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Tex-Over Farms Articles

Tex-Over Farms Classical Dressage Articles


Paul Kathen, owner of Tex-Over Farms located between The Woodlands and Conroe north of Houston, TX,  is an award-winning author of several articles featured in the United States Dressage Federation publication USDF Connection. We offer you the following selection of Paul Kathen's many articles on various aspects of the art of riding and classical dressage.


Unless otherwise noted, Photography by K. McChesney

 


  The Half Halt
Half halts are the vocabulary of the language that both the horse and rider understand.
 
  From Natural to Second Nature
Article based on an earlier version which appeared in the American Association for Horsemanship Safety Newsletter, Winter 2000 issue...
 
  If You Don't, Your Horse Won't
"This means if you want something from your horse, you must first give it to your horse in order to receive it."
 
  With Horses Everybody is a Student and a Trainer
Klaus Balkenhol, Olympic Gold Medalist and trainer of the German National Team, once stated that one lifetime is not enough to learn all there is to know about horses, and I agree.
 
  Must A Horse Be Heavy Before He Becomes Light?
Heaviness in a horse is usually the result of loss of balance or the horse’s desire to remain in its natural balance.
 
  Setting Goals and Planning Your Work to Train a Horse
Plan your work and work your plan.
 
  Schoolmasters
Schoolmasters are the riding instructors’ best tool available; however, I believe they are often used too early in a student’s career.
 
  Riding - A Dialogue Between Horse and Rider
There is this myth that very well trained horses are easy to ride. Most of them are not!
 
  The Aids - A System of Communicating With Your Horse
It is my goal to take a more simplified look into the theory about the way we talk to our horses.
 
  The Independent Seat
Yes it can happen. Even an experienced rider who is of sound mind and perfectly conscious can fall off a standing horse.
 
  Why God Wants Us to Ride Horses
Horses are such beautiful animals, and when properly trained, they are perfect for riding.
 
  The Training Scale
Among the serious students or participants of Dressage there are few who are not aware of the Training Scale and its importance in training and riding a Dressage horse.
 
  Motivating Horses
They are so generous toward us, yet they are equally demanding of us.
 
  Dressage, Where Are You Going?
Dressage as an international sport is still very young.
 
  Arena Rules
When observing these rules you will find it amazing how many horses can work in a relatively small arena without getting in the way of each other.
 
  Teaching Riding and Learning to Ride
To me the most important talent a riding instructor has to have is the ability to adapt to the many personalities she encounters during a busy day of teaching.
 
  Developing "Feel" in the Saddle
Our saddles are designed to give the rider much more freedom for seat and legs to be able to feel the horse’s movement and to better communicate with him.
 
  Exercises - Their Purpose and Correct Execution
The purpose of all that hard work of schooling is to create a horse that is supple, obedient, rhythmic in its gaits, and in spite of its powerful and expressive movement, comfortable to ride.
 
  Dedicated to the Horse
In an ideal world, “Dedication to the horse,” would be the motto of every individual or organization involved with horses.
 
  Classical Dressage and Technology
The sport of dressage has so much to offer to the person who truly appreciates athletic performance.
 
  Lightness - An Elusive Quality
I am defining the weight of the connection between the rider’s hands and the horse’s mouth. We want it to be light but not so light that we are disconnected.
 
  Impulsion - Essential but Often Misunderstood
For the purpose of dressage it describes energy as well as a positive attitude.
 
  Equestrian Sports - Alive and Well (Move Over Hitcock)
As far as suspense is concerned the jumpers were not to be outdone and held everybody in a spell until the last jump of the last horse in both the team and the individual competitions.
 
  Straightness - Equal Balance on Both Hands
Imagine a young horse, new to saddle and rider, adjusting for balance and equillibrium...
 
  Balance - Elusive But Not A Secret!
In riding, without balance nothing seems to work well; certainly not with ease and lightness.
 
  Anticipation - Both Natural and Needed
The horse, unless told differently by his rider, anticipates the turn and prepares to lean through it the way Mother Nature intended...
 
  Are Dressage Riders Unfair to Their Horses?
If there is unfairness it lies not in the need to change the horse’s balance but in the rider’s reaction to such difficult situations.
 
  Sequential but Simultaneous

If this were a discussion about any scientific topic the headline would have to be considered a contradiction.

 


Tex-Over Farms
13217 Kidd Road, Conroe, TX 77302
Phone (936) 273-2416
Fax (936) 273-2401

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