Lessons in Tuning Your Horse—and Yourself! (Growing our Horsemanship With Martin Black, Part Two)

By Mary Gallagher

I am still learning from our recent, fabulous clinic with Martin Black. I'd like to share what I've been doing lately with some of what I learned, though I'd recommend hearing it straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak, if you can. I can’t recommend Martin highly enough, and you can join us for his next clinic with us in March 2024 to experience much more, first hand!

I’ve been walking my students through a basic pattern of foot placement exercises learned from Martin, relating it to what I’ve been teaching for years. One of the students, a musician, commented that taking time to learn and refine these exercises was a lot like practicing scales. Musicians want to play songs and do the cool things they are inspired by in other musicians, but without developing dexterity and musical sense through patient practice of scales, the goal remains far away. I thought it was a great analogy. We tend to want to jump in and ‘make music’—get our horse ‘in frame’ by various means, trot, canter, and go right to the things we ride horses for. To get there, too often we solve issues with specialized tack, firmer aids, stronger grip…the list goes on.

Giving the Horse a Pathway to Solve Problems, Part 2

by Mary Gallagher

I’ve been continuing to experiment with finding fun ways to help my horses in training solve their own problems and change habits.

First off, variety in your training keeps the horse engaged and learning on multiple levels. Even better, using real world exercises on the ground that set up the horse to deal with their own issues gets positive results far faster than schooling from the saddle. In this video, I help a green mare with the habit of ‘swapping her leads behind’ find a better way, with minimal input from me. Were I to correct the same issue through riding….let’s just say we’d be at it a while.

Connecting to the Feet—a daily progression to better communication

By Mary Gallagher

Lily and Joia in step...

Why: To time your aids to best complement your horse’s movement, communicating in a simple way that enlists your horse’s cooperation. 

We are all looking for that special sense of connection, that moment when our horse effortlessly responds to our wishes, and we are one with his movement, in perfect balance with each step.

Do you achieve that feeling as often as you’d like? Is it a ‘superpower’ you two share? If yes, I salute you. If no, I’m here to help!

You and your horse can begin this wonderful journey to connection and communication right now. In this series of articles, I will get you started, breaking down the basics for you in a series of simple exercises.

Balanced Performance—good health, versatility, and fun as a path to excellence

by Mary Gallagher

In my recent posts, I have been sharing the progress and development of a 4-year old warmblood named Zeus who is in training with me. He came into our lives thanks to Joe Wolter’s clinic here last August. Zeus’s owner, Wendy Comstock, had brought Zeus all the way from her home in Yamhill, Oregon for the clinic. Joe, as always, was incredibly wise and helpful, and Wendy and I also connected regarding Zeus’s further training. At the end of the clinic, Wendy left him with us and he has been a pretty popular guy at the Farm, with his handsome good looks, easygoing, willing personality and eagerness to learn.

Kenny's Fitness Corner: A Triple Whammy Squat

 by Mary Gallagher, with coach Kenny Hall, fitness trainer

During our Monday morning Fitness for Riders class, I asked Kenny to give me and our students an exercise to help with shoulder position, and he gave us a triple whammy: an exercise to work on our 1) balance, 2) seat position in the saddle, as I 3) open up our shoulders. Once again, I got to be the model for this post:

What Happens When We Don't Stay Fit?

 by Grace Lambert

We've been hearing a lot about fitness from Mary for good reason. She encourages riders to be fit because she has experienced changes in her own body as she becomes more fit, felt the difference in her riding, and has observed how it positively impacts the horses she rides. She's also noticed the changes in her students who are becoming more fit, and she notices changes in the lesson horses these students ride. I'm writing this article in support of all Mary says, but I am coming at it from a slightly different angle - and that is to describe (and show you images of) what can happen when we don't stay fit (or even get fit in the first place). These issues are not theoretical; they are based on facts gathered over decades about how inactivity can cause a host of problems.