Moving from controlling to communicating with our horses

Over the years as a horse rider I have been told a lot that my horse lacks submission.

Anyone who hasn’t heard “needing more submission”, hasn’t been in a competition. Even outside the ring we can hear from our peers how naughty they think our horse is being.

And it can leave us with a feeling of ineptitude that our horse may act out and not do exactly as they are told.

When we get into the dressage ring, our horse being “on the bit” is also considered a sign of submission and our horse even being slightly in front of the bit considered lack of submission.

I actually got to a point with my riding where I thought I wasn’t in control of my horse if it wasn’t “on the bit”. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. We see plenty of riders who are perfectly in control of their horse and it works in front of the vertical.

In fact working our horse incorrectly on the bit actually can create less submission because our cues get muddled up and our horse can’t differentiate between more frame and the brakes.

One of the places I like to get my students to is comfortably letting go of their horses mouth and riding them on the buckle in all paces. It also helps if you are comfortable riding your horse at the fastest that it can go so we’re not holding them back for fear of speed. When we come from a place of controlling our horses, they tend to actually behave worse fighting with us. When we let our horses go and trust that they will still listen we can start working on our communication and therefore willingness.

When we look at communication this is where we use our aids to cue and talk to our horses instead of control what they are doing.

The most important part of communication is not telling the horse what to do but what they are saying in response. If they aren’t responding with a yes to our aid, why? How can we change that no to a yes? Or is our horse trying to tell us something?

When we focus on communication we are giving the horse permission to say no. When we are controlling our horse we are giving them no option but to say yes. And this is problem when they actually have a good reason for no. They are sore, they don’t understand, they have ulcers, they need their teeth done, they can’t physically do what we are asking of them are just some of the perfectly acceptable reasons for our horse to say no and reasons why a horses behaviour may escalate.

One of the ways we broach communication and the option to say no whilst maintaining manners and discipline to still be respectful of us is consent. We teach our horses a cue that they can give us to tell us when they are ready for the next ask or if they need time to process the previous ask. It also helps us to differentiate between the times they are challenging us and taking the piss and the times where they actually need us to help them understand, or to slow down or that they have a legitimate problem that needs addressing.

Do you need help with your horse? We have a free group where can get the support and ask the questions that will help you open the pathway of communication and develop a deeper connection with your horse. Join it here!

New horse - now what?

So you’ve got a new horse and you’re starting to figure out it's harder than you expected and not all it's cracked up to be. 

You thought you got your dream horse, but working with them is stressful and you come away feeling like a failure and you’re not good enough. 

Maybe your horse just needs a better rider.

Before you truly throw in the towel, consider this:

Take the expectations off of yourself and your horse

You may have thought that you would have your new horse a couple weeks and be ready to go out and do all the amazing things you dreamed of, but now you feel nervous and uncomfortable and are finding excuses for why you shouldn’t ride. 

Your new horse isn’t a mechanical object. It comes with emotions and emotional baggage. It has had a huge transition and we can never quite know what has happened to them in their life. 

Take those expectations away and just get to know your new horse and focus on building a relationship and trust first.

Know that you are enough

When it comes to working with our horses it is so very common to come away feeling like we aren’t enough. Just having the attitude that you can be exactly what your horse needs can be the game changer to succeeding with your horse.

Skill isn’t the be all and end all

While it is important to develop the skills to help you and your horse succeed together, it is just one piece of the puzzle. 

The most important thing that you can provide for your horse is security and safety that you are going to show up as a good leader and meet their emotional needs. 

Professional trainers are good at teaching buttons (trained cues), but a horse that can’t control its emotions can’t control its behaviour - so providing your horse with the emotional support and balance they need will go a long way to creating the relationship and horse of your dreams. 

Establish yourself as a leader with easy exercises

Your horse knows what you don’t know: an important part of your horse cooperating and being safe is that you see you as a good leader. 

If you are trying to further your skills and challenge yourself by doing things outside your comfort zone, your horse will know that you aren’t competent in following through on those asks and will challenge you as a leader. 

Start building your relationship and leadership skills with exercises that make you go” pfft that’s too easy”, because all of your horses little quirks will have the opportunity to come out in exercises that you are confident with which will build your confidence in how well you know your horse and build their confidence in you. Once you know what your horse does at its worst, what they are doing when they aren’t coping with the stress and pressure and how to bring them back from the brink of overwhelm and distress - only then should you start challenging yourself and your horse. 

Be flexible and ready to shift the goal posts when needed

This goes hand in hand with dropping your expectations. 

If you go in to work with your horse expecting them to work or behave a certain way and they don’t meet your expectations, you can create a negative working environment where neither of you are enjoying each others company. Being able to shift your goal posts so that it's impossible to not come away with a win and positive experience makes both you and your horse look forward to spending time together. 

Always finish on a positive note feeling like you could’ve done more.

What are your goals? If you are keen on building a harmonious relationship with your horse based on leadership, trust, affection, and healthy movement? Join the Arena to access the programs and support!

Rehabbing the injured horse

Movement is medicine.

Once you get through the initial acute inflammation stage of an injury and have worked with your vet to decide on a treatment plan, gentle movement to meet your horses needs help the healing process along. 

Depending on the type of injury will depend on how long to reintroduce the movement, what type and how much. Some injuries won’t need too long of a spell, while others may need a good couple of months. 

A lot of the injuries I’ve worked with in my training career have been old injuries that are from their racing career (lots of standardbreds and thoroughbreds). A couple have been paddock injuries especially as foals. A handful have happened while being ridden (at least with these injuries you know what happened). Quite a few have been due to poor training and breaking, being put in a frame too young, not been shown how to move freely and not being able to develop freely within the frame. 

