Have you been confused over which way you want to start to ride again, Western or English? Does it seem as if riding styles have blended or grown apart? Do you feel like you’ve forgotten how to ride?

All of these questions pose a serious dilemma for the beginner in our sport. From dressage to western pleasure, from jumping to cow work, from endurance to polo — there are more than enough activities to go around for the horse enthusiast. (more…)

 Scott Hansen
Spur Types and Styles Having discussed in the last newsletter when to use the spur – and when NOT to use it – let’s talk more about varieties of spurs. There are many different types of spurs, and there seems to be confusion as to which are the easiest on the horse. (more…)

Getting a horse to go usually doesn’t take much of an effort, and most people can figure out a way to motivate the horse to move his feet. Moving is easy — but stopping is often a bit more difficult. While there are a number of things you can do to make a horse move, there are fewer choices in making the horse stop. Ironically, during training people tend to spend far more time riding and going forward than they do stopping and standing still. Yet stopping and standing still are far more important. I don’t know of many people who have been hurt while just sitting on a horse that was standing still. Any time someone falls off a horse, it’s because the horse moved or was moving. So unless your horse stands in front of a moving train or vehicle, standing still is a pretty safe place to be. (more…)