The Riding Blog

A.K.A. "Michael's Meanderings"

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horseback point of view on woodland trail

Get Out of the Arena goals psychology theory tips May 10, 2024

I've said this before and I'll say it again: get your horse out of the perfectly manicured arenas.

It will contribute to their cross training, their soundness, their confidence, and so...

Opinions Part 2: Curiosity Versus Certainty goals psychology theory May 09, 2024

Opinions: Part 2

Things your trainer probably hasn't taught you.

The worst trait you can have is certainty.

Now you may find that ridiculous. You may be asking: "But people who...

The Demands of Top Level Riding dressage goals psychology theory May 08, 2024

What is true top level riding?

Let's take executing a flying change for example.

Sure, some horses are to the point where they can execute a flying change just by you haphazardly...

Perspective goals mental health psychology theory May 06, 2024

"You can complain because a rose bush has thorns. Or you can rejoice because a thorn bush has roses."

Perspective is everything, isn't it?

You'll find that the happiest and most...

Photo and explanation of a rider approaching a jump

Rein Length: Part 3 - Bad Distances theory tips Feb 16, 2024

Rein Length: Part 3 - Bad Distances

Again, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but I felt this was a good educational moment to discuss. Did I ride as well as I would've like through...

horse jumping and extending over a cross country jump

Rein Length: Part 2 - Examples theory tips Feb 14, 2024

Part 2 of Rein Length

While as I've said in many posts, there is a lot more nuance and complexity to riding, let's talk about some generalizations with rein length.

In this post, I'm providing...

zoomed in picture showing short reins while jumping a corner on cross country

Rein Length: Part 1 - Discussion on Long Versus Short Reins theory tips Feb 13, 2024

A while back, I heard an Olympic level rider explain that cross country reins should be somewhat long in order for you to throw yourself back on downhill landings.

And let me start off by...

Analysis Paralysis Part 2 goals psychology theory tips Feb 07, 2024

So in the previous blog post (read here if you haven't), we talked about what analysis paralysis is, how it affects our riding, and why we should avoid it.

But now you're probably...

riding a horse through water on cross country

Analysis Paralysis Part 1 psychology theory tips Feb 06, 2024

This has been a frequent item I've addressed in lessons I've taught, as well as something that I have to work to overcome myself.

In a nutshell, the term "analysis paralysis" is used to convey a...

nba player Brian Scalabrine playing basketball

How an NBA Player Means a Lot to Your Riding goals psychology theory tips Jan 31, 2024

Today I want to talk about retired NBA player Brian Scalabrine.

You probably don’t know his name, or if you do, it is for all the wrong reasons.

He played in the NBA from 2001 to 2012 and was...

Three Tiers of Riding Lessons goals theory tips Jan 05, 2024

To start, let's talk about the 80/20 rule. It is a concept that broadly states that the first 80% of a skill takes only 20% of the time/effort to learn. But the last 20% of that skill...

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