I’ve only worked with a couple of freshly injured horses. With fresh injuries, working with your vet and giving the adequate spelling for the type of injury is key. Don’t do any bodywork on fresh injuries and acute inflammation. It is more likely to do more damage than good. 

With old injuries, gentle stress on the horses body that improves their posture, engages their core and increases their freedom of movement - in combination with a good body worker - is key to your horse thriving. 

When we exercise our horses we are creating an environmental stress that the horses body is adapting to. If it's too much stress, the horse’s body will adapt negatively to protect the body. Just the right amount of stress can encourage the body to adapt in a positive way where they are more functional and expressive in their movement. 

Horses with old injuries need even less stress (lower impact work) to ensure the adaptive process improves their functional movement. 

Whenever you introduce a new movement, old injuries will generally temporarily flare so you want to provide adequate support, rest and spelling to allow their body to adapt to the new workload. Topical treatments can also help in this instance. If they are coming back into work after a spell, especially more than a couple weeks, they need to be brought back into work slowly to reduce impact injury.

If I am dealing with a horse that has behavioural issues like bucking, rearing, biting and sometimes bolting, I do assume there is an underlying physical issue or old injury that needs to be addressed and managed - no matter how many vets and body workers tell me they can find nothing. If they have ever raced, trained to race or trained by a professional, I assume they have some level of injury or musculoskeletal trauma. If they are over 15 I assume they have some level of arthritis. 

If you are managing an injury or bringing a horse with an old injury back into work you need to ensure:

• The level of concussion on their body is minimised. This includes jumping and the types of surfaces they are ridden on.

• The amount of stress on their body errs on the side of caution. It could mean a good period of time of in hand work on the ground before you even consider riding, or a good period of time just walking.

• The type of exercises you do improve and engage the horses overall posture and musculoskeletal health. 

The best way to help rehabilitate your horse is to slowly progress the muscular development and fitness. Enrol in the Green to Self Carriage Course to learn exactly how to apply these exercises to scale strength, suppleness, and improve their recover time frame.

Buying your first horse? Here’s a few tips!

Don’t buy a horse from a trainer.

When looking at a horse you want to look for one that has been doing what you want to do for a good couple of years with their current rider. That rider has put the miles in and clocked up the ks. The horse will know its job and be in a position where they can look after you. You want to look for a horse that the rider has grown out of or ready to move on from. When your buying from a trainer you can guarantee you will have endless behavioural problems because you won’t have the skills that trainer had to ride the horse.

Get a vet check.

When looking for your first horse its very easy to end up with someone else’s problem. You always want to know why they are selling. A lot of horses that you buy from horse traders can be drugged on bute and other things to make them appear sound and sane and there is no real way for your vet to know. Make sure you don’t use their vet, use your own. Let the vet know exactly the purpose of the horse and what you want them for and plan to do with them.

Take someone experienced with you but listen to your gut

It is good to have someone experienced with you but they may also be swayed by a horse with a pretty face. A person who knows what they are do and knows what they are looking at can help you pick up on things that you may otherwise miss but if you don’t feel right or you don’t feel like you click and mesh than you still want to say no even if they person with experience says yes.

Don’t just go for the first one you see and fall in love with

Sometimes the first one can be the one but mostly when you first start looking, especially if its your first horse you’ll be looking for the wrong thing. You’ll be drawn to the horse you like the look of aesthetically and while that can still be important you need the horse that is going to look after you, be sound, do what you want them to under saddle.

Don’t trust the ad or what the seller is saying

The ad is not always accurate and sometimes it may be accurate for the people that own them but they will change when you get them. They will always have a reason for selling. If they truly do have the unicorn horse they are advertising they wouldn’t be selling it or they will at least have a hefty price tag on it.

You may be looking for a while

I have spent 2 years with a student looking for their heart horse and when she found him she didn’t even need me to say yes or no she knew it. She spent those 2 years improving her riding so she was ready for him when she found him. Don’t think you need to find your horse in the next week, month or year. The right horse tends to pop up when you’re least expecting it.

Don’t take the horse or ride the horse if the owner won’t ride.

I should have put this as the first point but if the owner isn’t willing to get on and rider turn around and go home. I don’t care how long you have driven for, how much you spent to get there or if you’ve got the float attached ready to take the horse home. If the owner doesn’t ride, you don’t ride full stop!

Get on lease to buy

100% every single time you get the horse home it will change in personality. I call the first 3 months the honey moon period. Normally the horse is a bit unsure and so doesn’t show its true personality until the 3 – 6 month period. At this time they start to gain confidence and start testing you to see how they fit and if you are going to show up as a good leader. Generally speaking by the end of 12 months you will have seen the full scope of their tricks and be ready to make an assessment of whether it is the right horse for you or not. So even if you can lease for 3 even 6 months you have a better chance of getting yourself the right horse.

Be prepared to get lots of lessons

Horse riding is an ever evolving art. Just as you think you’re getting the hang of it your horse will figure a new way to get it over you. Have and educated set of eyes that have been through the process over and over again will set you and your horse up to succeed.

Once you purchase your horse, join our free community to focus on how to create a stronger bond with your horse!

Boredom Buster Tips From Lucy at Horse Factbook

Horses are highly intelligent animals that have evolved over the centuries to survive on their wits and instincts.

This can be great in the wild where there are plenty of possible predators but otherwise, it can sometimes cause problems with boredom which is why it's important to keep horses stimulated and interested.

Horses are inherently inquisitive and if we don't pay attention to this side of their nature it can lead to some seriously bad habits and vices such as cribbing and wind sucking.

The good news though is that it doesn't take much to keep a horse occupied, from changing your routine slightly to introducing some toys and mixing up your lessons a little, there are plenty of options. You can even reuse some of the everyday items you find around the barn to make inexpensive toys.

