The other day, Jo was reminiscing about a grey mare she used to ride when she was a teenager. Her name was Holly. The perfect choice, Jo reckoned, since she was a fairly prickly character! Jo recalls, “Holly was a fantastic forwards-thinking horse who jumped like a stag. And since lots of people told me […]

One of the most frequent issues people ask us about is why their horse won’t go forward when they try to school them in the arena. So in this post I’m going to focus on one of the main reasons why that happens and give you some ways to actually fix it.  Now, as soon […]

Is putting all your focus on working your horse from behind really the best way to ride? If you’re like many riders who’ve come to us for help, you’ve probably been taught to think that riding your horse from the back to the front is the ‘correct’ way to do things. And if you hold […]

I remember my first real equine encounter as if it were yesterday…  I was in the middle of my first ever groundwork lesson. A birthday present from Jo to her then completely non-horsey husband in an effort to help me understand why she spent so much time at the stables while I was messing around […]

From time to time, Jo and I get asked whether a bit is really necessary in order to ride a horse. Clearly, it’s not essential. On the other hand, if you know how to use one in a horse friendly way, it can become a very useful tool for both horse and rider. The reason […]