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Resources for Deirdre Davenport
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Stopping Saddle Squeaks

Stopping Saddle Squeaks There’s nothing worse than riding around the arena in a saddle that’s so loud that everyone can hear you coming. The solution is simple. Take some baby powder and sprinkle it between
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Prepare To Ride Bridle-Less With Neck Rope

Is your horse well-trained, and you’re ready to add a neck rope to your riding regimen, in preparation to go bridle-less? Clinician Julie Goodnight recommends riding with a neck rope and your bridle to know
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Cleaning Saddle Pads

Cleaning Saddle Pads Here’s a quick tip for keeping your saddle pads clean and comfortable for your horse. Many people prefer to use a very thin “sweat pad” underneath the regular pad, made of an
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Saddle Pad Care

Keep your saddle pad in top shape While hanging saddle pads upside down to dry and air out may keep your tack room from getting stinky, it does not do much for the shape of
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Desensitizing A Horse To Clippers

Tip for Clippers There are many stimuli that can cause a horse to be anxious and fearful about the clippers—the sound, the smell, the vibration, even the cord laying on the ground like a snake.
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Split Reins

  Split rein hold Split reins are commonly used by western riders and there are several ways to hold them– the two-handed trainer’s hold (with the reins bridged and both reins in both hands), one-handed
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Habitual Behavior Of Horses

Behavior Mod for Horses Horses are creatures of habit and routine. Sometimes an unwanted behavior can become a bad habit after only one or two displays. Often riders are surprised by the first one or
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Horse Refusing To Move Forward

Rein Hold for a Balking Horse A balking horse is one that refuses to move forward in response to normal cues, usually because you are asking him to go somewhere he doesn’t want to go.
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Keep A Balking Horse Moving Forward

     Keep A Balking Horse Moving Forward A balking horse is one that refuses to move forward in response to normal cues– usually because you’re asking him to go somewhere he doesn’t want to go.
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Kick Zone

Out of Kick Zone Here’s a quick tip for staying safe while doing groundwork with any horse and especially when working around young or green horses. Always keep in mind that a horse can reach
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Catch And Hold

Catch and Hold When you approach a horse out in the field to catch him, be prepared with your halter and lead rope ready. Approach toward the horse’s shoulder—not directly in front of the horse,
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Off-The-Track Thoroughbred Habits

Off-the-track Thoroughbred Habits Many ex-race horses are adopted by recreational riders. While it’s great that these horses have a new lease on life, it helps to know how horses on the track are trained, ridden
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Trailering Safety With Leg Wraps

  Trailering Safety with Leg Wraps Protecting your horse’s leg during trailering or shipping is cheap insurance. As a hose rides in a trailer, there are constant challenges to his balance and on occasion he
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Stall Kept Horse Care

“Horses are extremely adaptable animals and can manage well in just about any climate—that’s one reason why they’ve managed to adapt to civilization and thrive even after they were no longer needed as beast of
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Winter Tack Care

“Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you should put up with dirty tack. Use a crock pot in your tack room to warm up your tack oil before cleaning time. You’ll have nice warm oil
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Transitions

Set Up For Success: set up cones to help you plan transitions There’s an old saying in horsemanship: “All of training occurs in transitions.” A transition occurs any time you ask your horse to speed
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Connecting Reins To The Bit

A Bit of Comfort “When connecting reins to the bit, I prefer to use a leather to leather connection for softness and a better feel. While having metal snaps in the ends of your reins
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Help For Stomping

Stop horses from stomping Flies can be a constant source of irritation to your horse in the summer. If your horse is spending most of his time biting, stomping and kicking at flies, he could
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Bridle Path Trimming

Bridle path trimming Here’s a quick tip about clipping your horse’s bridle path. Although bridle path length varies in expectations with breed and discipline, in general, less is more. For Quarter Horse and Thoroughbred type
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Stomping At Flies

If your horses are constantly stomping and kicking at flies, their actions could be causing unnecessary wear and tear on their joints. Flies also carry disease by transporting infectious agents to humans and horses.  In
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Halter Fit

The Right Fit  Is your horse’s halter too snug or too loose? Does it hang down around his nose or squeeze his face, rubbing the hair away? Do you fit a rope halter the same
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Disengagement

Disengagement Disengagement of the hindquarters occurs when your horse crosses his hind legs. Your horse’s “motor” is in his hind end. So, when his hind legs cross, the engine is in neutral; your horse stops
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Does Your Bit Fit?

Check Your Bit Fit Most riders either inherit a bit when they purchase a horse or do their best to pick one off the shelf. But how many riders actually check the fit of their
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Save Your Horse’s Mouth, Stop With Your Seat

Save Your Horse’s Mouth, Stop with Your Seat You probably learned to “kick to go” and “pull to whoa” from the very start of your riding career. While this simplistic view of communicating with your
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Showing Affection To Horses

Before you start smooching on your horse, it may be useful to understand how horses show affection to each other. Mutual grooming (a.k.a. allo-grooming) is the primary affectionate behavior of horses that isn’t related to
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Coordinated Grooming

Grooming is a great time to get some exercise and develop the bi-lateral coordination and symmetrical strength that you need to become a better rider. Many riders have a strong dominant side—which can mean that
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Confidence Boost, Overcoming Fear

Fear Not Fear is a normal emotion to have around horses; it’s what keeps you from doing something that could be deadly. There’s nothing wrong with being afraid at times; but fear is a negative
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Pronation And Riding Position For A Pain-Free Ride

Disjointed Riders Do you suffer from leg, knee and ankle pain or numbness while riding? As you ride, your legs are spread in an unnatural position, causing pressure on your ankle, knee and hip joints.
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