Stop boredom in the paddock

Horses are less likely to get bored when there are other horses around but that doesn't mean to say they won't and some bad habits, such as weaving, can also be learned from horses watching each other which is why its crucially important to make sure your horse isn't bored while he's turn out with his friends.

Rollers

Horse rollers can be great for keeping a lot of horse occupied at once but they can be quite expensive so why not make your own instead? Simply use a sturdy plastic container and randomly cut a few holes in it, making sure they're big enough for the treats to get out but not so big that they all fall out in one go. If you've got any sharp edges you can use a soft cloth to cover them (if you have a strong enough needle you can sew the cloth to the container, but if not then you can use fabric glue to stick it). All you need to do now is fill it with treats, secure the lid and then put it in the field for the horses to play with. You'll be amazed at just how long it'll keep them busy for.

Iceblocks

During the summer you can freeze fruit in a bucket of water and then hang it from a sturdy tree. This will prove a nice cooling treat when the weather's really hot but because it can freely swing your horse will have to work to get any reward. The fruit will act as an incentive for him to keep 'playing' with it, this, in turn, means he won't get bored.

Grazing

Encouraging grazing is another great way to help reduce boredom in horses. Being natural grazers they like to forage for their food and will spend a lot of time eating small amounts but you can use this to your advantage. Instead of placing any additional hay (or handfuls of pony nuts) in one place, scattering it around the pasture will allow them to graze, this will stop them from getting bored but will also aid good digestion which can’t be a bad thing.

Stop boredom while exercising

Be honest, if you're riding lessons are always the same do you find them a bit boring? If you do then think about how your horse may be feeling too. You don't need to completely change what you're doing just do them slightly differently. Even introducing something as simple as irregular pole work can help to keep your horse's brain active and prevent him from getting bored. Irregular pole work is pretty much the same as regular pole work but instead of keeping the gaps the same, they're random, with some of them being raised too. Your horse will have to pay attention and won't be able to just go through the motions, but as an added bonus it'll also help to strengthen his muscles.

You don’t always need to ride to exercise your horse so why not take him for a walk sometimes too? That might sound like a daft suggestion but it’ll give the two of you a chance to bond as well as allow your horse to explore his surroundings. Like most animals, horses use smell as a way of checking out the environment so going for a walk would keep them from being bored. Depending on where you live and where your horse is kept you could even make a day of it, take a picnic for the two of you.

Why not try a new sport? Learning anything new will help to keep your horse stimulated but why not try something like horse agility? Created back in 2009, horse agility is similar to dog agility except the obstacles are horse-sized! You don't even need to travel anywhere or buy any special equipment but your horse will thoroughly enjoy it.

Stop boredom while in stable

Horses are sociable animals and don't like being on their own for too long, but if you keep them occupied while they're stabled then they won't get bored and therefore won't be stressed.

Simple toys such as Bizzy Bites can be great for this but even better than that install a plastic mirror. It's not that horses are vain and like to look at themselves, they actually don't realize they're looking at their reflection. Instead, they think it's another horse so believe they're not alone, they'll try and interact with the 'other' horse which will not only keep them calm but will also stop them from getting bored.

Extra boredom-busting tips

They say you can't teach a new dog old tricks but that certainly isn't the case for horses - so why not teach your horse a new trick, you never know he may even be able to help you around the yard!!

Keep it fun and use your horse's favorite treat as a reward but with time you can have your horse sweeping up around the barn (okay so maybe that's an exaggeration). Think about what it is you'd like your horse to do and then break it down into smaller steps. Just think about when you first taught your horse to lift his hoof on command, you started by running your hand down his leg and gently lifting the hoof yourself and in time were able to just tap his lower leg to get him to raise his hoof. By using this method you can teach him something new, such as picking up a brush. Just don't teach him how to open the stable door otherwise you'll have a tough time keeping him in there!!

My name’s Lucy and since learning to ride at the age of five I’ve not only owned dozens of horses and ponies (and a few donkeys) but I’ve also run a very successful riding school, teaching both English and Western.

I have a real passion for horses and feel that they can add so much richness and joy to our lives which is why created this blog. I wanted to help other people by passing on some of the things I’d learned. I want the site to become a real factbook for new and experienced owners and riders alike.

Visit the Horse Factbook

A special thank you to Lucy for submitting this blog for our audience. If you like what you have read, you can read more at www.horsefactbook.com

I only trail ride, do I really need flatwork?

Flatwork or having your horse work in self carriage is the most basic and foundational prerequisite to any style of riding you want to do with your horse.

It develops a language. Your flatwork training is where you introduce and teach your horse aids and cues so that your horse knows what you want and can ask of you support and help.

It develops balance. The exercises that you use to develop self carriage are very basically developing balance and ensuring your horse is sure footed.

It creates functional movement. Movement is medicine. Flatwork done correctly enhances your horses movement and without other trauma or injury helps them have a long and healthy riding career.

It fosters learning. Done correctly, your flatwork training is a great place to show up for your horse as a leader and help them look for answers. It teaches them how to respond to pressure and you can use it to instil confidence and curiousity in your horse that will be of benefit on the trails

Flatwork doesn’t have to be in the arena. It can be done in the paddock, on the trails, through the hills, on the beach. It is just basically develop a positive relationship under saddle and with movement.

Why I don’t like the Pessoa

Why is the Pessoa considered an amazing tool for working a horse?

As with all things, at Equestrian Movement we have a strong opinion on it, because we have tried it many different times, with many different horses and seen many different horses who have been trained with that tool or that style. 

So when I say I don’t like the Pessoa, I’m not saying it from a place of “I’m better than that”. I’m genuinely saying I have used it and don’t like the results I get and here’s why: We are assuming that just because the horses head is tied down and its bum is under that its working correctly.

