Natural Movement and Balance

09/21/2025

Great information on reflex belly lifts. This is the reason I do not recommend them.

Unachievable expectation that your professional puts on you and your horse, yet they dont follow their own rules

So often i come across posts and I just feel yeah it all sounds nice yet in reality can that be achieved are they asking the impossible and the one that is doing the rounds is asking for a belly lift and declaring this is where your horses back should be when riding like 🤔

Its an impossibility and especially when the following pics are the same dysfunction which prevents the horses lifting its back is still there but the horse has no choice because we are activating the reflex points (often long spiels about consent and choice follow, erm yep no consent no choice when you are activating a reflex piont the brain isnt even involved at the initial stages ).

I never do a belly lift to achieve a lift i do it to look for dysfunction and if you are only focused on the lift then you may just miss the reason why the horse struggled in the first breath.

We do know how horses breathe right?? I mean breathwork is a hot topic everywhere yet the simple function of the breath is interrupted if we keep things up,
Up and out, down and inward is the rythum of breath if we only keep the horse at the up stage then well we are not only impeding them physically but mentally aswell, and we wonder why some horses hate it.

Do you know how a lift looks, bellies blowing out, lumbars roached, hind ends tucked under are, flanks sunk in is not a success its an issue that hasn't been addressed and will never be addressed by sticking a hoof pick in their sensitive areas. We cannot just lift away pain!!

What are reflex points ?? They are there to keep the horse safe, if activated they have no control over the reaction but the brain will receive a signal and if the irritant i.e our poky fingers do not stop the brain will initiate a further conscious reaction like a kick up or a bite, so what has the horse learned ??? Do you think the body will process and use the information in a positive way.

The lift even if perfect may be achieved but add negative forces such as a saddle and rider then how can the the horse then be in the same place that it was without the added pressure, was your saddle fitted to a lifted back ?? Does your saddle now fit if like in real life horse nor human walks around in a constant state of over active core, normal is not buff.

Vertical lift is a whole body action not a poke in the girth area and blinkering eyes just to the thoracic area, it comes from everywhere working together but a back like a cat stretch yoga pose is not an 24/7 action its a task which is doomed to fail.

08/04/2025

It’s always worth checking dry spots and why they are there. Even if you have no dry spots you could still be having saddle fit issues.

08/03/2025

Whips, spur, bit, bitless, release of pressure or food reward- haltered or liberty-

There are a million ways to get a horse to do something. The whole conversation around what’s right or wrong to me misses a very important element, that goes getting beyond just getting a horse to do something.

You can chase the horse forward, or you can have him excitedly rushing toward a carrot on a stick - but what I’m more interested to know is HOW does he do it? My goal isn’t just to make something happen, but to create fluid movement, and that is a deeper conversation.

How do you create fluidity? How do you create moment to moment conversation, how do you create swing, flexion, rythmic quality? That goes far beyond how you teach, and much more into why you teach it. If the goal is just to make something happen- a collection of behaviors, or prompt responses - and you don’t have an over arching why - it’s hard to connect the dots to weave a more interesting picture

07/26/2025

I’ve worked with lots of troubled horses - horses who are unconfident, fearful, aggressive, inflexible in their ability to adjust, and who struggled with daily events like turnout and herd life, and so on -

Some of these horses were handled poorly, over exposed and under educated, maybe roughed up or handled without patience or care. Some treated like machines who’s only purpose is to perform

A good number, however, were over protected, treated more like someone’s prize poodle carried around in a purse. And the most interesting thing here is - both types of horses struggle with taking in new information, can be very rigid in their routine needs, and have very low confidence.

The average person is not going to whip their horse or tie it for hours with its head to a stirrup. Most horse folks love their animals- and so if the average person has an abused horse, it is usually from a past incident or person.

The average person, however, is capable of creating discontent, anxiety and general inability to be confident quite easily - by not providing the framework to learn and grow through a healthy degree of discomfort.

This is a hard reality to face: we can certainly love our horses to death. It’s easy and understandable to want to prevent discomfort - to work tirelessly to eliminate it from our horses lives.

In some ways this is an honorable quality. It shows empathy and care. But we need to learn to balance our desire to protect with our desire to be true stewards- which means not just creating immediate comfort, but setting up the framework for a lifetime of confidence-

Temporary discomfort can sometimes be extremely productive, so long as it’s provided with tools and education to manage it, and the mentality of care for the horses wellbeing above all. What this means is most of us already have the right attitude: we just need a little development with the love for horses we already naturally carry.

07/16/2025

07/08/2025

🏇 Think your horse is “in shape” just because they’re being ridden?
Think again.

Many riders mistake training for conditioning — but the truth is, most horses are under-conditioned for the work they’re asked to do. This isn’t about working harder… it’s about working smarter.

✅ Learn why 30 minutes of arena work may not be enough
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If you love your horse, this one’s a must-read. 👇
👉 Link to full blog in the comments!

07/04/2025

Sometimes the crash comes AFTER the stress

You bought a horse that seemed sound, well adjusted and well trained. You get it home and the poor thing is lame and crawling out of its skin.

Were you conned ?

Maybe

But there are two other possibilities

1- the horse was adjusted to a certain routine, manner and frequency of riding, diet, etc and is now struggling outside of that routine that has helped to keep going - now the horse might feel like a border collie in an apartment without enough opportunity for movement.
(lots of articles have been written about this and it’s well worth looking into)

2- the horse was under some form of stress that has now ended and turned into another -
The stress of decompressing.

Brains are wired to keep us alive. Bodies are made to keep going.
Horses are incredible survivors - they can keep going and being pretty athletic under incredible duress. They are wired to not stop and say ouch at every pain and tweak, even with lameness and developing dysfunctions - because they NEED to. They can look sound when they are under stress. All you need to do to understand this is imagine a lion chasing a horse and know they will run until they are caught or free - and if the lion is the training, the lifestyle, the expectation, they will hold together until they can’t anymore .

So then they are purchased and pulled from this intensive lifestyle and now living in the lap of luxury - they have no reason to be stressed, so we think -

Now they face the lengthy decompression period. Compensation mechanisms are falling away and the horse is left naked here. They don’t know what to do. What to expect. Everything is upside down. The compensations that have kept them tight kept them safe too, and now they are wobbly, insecure and naked.

This is where they need HELP, not just supplements and bodywork and kindness. They need time, sure, but they need guidance. Not knowing what to expect can drive a horse half crazy.

They need some form of structure. A stable herd. A stable guiding hand that can clearly show them the new ropes. Not too fast in expectations but don’t wait too long to show them the new ropes either.

Your language is likely very different. Maybe your goals totally upside down from the training they’ve had. You might be changing everything from head to toe, thinking you’re offering a soft landing, which you likely are - but think of the confusion in their upside down experience - help clarify, guide, explain, show, and support.

And of course, continue giving them supports- maybe the gut needs help right away, or some dietary changes. And of course it can take time, but there are some things that can be helped and should be helped right away.

05/11/2025

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the horse mommas.

05/08/2025

Virginia Tech came out with new ratings this spring. It is worth the read.

04/29/2025

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