More How Your Horse Wants You to Ride: Advanced Basics: The Fun Begins (Howell Equestrian Library)

Techniques to help riders fine-tune their communication and riding skills without costly lessonsThis follow-up to How Your Horse Wants You to Ride helps immediate to advanced riders improve their communication with their mounts and polish their overall riding skills.;MORE HOW YOUR HORSE WANTS YOU TO RIDE; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction: What's in the Book, Where It Came from, Why You Need to Know It; Part I: Building Trust Through Ground Work; Part II: Riding So Your Horse Likes It Too; Part III: Setting Out into the Real World; Afterword; Appendix A: Making and Fitting a Neck Strap; Appendix B: Useful Knots; Appendix C: Resources; Index. MORE HOW YOUR HORSE WANTS YOU TO RIDE 5 Contents 9 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction: What’s in the Book, Where It Came from, Why You Need to Know It 15 Part I: Building Trust Through Ground Work 21 Chapter 1: The Stone Horse 23 THE EMOTIONAL CONNECTION 23 THE SEVEN STEPS 25 GROUNDING 33 EQUIPMENT FOR GROUND WORK 35 FIRST CONTACT 37 COMMUNICATING WITH THE HORSE 39 HALTERING, TYING, AND GROOMING 42 Chapter 2: The Following Horse 47 TEACHING YOURSELF TO LEAD 47 TEACHING THE HORSE TO LOWER HIS HEAD 53 RELATED GROUND SKILLS 54 LEADING WITH A CHAIN OR A ZEPHYR STRING 59 LEADING WITH A BRIDLE 60 Chapter 3: The Floating Horse 61 YOUR CENTER 62 INTENT 64 YOUR EYES AND POSTURE 65 OTHER TOOLS 66 APPLYING THE TOOLS 67 THE ACTIVE AIDS 74 THE PASSIVE AIDS 79 Part II: Riding So Your Horse Likes It Too 83 Chapter 4: Clothing, Tack, and Mounting 85 CLOTHING 85 TACK 92 RIDING BAREBACK 106 MOUNTING 108 Chapter 5: Make Yourselves Comfortable 117 BAREBACK ADVANTAGES 118 PREPARING TO RIDE 119 MOUNTING 119 PUTTING THE SEVEN STEPS TO WORK 124 SITTING WORK FOR MEN 131 POLISHING YOUR SKILLS 131 SITTING THE TROT 136 Chapter 6: Making Conversation 139 WHAT YOUR HORSE IS TELLING YOU 140 RESISTANCE AND NATURAL CROOKEDNESS 141 THE THREE ESSENTIALS 150 THE AIDS 154 USING YOUR MIND 158 Chapter 7: The Quiet Aids 161 REWARD AND PUNISHMENT 161 YOUR VOICE 162 YOUR EYES 163 YOUR SEAT 164 YOUR CENTER AND WEIGHT 165 THE STICK 169 THE SOFT LEG 171 Chapter 8: Reins Without Borders 175 LEARNING TO GIVE UP CONTROL 176 WHY WE FEEL OUT OF CONTROL 176 USING THE REINS 178 OVERCOMING RESISTANCE AND DEVELOPING SOFT HANDS 179 Part III: Setting Out into the Real World 189 Chapter 9: Stirrup Stuff 191 THE FIXED LEG 192 USING THE STIRRUPS 194 THE SEVEN SEATS 199 TROUBLESHOOTING EXERCISES 214 POSTING 217 Chapter 10: Rein Effects 225 GROUND WORK 225 ON THE HORSE 240 HIGH AND LOW REIN EFFECTS 242 Chapter 11: Hills and Cavaletti 245 HILLS 245 GROUND POLES (CAVALETTI) 255 Chapter 12: The Real Fun Begins 259 PREPARATORY WORK 260 PICKING UP THE CANTER 263 CANTERING ON 266 LEADS 268 GALLOPING 273 Chapter 13: Jumping Made Easy 275 THE HORSE’S BODY OVER THE JUMP 277 THE RIDER’S BODY OVER THE JUMP 281 RIDING THE BASCULE 284 PREPARATORY WORK 285 THE REAL THING 289 Chapter 14: More About Jumping 295 RIDING LINES 296 FINDING DISTANCES OR SPOTS AND JUMPING MORE DIFFICULT FENCES 297 Chapter 15: Cheerful Confidence 305 RING WORK 307 HEADING OUT 318 DEALING WITH SERIOUS PROBLEMS 325 Afterword 331 Appendix A: Making and Fitting a Neck Strap 333 SIMPLE LOOPS 333 MODIFIED BREASTPLATES 334 FITTING THE NECK STRAP 335 Appendix B: Useful Knots 337 QUICK-RELEASE KNOTS 337 OTHER USEFUL KNOTS 338 Appendix C: Resources 341 EDUCATIONAL GROUPS 341 RELATIONSHIP TRAINING Clicker Training 342 Index 345

Take your understanding of horses and riding to a new level.

In this sequel to How Your Horse Wants You to Ride: Starting Out—Starting Over, Gincy Self Bucklin explores in greater depth the three basics: relationship, riding without interfering, and communication. She then covers the rest of the essential riding skills, including cantering, jumping, and cross country, providing a comprehensive foundation for upper-level work. Bucklin introduces the serious student to advanced concepts, presented in a way that is easy to understand. You'll learn:

• How to use leading to improve your rein skills and your horse's responses

• How free-longeing helps you and your horse learn more about his body

• Why "riding your horse straight" isn't as simple as you thought

• How to help your horse deal with downhills

• How to really sit the canter

• Why jumping is one of the easiest skills

Techniques to help riders fine-tune their communication and riding skills This follow-up to How Your Horse Wants You to Ride helps intermediate to advanced riders improve their communication with their mounts and polish their overall riding skills. Readers get a complete tutorial--much of which can be found nowhere else--on taking their riding skills to the next level.