And I believe 100% that this is the biggest problem in the horse industry at the moment. Why we are seeing so many horses with behavioural issues and soundness issues. And it’s being encouraged because it’s being rewarded!! The overall outline of the head being down and rotation of the pelvis is given the higher marks at competitions. But then we wonder why our horses break down and we can’t keep them in work!

Every horse I see work in the Pessoa is leaning into the inside shoulder. All their weight is in the shoulder of the direction they are being worked. 

This is not self carriage. 

This isn’t balance. 

And it certainly isn’t setting your horse up for a long career of soundness, especially if you are going to add concussive exercises like showjumping.

Every horse I see work in the Pessoa is rotating the pelvis to engage instead of transferring the weight into the haunches. See previous paragraph!! If our horses are on the forehand and not transferring their weight into their haunches, any “engagement” created is a false engagement created by rotating the pelvis instead of flexing deeper into the haunches. 

Again this doesn’t set our horses up for a long sound career. Most often these horses will be sore and tight through the lower back, making them buck out especially into the canter transition. They will also struggle to maintain forwardness. They won’t be able to lift through the shoulder or carry themselves uphill so the transition from self carriage to collection becomes nearly impossible. These horses are often given up on because their trainer thinks they have reached the limits of their potential. 

Because the horse is leaning into the inside shoulder and rotating the pelvis their development is dysfunctional and unbalanced, so they are likely to have a lot of issues when developing self carriage. When it comes to work in a frame they will suck behind the bit, flex away at the third vertebrae instead of the pole, and be hollow through their back. Even though their head looks to be in a frame, it is impossible to achieve true frame in the pessoa system because the pieces of the puzzle that create a true frame (weight in their haunches, balanced evenly into all 4 legs and engaging and lifting through their core) cannot be done correctly.

And I get the logic behind it. It’s why I tried it in the first place. If the horse is worked in a frame then it will develop the muscles to hold itself in a frame and so must be working correctly. 

But here’s the kicker: if the horse is worked into a frame from external forces, the resistance of their body to this force engages the wrong muscles. A true frame comes from the horses slowly engaging and refining their own balance and core. 

Unfortunately there is no quick fix to establishing a working frame and if you truly want to excel with your horse, you need to put the time and effort into the foundations here in developing the balance and self carriage. 

Check out our awesome program that does this for you

Bringing a senior horse back into work

Our horses are considered mature from the age of 15 years.

As our horses age, the muscles ability to adapt to exercise and stress slows down. 

When our older horses are out of work, they will lose muscle condition quicker and be slower to regain the condition when brought back into work than our younger horses. We also will start to see (if we haven’t already) the toll their riding career has taken on their body with signs of arthritis starting to show.

Your horse needs a strong back to hold you. Depending on how long your horse was out of work and how old they are, they will need time to build up the strength of their back to hold you. If they were only out a week or 2 that is fine but if they’ve been out a couple of months they will really need help regaining the strength of their topline to hold you. This is where in-hand exercises and in-hand hacks can be really supportive to your horses condition. 

Their endurance will also need to be built up again slowly. As with their muscles, their cardio will take longer to come back into work. Don’t expect them to be up and ready for a half hour of canter if they’ve been out of work even 3 months. You may find yourself doing lots of hacking out and hills in walk and light trot to bring them back into work. 

It is always important to ensure they have a good warm up, but even more important in older horses. The older they get the more likely it is that they need a good quality warm up and cool down to prevent muscle strains and injury. Most horses need a good 20min of just walk before trotting and cantering, because this is how long it takes the joints to get working properly.

Keep the exercises easy and don’t just move on because you aren’t getting resistance. While our younger horses like quick training sessions so we finish on a win before we over do their period of time they can concentrate for, our older horses need a little longer on each exercise to ensure they have completely let go and swinging into the movement. Moving on too quickly can lead to muscle strains and injury.

Looking for more help? Join the Arena Grande to access our Green to Self Carriage Program - which builds on exercises in a gentle way to ensure your older companion can develop in a safe, achievable way for long term benefits!

Working an older horse

If you have an older horse you may be seeing the signs of aging. 

Perhaps they are slowing down with their work and just generally in the paddock. 

Maybe they don’t seem to hold weight or muscle the way they used to. 

As we see our horses into their twilight years, the longer we can provide them with age appropriate work the healthier their body will stay even when degenerative diseases start to come into play.

Feed

Before we even think about the work our senior horse needs we need to make the adjustment of feed. 

Older horses need a different macronutrient (proteins, carbs and fats) content in their grains compared to younger horses, and if you are noticing your horse just isn’t making or keeping the muscle mass it used to, it's probably time to change feeds. 

Have a talk to your local produce about what grains and feeds they have available for senior horses, and then it is often a bit of trial and error. If your horse is going to pick up on a feed they should do so within 3 to 5 weeks, so if you aren’t seeing an improvement, don’t stick at a particular product just because you’ve been told it’s the best thing since sliced bread. All horses are different and have different needs from their feed.

Teeth

It is important that you see your horse dentist at least annually and have an honest conversation and your horses teeth. 

As they age, horses do lose teeth and their back grinding teeth can become worn away - in fact, they can become so worn they lose any ability to masticate. By that stage you will start to notice your horse balling up hay and chaff, sucking the juices out of it and then spitting it out. This is because they can no longer chew the hay and grass anymore. They will eventually have to go onto a mash. 

What you don’t move you lose

Keeping your senior horse in light work is key to the longevity of their muscle health - especially if they have arthritis.

Even if they can no longer carry a rider, it is a good idea to still exercise them. 

