It presents step by-step training programs and showing advice from recognized experts in hunters, jumpers, equitation, dressage, and eventing, along with money- and time-saving ideas on health care and stable management.
Watching George Morris and other instructors at his annual five-day training sessions in Florida, I’ve found one of the most educational aspects has been seeing different clinicians’ styles. When Anne Kursinski demonstrated her approach to flatwork, for example, George said that her system of asking a horse to come from behind and stretch into the bridle was slightly different than his, which has its origin in French teachings. Over the years, George has explained to the session’s riders and auditors that while the basics of riding are the same and riders need a strong foundation in them, there are differences among the world’s top trainers and competitors. As horsepeople, it’s important to study the different systems, understand the theories behind them and incorporate the ones that work for us and…
I held parties for my purebred Arabian gelding’s 30th and 35th birthday, inviting people who were special to us at different times in our lives. I served carrot cake and showed photos of our more than two decades together. I also formally presented him to his friends and made special photographs. An article I wrote about the party for his 30th birthday appeared in an Arabian horse magazine. Many people who read it reached out to me with stories about their own geriatric but still very special equine partners. One person owned a half-sibling of my beloved gelding and remembered meeting him when he was a yearling. It was the beginning of what became a long and treasured conversation about our two horses and their similarities. Two years ago, I…
1 Our first rider’s stirrup length is correct, but her heels need to be lower. She is pressing on her stirrup a little, which brings up the heel. Weight driving down the back of the leg into the heel is what keeps the stirrup in place, which needs to become habit. I suspect that she has too much grip in her knee. She needs to practice distributing the contact evenly among her inner thigh, inner knee and calf first at the walk and then at the trot and canter. It’s not a bad leg but it could be better. When the heel starts to come up, the knee and thigh start to come up, too, which has pushed this rider slightly above her horse too much. But overall, her base…
Whether judging a model class, evaluating a prospect for a client or sizing up the yearlings at home, I first stand back and look for an overall impression of balance and symmetry. My ideal horse “fits” in a square box. By that, I mean he is defined by matching and equal parts, both front to back and side to side. This allows for athletic ability, soundness, trainability and longevity in the job. A horse who fits in a box will have a body made up of one-third shoulder, one-third back and one-third hindquarters. I like to see the withers and point of croup at the same level. The horse’s stance, from point of shoulder to buttock, should equal the distance from the height of the withers to the ground. I…
The perfect position, like a unicorn, is a myth. Instead of worrying about finding it, I want you to concentrate on having the right position right now. Your position should do more than keep you attached to your horse. It should keep you in balance and harmony with him at all times. Because your position is such an important part of your riding, I have written several columns about it over the years, including a detailed discussion of your lower-leg position. In simplistic terms, when we talk about your lower leg, keep your stirrup leather vertical and your lower-leg position will never let you down. (If you want to see what I mean, look at the graphic on my “Vertical Is Absolute” column at www.PracticalHorsemanMag.com. Since that column talked exclusively…
Born in 1969 to film director Richard Michaels and actress Kristina Hansen, Meredith Michaels fell in love with horses at an early age. At 7, she started riding at the Foxfield Riding School near Los Angeles, California, and later trained under top hunter, jumper and equitation trainer Karen Healey. While she had a successful career as a Junior rider, she began studying politics at Princeton University in New Jersey in the late 1980s. But horses were always in her life and she continued to show on the A-Circuit, winning her first grand prix on the stallion Quick Star in 1989 in Wellington, Florida, under the tutelage of George Morris. Although Meredith wasn’t planning on a riding career, she realized that to be successful in the competition arena, she needed to…
