If I was in your position I would stop taking instruction from this person. If she asked why I would tell her. Flat out. And if she still claims that she's right present the "evidence" including her own husband's opinion. And tell her that you want to progress beyond where you are and in order to do that you need additional high level instruction. Then, I'd take that lesson money, invest in the books and videos that others have mentioned here. And take clinics to refine those

We used to do STB retraining. Some pacers will never pace a single step without a harness on. While others will never trot no matter what you do. I had one pacer that was a world record holding pacer. That horse never took a single step of a pace under saddle. I had another horse who would pace, trot, and do an awesome running walk. And I had one that would never trot no matter what you did. If you can get your hands on the book "Retraining the Standardbred" by Robbin Cuffey it will be

I don't care what discipline it is . . . it is ALWAYS the inside hind leg. All movements (other than actually backing) should be FORWARD motion. Pivoting around the inside hind leg is FORWARD. Pivoting around the outside hind leg is BACKWARD. Try a similar excercise to what you'ver tried. Plant your right foot. Use your left foot to propel you to the right. You'll be moving FORWARD. Now plant your left foot. Attempt to use your right leg to propel you around to the right. You'll be

I prefer the Jim Taylor saddles. Bobs are great too. You can find either used for under $2k. If you're looking for new, you may want to check out Continental Saddlery. I know it's not a well known brand but they are a GREAT saddle. Every once in a while you can find one on ebay that had a slight defect (like a mark on a fender) so they can't sell it "new". I have picked up several there for under $1,000 and have been able to re-sell them to reiners at a good profit. They are

We're here in OKC and it has been COLD for this Florida girl! Other than still being cold (hahaha) it has been an AWESOME Thanksgiving Day. We didn't get any turkey. In fact, I had a mostly cold chicken burrito about 5 pm and that's pretty much it until about half an hour ago when we went to Denny's for French toast. No cranberry sauce or stuffing. No football games on tv or touch football in the front yard. Heck, not even the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade on our tv (though I

I leave in a couple of days for Oklahoma City and the NRHA Futurity and Affiliate Nationals. I'm so excited. I haven't been there in a long while. Chase (my son) is showing in the Rookie Pro class. He's excited and nervous. The horse he's riding, One Grand Cow, is awesome. Gorgeous bay with quite a personality. I love Cow, such a sweetie. We get to eat Thanksgiving dinner at the arena. Heck, for me it just doesn't seem like a holiday if there isn't a horse show involved. LOL

I agree! I love the Schneiders blankets. They are very well made and pretty much always on sale. They're all we've used for years. http://www.sstack.com I love their adjustable necks. We have QHs, reiners mainly, and the necks are always too big on other blankets. Most of Schneiders blankets have take ups on the necks which makes them fit really well.

What I have found to be the problem most of the time is with the rider. You may be leaning (either to one side or forward). Your horse is trying to either rebalance or get out from under you to keep from being unbalanced. Make sure you are sitting perfectly straight, don't lean over. Since you're using a solid gate, use a rope on the gate so you can control the gate without having to lean. Keep your outside leg on the horse, no rein other than to direct.

I won't say they are illegal everywhere, but I don't know of any association that will allow a twisted mouth bit in western events. Always check with the association you're showing under. Open shows usually go by AQHA rules. AQHA does not allow twisted wire in western events.

That bit is legal. It doesn't really extend below the mouthpiece like an extension or prong. It's just a connector. If it was illegal then pretty much all correction bits would be illegal and they're not. The rule book means a real protusion below the mouthpiece.