Story by Kelly Hill Moving the pregnant mare Looking at Tilly surrounded by poisonous plants in her maternity field was making me more nervous by the minute. We had spent a lot of time (2 months) doing the field up and making it as foal friendly as possible in any spare time we could find.…
Story by Kelly Hill Knowing what I know now, I wouldn’t do it again. Not like I’ve done it with Tilly, anyway. I have a nice Welsh mare that I’d like to breed but would like her to run with a stallion and be covered naturally. For the kind of foal I wanted out of…
As part of the programmes for all the riders on regular Academy training I offer support at events. I do question my sanity sometimes with this as it does mean crazy amount of hours out and about but seeing the riders riding other than on home soil is pretty invaluable for any further lessons plans.…
From the Academy’s “Admin office” by Wiola Grabowska Usually, about 2 weeks prior the Camps, I like to have a several hours put aside to quietly reflect on what I want the riders to learn and how best to deliver the sessions so they are not overwhelming to the horses. Half way through brainstorming Intensive…
By Wiola Grabowska Rider: Mairi M. Horse: Boo Most riders I know and teach wouldn’t describe rising trot without stirrups as their favourite seat development exercise but I do rate it and use it as often as possible. Here’s why: It’s one of a very few exercises that relatively quickly change a “busy” rider into…
Story by Kelly Hill Oakham Veterinary Hospital Stud welcomed us with fields full of mares and foals. Mares that looked much more expensive than Tilly, who I worked for three years to call mine. I had thought about breeding her for years, constantly weighing up the pros and cons. I always thought of the worst…
By Wiola Grabowska Rider: Sasha Eastabrook Horse: Boo Videos available on our Instagram, details at the bottom of the post Set up a jump on centre line of your arena and start with poles on the ground. I prefer to keep all jumps small, cavaletti style so if the rider makes mistakes, the exercise can…
By Wiola Grabowska Everything happens fast between the jumps. Small losses of balance on route from one jump to another can become big issues when getting closer to the fence. Here’s just one scenario: breathing becomes shallow (some riders seemingly stop breathing altogether!) and/or fast, muscles brace, tension creeps up the shoulders and inhibits soft…
By Wiola Grabowska This subject is coming your way thanks to a little Twitter conversation I had last night on #EquineHour with Tail End Jewellery. I like to think about the horse’s neck and head as if they were a barometer of what happens in the rest of the horse’s body. For this reason I…
by Mairi Mackay Teaching your horse shoulder in can have loads of benefits. All horses are ‘sided’ ( i.e. in very basic terms they have a rein that they find it easier to bend/balance on.) and shoulder in is a basic lateral exercise that can help your horse improve straightness. This has a myriad of…
