Horse and Rider

WHAT FATIGUE DOES TO MOVEMENT

A tired horse does not simply perform the same movement with less enthusiasm. Fatigue can alter force production, coordination and stride-to-stride consistency, but it does not create one universal pattern. Movement depends on more than strength Every stride requires the nervous system to recruit muscles in the right sequence and at the right intensity. The horse…

BylizzieAugust 3, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider Horse Health

YOUR HORSE MAY BE TIRED BEFORE HE LOOKS TIRED

Fatigue is not confined to a horse who is blowing hard at the end of a session. It can appear much earlier, and far more subtley, as a loss of strength, coordination, consistency or willingness. What do we mean by fatigue? In ordinary equestrian conversation, we tend to recognise fatigue only at its most obvious: a…

BylizzieAugust 2, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider

THE RIDER IN THE EQUATION: WHAT PERSONALITY RESEARCH SAYS ABOUT HORSE WELFARE

A German study of nearly 500 equestrians has found that a rider's self-esteem, empathy and adaptability measurably shape how horse-centred their riding is, and how their horse experiences the relationship. It is one of the more useful welfare studies to come out in a while, because it turns the lens away from the horse and…

BylizzieJuly 7, 20260Comments

Image for Unbridled Challenge Bridleless Show at Stellenbosch District Riding Club

Horse and Rider

BEYOND THE BIT: WHAT BRIDLELESS RIDING REALLY ASKS OF YOU

Bridleless riding is having a moment. Earlier this year, Britain held what was billed as its first fully bridleless competition, with more than twenty riders jumping and doing dressage tests with nothing on their horses' heads, watched by a sold-out crowd and, once the clips went online, by hundreds of thousands more. A run of…

BylizzieJuly 3, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider

THE DSA CHALLENGE – NATIONAL DRESSAGE WITHOUT THE ROAD TRIP

For most South African dressage riders, 'competing nationally' has always come with a catch: the cost, the kilometres and the stress of loading a horse onto a truck and sending it across the country. The DSA Challenge was built to solve exactly that, and more than two decades on, it remains one of the quietly…

BylizzieJune 22, 20260Comments

Rainer Korber on 334 Sea of Stars at the Shongweni Aquelle Foresyte Winter Classic

Horse and Rider

CONGRATULATIONS TO RAY AND 334 SEA OF STARS

Rainer Korber and 334 Sea of Stars jumped clear in the mare's first 1.50m Grand Prix at the Aquelle Foresyte Winter Classic in Shongweni yesterday. By Stakkato out of a Calato mare, bred and campaigned under the 334 banner, the mare. "Team 334 are overjoyed," said Aisling Triggol. "Govett in particular, because he has always believed…

BylizzieJune 20, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider

YOU’RE NOT CROOKED; YOU’RE HUMAN

Have you ever looked at a photo or video of yourself riding and thought… Alejandra Gonzalez Why am I always sitting just a little to the left? You adjust. You centre yourself. You think you’ve fixed it. Then five minutes later, there you are again. Slightly off-centre. It’s frustrating, especially when you’re doing your best to ‘sit evenly’ in…

BylizzieMay 15, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider Horse Channel

BUILDING CONFIDENCE AFTER A FALL

Psychological strategies and progressive exercises for riders returning after falls Every rider falls eventually. This is not dramatic pessimism; it’s just statistics. Whether it is a simple loss of balance, a spectacular spook, a refusal you were not expecting, or something more serious, the moment you hit the ground, something shifts. What was once unconscious…

BylizzieMay 6, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider

SHOWJUMPING COURSE WALK STRATEGIES

How to walk a showjumping course effectively The rider who rushes through the course walk, barely glancing at fences, then wonders why distances feel awkward. The competitor who walks diligently but still gets lost mid-round, missing fence four entirely. The nervous showjumper who sees only terrifying heights rather than rideable lines. These scenarios play out…

BylizzieMay 5, 20260Comments

Horse and Rider

NOTES FROM ALEJANDRA GONZALEZ – RESPONSIBILITY

Responsibility always belongs to the one with the more complex nervous system. This idea has been on my mind as I hear more conversations about horses needing to self-regulate or take responsibility for their emotional state. These ideas usually come from good intentions. We want partnership, not control. Safety, not force. But horses are prey animals. A horse’s nervous system is…

BylizzieApril 27, 20260Comments

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