Glenshee Equestrian Centre

It's about time. Riders and trainers have long complained about the decline of horsemanship in general and dressage in parti cular, especially as concerns competition. In recent years, only the most spectacular, showy performances have been rewarded at the expense of correct dressage and, more importantly, at the expense of the well-being of the horses. The situation is becoming toxic - for horses and riders. It's time to clean house. Granted things are unlikely to change when these riders are backed by serious money and corporate sponsorships, but we have to try something to bring the standards back up to some meaningful level. Grey Horse Matters sent me this link from Philippe Karl's website and I thought I'd pass it along to those who might be interested. Philippe Karl is one of the too few truly classical voices out there, and someone I have great respect for as a horseman. Of course, the Petition only addresses the German Equestrian Federation, however, thi...

I've been so busy now that spring is here that I haven’t had a chance to post in a while, but I’m hoping to post a few more installments related to rein aids next, so I thought I’d post these links all in one place before I continue.  If there are any topics you’d like to see discussed, please leave a message below and I’ll try to post something soon…  I've missed being here and  I'm looking forward to catching up with all of your blogs :-)  see ya soon! - jacquie Rein Aids Series: Holding the Reins The Turning Seat Inside vs. Outside: The Weight Debate ***** The Five Rein Aids: Introduction The Direct Rein The Indirect Rein The Direct Rein of Opposition The Indirect Rein of Opposition in Front of the Wither The Indirect Rein of Opposition Behind the Wither ***** Going Bitless

A friend of mine sent me this little horsey questionnaire on Facebook, and I thought I’d post my answers here. I won’t officially tag anyone, but it might be fun if readers passed it on by filling it out and posting it to your blogs with your own experiences, and encourage your readers to do the same. Hope you decide to play along!  And if you do, leave a comment here letting us know :-) 1. How old were you when you first started riding? I think I officially started when I was 7, but I was one of those kids who was obsessed with horses since the first time I saw one, so I’m sure I managed to get on a horse before then... 2. First horse ridden: Don’t remember... my mom said I rode a pony when I was 5 – I went with my sister who was in girl scouts/brownies or something... 3. First horse trotted on: ??? 4. First horse cantered on: ??? 5. First Horse fallen off of : Probably “Jet” (our first horse) 6. Most recent horse fallen off of: Dusty, 3+ years ago – although ...

We ha d s t arted in the winter and I worked w ith him like this for months. Having put all of this tim e into Mell on, gaining his trust , making him a respecta ble riding horse, I th en had to leave for colle ge in the fall, and had no idea what wou ld become of M ellon. Now that he had become somewhat rideable, people sta rted to come ou t of the woodwor k wanting to ride h im again. I suppose t hey figured if I could d o it, they could surely do it better. When I returned home, I discover ed that th e old ya hoos were back riding him, and he was slowly r egr essing to his for mer self again. One of the new riders was a so-calle d “professio nal” who had only recently snapped her own horse’s sp ine jumping him in draw reins and was happy to tell me, “why sho uld I put the wear and te ar on one of my horse s when I can practi ce on someone else’s?” I had been riding him in a hollow mouth eggbutt. She bitted him with a Jimmy Williams . Needless to say, he started refusing ...