Michaela Hempen

Hi, There are, of course, many more lessons and details around leading skills that we could look at. The more you work on it, the lighter your horse gets, the more elegant your communication and connection. It will continue to evolve over the (hopefully long) time that you and your horse work together. But instead … Read more

Hi, The opposite exercise to “Backing in a Square” is the “Wall exercise”. In Backing in a Square, you ask your horse to take the head to the off-side and the hindquarters towards you. Whereas in the “Wall exercise”, you request a give or flexion to the inside and the hindquarters move away from you. … Read more

Hi, The Runway is a ‘complete’ lesson as it contains fine rope communication, “magnetising” the mat, leaving the mat and a break. Going through the Runway lesson, you will probably find yourself in the situation that your horse is not lined up well to get to the mat. What to do? If you go straight, … Read more

Hi, As we have seen in the last email, Malou’s turns would have benefitted from a “magnetised” mat that pulls her forward after the tight turn. An excellent lesson to get this “tractor-beam effect” is ​Alexandra Kurland’s “Runway lesson”​ to teach her foundation lesson “Standing on a mat”. In a nutshell, you set out a … Read more