Long straight lines and gentle curves are ideal when working with them, so consider light trail riding, gentle hills and ponying them off other horses. 

Depending on their age, it could be worth considering leasing your older horse to a sensible beginner rider. This can be advantageous to both as hopefully our older horse is a bit more sensible and capable of looking after a more beginner rider, but also a sensible beginner rider will ask less of them. 

Avoid a lot of concussion and stress on their body.

As their body ages their joints and muscles don’t absorb concussion the way they used to. 

Avoid jumping, hard surfaces and long periods of canter. 

Ground poles are a good option to keep the joints in work as they don’t create concussion on the landing and just encourage the horse to pick their legs up higher. 

Looking for gentle exercises to maintain the condition of your senior horse? Check out our course. 

3 Secrets That Will Progress Your Dressage Riding

If you missed the webinar on April 4th, here’s a sneaky replay!

Interested to learn more about the Green to Self Carriage Course? Click here for more details!

Why Green to Self Carriage Just Works

I’ll be honest. I’m still a bit green when it comes to training at higher levels.

I’ve never competed at novice level or higher.

I’ve never had an established horse to work with that I haven’t had to correct physiologically to be able to pursue those higher levels.

Every horse, of the half dozen or so I have worked with for any significant length of time, had to return to some basic level of work if I was really going to hold true to the philosophy that we hold at Equestrian Movement - FIRST DO NO HARM. And that philosophy is what guided us to the creation of our latest online course Green to Self Carraige.

I’m not saying that I couldn’t work at these higher levels, just that I haven’t had the opportunity.

I would prefer to work a horse for it’s own health than to push it into false frames and damage what potential that horse has for any length of career (or life) with any person. If that means going back down to prep & prelim levels, that is what I will do. My ego can take it.

And this is why Green to Self Carriage will work for all horses:

It is designed to take a green-broke horse through the stages to develop true self carriage, but can be applied to ANY HORSE

Yes, that’s right. Even a horse that is well established and winning ribbons MUST step back to these lower levels rectify missing elements in it’s education to be able to continue further in it’s carrer.

The course is designed to scale up and down as your horse and you identify deficits and rebuild the correct physical structure - which horses just seem to relish buggering up in the weirdest way (hoof in rabbit hole, anyone?).

The course is designed to work at your pace

So regardless of if you ride once or 4 times a week, you can create your own lesson plans using the exercises as they are outlined.

If an exercise is too easy for your horse, there is the next progression to up the anty on the challenge.

If the exercise is not possible for your horse, it leads you where to go down the scale to build up the capability for the horse to complete it first.

And you have the added bonus of ongoing support as you work through the program, so if you come across something you really struggle with, you can submit a video to Equestrian Movement and have it critiqued with recommendations on where to go from there!

You can take a break and come back to it - to the advantage of the horse

If you need to take some time away from riding, you will find that a horse that has been developed correctly through the self carriage phases not only handles the break but flourishes from it, coming back to work faster and ready to move up the training scale.

It can be applied to any horse, regardless of your discipline

Whether you trail ride, compete dressage, or ride endurace, a horse that has been taken through development of true self carriage correctly is not only a healthier horse physically but also a much smoother ride.

You can work a horse of any age with a number of potential ailments

Outside of those too young to ride or those that are living in well deserved retirement, your horse is never ‘too old’ to be redeveloped through the self carriage process.

No case is any truer to those words than my Custard. At 22 years young, coming from a life of where little regard for his physical, mental or emotional welfare was given, he has continued to surprise us with how he develops.

Even his attitude in the paddock has changed since working through the course. He used to have limited movement and would only run if he was chased (and could barely keep that up for any length of time). Now, he plays and on occasion even canters all the way from the back of a very large paddock just for the heck of it!

His arthritis (and my weight on his arthritic limbs) limit his ability to hold extended time of work under saddle, and transition into faster paces is taking a long time, and yet he not only builds on each exercise EVERY SINGLE LESSON but is actively seeking and asking for specific exercises which make him feel good - which leads me to…

Your horse will enjoy the process of movement and ASK for more

Nothing is more thrilling than a horse that can perform an exercise you have been working on - EXCEPT for a horse that asks you to up the challenge on that exercise!

When a horse is developed into true self carriage, the pleasure they derived from the movement and scaling up the exercises fills my (and their) heart with joy. Movement truly can feel good and horses are no less likely to recognise that than your personal trainer.

And when movement feels good, and our horse is asking for more, we have a truly willing horse that is engaged in it’s own learning.

It allows you to keep working with the Training Trainability mentality

When we work through green to self carriage correctly, we can continue to implement the Trainabiltiy method - in that our horse has a say in how it developes, will trust us to develop them to avoid pain, and follow our guidance through the movements, knowing that we will keep their emotional, mental and physical wellbeing first in mind always.

So, if you are just riding your horse for the glory of winning quickly, the Green to Self Carriage isn’t for you - but neither should your horse be for you.

But if you love riding, and your horses welfare is the priority in your work, then I encourage you to work through the training scale correctly and provide the best for you and your horse.

Would you like to learn more about how you can access our Green to Self Carriage Course? Check it out here!

Lesson Plan Sneak Peak!!! Loop, Rein Back, Diagonals

Why we do this:

Horse

We are combining exercises to target different areas of the horses bodies and how they use themselves. The 10m loop really works to supple and lengthen the back which tends to put the horses onto the forehand, especially in the early days of the exercise. This makes it a perfect exercise to combine with the long and low/seek the contact. We add in the rein back just to reset them back on their hindquarters.

The regular change of reins can also help to ensure our horses don't get too deep, stuck and forehandy.

