Royal Riding Academy Association

05/06/2026

"Get coaching ! Let another expert evaluate your training . I can save you lots of going down tge wrong path ." Elizabeth Winegard Hancock Thanks. https://www.facebook.com/share/17NK5QSWLE/

I had been working him for six weeks and I could not figure out why he was getting worse instead of better. He was leaving the round pen at a trot when he arrived at a walk. He was harder to catch. He was tensing at things that had not bothered him before. I brought in a horsemanship coach I trusted to watch us work for thirty minutes. She said nothing for the entire session. When I stopped she was quiet for another moment and then she said your timing is too late and your pressure doesn't release soon enough and the horse is learning that the only way things get better is if he creates enough distance from you. She said it calmly. Not cruelly. Accurately. I had been teaching him to be afraid of me one session at a time. Not out of cruelty. Out of imprecision. Out of not seeing what I was actually communicating. That conversation happened two years ago. I stopped working that horse entirely for three weeks. I started over from the beginning with a different framework. Today he meets me at the gate. Today his ear is on me from across the pasture. Today he is the horse he should have been six weeks in if my timing had been better. The horse was not the problem. I was the problem. That realization is the most important thing that ever happened to my horsemanship. 🐴

05/05/2026

Looking for a lead line pony
And accepting donations message if you can help with this project ! Thanks

gift of this logo apreciated by all of us

04/21/2026

The first rule https://www.facebook.com/share/1BqXEyD9GQ/

We have a saddle pad addiction. And headstalls. And, well, you get the idea. Perhaps there's a support group for us somewhere. 🤣

02/26/2026

We need to be very mindfully of our body's ability and limits building it up not damaging it.

In a 2014 interview Mark was asked about disengaging the horse’s hindquarters; a commonly practiced maneuver in the Natural Horsemanship world. At his clinics Mark had faced many challenges in helping horses who had been habitually disengaged; ranging from stifle injuries, tight musculatures in the horse’s forearms, lower spines and hind ends, anxiety, and even dangerous and reactive behaviors.

According to Mark the lesson of disengagement, and the reason for avoiding its overuse, is a simple one and critical to both the horse’s well being and advancement.

Disengagement is a popular maneuver whose purpose is to gain control of the horses hindquarters with the intent that it can help ensure safety if a dangerous situation arises. Teaching the maneuver thus has its place; however repetitive disengagement of the hindquarters can hinder advancement in the horse’s development. Specifically its practice can create challenges when the rider begins to introduce biomechanically healthy movements or when the rider simply becomes more deeply attuned into the physical and psychological needs of their horses. It can create soundness issues as well as confidence issues that are revealed to the rider upon attempts to unify the horse’s body, and upon beginning to seek balance and engagement.

Mark had several concerns about this maneuver: in a 2014 interview Mark was asked to clarify three of them:

“First, the process of disengagement over-stretches the muscles of the horse’s hind quarters. In turn this overstretching — along with the limitations of his muscles, tendons, and ligaments — block his inside hind leg from flexing to capture and hold his weight. As his inside hind leg is placed too deeply underneath him; past the point of balance, it again prevents him from effectively utilizing it. He not only cannot hold his weight on it due to its placement but also because his anatomical structures have been pushed to the maximum of their ability to safely accommodate such an extreme request. He has now been placed at significant risk for soft tissue damage and concussion. His hind end musculature and lower back will tighten as he will be trying to protect himself against injury.
Second, disengagement places the horse on his forehand as the horse has had his ability to balance interrupted. As his hind end has been ‘taken out from underneath him’ his weight must transfer to his forequarters for him to be able to stay upright. Now the horse needs to rely on his shoulders to carry more of his weight; something he is not designed to do especially while carrying the weight of a rider. Not only is his is thoracic sling and chest driven in a downward direction, he cannot correct this as his hind end and lower back muscles are now too tight for him to reach underneath himself. A horse that has been placed onto his forehand with a compromised hind end will have difficulty with upward transitions. These horses often attempt to race into trot to canter transitions in an awkward attempt to get their hind quarters sufficiently underneath their cores to do so. An already anxious horse will attempt to scramble to regain balance and is often seen as a ‘runaway’ either on line or under saddle.
Third, by definition disengagement of the hindquarters takes the ‘forward’ out of the horse. As disengagement teaches him that he cannot go forward; any subsequent teaching to do so becomes quite difficult. He will have no idea what is being asked for, and by virtue has been placed in a quandary as not only are his muscles now tight, he is now on his forehand; effectively set up to fail. He will have a difficult time being successful and as a result may become confused and frustrated; inclining him to rear, buck, or otherwise resist as the rider attempts to further his education.”

Mark reminds us that horses habituate to what we teach them both physically and psychologically. Any time the horse is stressed his trust, confidence, and ability to relax and focus will be compromised. The practice of disengagement is particularly risky with young horses who have not yet fully developed, and for horses who have not been gradually and progressively developed gymnastically. Additionally as a flight animal if he is unable to balance and be free to move, he will never relax fully. Introduce your young horse and your retraining horse to good biomechanics in a relaxed frame of mind each time you work with him and he will be much sounder and more successful. Teaching disengagement is certainly useful, however habitually practicing it becomes detrimental.

Excerpts from a 2014 interview with Mark Russell by Mary Ann Brewer of In the Company of Horses Inc..

02/24/2026

Energy directed and understood https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AZPDrWWLf/

THE CLARITY OF ENERGY

There is a lot of discussion and lecturing about the use of energy when working with horses. Energy is certainly a factor in being an effective rider. But energy in itself does not tell a horse what to do or how to do it.

For instance, I can ask my horse to canter while using so little energy that an observer would think my horse and I were using telepathy. Yet, in the next moment, I might explode with energy while trying to shoo away a wasp that was buzzing around me, and my horse would ignore the sudden eruption of energy.

