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1. Get regular riding lessons, or better yet, learn the biomechanics of riding. Biomechanics study how the body moves and rider biomechanics look specifically at issues like your foot slipping out of the stirrup or your knee coming up. Check out www.centaurbiomechanics.co.uk or ‘Equine Biomechanics for Riders: The Key to Balanced Riding’ by Karin Blignault….
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Horse riding has physical health, psychological and over-all benefits of happiness and well-being. This is just a reminder for us and the non-horsey around us, who wonder about our level of sanity as we brave the winter weather to get out there and ride. And the research is there! Check out www.bhs.org.uk (study published in…
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Welcome to the most rewarding addiction in the world: horses. What is an addiction? “An addiction is a condition that results when a person engages in an activity that can be pleasurable, but the continued act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities.” Sound familiar? I can certainly think of many an…
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I recently blogged about an idyllic holiday ranch in Spain offering a more natural experience with horses in Andalucia: Barefoot and bitless riding. I have now discovered another place that also sounds out of this world. They were awarded the ‘Trip Advisor Hall of Fame Award’ for receiving the 5-star certificate of excellence 5 times!…
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By Carole Herder I’ve recently returned from Ireland – yes, that super little green country full rolling hills, miles of rider friendly trails, magical leprechauns and that black velvety liquid they call Guinness. Among the many friendly Irish, Niamh Fitzpatrick (what a great Irish name!) was in attendance at one of my clinics. Sometimes you…
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By Carole Herder In simplistic terms, the heart pumps blood around the body through arteries. From the arteries, the blood moves away from the heart into capillaries and then into venules and then into veins. Unlike arteries, veins are not elastic and they need muscles to move the blood back towards the heart. Evolution has…
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By Carole Herder This title says it all! Last week, jockey Michelle Payne won the Melbourne Cup. She is the first woman to do it since the inception of the iconic race 155 years ago. The Melbourne Cup, Australia’s most prestigious Thoroughbred race rivals the Kentucky Derby in magnificence. When Michelle Payne got off her…
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By Carole Herder The rain paused briefly as the Hunt in Roberts Creek kicked off today. Careening through the countryside with 30 horses and riders at top speed is a pretty exciting pastime. Riders from 12 to 80 years old set off bounding along our trails, ponies and drafts, every colour combination imaginable and all…
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By Carole Herder Along my country road there is an amazing black and white Paint stallion. If he is out, I always slow down to admire him. The other day, he was racing across his sandy paddock heading straight for the fence line that separated him from a lush grassy field. He could easily have…
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