creative riding

Creativity and the Problem with Training Techniques.

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We were standing around the barn after the vet had left, a group of trainers and riders and horses, telling stories and laughing. I can’t remember what I said now, but the European trainer got suddenly serious with me, saying “You know there is only one right way to train that, don’t you?” I don’t … Read more

How to Ride Creatively.

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WM moon rideRiding a horse is the simplest thing in the world. Just point ’em and kick. What’s so hard about that? And as long as you don’t care where you go or how you get there, no worries.

But we’re humans prone to having expectations and goals. And horses are sentient with thoughts and emotions of their own. Perhaps the first thing that horses and humans have in common is a dislike of random chaos.

So then the horse or  rider might decide some sort of leadership is needed and that’s when training starts. You ask for something simple: Go away from the barn. Walk on the rail. Canter. But they don’t.

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Zappa and Einstein: Riding out of the Rut

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Here at Infinity Farm we are riding in a rut- literally a rut runs along the rail of the arena. The first definition of rut in the dictionary is “a sunken track or groove made by the passage of vehicles.” Most arenas have ruts. Every week I do Zamboni work to the sand, but a … Read more