Is your horse working with tension?

"All the interventions in the world can't help hour horse if it is working with tension"

How to develop sound, athletic horses so that our horses can express themselves through movement and ask to be ridden... It all starts with the development of the rider. Their feel, eye and sensitivity.

There are multiple reasons for the horse to hold tension that can develop into irregularity of stride and soundness issues, behavioural issues like bucking, bolting and rearing or even just lacking forwardness, jacking up and working hollow and strung out. The way forward is a refinement of what we already know.

🐴🐴The foundations 🐴🐴

The foundations are 100% necessary to unblock tension.

🐴Tension from fear, including lack of psychology safety to be themselves and lack of trust in their riders choices.

🐴Tension from the application of pressure, both bit and bridle.

🐴Tension from lack of balance to move into the movements with relaxation and swing.

🐴Mental tension from the effort spent on the exercises.

As riders setting our horses up for success, we need to have an intricate understanding of how to build our horses confidence in themselves, us and our choices for them, the bit and our communication (how to answer the question correctly), carrying us and performing with task with mental and emotional relaxation. This can be challenging, complex and overwhelming. But more importantly, it is incredibly rewarding.