Advanced English Riding. Sharon Biggs

      

      Karla Austin, Business Operations Manager

      Nick Clemente, Special Consultant

      Barbara Kimmel, Managing Editor

      Jessica Knott, Production Supervisor

      Amy Stirnkorb, Designer

      Indexed by Melody Englund

      Cover photo: © Moira C. Harris

      The additional photos in this book are by © CLiX Photography, pp. 10, 22, 44, 54, 60, 66, 96, 123, 140, 144, 149, 150, 158, 160, 162, 168, 172, 175, 176, 181; © Moira C. Harris, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 38, 41, 45, 47, 48, 51, 53, 56, 57, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 68, 69, 71, 74, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 84, 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93, 95, 98, 100, 101, 102, 121, 125, 126, 128, 132, 133, 134, 136, 137, 138, 152, 153, 154, 156, 170, 171, 179; © Amber Heintzberger, 8, 27, 104, 106, 107, 109, 111, 113, 114, 115, 116, 142,145, 164, 166, 178; © Lesley Ward, 30, 36, 118, 120, 124, 130, 147, 182, 188, 196

      The horses in this book are referred to as she and he in alternating chapters unless their sexes are apparent from the activity discussed.

      Copyright © 2007 by I-5 Press™

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of I-5 Press™, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Biggs, Sharon, 1966–

      The horse illustrated guide to advanced English riding / by Sharon Biggs.

      p. cm.

      Includes bibliographical references and index.

      ISBN 978-1-931993-88-3

      eISBN 978-1-937049-43-0

      1. Horsemanship. I. Title.

      SF309.B54 2007

      798.2’3—dc22

      2007000320

      I-5 Press™

      A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™

      3 Burroughs

      Irvine, California 92618

      Printed and bound in Singapore

      16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

      Dedication

      For my parents, who encouraged me to become a rider and a writer; and for Mark, my lifelong riding partner.

      Contents

       Acknowledgments

       Introduction

       Chapter 1: Honing the Seat and Position

       Checking Your Seat

       Good Hands

       Riding the Gaits

       Chapter 2: The Half Halt

       The Anatomy of the Half Halt

       The Wrong Ways to Half Halt

       Chapter 3: Riding Within the Gaits

       Transitions

       The Training Pyramid, or Scale

       Collection

       Extensions

       Adjusting the Stride

       Flying Changes

       Chapter 4: Putting Your Horse on the Bit

       On the Bit

       How to Put a Horse on the Bit

       Test: Is Your Horse on the Bit?

       Troubleshooting

       Chapter 5: Riding Figures

       The Mechanics of Turning

       Diagonal Aids

       School Figure Tips

       Chapter 6: Lateral Work

       Suppling Exercises

       Two-Track Movements

       Chapter 7: Cavalletti and Ground Poles

       Exercises for Hunters and Jumpers

       Exercises for the Dressage Horse

       Chapter 8: Gridwork

       The No-Surprises Grid

       Incorporating Placing Poles and Cavalletti

       In and Outs

       Chapter 9: Cross-Country Jumping

       Cross-Country Basics

       Cross-Country Fences

       Chapter 10: