Karen rides Solana and demonstrates how she uses a neck rope during dressage in order to create more lightness of the front end, or a taller neck. She will explain how a neck rope could be used also for basic stopping and turning, but in this video she uses it in a more refined way. This video is...

This video is of a demo and mini-clinic Karen did at Equine Affaire 2021, called All About Contact. These riders are new to Karen. In this part, you will hear Karen give an overview of her view about contact and see 4 riders go through a preliminary exercise to help improve the contact and connec...

Karen plays with her horse, Hot Shot, on long lines in order to improve his collectibility. He already knows how to collect and piaffe; now Karen wants him to increase the duration he does it.

Hot Shot is a typically low energy horse, so it is important that Karen motivates him to put in the eff...

Get the update on Teo! Use the Video Labels to find earlier videos of Teo and hear the back story.

In this video you will notice that he is no longer grinding his teeth from tension (yay!). He is also more confident to go forward. However, he still will show signs of tension which then cause him...

Karen coaches two students to do Hindquarter Yields - In Motion while riding. This movement is an important building block that will help you and your horse learn how to connect the inside hind with the outside shoulder (Essential Gymnastic Ability #5!). This skill, when refined, will help you in...

Watch Karen do a complete ride on Natilla. Karen will explain what she was doing and thinking during the ride. Karen is seeking to sustain her level of collectibility more consistently while touching on some more difficult movements. You will feel like you are there with Karen watching a typical ...

This video shows different stages of a ride Karen did on Ovation so you can see the difference in his posture and biomechanics as he increases his engagement. It’s so helpful to observe how one particular horse can transform within one ride. Of course Ovation is advanced, and developing this take...

Karen gives you the 3 questions that are in her mind when riding refined transitions. There are many ways to ride and use transitions when training your horse. This video is meant to help riders who have a sweet spot of working gaits and are wanting to be able to smoothly transition from one work...

Karen describes and shows different postures of stretched versus working versus collected. She includes a comparison of Working Gaits with the poll the highest point and with the poll low. Karen took video from some normal training sessions and describes the different postures she asked for at di...

It is not uncommon for some horses to 'hop' into the trot from the walk. This can happen for several reasons, but it's often related to tightness in the back or lack of thoroughness. Some horses just tend to do it by nature, but often I see it appear at a stage when riders are asking for more col...

Karen demonstrates how to ask your horse for more energy and effort in the walk. Horses often break gait into the trot and Karen will show you how to handle that. What Karen teaches here can also be applied when you ask your horse for more energy at the trot. In this video Karen is riding Hot Sho...

Karen coaches a rider through the Basic Alignment Exercise for the first time. Basic Alignment Exercise is one of the most powerful and fundamental exercises in Dressage Naturally. Once learned, this principle can be used to bring better balance and freedom of movement during basic and advanced m...

Karen coaches a rider through the beginning of Basic Alignment Exercise. Basic Alignment Exercise is one of the most powerful and fundamental exercises in Dressage Naturally. Once learned, the principle can be used to bring better balance and freedom of movement during basic and advanced movement...

This video shows how active transitions in and out of back ups can be very engaging. You will hear Karen narrate over video of Solana, Natilla and Ovation to show how this simple skill is important for more advanced movements later.

This video is good for anyone developing collectibility. It is ...

Karen coaches a student through a favorite exercise to build their skills for collectibility and engagement. The horse is a big mover that is not always so balanced and can get a bit 'gangly'. You will see them start the exercise of halting into a lateral position and you will see how his balance...

In this video, Karen coaches a person new to Dressage Naturally and Natural Horsemanship to find a more harmonious balance with her horse. She had spent over 15 years doing dressage and not being able to solve the problem of her horse pulling down very heavily in the contact. She said that her ot...

Watch as Karen coaches a rider through an exercise to give her a feeling of her horse becoming more engaged. This horse and rider have an excellent foundation and connection already, but the horse is built downhill, so when the rider tries to bring the horse up, they get stuck with a heavier cont...

This video shows you a 4-Step exercise that will help you check how much your seat connection works inside the connection with the reins. Sometimes it's easier to have a seat connection when riding with no reins, but it can be a challenge to keep that seat connection when the reins are there! Thi...

In this video, Karen demonstrates counter-bending exercises to do at the walk and trot that help in creating alignment, flexibility, and suppleness. This will help riders coordinate between bend and line of direction. These exercises are helpful for anyone who has working or collected gaits, and ...

This video is a continuation of the exercises in the video: Counter-Bend Exercise At The Trot (January 2018). Karen will show how to do bend and counter bend in the canter and counter canter. These exercises will build the rider’s coordination and skill in differentiating between cues for line of...

In this video we see DN Instructor, Shawna Lewis, riding a client’s jumping horse in a lesson with me to help him improve his canter. This is the first time I am seeing the horse and since he has a lot of mental and physical brace I decide to do an exercise at the walk in order to improve some of...

This video shows how a simple change of direction can be done in a way to promote greater suppleness by focusing on the exact moment when the horse changes from one bend to another. This will be great for any horse that has his basic yields and that has trouble with stiffness in the body or is no...

This video explains, in a nutshell, one of the most important concepts in the Dressage Naturally program: The Basic Alignment Exercise. Karen uses a clear visual example to explain it. This exercise is key to breaking free of trying to ‘hold your horse straight’ or ‘hold the bend on’ with stronge...

In this video, you will see Karen start a ride on Natilla. She will narrate what she is thinking as she transforms Natilla’s body from ‘just trotting around’ to stretching in a let-loose posture, aligned and free on a circle. Karen shows how even a subtle use of the Basic Alignment exercise can h...