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t: 01497 851764
m: 07794 935590 (Stephen)
07749 391714 (Julie)
Riding Lessons
We do riding lessons in classical dressage for all levels. and ages. You must bring your own horse. We have plenty of space for parking and both an indoor and outdoor arena. We also have stables for your horse whilst waiting. We have no formal qualifications just years of practical experience. Biomechanical principles form the basis of our teaching for both rider and horse and chief amongst these is balance. Sounds obvious but it is very often overlooked by even experienced riders. It stands to reason that if you cannot balance yourself independently on your horse then clearly you are not free to ride but more importantly you will be hanging on to the horse in some way (usually via the reins) and thus more prone to falling off if unbalanced by a sudden movement of the horse. We have trained for many years in martial arts for which balance forms a fundamental principle.
"Katy took Toby out today and worked very well with him, she is so much more confident and competent. The work she has done with you has been invaluable. Her lessons with you combined with the care and lots of good assistance with her riding from the Pony Club as well has proved a really good combination of intensive one to one and group work. So good for her confidence." Ros Garratt, Hay on Wye
Less considered is how important balance is for the horse. Now the horse being 4-legged is inherently very stable (much like a table) but put a rider on him and ask him to move (when he has no idea remember of what is coming next) and you have the potential to seriously unbalance the horse. Apart from possibly falling over (actually quite unlikely unless you happen to be on a slippery surface), balance (or lack thereof) is PSHCHOLOGICALLY very destabilising for a horse. Think about it: if your primary means of defence is to run as fast as possible then not being able to run as fast as you can could mean you end up as dinner.
We approach each rider and horse individually, but irrespective of age or experience, start with the basic fundamentals. Once these are embedded many other things become much easier.
Please call for further information. Click here for our prices and terms and conditions.
Latest News
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QUESTION YOUR VET!!
I have long since argued (and practised what I preach) that vets don't know everything and that healthy scepticism is warranted. So, it didn't surprise me at all to read... Read more
RIDE WITH YOUR SEAT!
Ride with your seat is the apogee of ridden horsemanship we are told and I agree. What better feeling than developing the sensitivity of your horse to respond to the... Read more
RIDE WITH YOUR SEAT!
Ride with your seat is the apogee of ridden horsemanship we are told and I agree. What better feeling than developing the sensitivity of your horse to respond to the... Read more
STRAPPING and POWER WASHERS!
You may or may not be aware of the old practice of strapping. This was something used particularly in the racing world post race to help dissipate the harmful toxins…
LEARN WHEN YOUNG
As I have said in the past there are 3 elements to me of becoming a good horseman: 1. Understand the nature of the horse. Observe without prejudice or preconception (easier…
WHAT CAUSES NAVICULAR?
It will be interesting to see the results of this study (about the causes of navicular syndrome) and under what conditions it was run, how many horses were involved etc.…
EVALUATING LAMENESS IN HORSES
I know we Brits hate anyone who blows their own trumpet but please allow me to a little bit. I have spent a lot of time and money on developing…
DONT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF GROUNDWORK
Rhythm Relationship with horse obedience Unencumbered with deficiencies of rider Correct groundwork is an invaluable and in my experience much underused tool.
DONT UNDERESTIMATE THE VALUE OF GROUNDWORK
Rhythm Relationship with horse obedience Unencumbered with deficiencies of rider Correct groundwork is an invaluable and in my experience much underused tool.
PESSOA: GOOD or BAD?
In a short article I am not going to go into detail about how to use the Pessoa Training Aid. What I do know is that it is invaluable in…
INTERPRETING HORSE BODY LANGUAGE
Horses clearly don't speak in fact rarely vocalise anything when it comes to communicating especially with humans. Sure they use body 'language' but let's be careful how we interpret that.…
STARTING/BACKING HORSES
I like to revisit what I consider to be truths every now and then just to check I got it right and see if there is anything else to learn.…