Rider

This exercise can seem so basic and simple it is often skipped and only done because its in the test. I remember never quite knowing how to do the 10m loop properly either. Do you change your rise? Do you change your bend? What are the judges looking for? How does this help our horses? The most important part of this exercise for the rider is to feel the shift of weight distribution and the change of bend because this is the hardest part for the horse and what stops our horses moving forward in their development and why this exercise is so important.

If our horses don't learn how to shift their weight distribution and change of bend here and now they almost always end up fake bending to the right and not developing proper engagement of the inside hind. We feel this when we are riding our bend to the right and can not get the connection of inside leg to outside rein and our inside/right rein is heavier than our outside/left rein. When we do get the rein soft its because our horse has sucked behind the bit instead of truly bending.

Note that it is nearly always the right rein because most horses are supple but weak to the left and strong but straight to the right. Our job is to get the strength and straightness of our horses left rein to match the right and the suppleness of the right rein to match the left. This is what developing straightness in our horse means and what this exercise starts to work on.

How do we do this?

A: medium walk

H-X-K: 10m loop

C: halt rein back

F-X-H: take the rein out or into long and low, transition to working frame

A: halt rein back

Want to know where you're making the mistakes? Join the Green to Self Carriage Course to submit video of you and your horse working through this exercise for our group coaching call.

Giving Consent

Does your horse agree with the way you work together?

Giving our horses the ability to say yes or no - to give consent - is an important training tool in the Equestrian Movement tool box.

It is next in line in our philosophies after first do no harm.

One of our big over arching goals is for our training sessions to happen FOR the horse.

WITH the horse.

Not to the horse.

We want them to not only participate but enjoy the learning process, and for movement to feel good for them.

Part of making this work is having the horse able to give consent to the next ask.

Sometimes there is a long gap between the previous ask and when they are ready for the next ask. As trainers and riders we tend to rush the process, and this is when our horses can hit breaking point. When the tension of the ask, ask, ask builds up, their frustration, confusion or overwhelm can burst out of them and be deemed as them being naughty at best and dangerous at worst.

When we give them permission to process and move their emotion (or even better show them how to process and move their emotion), where they can say

• “I’m not ready”,

• “I don’t understand”,

• “my body isn’t ready”,

• “I need a break”,

• “I’m hurting”,

Or anyother form of no that they might have, we are allowing them to express what they need from us to succeed in their training session.

It may well mean we need to adjust the goal posts for what we hoped to achieve.

When our horse feels listened to and isn’t reacting off their emotions, when that horse feels heard, they don’t have to act out with large and potentially dangerous behaviours to get their message across.

Training an elastic topline

Movement is dynamic.

What this means is that it is ever changing, adapts to stress, becomes limited when unsupported and increases in range of action when supported.

When we try to force a certain way of moving, it actually limits the horses freedom of movement. When we focus on their core strength and balance, it increases their freedown to move.

This is why we need to exercise and condition our horses to perform the movements we ask.

When they are exercising we are creating an environmental stress that their body is adapting to. When that stress is too much, or there is an underlying injury or imbalance the body adapts to reduce movement to protect from injury. When there is just enough over a period of time the body adapts to support movement and in becomes enhanced.

In fact, with all things going perfect and no underlying physical or training, from introducing a new exercise it takes:

-        6 – 8 weeks to develop coordination of the movement (the nerves to innervate the muscles)

-        3 – 4 months for muscle condition

-        6 – 12 months for bone and ligament density and the movement to become part of their conformation.

So from the time an exercise is introduced it will take at least 6 – 12 months for your horse to be able to do it easily no matter how hard you push them. That’s just how long it will take for their body adapt to the movement.

When we are talking about an elastic topline that is basically what we are talking about. The horses self carriage muscles are developed so that the horse can relax and swing in their movement, their stride and their frame is adjustable and they have some degree of lateral flexibility for bend and leg yield.

The one place you can go wrong with working on an elastic topline is to do too much suppling work without balancing it with strengthening work. For example long and low with canter transitions, 10m loops with rein back and polls. Suppling the muscles also makes them weak. Strengthening the muscles makes them tight. Again this is what we are talking about with movement being dynamic.

The elastic topline is the end result of combining our suppling exercises with our strengthening exercises. Asking for the movement evenly in both directions and shortening and lengthening the stride, frame and lateral muscles through bend.

Dressage Tips For Beginners

If you are new to the discipline of dressage, welcome!

This is an exciting time as you work in what is fondly referred to as the artistry of horse riding. However, there are a few tips I wish I had known before my very first competition - read on below:

Know your arena geometry

I can’t even begin to tell you how important this is. And how long it took me to realise it was important!!

I didn’t actually learn how to break down the arena movements and understand the geometry until I was training to become instructor. That’s 15 years of competing not knowing what a 20m circle was supposed to look like!

Of course, I was always going home with the comments “circle not round”, “circle too big” or “circle too small”. Once it was actually broken down for me it made soooo much sense why I kept missing the crucial marks here and there.

Don’t sacrifice your movement for your frame.

To begin with, you will be endlessly frustrated that you don’t have a frame. Once you get the frame though, it’s easy!

But if you’re constantly getting comments like lacking forward or lacking impulsion, then you’ve restricted the horses movement in asking it to come into a frame instead of enhanced it.

Don’t take competing so seriously

Just go to the competition for the outing and the experience for at least the first year. Anything else is a bonus!

Competitions are stressful, and not only do we put the stress of a new chaotic environment on our horse, butwe also ride them differently because we are trying to show their best potential and nail our accuracy. You are also competing against seasoned competitors who know the drill and professional trainers.

Just focus on you and your horses getting confident, relaxed and knowing what is expected of you.

Stay on the horse, stay in the arena. And if you don’t that’s fine too.

When you first go out, your first goal is to just stay on your horse and stay in the arena.

