In which phase of balance are you and your horse?
What is the difference between a four-year-old horse and a horse that is being trained at Grand Prix level? Actually, the biggest difference has to do with the balance of both horses. The rider with the Grand Prix horse has the balance of his horse under control. That implies that the horse brings more weight […]
Create More Impulsion Within Your Horse Using These Tips
Did your protocol ever say ‘more impulsion’? It might be difficult to get more impulsion within your horse without rushing him forward. But you also want to keep the relaxation. Where do you draw the line and how do you create more impulsion? A member of my online training asked me that question during a […]
8 signals you’re not riding your horse from back to front
Everybody agrees that you should ride a horse from back to front, but a lot of riders find it difficult to decide if they really do it themselves. If you ride your horse from back to front, you can feel a connection from the hind leg through your hand to the mouth of your horse, […]
3 Tips for more collection
If you want to work towards collection, tempo changes and transitions are very useful exercises. But… only if you execute the transition or tempo change correctly. Only then will your horse improve and transfer more weight to the hindquarters. But when do you execute a transition or tempo change correctly? Before you start working […]
How do you ride an asymmetrical horse?
We all want to ride a correctly moving, straightened horse. But what can you do if your horse is still asymmetric? A member of my online training asked me during a live Q&A how she could best ride an asymmetric horse. And I gave her the following advice: Every horse is asymmetric, some more than […]
8 Tips to warm up your horse in the right way
A successful training session starts with warming up your horse in the right way. If you warm up well, your horse will be supple and respond actively to your aids. Besides, warming up correctly is crucial if you want to prevent injuries! But what’s the right way to warm up your horse? Maybe you […]
Always ride your horse deep into the corner? Wrong!
Ride your corners! Don’t cut the corner! Ride deep into the corner! We’ve all heard these phrases. At least I have and I’m sure you have as well. I mean, we have to ride deep into the corner, right? Or not? A member of Rien van der Schaft’s online program asked us how deep she should ride […]
Riding from front to back with a loose rein, is that possible?
Riding from back to front with a loose rein, is that possible? There are a lot of different ways in which you can ride your horse from back to front. But they all have got one thing in common: a correct connection. But can you also ride a horse from back to front when you […]
The Circle Of Energy: How, What And Why?
A good connection, that’s what we all want… but how do we accomplish this? What if your horse wants to curl up or keeps taking over the tempo? Or gets tense when you try to ride him towards the hand? Rien explains it according to the Circle of Energy. What is meant with the […]
Big improvement in connection in just 2 weeks (video)
A lot of riders struggle with getting a good connection. And sometimes it takes quite some time to improve the contact, requiring a lot of patience from the rider. However, sometimes, big improvements can be made in a short amount of time. Keep your horse ‘through’..? I had someone coming over for a lesson and […]