What is excellence to you? Is it finding a specific purpose for your life? Or perhaps it’s getting over 70 percent on a dressage test? Or maybe it’s as simple as getting the right canter lead every time you ask.

We all have different ideas of excellence. And there’s nothing quite like the amazing feeling of knowing that you did your very best, and it all came together perfectly in that moment.

Excellence doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a decision. It’s hours and hours of practice, coupled with a burning desire to be the best you can be. It’s doing everything you can to learn, improve, and achieve; while not accepting less than your very best. If excellence is your goal, you must give it your all and not settle for anything less.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi no. 27, by Jane Savoie →

Dressage riders tend to be a very driven group of folks. It’s such a demanding sport, it’s natural that it attracts Type A personalities. It takes a real work ethic to be good at something this challenging, so those who get into the competitive part of the sport tend to over do much more than under do. Jane and most of her friends and students work very hard and have a difficult time taking time to just RELAX!

I’m not like that at all. Being a Friesian, it is natural for me to be fairly laid back. Sure, I get excited sometimes, but for the most part being quiet and easy going is natural for me. My gift to Jane is reminding her that someone can be relaxed and go with the flow of life, and still be very successful.

There is a time for work, and there is a time for play. There is a time to be driven and give it all you have, and, there is the time for rest and recharging.

Continue reading Motivation from Moshi #23, by Jane Savoie →

If your horse’s shoulders are stuck, it’s like having a kink in a water hose. The energy can’t flow from behind, over the back, into your hands where it can then be recycled back to the hind legs.

Here are two shoulder suppling exercises for you to try with your stiff horse.

1. Make a 20-meter box with 4 corners in the walk.

• To give you more control of your horse’s shoulders, do the exercise in counter flexion. (That is, you’ll just barely see his outside eye or nostril.)
• If you’re going to the left, ask for right counter flexion with your right wrist. Stay in counter flexion during the entire exercise.
• At the first corner, bring both hands to the left to swivel your horse’s shoulders around the corner.
• Then, soften the contact without letting the reins get loopy.
• After the corner, walk straight ahead in counter-flexion.
• At the next corner, bring both hands to the left again.
• Do this in all four corners.
• As your horse’s shoulders become more supple, it’ll get easier to spin his shoulders around the turn without meeting resistance.
• You can tell there’s no resistance when the weight in your hands stays the same as you swivel your horse’s shoulders around the corner.

2. Ride down the long side of the ring, and move your horse’s shoulders slightly to the left and right.

• Walk down the long side of arena.
• Flex your horse at the poll opposite the direction you’ll be moving his shoulders. For example, when riding to the left, ask for a counter flexion to the right by turning your right wrist. Then, take both hands to left to slide your horse’s shoulders over. Move the shoulders over only 1-2 inches.
• Now change to correct flexion by turning your left wrist.
• Move both arms to the right to pop the shoulders back out to the track.
• Smoothly and fluidly move the shoulders back and forth as you work your way down the long side.

Continue reading How to “Unstick” Your Horse’s Shoulders, by Jane Savoie →