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6 exercises to help keep your heels down when riding  

2020-06-01T21:36:19+01:00

Maintaining a good lower leg position with the heels a little lower than your toes, is important for so many reasons:  To be able to apply leg aids effectively and correctly  To help you stay on board and secure if the horse is excitable  To help build a balanced, symmetrical, independent seat  Lots of riders struggle to keep their heels down, and have a tendency to draw their heels up as they use their legs, gripping and nagging with each stride. So, here are my favourite exercises to help you lengthen your legs and achieve better foot position:  Start with your seat!   [...]

6 exercises to help keep your heels down when riding  2020-06-01T21:36:19+01:00

15 ways to improve your hands when riding a horse

2020-05-25T13:52:19+01:00

Here we’ll look at 15 different ways to improve your hands when riding, to help you achieve an even, elastic, consistent, receiving contact down the rein. Close your thumb down over the top of the rein, to help stop the reins from sliding through your hand. Use markers on the reins to help you keep them the same, correct length Keep your fingers closed and around the reins. Imagine you’re holding an egg in each hand; you should close your fingers enough to keep holding the egg, but not so tight that you crush the egg! Keep your hands upright, [...]

15 ways to improve your hands when riding a horse2020-05-25T13:52:19+01:00

The Role of Fear for Riders

2020-05-16T12:17:54+01:00

The root of the majority of rider confidence issues is fear.   Fear of failure  Fear of being judged  Fear of letting people down (or your horse!)  Fear of not being good enough  Fear of getting hurt  Fear of an unknown outcome  Fear of the worst case scenario  It has huge physiological and psychological effects.  Until you acknowledge that fear is underpinning your lack of confidence and can find exactly what it is that you’re afraid of, you’ll find it incredibly difficult to (re)build your confidence.   Fear is real. Fear is powerful. But fear can also be wrong. Fear can convince [...]

The Role of Fear for Riders2020-05-16T12:17:54+01:00

6 simple breathing techniques to reduce anxiety and nerves when riding your horse

2020-02-19T15:03:18+00:00

If you’re a rider who suffers with anxiety or nerves when you're riding your horse or getting ready to ride your horse. I've got some really simple, straightforward techniques around breathing that are going to help you to feel a little bit more relaxed, a little bit less stressed, and a little bit less anxious and nervous. Counting the breath So the first exercise is to breathe in for a count of five or six. Pause the breath and breathe out, counting for 8-9. Then you breathe in again, and keep counting slowly with each part of the breath. I [...]

6 simple breathing techniques to reduce anxiety and nerves when riding your horse2020-02-19T15:03:18+00:00

10 tips for building Rider Confidence

2020-02-05T11:28:21+00:00

Confidence: Here are some of my top tips for developing and building your confidence around riding. Now it doesn't really matter to me whether you are a beginner rider, somebody who's been riding for a while and has had a break perhaps and now coming back to riding horses again, or it might be that you're a really experienced rider and you are maybe struggling about around jumping or going out competing. Your scenario isn't unique! I promise you that there are plenty of people out there who suffer with confidence issues. So I just wanted to share some of [...]

10 tips for building Rider Confidence2020-02-05T11:28:21+00:00

6 top tips to find the time to get riding this winter

2020-01-31T12:51:34+00:00

Intro: Hi there, I wanted to talk to you about something I hear and have felt quite a lot at this time of year. We're coming towards the end of January and we're into the depths of winter, which is just the hardest work with horses. I wanted to talk to you about finding the time to ride because I know for lots of my clients it's a real challenge. People who are working full time jobs have families, have a life outside of horses. It can be really difficult to find the time to ride. So I wanted to [...]

6 top tips to find the time to get riding this winter2020-01-31T12:51:34+00:00

A Riding Instructor and a lightbulb moment

2019-12-06T21:03:08+00:00

A Riding Instructor and a Lightbulb Moment No Riding Instructor is perfect! There's value in developing good communication skills, and reflecting on what worked & what didn't. As a Riding Instructor and Equestrian Coach, sometimes you just get those moments in lessons where the penny drops, and something you've been trying to improve for a while suddenly becomes clear. I had one of those moments this week. The client I was teaching has always struggled with riding her horse in left bend. Despite repeated prompts from me about her riding position, and the subtle changes that needed to be made [...]

A Riding Instructor and a lightbulb moment2019-12-06T21:03:08+00:00

All change!

2019-07-05T09:31:52+01:00

Where do I even begin to start? The last few months have been an absolute whirlwind of madness & emotion. I have struggled to keep on top of things, and there are many gaps that I want to fill you all in on. At the end of May 2019, I left my job as Senior Lecturer in Equine Science and Programme Leader for the BSc(Hons) in Equine Science, Management and Training, which I had spent 3 years writing & delivering. I had been employed as an equine lecturer at Derby College for over 10 years, and while I have had [...]

All change!2019-07-05T09:31:52+01:00

So what’s holding you back?

2019-02-15T20:44:06+00:00

Sometimes, riding & owning horses is really tough; I know, I'm with you. Now don't get me wrong, there are many many brilliant and rewarding things about having a life with horses, but sometimes it's really hard to get out of a low spell. Perhaps you've just bought a new horse and the honeymoon period has ended; things just aren't going as you had hoped they would and you're not entirely sure how to fix it... so your motivation to ride disappears. Maybe you've had a fall and lost your confidence (yes, I do know how that feels, [...]

So what’s holding you back?2019-02-15T20:44:06+00:00

Do you REALLY want to make progress with your riding?

2019-02-08T12:20:46+00:00

Do you REALLY want to make progress with your riding? I ask this because many people I teach come to me because they are really, genuinely quite stuck (and I mean that in the nicest possible way!). It could be that they're struggling with something specific, either in their riding or with their horse. It could be that they don't feel like they're getting anywhere or reaching their goals. It could be that they've taken a real knock to their confidence. It could be that they really don't know how to move forward with their own, or their horse's training. [...]

Do you REALLY want to make progress with your riding?2019-02-08T12:20:46+00:00
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