Old Horseman's Notes blog index

Millions of people around the world have an addiction to equines.  Backyard horse owners, wannabee horse owners, trainers, instructors, riding and driving students, horse sport competitors, high  level international winners, and all of the careers in the horse industry have one thing in common:  Everyone started as a beginner.

My goal in writing this blog is to make what I have learned in 65+ years of working with horses available to others.  Everything I wished I had known when my journey began. 

Nothing is new.  Horsemanship has been around for thousands of years.  I am sure the best Mongol warriors had their horsemanship knowledge and skills honed to a fine degree.

Ideas can be stated in many different ways.  Often a student will get the same information from several different sources, but understand the complete idea only after one clarifies it for her or him.

Often words are a terrible way to express feeling and so much of horsemanship is learning to feel what all six senses tell us.

The blog is written in short blurbs about certain subjects and they often overlap.  An index is published so readers can find what interests them and leave others out; a design to enhance rapid discovery of interesting / useful points.

I hope readers may find it helpful.

Have a great equestrian journey!

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1. Horsemanship Theories
2. Equine Goldilocks Principle
3. The Golden Rule of Riding Horses
4. The Most Important Things to Remember when Working with Horses
5. Difference Between Fear and Respect in Horses
6. Natural vs Unatural Horsemanship
7. Unnatural Things We Teach Horses To Do.
8. Killer Instinct to Win vs Horses First
9. Anticipation, Horse / Rider Friend or Enemy?
10. Difference Between Competition and Schooling Horses
11. Depth of Connection Between Horse and Rider
12. Feel, Equestrian Art
13. Horse Personalities
14. Horses Serve Up Humble Pie!
15. Complacency, Root of Serious Horse Accidents
16. Equestrian Social License to Operate
17. How Not to Buy a Horse! 
18. Great News!  AI Wil Not Replace Horses!
19. Equine Precision vs Accuracy

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1. Why Take Lessons to Learn How to Ride a Horse?
2. How to Choose a Riding Instructor
3. Safety Tips for Horses and Ponies
4. Ride Western or English?
5. First Ridng Lessons
6. Responsibilities of the Horse Riding Student
7. Unnatural Human Habits Needed for Riding Horses
8. School Horses are Saints!
9. "I Want to Ride, but Cannot Afford to Fall or get Hurt"
10. Seat: Your Balance on a Horse
11. Where to Look While Riding a Horse
12. Muscle Memory and Horses
13. Rider Weight on Horses
14. Why does Horseback Riding Cost so Much?
15. Why do Horses Need so Much Care?

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1. An Aid or Cue for Horses
2. Seat Aids for Riding Horses
3. Leg Aids for Horses
4. Rein Contact for horses
5. Rein Aids for Horses
6. Voice Aid for Horses
7. Equine Whoa and Go or Half Halt and Upward Transitions
8. Bending a Horse's Spine
9. Lateral Movements for Horses

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1. An Aid or Cue for Horses
2. Horse Stimulus, Agitation, Reinforcement, Punishment
3. Timing of an Aid or Que is Critical with Horses
4. All Horse Training Involves Giving Horses Choices
5. Circles are an Equestrian's Best Friend
6. Transitions are a Key to Equestrian Excellence
7. Cavalletti - Multi Use Tools for Horse and Rider Training
8. Speed Kills with Horses!
9. Creating Speed in Horses
10. Training Horses to Go Through Water
11. Loading a Horse into a Trailer
12. Dealing with Equine Riding Vices
13. Handling Spooking Horses
14. Equine Restraints

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1. What is an Equestrian Expert Witness?
2. When Should an Expert Witness be Hired?
3. "Grew Up With Horses" Fails as Professional Education

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1. Flatwork for Jumping Part I
2. Flatwork for Jumping Part II
3. Framing a Horse vs Headset

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1. The Jumping Effort
2. Shape of Horse Jumping Effort
3. Jumping is Easy; Getting to the Jump is the Hard Part!
4. The Horse Jump Takeoff Box and Striding
5. Eye Focus While Riding Horses Over Fences
6. Free Jumping Horses and Longing Over Fences
7. Jumping Horses on Diagonal Lines

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1. Horse Management is the Iceberg of Care You Give Your Horse!
2. Equine Restraints

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1. Teaching People to Ride Horses
2. Horseback Riding Instructor Education
3. Your Riding Instructor Voice
4. Teaching Horseback Riding is Hard Work!
5. Responsibilities of the Horse Riding Student

There are thousands of books on horses in print. Many are very good while some are not much help. I have found the ones listed here to be the best in their specific area. Most are on English riding because dressage techniques and procedures are very easy to extrapolate to all other equestrian sports.

There are certainly excellent books I have not stumbled on yet so do keep an eye out for other works.

United States Pony Club Inc.  (The most comprehensive horse care and riding program available in the world.)

· Manual of Horsemanship – Beginners / D Level

· Manual of Horsemanship – Intermediate / C Level

· Manual of Horsemanship – Advanced / B & A Level

· Safety Handbook

· Longeing and Ground Training

· Numerous other printed materials on a variety of subjects

Ingrid Klemke

· Cavalletti (with Reiner Klemke) (Definitive explanations and exercises using cavalletti to train horses and riders)

· Basic Training of the Young Horse (Detailed explanation how to start horses under saddle)

· Training Horses the Ingrid Klemke Way (Detailed explanation of training process to move horses through the levels)

· Riding Out: Strategies for Training Outside of the Arena (Detailed process of training horses in the open)

Rick Pelacano

· Bombproof Your Horse  (Detailed explanation of desensitizing horses to extraneous stimuli)

· Better Than Bombproof  (How to teach your horse good manners)

Jimmy Wofford

· Gymnastics; Systematic Training for Jumping Horses  (Definitive explanations and exercises to teach horses and riders how to jump)

· Training the Three Day Event Horse and Rider (Explanations of what is required for successful cross country jump riding)

· Cross Country (Skills needed to successfully ride over cross country jumps)

German National Equestrian Federation (German textbooks used in the National Equestrian Federation education and certification program)

· Principles of Riding, Book 1

· Advanced Techniques of Riding, Book 2 (Book 1 & 2 can be bought as one volume)

· Advanced Techniques of Dressage

Dressage Formula by Erik Herbermann and Egon Von Neindorff (Clear explanations of dressage movements and how to develop them)

Riding Logic by Wilhelm Museler  (Classic explanation of riding principles)

Classic Show Jumping: The De Nemethy Method by Bertaland De Nemethy (Description of principles required for jumping horses and riders)

The USEA Eventing Handbook By The Levels, by United States Eventing Association (Outline of skill requirements for each level of horse trials or three day eventing)

Centered Riding by Sally Swift (Best description of how to stay in balance with your horse)

101 Jumping Exercises for Horse and Rider by Linda Allen (Excellent exercises and explanations of how to do them)

Ed Connell

Hackamore Reinsman (Starting western horses in a hackamore, handmade bosal)

Reinsman of the West – Bridles and Bits (Moving western horses from a hackamore to a snaffle bit, then shank bit)