Dave Murphy and Zoe: Update 3

25th October

Good afternoon this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I thought I would give you a little update on Dave Murphy because we have gotten to a good place with her. Dave has been working with me once a week for a little over eight months. As you all have seen, Dave has learned to lunge his horse correctly and has come a long way!

When Dave first started riding this horse, the thing that I was immediately struck by was how uncomfortable she was carrying his weight. This horse really needed to work to build up enough strength to carry him. She certainly is big enough to carry him once she has been conditioned. What I wanted to point out today was how lovely and free her walk has become! I am no longer seeing the horse struggling to carry …



Will Faerber’s Book Club: If Horses Could Speak

23rd October

Hi this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and and I am here this morning with my buddy Zoolander to do another episode of our book club.

These are a couple of books that should be on every modern rider’s shelf. Starting of with “If Horses Could Speak” which is not a book but a DVD including it’s companion, the book “Tug Of War: Classical Versis Modern Dressage” by Dr. Gerd Heuschman. These books have really saved me a lot of talking because I have been teaching this style of riding of teaching horses to get correct over their back and stretch and relaxation for many many years. I was happy when I found these books because I found a veterinarian who actually explains it. There’s actually an older explanation by a veterinarian which you might want to check out as well named …



Tanya and Soleil: Recognizing The Working Trot

13th October

Good morning this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I am here in Orange County today with Tanya and her horse Soleil. Soleil has been working with me for about six months now. Soleil started out not so good and unsound due to bad feet and a bad back. I wanted her to help you a little bit today.

We had a question come in asking for help: “I feel my horse stretching down but it feels like it’s on the forehand”. It’s going to feel a little on the forehand in the beginning but the main thing is whether the horse is swinging through behind or not. That will tell you whether or not the horse will develop correctly or not. Tanya has just begun to be able to do this and today is actually the first day that she …



Zoolander Working Trot

11th October

Good morning this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I am here with my wife Karen and our project horse Zoolander. Zoolander is developing quite nicely across the topline and stretching into the contact, so today we are going to show you what it’s like to bring the horse up and find how high we can develop the working trot before the horse drops it’s back.

We find the horse’s position in the stretch and then all you have to do is simply bring the poll up as high as you can without the horse losing it’s back, that is what the rider’s goal is. This will tell you what the horse is ready to do because it will drop it’s back if you bring it up too high. Then we are going to try a little sitting trot to see …



Zoolander Canter

11th October

Good morning this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and today we are giving you an update on Zoolander. Zoolander is our rescue horse that had been given to us because his owner was convinced that he was dangerous. What we discovered was that the horse was basically running away from pain: his saddle was killing him, his back was killing him and his feet were in terrible shape. That is the biggest thing that we have had to deal with for the last three months that we have had him is just getting his feet to the point where he is sound enough and comfortable enough on his feet to be able to be worked. You can find a video about our horseshoer Kenny Lyon and getting Zoolander straightened out in our videos.

Today we are going to show you where …



Contigo: 20 Year Old Stallion

8th October

Good morning this is Will Faerber from Art2Ride and I am here with my wife Karen and the horse Contigo.

Contigo is a Holsteiner stallion who unfortunately developed a foot infection when he was very young, so he was never really able to train more than a couple months before his feet would blow apart. We have been rehabbing him for about three years now with many thanks to our Master farrier Kenny Lyon (who I will do another video on next time he is here explaining the process he has gone through with him).  This horse is now going to be twenty years old this year! After three years of rehabbing, he is back to looking like a four year old. He is going absolutely beautifully, stretching into the contact as you can see there, and look how his back end is moving.

When we started …




From the Blog!

Join me as I post weekly blogs covering many topics relating to Classical Foundation Training. I have intentionally left out the word "dressage" because many people have a negative association with the prevalent "crank and spank" approach or that it is a sport for only those who are afraid to jump.

Dressage as it is meant to be is an understanding of how to best optimize a horse's movement and ability to carry a rider, surely a benefit for any horse, any discipline. It is also important in maintaining your horse's safety, soundness and sanity.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Marnie: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Marnie gives her yearly update for 2021.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Ryanne: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Ryanne gives her yearly update for 2021.

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Program: Marie: 2021 Yearly Submission

Art2Ride Associate Trainer Marie gives her yearly update for 2021.