After you have gained more confidence with this (and yes, you might be able to do it at home, but the competition arena is a different kettle of fish), only at that point can you up the challenge and work next on relaxation and accuracy, then rhythm and tempo, then quality of bend and lastly frame.

Practise your test at home so you know it upside down, inside out and back to front.

This will help you know how much preparation your horse needs for each ask, helping with your accuracy.

It will help both you and your horses confidence to know what is expected of you.

It will definitely help you when you go to the competition and have to know your test.

Make sure you give yourself enough time in the warm up to be able to watch the test before you and read through the test as a refresher before you go into the ring.

The Moody Mare - Tips to Handle Her During Your Training

There is a distinct divide in the horse community - you are either a mare person or a gelding person.

I myself am a self-confessed mare lover. Although I am currently working with geldings, I owe it all to my very first horse, an Arab mare.

I wouldn’t say that our relationship was smooth. Natty had the best RBF (resting bitch face) I have ever seen on ANYONE, human included. But like most mares, when you approach her with respect, ask rather than tell, and break through those walls, she could give you the softest looks and contact.

Although she has been gone for almost 3 years, I still vividly recall those moody days of season - those days when it might have been safer to be in a warzone than working with her - and after many conversations with fellow mare owners, I started thinking about how we can really work through these moody days.

It’s all going to come down to a combination of mental, emotional and physical management.

That “ticking clock” issue

A mare in the reproductive phase of estrous has 2 things on her mind - breeding and surviving. And the urge to reproduce can even override their desire to eat.

Even worse is their first cycle of the season. Typically, estrous averages about 6 days, but has been known to last much longer in the first cycle of the season, prolonged due to the fact that they have not yet ovulated. This can be particularly hard on horse and owner during this time, as it seems nothing you do will ever be easy again.

So their focus and attention isn’t yours, and it is going to be harder to get that attention. However, this is where our Training Trainability Course works really well - gain attention and focus, gain consent to work, and refocus on that leadership.

A total pain in the…ovaries?

There are quite a lot of issues for the mare's reproductive cycle that can significantly influence behaviour, aggression and pain.

1. The simple process of estrous (the receptive period) can cause changes to gait, meaning a horse with some underlying skeletal or muscular injuries may be more likely to display and feel this pain.

2. The fascia (connective tissue) can wrap or attach to areas of the ovary, tubes or uterus, meaning the period of estrous and subsequent ovulation can become quite painful. It is really hard to have this identified without the help of an osteopathic veterinarian.

3. Ovulation tends to occur about 1-2 days prior to the end of the estrous cycle. For up to 3 days prior to ovulation, the mare can experience significant discomfort as the follicle on the ovary expands (think about or talk to women who have experienced really bad menstural periods and you may get some insight into what the mare is feeling).

4. Aggression and extreme moodiness during estrous will depend on whether pain is evident (uterine or other, doesn't matter), but also if we are pushing their mental capacity at the time. Reproducing is an extremely strong instinct that can even overcome the desire to eat, so it isn't any surprise that when we ask a mare in estrous to work that they can lose the plot a bit.

So, what to do with that Moody Mare you need to train?

The key thing is to first get to know your mare - understand her cycle, her behaviour, her movement. Identify if there are underlying behavioural or physical pains outside of her season which are exacerbated when she is in season. This will point you into the right direction to move forward.

Next, when you are getting serious RBF attitude, consider the following:

🦄Are you pushing her to work on something new, uncomfortable (such as intense work) or difficult? Perhaps take it back to simple exercises and work she enjoys.
🦄Are you constantly correcting her or trying to prevent estrous behaviours? Perhaps consider only doing this firmly when she is under saddle and gently redirect her attention to you when doing groundwork (and work on bringing her focus to you when she is out of estrous). This will take a lot of patience and a lot of "yes's" (Training Trainability, folk -this is what it’s all about!)
🦄 If she is really uncomfortable (if there is lameness or pain increasing around estrous), gentle groundwork and a lot of spoiling may be a better approach over intense groundwork - resulting in a mare that is less resentful and therefore more willing to listen, learn and work with you next time.

Of course, sometimes a break can be just as good as a work out, so if you are feeling quite frustrated with her behaviour, turn her out (on a positive note), and let her be a mare for a week - and hopefully you can both come together again in unity. And if at any stage you are uncertain, always consult with your equine health care professional.

Who Should Move Their Feet?

One of the things we talk about at Equestrian Movement is showing up for your horse as a good leader.

Being a good leader means your horse can be a good follower and look to you when feeling challenged, uncomfortable or scared for direction rather than just reacting.

However, one of the big ways a horse will test you and challenge your leadership qualities is by trying to move you and push you around.

If your horse can move your feet, they are controlling where you are going so that makes them the leader. You are following their cues. However when you recognise that your horse is moving your feet and can firstly stand your ground and secondly step into them to move their feet, then you become the leader. They are following your cues.

This can feel like it’s easier said than down with some of our bold, pushy horses, but with consistency and follow through, over time it really does work.

Our favourite exercise for this is walk when I walk, stop when I stop, go when I go. This has been a huge game changer for many of my students and what we always go back to when we start to lose our horses engagement in their work. We go into a lot further detail about this in our Facebook group if you are having trouble implementing - feel free to join and ask questions (click here).

For some of our nervous horses, or horses that have experienced trauma, you may find that initially they aren’t trying to move your feet but are trying to get away from you.

If you start working on your relationship and establishing that connection, they WILL start to relax and bring their walls down around you. This is when they will start to challenge you as a leader, because they are becoming comfortable and confident with you.

This is also something that can happen when you just buy a horse. It will take them time to get used to the change and settle into the routine. I call this the honey moon period and they can be on their best behaviour. Normally by about 3 months they will start to relax and as they relax challenge you to see if you are effective enough to be a good leader or if they need to take over.