It is not energy or the amount of energy that my horse responded to. It is the way I applied the energy. Energy in itself has nothing to teach a horse. The role of energy is simply to engage a horse’s thoughts to search for an answer. When we apply no energy, it should indicate the horse does not need to do anything. A little energy might mean it should check in with us and try to figure out what our question might be. A lot of energy should tell a horse that there needs to be some urgency in answering the question we ask.

To be clear, the role of energy is to inspire a horse to search for a response. However, when applied with clarity, a small amount of energy can be far more effective in creating the desired response.

I bring this up because I know when we are stuck in getting a change in a horse, many of us bring out the “big guns”. When our horse is unresponsive to our forward aids, we reach for a whip or spurs. When it won’t stop or slow, we use a bigger bit. All are designed to add more energy in the hope that we are more effective. But if we don’t apply that energy (big or small) with sufficient clarity, we only add to our horse’s confusion and stress.

But how to add more clarity?

Definition: Clarity is when our intent is unambiguous to a horse. A lack of clarity is when a horse is unsure of our intent.

An example of clarity might be if I asked you what time is it now in New Zealand? This question has a very specific, unambiguous answer. The word “now” tells you the time I refer to. The mention of New Zealand tells you the time zone I am asking about.

But an example of a lack of clarity would be if I asked you what day is today? This question has multiple possible answers. It could be Friday, or it could be my birthday, or it could be laundry day, or it could be “International Hug An Aussie Day”. The question is ambiguous, and the clarity is poor. You would be confused and stressed because the correct response is unclear. It wouldn’t matter how loudly or how much energy I applied to the question, the answer would still be unclear.

The other aspect of clarity is to always ask a horse a question for which the answer is close to what it already knows. The purpose of energy is to inspire a horse to search for an answer. Clarity is only possible if the answer it is searching for is already within its realm of choices. Eg, if a horse has never pulled a cart, you don’t begin the harness lesson by using energy to force it pull a wagon. You begin with groundwork, leading exercises, long reining, etc. Clarity is only possible if the horse already understands how to offer the response we want. You can’t expect a horse to perform a piaffe if it does not know all the steps in the training that lead up to performing a piaffe.

Clarity involves asking a horse questions that have answers close to what it already knows. This is very important because asking a horse questions that it can’t answer stimulates anxiety and triggers survival behaviours.

So why does a small change in my body tension suggest to my horse to think about a canter, but a huge explosion of energy to shoo a wasp away triggers no change in my horse? Why does a pony trot when its rider bumps their leg against the pony’s side, but ignore the bump of the legs every time the unbalanced rider flaps around in the saddle?

The answer is not the amount of energy, but the clarity with which we apply the energy - big or small.

Photo: Gel showing her horse energy but maybe not much clarity.

02/22/2026

Gait Analysis and training for improvement and leadt possible stress within abilities of horse. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18LkjNpy7q/

One of my favourite techniques to assess a client horse is to walk backwards infront of them, drawing them towards me on a small circle (perhaps 6-10m diameter). Sometimes I will watch an owner do the same.

From this position I can see
- the motion of their spine as it flows from their nose to tail, where it is fluid and where it is stuck
- The rotation of their rib cage, haunches and shoulders, whether it aligns with or is counter to the bend, how that changes in each phase of the stride
- How each leg tracks through space and then how it lands - whether it steps long or short, shallow or wide, how it is weighted or wobbled, toe scuffs, differences in the sound of the hooves as they hit the ground.
- Whether the head, shoulders or quarters fall in or out
- The expression of the horses face in each phase of the stride and on each direction of the circle
- and much, much more.

These small circles have great value beyond just assessment. They can be a valuable warmup before other work and they are similar to the foundational steps for multiple "systems" of classical inhand dressage.

I don't continue with this assessment if the horse can't atleast attempt it comfortably - I'm generous with slowing down, increasing the size of the circle, stopping etc

I consider it contraindicated for horses who I know have hock arthritis or are noticeably footy.

02/16/2026

Arts and Crafts
For Sale
Made in Camp or Donated by Famous Artist and Patrons .!
All proceeds go to the Horses and Ponys

12/31/2025

Buddy sour horses must keep their attention on you not others horses its that simple
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HVHWjJb7D/

A buddy sour horse isn’t just annoying. It’s dangerous. When a horse is buddy sour, their brain isn’t with the rider. It’s locked onto another horse. Their focus isn’t on the trail, the footing, the obstacle ahead, or the cue you just gave. It’s on where their friend is and how fast they can get back to them.

That lack of independent thinking is where accidents happen. A buddy sour horse will blow past pressure, rush through gates, spin without warning, bolt toward the herd, or refuse to move away, not because they’re being “mean,” but because anxiety has taken over their decision-making. They stop evaluating what’s in front of them. Rocks, holes, traffic, fences, uneven ground, all become secondary to reuniting with their buddy.

This is especially dangerous for less experienced riders, kids, or anyone riding in tight spaces or on trails. A sudden spin, rear, or bolt doesn’t give you time to react. And because the horse isn’t mentally present, normal corrections often escalate the situation instead of fixing it.

A horse that can’t think for itself can’t be relied on in unpredictable situations. Independence is safety. A good horse should be able to leave the group, lead, follow, or ride alone without panic. That doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy company. It means they trust the rider more than the herd.

Buddy sour behavior isn’t something to laugh off or excuse as “just how they are.” It’s a training and confidence issue that deserves attention. Because when a horse is focused on another horse instead of the rider, you’re not really riding, you’re just along for the ride.

12/06/2025

Boots women's
Aairat tan size 8 and a half
Black Justin size 9 and a half
Like new $75 per pair

11/23/2025

Barn sale $25.