Science Says Pets are Good for Your Mental Health
According to a Harris poll conducted in 2015, 95% of pet owners think of their pet as a family member.
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Horse Articles
Welcome to our Award Winning Horse Care Library. Select a topic from the menu or browse this week’s featured articles below.
Making a Disaster Plan That Includes Your Pets
Don’t be forced to leave your pet behind in an emergency. Have a plan in place to keep yourself, your
Read moreLongeing For Riders
Longeing without stirrups can be a wonderfully useful tool to help riders learn to relax, ride in balance, and follow the motion of the horse as they work toward developing an independent seat.
Read moreEvaluating a Horse’s Vocabulary
When we work with very young children, we keep our vocabulary simple because their understanding of spoken language is limited. A two-year-old child’s vocabulary is much smaller than that of a four-year-old or a seven-year old. But by the time that child becomes a teenager, his or her vocabulary will number in the thousands of words.
Read moreOvercoming Riding Fears
Anyone who has ridden for any length of time would be dishonest if they told you they have never felt fear.
Read moreDeveloping an Independent Seat
Developing an independent seat is absolutely essential if a rider aspires to the upper levels of any equestrian sport. An independent seat is wonderful to have, beautiful to see, but difficult to describe in words.
Read moreRhythmic Riding Starts on the Ground
People approach riding horses and training horses as though they were separate subjects or skill sets.
Read moreFinding The Right Instructor
Finding the right instructor is essential if a rider wants positive, satisfying, and safe equestrian experiences. The "best" riding instructor may be a very different person for different riders. It is an adult student’s responsibility to choose an instructor that suits her current level of ability and her goals.
Read moreThe Importance of Timing
We communicate with a horse by using a corridor of pressures that suggest the shape, the pace, and the direction we want the horse to take. Removing a pressure is the horse’s "reward." It is the way we communicate to the horse, "Yes! That’s right." If your timing is off when you either apply a pressure or remove it, your communication becomes garbled. The horse will not make a clear connection between a particular pressure or corridor of pressures and the response you expect from him.
Read moreFixing Bit Evasions
Horses evade the bit when they are uncomfortable in their mouths. That can happen for a number of reasons.
Read moreTraining Tools I: Psychological Pressures
The training system we call heeding at Meredith Manor uses methodically applied directional pressures that the horse feels as a shape we want him to take. Training is that simple. And it is that complex.
Read moreTraining Tools II: Physical Pressures
The training system we call heeding at Meredith Manor teaches a student how to train a horse by methodically applying directional pressures that the horse feels as a shape the student wants him to take.
Read moreIs It My Fault – Or My Horse’s?
Every rider has experienced the situation where they ask their horse for a particular shape or movement and either nothing happens or something other than what they wanted happens. What went wrong?
Read moreHorse-Logical Trailering
Judging by the number of articles and videos about the subject, many horse owners appear to have trouble loading their horse into a trailer.
Read moreHow Patterns Can Keep You Out of Trouble
Predictable patterns that create a feeling of rhythm help horses feel relaxed and comfortable.
Read moreHow Patterns Can Get You Into Trouble
When you work in predictable patterns that create feelings of rhythm and relaxation, your horse begins to trust that you are a comfortable, safe place to be. You never surprise or startle the horse as you groom or lead or load him into a trailer or work under saddle because you always use a predictable, calm, rhythmic approach to whatever you do when you are with him.
Read moreThe Blurry Line Between Equine Aids and Cues
As a horse works its way up the training tree, its handler needs to stay aware of the difference between an aid and a cue or signal. A lot of people mythunderstand the difference because the line between an aid and a cue gets blurry sometimes.
Read moreHorses as Therapy
They’ve long been a symbol of peace and harmony with nature. They are known for their sociable, nurturing personalities, and their capacity for empathy. So it’s perhaps not surprising that doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists and other professionals agree that horses can help patients with a wide range of physical and mental health issues to experience themselves in a different way.
Read moreThe Blurry Line Between Equine Pressures and Aids
We use a lot of terms in the horse industry and expect that everyone understands what we are saying the same way we mean it.
Read moreEmotionally Neutral Horse Training
Your first objective every time you are around a horse is to get yourself emotionally neutral. When you approach a horse in an emotionally neutral state of mind, the horse perceives you as a safe place to be. That helps him be emotionally neutral, too. Then you can open up whatever line of horse-logical communication you want with him.
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