Inside Leg, Outside Rein

Why is this touted as being so important?

Inside leg to outside rein is considered the holy grail of riding, especially in dressage.

But it is just one piece of the puzzle.

Part of the reason it is touted to be so important is because it is often the first time a rider feels how the rein contact can affect hock flexion.

When the rein contact connects to the hindquarters instead of just the head placement, the movement and the horse comes so much lighter, softer and more balanced. It can truly feel like a magical moment that we pursue again and again.

One of the problems that commonly comes up with the development of inside leg to outside rein is that our horses love to cheat! They love to find the best way of keeping us happy with minimal effort on their behalf, and so instead of sitting deeper into their haunches they twist their pelvis. We will find our inside leg to outside rein normally works really well one way (normally the left), the direction our horse likes to bend to and not so well the other way.

We feel it not working so well because we have too much weight in the inside rein and no weight in the outside rein (normally the right). This is often not picked up by the rider though, because most of us are right handed and more comfortable feeling the extra weight in the right hand and not the left.

Inside leg to outside rein is also where we learn how to drive into contact. It starts us down the pathway of elevation and impulsion. Because it shows both us and our horse how to stay sitting in the haunches and push off their haunches, we start to learn how to recycle the energy and establish connection.

When we establish connection we start to communicate through our seat, and this is where we really start to refine the art of riding. However, if our horse is working twisted through the pelvis, we end up getting stuck and feeling like we are going round and round in circles - never moving forward.

So not only do we need to be able to ride inside leg to outside rein but we also need to be able to ride outside leg to inside rein, inside leg to inside rein and outside leg to outside rein. Because what we are truly doing when we ride inside leg to outside rein is connecting the action of the hind leg to the flexion of the rein. This can then shorten and lengthen the stride, collect, elevate and create impulsion. And what we are truly establishing when we connect the rein contact to the hock flexion is throughness, straightness and balance. We are asking our horse to distribute their weight evenly onto all 4 legs which engages their postural muscle and the core.

The whole purpose of dressage, the art of riding, is to lengthen our horses career through movement. That career is established by our horses musculoskeletal health, and their musculoskeletal health is dictated by the strength of their core and the suppleness of their back.

Addressing unwanted behaviour is pointless without acknowledging wanted behaviour

Are you constantly on your horses case?

More bend!

More forward!

More frame!

… More, more, more!

One of the biggest things I have to remind my students of is to say good when they are trying, give them a break and give them pats for their good effort.

It’s not that we are purposefully hold out (although sometimes we are taught not to pat or say good boy/girl) but that we get caught up in what we are doing and trying to get the results. On focus is so centered on results that we forget to even congratulate ourselves for our effort and this has flow on affects to the horse.

When we acknowledge wanted behaviour with positive reinforcement (at Equestrian Movement we call them emotional motivators or our horses love language), our horse actively seeks the answer and therefore the reward. An added bonus of the win for the horse is the release of happy hormones associated with task completion, and if we have associated our emotional motivator with our connection with our horses, they will look to do it for us to please us and not just satisfy their own desires.

When we constantly say no, use negative reinforcement and hassle our horses, they eventually stop being curious and stop trying.

If every time they put effort in and try they are told wrong or not good enough there is no reason for them to try and nothing for them to enjoy in the learning process.

My 2 cents on licking and mouthing

Does your horse have to have something in it’s mouth? Or is it a licker?

Licking and mouthing are considered signs of relaxation and are often touted as gold standards signs of submission.

For me though, if a horse has to show active, loud signs of relaxation than it had to be stressed in the first place.

Everything we do with our horse creates stress.

• The stress of learning cues and aids;

• The stress of behaving themselves and looking after us no matter the scenario and environment;

• The physical stress of performing for us all have an impact on our horses.

It is just a matter of ensuring that the stress is just enough to fire the adaptational process towards improving the horse and not a detriment to them.

For example, more physical stress than they can cope with results in injury and worst case, breaking down young. The same kind of break down can happen with mental and emotional stress, both of which are closely related. Just enough stress promotes resilience and courage. Too much stress leads to overwhelm and shut down. Finding that level of pressure that promotes the transformation your looking for without the stress. Which means that sometimes our horse works well without need to show active signs of relaxation. 

Raising your horse’s energy and bringing it back down

When we are training our horse and establishing cues, we are applying pressure to our horses to trigger a reaction. The training process is multiple applications of this pressure to trigger a reaction until our horse is conditioned to associate a particular behaviour with a cue.

The trouble with this process is that our horses can get stressed, overwhelmed and frustrated. Their energy raises and their emotions get heightened until they can no longer control their behaviour and start to act out. 

Each ask compounds on the previous ask and the emotional and mental performance pressure builds up. Some horses cope, some horses don’t. The ones that don’t get labelled dangerous, difficult or naughty but at the crux of it they just haven’t been shown how to cooperate and say yes.

One training tool or value we have to manage this is asking for consent. We give our horses the time and space to process the ask to say no if they need to but more importantly say yes when they are ready for the next ask. This allows them to process their emotions and stress before it gets to the point of overwhelm.

A horse that can’t control its emotions, can’t control its behaviour. 

The second tool or value we use is teaching our horses relaxation and looking for relaxation and tension cues. When we are tuned in to our horses level of relaxation and tension we can clearly know if our horse is going to cope with pressure, how much pressure and what they will do when they stop coping. 

This sliding scale of relaxation and performance is key to keeping our horses in a relaxed, active working brain. The more often you transition from active working to relaxed back to active working. The stronger that wiring becomes the smoother the transition is and the more resilience we build for them to cope with increased levels of pressure and stress.