Tag: rein


Dave Murphy and Zoe: Update 3

25th October

Good afternoon this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I thought I would give you a little update on Dave Murphy because we have gotten to a good place with her. Dave has been working with me once a week for a little over eight months. As you all have seen, Dave has learned to lunge his horse correctly and has come a long way!

When Dave first started riding this horse, the thing that I was immediately struck by was how uncomfortable she was carrying his weight. This horse really needed to work to build up enough strength to carry him. She certainly is big enough to carry him once she has been conditioned. What I wanted to point out today was how lovely and free her walk has become! I am no longer seeing the horse struggling to carry …



Long Reining: Part 4

4th August

Hi this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and today we are talking about long reining. We are on phase four now. Step one is getting the horse to lunge correctly getting the horse to stretch into the contact with the side reins. Step two is having the line over the top of the neck. Step three is having the line around the back of the hind quarters and now we are ready for step four.

The final phase is where we are going to take contact with both reins (Please see video for correct setup). Now we have the horse in a truly ground driving position with direct contact going back to the rings on both sides. Notice there are many rings to choose from, but when we are working with a young horse we want them down on the side …



Work In Hand

14th July

Hi this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and we had a request for some information for work in hand so I am going to try and give you a few points about that today!

This is our new horse Zoolander and if you come and take a close look here, both of my hands are going to be up (as shown in video) as I take the rein contact a little bit from the bit here and the other hand going up here (as shown in video) with the whip in my hand at the same time on this side. The most important thing to remember when you are doing work in hand is you’re wanting the horse to move ahead of you. Just like when you lunge you don’t stand around backwards, you stand to the front so when you …



The Rider’s Hands

9th May

Good morning, this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and today we are looking at Karen Loshbaugh riding a young Arab that we started from basically barely halter broke. He is just beginning to come into the phase of just beginning to take contact with the bridle. So the question that we are going to try and answer today is: What do you do with your hands in the stretch?

Lets talk about a few concepts of that. The main thing with the hands as Mr. Olivera used to say is, “The best hands in the world simply work like a pair of side reins” (They limit the length of the rein). They simply don’t give every time the horse pulls.  But better than a pair of side reins, they can actually maintain contact with the horse, and of course adjust to …




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.