English Schooling Class

Remember when I wrote this post? Here's the other part of it that I promised I'd write; the list of things one should do and remember when riding English.

• Keep sternum up.
• Keep lower back relaxed.
• Relax thighs.
• Lift inside shoulder up when turning to stay balanced.
• Hands to elbow should be lined up with the angle of the reins.
• Hands should stay above withers.
• Breath slowly, relaxed, and deeply. If you're relaxed, your horse should be, too.
• Do a reassessment of your overall posture before beginning the canter.
• Keep the canter consistent. If you start slow, keep it that way.
• When cantering, lower legs should not be flopping around.
• You should feel the weight of the stirrups on both sides.
• Never circle your horse in the show ring; you will be DQed for this. Do anything else to gain control of your horse, so long as it's "legal" and not super noticeable. One thing you could do would be to gently tug on the bit with alternate reins.
• Horses are somewhat like kids as far as training. If you ask a horse to do something, don't stop asking until the horse puts at least some effort into the requested task. If you let the horse get away with stuff, he'll turn out to be a brat horse that won't obey and will probably just cause problems. (Also, just how children sometimes need discipline, horses do as well. Just as a sidenote. :P)