Posts Tagged ‘Fellow Riders’

We all have those visions in our heads of the perfect horse. Maybe it’s a 16-hand palomino mare with a snip and two socks and a beautiful, wavy blond mane and tail. Maybe it’s a well-muscled solid black gelding with just the smallest of stars . . .

So why don’t we ever end up with it? Well, probably for good reason. Is it possible to find the perfect horse for you? You can certainly get darn close. But will he look like the vision you’ve carried in your head since childhood? Doubtful. If you want to find the right horse for you, you are going to have to do a lot more than go on looks alone.

Finding the right horse is hard. There are lots of horses out there for sale, and it’s not always easy to determine that a horse will fit your needs in the limited amount of time you spend considering him. However, if you follow a few simple rules you can make sure that the horse you end up buying is the right horse for you.

o Deal only with reputable sellers. Ask friends, family, and fellow riders for recommendations of good sellers to deal with. An honest, reliable seller will make a considerable difference in your horse buying experience.

o Determine your discipline. No matter how much you love the leggy Thoroughbred you saw last week, if your discipline of choice is barrel racing he might not be the best choice. Know what type of conformation and attitude suits the discipline you enjoy, and look only at like horses.

o Know your strengths and weaknesses. Your horse should make up for your deficiencies, and you should make up for his. For example, if you are a beginner rider, you are going to need an expert horse to show you the ropes. But if you are an expert rider, you might enjoy working with a green horse. Don’t forget to consider personality as well. If you are a timid rider, for example, you will do much better with a confident horse.

o Enlist the help of a knowledgeable friend. Sometimes you get so caught up one aspect of a horse–say his bloodlines–that you can’t see past it. A knowledgeable horse person–a friend, instructor, or trainer–will notice things that you don’t. It never hurts to have a few pair of eyes look a potential horse over.

o Ask lots of questions. Make a list of questions about behavior, performance, and health, and bring them with you when you visit the barn. If the owner declines to answer a question, consider it a red flag!

o Handle the horse yourself. Ask if you can groom the horse, handle him in crossties, load him on a trailer, or anything else you see yourself doing with the horse on a regular basis. Never buy a horse without knowing that you are comfortable handling him.

o Ask to see the horse ridden. Have the owner or trainer ride the horse before you do. That way you will be able to better gauge his performance level and potential.

o Take the horse for a test ride. You’ll want to do this at least once, preferably two or three times, to determine whether you like the way the horse goes. If you are an inexperienced rider having your trainer or riding instructor ride the horse will also give you a good sense of what your horse is capable of.

o Have the horse vet checked. If you love the horse and want to buy him, make sure that your contract stipulates that the horse must pass a vet check in order for the sale to be final.

o Ask the seller about a trial period. Some sellers, particularly those who are concerned that their horses go to the right buyers, allow a horse to be returned within a specific number of days if things don’t work out.

Good luck finding the perfect horse! And check out the great resources below for more information on equine information.

Hope that Helps..

Ron Petracek – Raised in southern Idaho, Ron loves horses and the outdoors. If you would like to join in and learn from the vast resources at our equine forum please visit http://www.horsechitchat.com Looking to buy sell or trade something equine realted? Just visit our huge network and get 12 sites for Free! Click here => http://www.Click4equine.com

Author: Ron Petracek
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Certainly. Why re-invent the wheel by trying to discover it all by yourself, even with the help of your trainer, when obvious solutions to common riding and training problems have already all been described in the finest detail four hundred years ago? In essence, the horse hasn’t changed in the last thousand years. Those solutions are as valid and useful now as they were then.

Shortcuts for busy Equestrians

Equestrian quotes is the perfect shortcut for today’s busy but focussed rider. We have all been advised to read the old masters: La Guerinière, Pluvinel, L’Hotte, Newcastle, Oliveira etc. etc. But who has got the time to plough through these heavy volumes of wisdom with a household, full-time job, three kids, two dogs and a horse(s) to look after?

This is where horse quotes come in. Of course, there is always a danger that the meaning can change if a quote is taken out of context. But if these quotes are carefully selected by someone who is familiar with the subject and has read the original works in the language they were written in many years ago, then a single quote can have the teaching power of a whole chapter in an ancient tome. Horse riding quotes are the perfect solution for today’s busy but thinking rider. Clear, concise and accurate snippets of information in bite-sized portions is exactly what we need. The fact that these snippets are now also available in easy-listening mp3 form makes discovering the old masters even easier – you can listen to them while driving to your riding lesson to get you into riding frame of mind and focus your concentration on the adventure ahead.

Just imagine how impressed your trainer and fellow-riders will be if you can dish up a spot-on quote from a famous classical master during your lesson! Even more importantly, imagine how powerful an asset such a quote can be if it helps you understand an elusive concept that you have been trying to master for weeks? I bet you’ll never forget it ever again, no matter how much trouble you usually have to memorize shopping lists etc.

Shoulder-in and dressage quotes

Sound far-fetched? Take a look at this quote about shoulder-in:

“In the first place, the exercise supples the shoulders, because the inside foreleg, crossing with each step the horse takes in this position in front of the outside leg and coming to rest on its other side, and in the same track, obliges the shoulder to follow that motion and activates the muscles of that part, which is already apparent.

The shoulder-in prepares a horse to be put on its haunches, because with each step taken in this posture it carries the inside hind leg forwards under the belly and brings it over to the outside hind leg, which it can do only by lowering the haunch: it is thus always on one haunch in one direction, and on the other haunch in the other direction, and learns in consequence to bend its hocks under itself; this is what is called being on the haunches.”

Not bad, is it? Probably as good an explanation of the mechanics and benefits of shoulder-in as I’ve ever heard. And you know who said that? It was La Guerinière, the first serious promoter of shoulder-in and father of French Classical Riding. And he worked it all out in the early eighteenth century, three hundred years ago.

Equestrian quotes and NLP

To get maximum value from a quote like this, NLP (Neuro-linguistic-programming) power-learning-tools are extremely valuable. NLP is a very effective system if you want to master riding theory quickly and efficiently because you don’t have hours to sit behind a desk and waste time that you could have spent riding. Some of the simplest but most effective methods include:

* Listening to the quote in MP3 form while doing something else, like cleaning tack

* Visualizing a quote like the one above to literally see the horse performing the movement in your mind’s eye. Then, to super-charge the effect, add sensation to visualization: Imagine how it would feel to do each movement sitting in the saddle

* Writing down the week’s quote on a sticky and place it in a prominent position: on the bathroom mirror, on the fridge, on your computer screen

* Discussing it with anyone with-in hearing distance that is willing to listen and comment

There are several even more potent NLP techniques to discover and implement to save time and learn effortlessly. And there are loads more horse riding quotes from every-day people who struggled with and solved exactly the same problems as you are struggling with now. So why not allow equestrian quotes to enrich your riding experience?

Take your riding ability to the next level. Order your weekly e-letter with 2 powerful equestrian quotes, by subscribing to the Equestrian Quotes e-zine at http://www.equestrian-life-coaching.com/newsletter.html You will also receive a free 7-part e-course and 5 horse care reports (as well as an eagerly-anticipated surprise in every e-letter)

Author: Margarethe De Clermont
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger