that the fact that his “sports” are black AND brown does not mean he’s a valuable horse and that no amount of training will ever turn a $300 yearling into something that deserves to keep his balls. EVER. All aboard the gelding train! Choo choo!

Side note: When I showed this ad to Jumper Girl, she immediately started hitting her head against a wall. Literally. While moaning. It was awesome.

Softly Determined – A Poem

I found this one on the Internet long ago, with no indication of the author.*

However, it has stayed with me, blending intensity with passion, being so eloquent and yet knowledgeable about the "path". I have personally gone through many of the moments that are described here, and so it has touched me deeply, and been an anchor through my growth as a rider. Enjoy!

* Edited to add: The author was found (see comments below)! Thank you for writing this beautiful poem, Bernie!

Soft Determination

So we: make haste slowly; try harder gently; are softly determined.

The ideal we desire is one of dynamic harmony,
with aids telepathic in their subtlety.

Towards that goal,
our aids should speak in whispers rather than shouts.

The horse is the partner whose emphasis includes strength;
the rider should not emphasize this.
So beware the clenched jaw of the rider,
showing the strain of excess muscular effort, trying too hard.

Clearer communication is not usually stronger muscular effort,
but more correct and focussed effort.
Finesse, and the sweat of an iron will,
rather than the sweat of iron muscles.

As we progress in riding,
some muscles grow stronger - our legs, our abdominals -
but our real strength comes from inside,
our wish for harmony,
our desire to move as one with the horse.

So we:

make haste slowly;
try harder gently;
are softly determined.

BK4Leg

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