Bee and the Horse
The Academic Art of Riding Blog from Poland
Category: Academic Art of Riding
Groundwork: Making Me a Better Human
Groundwork is a great chance to develop the relationship with our horse. While just hanging out and getting to know the horse in his daily life and his interaction with other horses is the absolute foundation, groundwork is a more goal oriented communication. There… Continue Reading “Groundwork: Making Me a Better Human”
Buying a cavesson? Here is my advice.
Most riders understand the need for a well-fitting saddle, but when it comes to cavessons, “anything goes” quite often seems to be the motto. In the following post, I write about why it pays out to invest in a good quality cavesson and I… Continue Reading “Buying a cavesson? Here is my advice.”
The importance of creating aids for longing
One of the smartest things you can do for your training is spending a lot of time on the groundwork and riding aids. When we don’t establish these aids well, we get to a “reactive” kind of riding, where we push a little here… Continue Reading “The importance of creating aids for longing”
Seeing horse training as a conversation
For me, the academic art is like a conversation topic between me and my horses and also between me and my students. The way I see it, the academic art is not only about side movements and collection, in fact these are at times… Continue Reading “Seeing horse training as a conversation”
The Benefits of Schooling Your Horse in Walk
“I heard that in the academic art of riding, you only walk with your horses, like forever?” This is a question I get very often from students. First, you are free to train your horse as you like and there is no rule that… Continue Reading “The Benefits of Schooling Your Horse in Walk”
Fail It ‘Till You Nail It
Last week when I was in Denmark as a week student, Bent Branderup spoke about today’s riding culture. He said that nowadays, many people live according to the motto “Fake it ’till you make it”. The riding is not correct and people are impressed… Continue Reading “Fail It ‘Till You Nail It”
The Forward of the Hind Legs
We work the horses hind legs forward to the point in which they can best support the lift of the horse’s chest. It’s not about bringing it forward as much as possible, or making it cross as much as possible (for example in the… Continue Reading “The Forward of the Hind Legs”
The Seat in the Academic Art of Riding: Physical Seat, Statical Seat and Half-Halts
In the academic art of riding, we distinguish between the physical seat and the statical seat. The physical seat is the area in which the rider and horse connect, where you touch the horse with your thighs, upper legs, bottom. The physical seat moves… Continue Reading “The Seat in the Academic Art of Riding: Physical Seat, Statical Seat and Half-Halts”
Horizontal Balance
On the way to collection there is horizontal balance. The horse goes from it’s natural balance to shifting more weight to the hind legs and becoming more free in the shoulders. If you imagine an old fashioned scale, then the scale is about equal.… Continue Reading “Horizontal Balance”
What is collection?
Last days I have thought a lot about this. Let me tell you a little anecdote that brought me a step closer to understanding collection: When I was a working student at Bent Branderup’s place, he was talking about collection with one of… Continue Reading “What is collection?”
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