In Hand exercises help the horse both physically and mentally, developing them to be more strong, supple, and balanced in their body as well as calm and focused in their mind.
Through In Hand work, we teach the horse to be aware of his body, to bend evenly to both sides, and to move forwards, backwards, and laterally smoothly and softly. |
In 18 years of teaching clinics around the world and starting over 3,000 young horses, Patrick has refined the in hand work he teaches to a simple progression of exercises.
Patrick has a unique breadth of experience, riding in varied disciplines, and studying with many other master horsemen, including Ray Hunt, Mark Russell, and Master Luis Valenca. He specializes in teaching the principles of classical dressage to riders from ALL disciplines. In this training, Patrick King is going to take you through a series of fun exercises that will help your horse find relaxation, to both move and feel better. |
Patrick is engaging and clear in how he teaches. I love that he gives the horses confidence and allows them to have some expression in the process. This course lays out a clear path to follow for learning in-hand work no matter what type of riding you do. Comprehensive videos with in depth explanations, theory, and troubleshooting really help with understanding how to work with your horse. Being able to ask questions and see the questions and answers from other participants is also quite beneficial. Very educational and fun! ~ Dani Henry |
In just a few short weeks, this course has helped me achieve the level of communication with my horse that has eluded us for the past 15 years, and I've only been able to complete through the third lesson (due to time constraints)! This course has been fantastic for me and my horses. My main riding gelding is now 24, refined communication through the reins has been elusive all these years, but within two weeks of starting this course all that has changed. Thank you so much! ~ Lisa S |
Each Lesson is broken into manageable videos so you can watch as little or as much as you have time for - and review specific lessons quickly and easily.
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In this first part of the course, you will learn why in hand work is important for any horse, and the essential responses your horse will need to understand before getting started with this work.
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Once you've gone through the preparation work with your horse, you’re ready to work on basic in hand exercises.
Regardless of the discipline you're riding, these in hand exercises are going to help your horse to achieve better alignment of his body, better engagement of his haunches, and more freedom through the shoulders.
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We began with exercises to develop mobility in your horse’s body as well as rhythm in his movement. Now we progress to exercises that lead us further on the path to collection and build strength in the horse’s body.
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We are now moving on to exercises in the bridle, where we have an outside rein to connect and collect the horse.
In this section, we ask our horse for more engagement and connection to the hindquarters. From here we can change position and do more lateral work, affecting the position of the haunches, the engagement, and ultimately the degree of collection that we get from our horse. This is where it starts to get really fun!
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Now that you have gone through the first steps of the positions, it is time to practice patterns. These patterns will encourage you to move through the transitions more fluidly from one position to another.
In this section, you will work through several of the patterns with your horse, plus watch Patrick coach several other horse/rider pairs through the patterns.
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The Online Course WorkbookGo through each Lesson in your personal workbook, answering questions about you and your horse, and recording your thoughts and ideas while you are in the moment.
The workbook reinforces your learning by having an easy to access manual to follow along with during the course videos and to refer back to. |
Now you can enjoy an Audio Lesson to guide your In Hand work!
Be guided through a basic In Hand lesson with your horse that will help you become more aware of what you are doing with your body and what to notice in your horse. Get simple reminders of what to look and feel for in yourself and your horse. You can download the Lesson and listen wherever and as often as you like - just plug in your headphones and listen along as you practice your In Hand work! |
Follow along in this detailed lecture where Patrick explains the meaning and purpose of true collection and how it affects your horse.
Discover the intricate connections between the anatomy of the horse and how their anatomy and posture affects movement. This three hour lecture has been organized into easy to view 10-15 minute clips so it's easy to refer back to it as often as you need. |
As part of this In Hand program, you get to work one on one with Patrick through video coaching. You can send in two videos during the program!
Send in your first video as you begin the course to get Patrick's expert feedback on the fundamental positions. Then send in your second video anytime later during the course, either to get help on a more advanced exercise or to work through any challenges you are having. |
The Pattern Pack contains 5 additional patterns to keep your In Hand work focused, interesting, and challenging for you and your horse.
The Patterns provide direction and purpose to your practice. If you ever go into a training session and feel as though you get stuck now knowing what to work on next, practicing the patterns keeps you focused and moving ahead! |
Grace Has Come A Long Way... |
Our Bond Has Improved... |
Detailed explanation, clear videos, builds relaxation, balance and most interestingly improved our relationship by having quiet quality slow work time together instead of always working on forward. Also great for off weather practice when the ground prohibits riding. ~ Ro Wellmaker All that terminology you've heard of, or been told about, but didn't really understand, it's all here! I wish someone had explained all this (as clearly and understandably as Patrick King did) when I first started with horses. ~ Kathryn Byers |
Loved this course!!! I completed viewing all the content, but my horses are on position one and position two. Already both are more relaxed, calm, and moving more fluently. This definitely is a program that I already feel is benefiting both my horses and I. The horses love the in hand work. Grace has blossomed from this in hand work and it has given me more confidence to handle her. Also the presentation of all education Patrick shares is phenomenal. He is always composed, calm, clear, and completely demonstrates what he is explaining. LOVE THAT!!! The best part is that he makes it understandable. Once again an amazing course!!! ~ Christa Page |
I am absolutely loving this course and have learned more in the first 4 weeks of this class than I did in 5 years of in person dressage private lessons and riding my horses for 30 years. Thank you for putting this course together. The format is perfect. I love the short video trainings so I can fit them into my day. The workbook is perfect when I need to read the information instead of watching videos with sound. Patrick King is amazing! So patient, kind and positive in his training and feedback (just like Callie). ~ Nina |
As an academic nerd, this is one of my favorite explanations so far! The clarification between anatomy and conformation-- clears up my misconceptions (really liked the comparison about our posture)-- and how it all works together with engagement, and to get collection-- fascinating!! I want this video on constant replay, or some visual I can take with me out of here and to the barn. ~ Megan Trost I just want to say thank you and let you know how much this is helping both my horse and me. We’re really making progress with position 1 and 2. I think my horse is really enjoying this ground work and the thoughtful yet quietness of it. ~ Amy A real a-ha! moment for me with the description of what is likely going on when I hear people say 'dropped shoulder' on the circle. This is the first completely understandable description I've ever heard of what is going on and why it's a balance problem. Thanks for communicating this in a way that I can understand! ~ Deborah H |
I loved the detailed instruction. Things were first demo'd, but then broken down to attainable goals. ~ Heather MacIntosh When I first got my mare in February 2018, she was terrified of the bit...any bit...anything that even resembled a bit. If you put a bit in her mouth, my chill, brave, curious mare would morph into a wild-eyed, jumpy ball of stress. After spending a couple of months doing the basic in-hand positions and working on the in-hand "shoulders-in/counter shoulders-in" I decided to try again with a very gentle eggbutt snaffle. NO STRESS!!! My trainer and I have both ridden her with this bit now, and she remained her usual sweet, sleepy-eyed self, and responded beautifully to everything we asked of her. ~ Katrina Rolen Thank you! I have 3 rescue horses and they raced and each has a different issue. Your explanations are easy to understand! I'm very happy because I know I'll be able to help my mares with your guidance. ~ Anne Testa |