Introducing Theory Thursdays!

So Theory Thursdays is beginning! This section of the website was born out of the realization that too many riders learn to ride in a school scenario; they show up, tack up their horse, ride, and put the horse away again. Everything from which horse the ride to what they do while they're riding is dictated for them. Many of these students never have the opportunity to learn even the most basic horsemanship skills (what does that horse eat?). And if they then, being reasonably competent riders, go out and purchase their own horses, they are completely unprepared for the responsibility.

As my regular students know, I smuggle theory into my lessons on a fairly regular basis, and I fully expect them to think about what they're doing and why. But I've discovered not everybody has a coach who does that, and I can't teach nearly as much theory in a lesson as I might like since I have to also teach you how to *ride* somewhere in there, so this is the compromise.

Now, every Thursday, a new theory lesson will be posted. Where appropriate, the content will be divided into beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. We will cover a wide range of general knowledge, horse care, stable management, and riding theory with the syllabus drawing liberally from the Pony Club and EC Rider Level curriculum.

Writing style will be that of my blogs... Which is to say long and somewhat random :) But hopefully informative!

Enjoy! As always, comments very welcome!