Posture

These videos help you understand how to influence your horse's posture and gait. You can also look at the category: Biomechanics to find similar videos

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  • Effecting Posture Bridleless Demonstration - May 2023

    This is a video of a demonstration Karen did for the Artistic Dressage Symposium hosted by the Baroque Equestrian Games & Institute. Karen rides Natilla bridleless to show how much one can improve the posture and balance of the horse without using reins. Even if you never ride without something o...

  • Improving The Relationship With The Reins - Aug 2023

    In this video you will see Karen coach a student who’s horse has a less-than-positive connection with the reins. The reins have been used for speed control and balance and the horse has adopted a defensive posture which further disrupts the balance, setting the weight more on the forehand and run...

  • Empower Your Rider Position - Dec 2022

    Karen walks you through a protocol for starting to improve your position. These exercises will leave you feeling empowered and better able to make improvements in your riding position.

  • Concepts For Improving Posture & Position - Dec 2022

    This video pulls out some of the concepts behind many of Karen’s exercises, particularly from the video: Empower Your Rider Position. These concepts apply to how to train your horse. Once you know these concepts, you will start to notice them being used in many of Karen’s videos, even if she does...

  • Playing With Neck Posture From The Ground - Apr 2021

    In this video, Karen demonstrates how she teaches horses to play with their neck posture. She will show you a horse that does it from a very light cue, one that does it but needs a little more help, and then shows how she plays with a horse who is learning this for the first time. This is a great...

  • Shortening Your Reins To Allow Collection - June 2021

    Karen explains why arm position and shortening of the reins can be helpful when asking your horse for collection

  • Using A Neck Rope While Riding - Oct 2021

    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...

  • All About Contact Equine Affaire Part 1 - Dec 2021

    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...

  • Active Neutral In Haunches In - Dec 2021

    In this video, Karen coaches a student to achieve more lightness of aids in haunches in. This rider and horse are capable, but tend to get sticky and use more aids than ideal. This video will help anyone doing lateral work, and you can apply this concept of finding Active Neutral to any exercise ...

  • Learning Hindquarter Yields In Motion - June 2019

    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...

  • Shoulder In Exercise: Get In - Get Out - June 2019

    Karen coaches two riders through a favorite lateral exercise. This exercise can be done for any lateral position (nose to the wall leg yield, shoulder-in, haunches-in, renvers, counter shoulder-in). In this video, we use counter shoulder-in. This exercise will create balance and responsiveness. I...

  • Clear Confident Communication - July 2019

    In this powerful video Karen explores the Big Picture of communication with your horse, from the first goal of creating 'comfortable transportation' and how to take it forward into more complex, refined communication. The emphasis is on clarity and being able to be quiet and neutral. First she wi...

  • Karen Narrates A Ride On Natilla with Moderate Collectibility - July 2019

    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 ...

  • Basic Alignment Exercise at the Trot Laurel - Sept 2019

    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...

  • Starting Basic Alignment Exercise with Rhonda - Sept 2019

    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...

  • Using Back Ups To Activate & Engage - Oct 2019

    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 ...

  • Corners and Transitions To Lighten Forehand - Oct 2019

    Karen coaches a dressage rider though several exercises to help the horse develop a more uphill posture and light forehand. Exercises include using transitions and corners.

    This video is great for anyone who has solid working gaits and is playing with developing more collectibility.

  • Building Skills For Engagement - Oct 2019

    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...

  • Different Postures with Solana - Nov 2019

    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...

  • Creating Self Carriage At The Canter - Dec 2019

    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...

  • Exercise For Beginning Engagement - Dec 2019

    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...

  • Engaged Transitions from Collected Walk - Feb 2018

    Karen rides Natilla to demonstrate a way she plays with developing more engagement during transitions from the collected walk. This will be good for anyone with Working Gaits that is working on Collectibility.

  • Stretching Bridleless - Mar 2018

    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...

  • Collectibility with Hot Shot In One Ride - Apr 2018

    Witness one complete ride without edits. Karen will set a timer for 24 minutes. You will see just how much she can get done while still giving the horse plenty of breaks. The theme is 'efficient and effective'. It is a great video to really see an entire session and observe the decisions she make...