Tag: hollow back


Gaited Horses And Dressage

7th November

Good morning this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride here with Kristen Balch for our second Q&A session. The question that came in is: Is dressage appropriate for gated horses?

I grew up in Kentucky where people raised Thoroughbreds but rode Tennessee Walkers and saddle bred horses. I grew up all around saddle bred horses and have retrained many of them over the years to be riding horses, dressage horses, jumpers and even some hunters in the hunt field. The first thing that you have to understand about gaited horses is you cannot have a gaited horse and do dressage because it won’t work. What gaiting horses means is to create artificial gaits not the natural three gaits. Dressage is all about perfecting the three natural gaits of the horse, that is why in correct dressage the cardinal rule in the trot for …



Your Horse May Surprise You

25th April

This is Will Faerber from Art2Ride, and we are in Irvine Park today giving a clinic.

My wife is riding a horse named Kyro, who started working with us in a clinic only a few short weeks ago. He is a draft cross, who I think when he started with us in the first clinic, had never been stretched and looked like a very shortened draft horse. This is a perfect example of when we sometimes find horses in interesting places and they surprise us!

Most people are often surprised by how well their horses can move. These horses that they thought would never be capable of doing dressage, and yet once they see them begin to light up their toplines and move correctly through the back, they see how differently they can look.

This horse looked very hollow-backed, as you can see …




From the Blog!

Join me as I post weekly blogs covering many topics relating to Classical Foundation Training. I have intentionally left out the word "dressage" because many people have a negative association with the prevalent "crank and spank" approach or that it is a sport for only those who are afraid to jump.

Dressage as it is meant to be is an understanding of how to best optimize a horse's movement and ability to carry a rider, surely a benefit for any horse, any discipline. It is also important in maintaining your horse's safety, soundness and sanity.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Marnie: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Marnie gives her yearly update for 2021.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Ryanne: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Ryanne gives her yearly update for 2021.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Marie: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Marie gives her yearly update for 2021.