It’s a magical day here in Ireland. The horses are down the hill eating grass, the cattle next door are enjoying the warm sunshine, my chocolate lab is happy helping me to tidy up the garden (carrying around sticks is his favourite thing to do) and the birds are singing their little hearts out.

I’m feeling happy. And it’s not just because it’s stopped raining here finally! This morning I went for a ride on Ozzie and he was a legend. You know one of the rides, when afterwards you HAVE to relive it moment by moment AND tell everyone how great your horse is (even if they have no interest in horses lol!). Plus the smile stays on your face for the rest for the day?

Yup, it was that kind of session.

With Ozzie & Matilda, the more I repeat the basics, but aim to do them with more softness & lightness and with smaller cues, the better they get at the advanced moves.

And it’s the little things I appreciate the most about Ozzie. 

Ozzie & I can walk in hand together, in-hand at any speed with a loose lead rope. For fun, I ran really fast with him, and he did this huge fast trot beside me.

Then I skidded to a halt as I said ‘Hoooo’, and at the same moment me skidded to a halt beside me also. The lead rope stayed loose the whole time. This probably would have looked pretty handy if anyone had been watching. 

But the connection involved was also mental & emotional. Ozzie was able to do this because he was so focused on me, and because he can stay calm & relaxed, no matter what speed I ask of him. And that’s a HUGE achievement for Ozzie. Speed used to be a thing that caused him to lose confidence. But not any more. 

Then he turned his head around to me, when I need to take off his halter, and puts his nose into the hackamore by himself when I’m ready to tack up.

When we walk over to the mounting block, he stands right beside it and relaxes until I’m onboard, my feet are in the stirrups & am ready to walk off.

Tiny things you might think. But it leads directly into our work in the saddle. Today it was back to doing simple moves really well. We started off with an energetic walk, with turns using only me turning my head to where i wanted to go, & using my weight & legs.

I worked on using smaller cues in the saddle, and making Ozzie’s job easier.Our goal in everything we do is for it to be beautiful… so we spent a little time working on bend throughout Ozzie’s whole body in walk & trot.And I don’t mean me using all sorts of ‘inside rein / outside leg’ or whatever combination riding instructors tend you shout at you to do….

I mean creating a situation where Ozzie found peace & softness, and offered me this lightness & softness by himself. Without me doing anything to make it happen.

It was a bit like ‘magic’ horse riding.
 Where it feels like you & the horse are together. You’re moving together. You’re thinking the same thing. You’ve got this invisible connection together.

It’s very rare, but it’s completely possible – when you approach your partnership with your horse with a kind heart, and a curiosity to learn & improve.

So I thought it’d be fun for a relaxing Sunday afternoon, to invite you to share with you 3 ways to improve your horse riding in 60 minutes. And it includes a pretty remarkable riding lesson with my lovely Ozzie.

You can watch it here now >>>

Enjoy!
Elaine, Ozzie & Matilda.