Horsemanship 101
Cherish Your Journey With Your HorseDana Hokana brings you tips, insights and coaching to help you to become the best horseman that you can be. In these articles, she distills some of the most important fundamentals she has gleaned from years of experience guiding everyone from recreational riders to World Champions.
With these proven tips you can become a better rider, build trusting partnerships, elevate your horsemanship, repair damaged relationships with your horse or get the most out of your performance horse, all while enjoying the journey.
Help For The Timid Rider
Are you a timid rider? I believe that most of us at some time or another have moments of feeling timid, hesitant, or afraid on a horse. In certain situations and on certain horses, there may be times when it is wise to be hesitant or timid. Your intuition may be telling you to back off! However, there may be other times when your timidity turns into fear and you freeze or give wrong signals to your horse. You may even be unconsciously telling your horse that you are afraid, giving him the upper hand.
The Pick Up
As riders we strive to become better and to understand how to ride, to develop a proper and good relationship with our horses. Being good and mindful with your hands is one way to either build that relationship or hurt it. These are some tips to establish a great relationship with your horse through your hands.
First you must realize you can take ahold of your horses face. But also realize that how you approach him with your hands is equal to how you would speak to a person. If your approach is sharp, jerky or rough you have “yelled” at him with your hands and he may be on the defensive. The biggest thing you can do to change his response is to change your approach to him
Know Your Horse
Not All Horses Learn the Same Way What may feel like yelling to one horse may be like whispering to another horse. Be mindful and sensitive to your horse’s individual personality. Study your horse and decide what his personality is like. Some...
Developing the Lope Transition in the Young Horse
In this article I am going to teach you how to teach the young horse to lope right off. A great horseman once told me it takes 1,000 transitions to teach a horse to make an excellent transition. Even if that’s stretching it, it for sure takes hundreds. Practice makes perfect and I feel you need to practice your transitions a lot not only for the horse but for your own timing and to establish relationship between your leg and his response. Any maneuvers you teach your horse will take practice and repetition to achieve perfection.
8 Tips to Help You Determine If That Prospective Horse Is the Horse for You
I am going to teach you how to try out a prospective horse with knowledge of what to look for, and give you some valuable tips to help you to pick “the right one.” It is much easier to make the right choice the first time!
How to Get the Lean Out of Your Horse
How to get the lean out of your performance horse. Many of your training and showing problems actually stem from undiagnosed lean in your horse. For your horse to be balanced, exhibit self-carriage and move with flow and cadence, he needs to be...
Help For The Timid Rider
Are you a timid rider? I believe that most of us at some time or another have moments of feeling timid, hesitant, or afraid on a horse. In certain situations and on certain horses, there may be times when it is wise to be hesitant or timid. Your intuition may be telling you to back off! However, there may be other times when your timidity turns into fear and you freeze or give wrong signals to your horse. You may even be unconsciously telling your horse that you are afraid, giving him the upper hand.
The Pick Up
As riders we strive to become better and to understand how to ride, to develop a proper and good relationship with our horses. Being good and mindful with your hands is one way to either build that relationship or hurt it. These are some tips to establish a great relationship with your horse through your hands.
First you must realize you can take ahold of your horses face. But also realize that how you approach him with your hands is equal to how you would speak to a person. If your approach is sharp, jerky or rough you have “yelled” at him with your hands and he may be on the defensive. The biggest thing you can do to change his response is to change your approach to him
Know Your Horse
Not All Horses Learn the Same Way What may feel like yelling to one horse may be like whispering to another horse. Be mindful and sensitive to your horse’s individual personality. Study your horse and decide what his personality is like. Some...
Developing the Lope Transition in the Young Horse
In this article I am going to teach you how to teach the young horse to lope right off. A great horseman once told me it takes 1,000 transitions to teach a horse to make an excellent transition. Even if that’s stretching it, it for sure takes hundreds. Practice makes perfect and I feel you need to practice your transitions a lot not only for the horse but for your own timing and to establish relationship between your leg and his response. Any maneuvers you teach your horse will take practice and repetition to achieve perfection.
8 Tips to Help You Determine If That Prospective Horse Is the Horse for You
I am going to teach you how to try out a prospective horse with knowledge of what to look for, and give you some valuable tips to help you to pick “the right one.” It is much easier to make the right choice the first time!
How to Get the Lean Out of Your Horse
How to get the lean out of your performance horse. Many of your training and showing problems actually stem from undiagnosed lean in your horse. For your horse to be balanced, exhibit self-carriage and move with flow and cadence, he needs to be...
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"For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
- Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
- Jeremiah 29:11
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