Equilibrado Equestrian

09/24/2025

👀➡️🐴 Did you know your horse’s eyes play a huge role in how polework improves their posture?

When a horse approaches poles, their oculomotor system (the way the eyes track, focus and guide movement) is activated. To safely place their feet, the horse has to:
🔹 Visually scan the poles ahead
🔹 Adjust stride length and rhythm
🔹 Coordinate head, neck, and limb movement with what their eyes are telling them

This “eye-body connection” sharpens proprioception (awareness of where the body is in space). The horse learns to balance their body better, engage the core, and lift through the thoracic sling instead of collapsing on the forehand.

Over time, the repeated oculomotor + postural response builds:
✨ Improved spinal alignment
✨ More lifted, balanced, elastic movement
✨ Stronger topline and core stability

Now - the key here is BALANCED movement, as having improved proprioception means that the horse can coordinate their limbs and body over, around and through obstacles, changes in surface, undulations and speed with ease.

When you’re doing polework, you’re not just training muscles and joints, you’re training the nervous system too!! That’s why it’s such a powerful tool for posture, coordination, and overall wellbeing 👀

07/18/2025

Trigger stacking and why it is so relevant for safety when handling horses.

What is trigger stacking?

Trigger stacking describes the process of multiple stressors accumulating and increasing the stress level of an animal until they can no longer cope, resulting in an outward reaction.

The triggers can vary in intensity. But the nature of trigger stacking means that the final trigger that results in a major reaction in the horse does not always have to be a big trigger. It can be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

This phenomenon is why horses may sometimes appear to react out of nowhere or have a strong reaction to something that, in other circumstances, they might not be bothered by at all or as bothered by.

In other cases, the triggers in the environment might be so large that the horse reacts suddenly following one big high intensity trigger. A very scary moment.

But, in many cases where horse behaviour surprises people, and they cannot assess the cause, it is the result of multiple smaller triggers.

Let me give a great example of trigger stacking that I witnessed happening at the racetrack.

A pony Horse was being tacked up, tied to the wall in the middle of a shedrow.

Since he lived at the racetrack, he was stalled 24/7, which would serve as a chronic and rather large trigger.

It was shortly before the first race of the night and the barns were very busy with lots of horses walking to and fro. The hectic environment serves as multiple smaller triggers.

There was a fan in the aisleway oscillating back-and-forth.

Every time the breeze hit this horse, I watched him tense up, raise his head and flinch.

Every single time this fan hit him was an additional trigger.

Finally, the last trigger before his big reaction.

Someone picked up and moved the fan.

It was unplugged, so there was no breeze.

But, they moved a little too close to this horse, and the base of the fan just barely skimmed his leg.

This horse, who had already been a picture of tension before, exploded.

He pulled back against his tie, and when he felt the restriction of the rope, he panicked even more.

He pulled until his halter broke.

Then he froze and stood there trembling.

“ wow, what’s his problem!? He did that out of nowhere.” One of the handlers of this horse exclaimed.

But, he didn’t do it out of nowhere. They had just missed all of the signs of his tension growing, and because of that his reaction came as a surprise to the humans.

I watched the whole thing happen from a distance because it was not my horse, and I also had increasing anxiety as I watched how uncomfortable this horse was getting.

I knew a reaction was imminent and his response did not surprise me.

In horse training, a lot of times people feel like horses react out of nowhere.

But, the truth is, we are often just bad at noticing the earlier signs.

If people wear more in tune with the body language, their horse displays, the subtle size, in addition to recognizing the signs of stress, they would be more able to predict behaviour like this and avoid it in the first place.

Being aware of what trigger stacking is as well as the science of stress in horses is imperative for safety around horses.

A lot of the incidents that we see with horses are technically avoidable, whether or not people want to admit it.

There are almost always signs, training methods, and management factors that could be addressed to avoid dangerous reactions in horses.

While there are situations where the environment is so out of control that people are truly helpless to make changes to avoid really dangerous responses from the Horse, this does not happen as often as people might think.

So, next time you feel like your horse has reacted out of nowhere, ask yourself what might have triggered their flight response.

Start taking note of all of the things that happened just before the reaction.

Start looking critically at your Horse’s day-to-day life, and whether or not they are experiencing chronic stressors like lack of turnout, or physical pain.

And remember, just because you did not notice the signs, does not mean that the horse reacted out of nowhere.

07/16/2025

The most common riding flaw I see among today's riders, including pros, is that they look down. To maintain correct balance, we need to ride with our head up and our eyes forward. I see riders posting images all over the internet of them riding that show they are looking down. This might seem a minor issue, but it is not.

When your eyes are down, your horse can feel that your balance is more forward to varying degrees over their horse's forehand. This might seem like a minor issue, but it will put your horse onto their forehand. When your eyes go down, your head that weighs 15 pounds (7 kg) goes down and forward, and usually your shoulders begin to close. All of this together causes a horse to fall forward onto their forehand. The fact that your head is up high at the end of an effective lever, that is your upper body, multiplies the forward weight of your head and shoulders significantly affecting your horse's balance.

The negative effects this has on your horse show up in several ways. It makes both upward and downward transitions more difficult for your horse because this imbalance interferes with your horse's need to engage their hind to reach under themselves. Simply said, when you shift your weight forward in this manner it becomes more difficult for your horse to use its hind. The same is true in lead changes. Rider weight over the forehand, even a little bit, makes all movements that depend on hind engagement more difficult for your horse.

This common riding flaw also affects the rider. Looking down makes it more difficult to develop "feel". To develop "feel" a rider must be centered in unity with their horse's balance. Being forward, ahead of the horse's center of balance creates an obstacle to feeling the horse's balance.

If you look down when riding, just stop it. If you have to look down for a reason, move your eyeballs, not your head. If you keep your eyes and head up and your shoulders open, many improvements will follow. You will sit the canter better because your head and neck position will no longer interfere with your hips swinging to the beats of the canter. "Eyes up". It's simple and fixes a lot of things.

07/12/2025

One of the keys to developing softness and self carriage

Let them Fail

Yes, you read that right. Failing is part of learning. Are you a rider? Trainer? Student?
If you want to do justice to the horse you sit on, there is so much to learn, so much to know, so much knowledge , understanding, and feel,to acquire. Especially if fair to the horse horsemanship, is your goal . Believe me it takes a lifetime. Even if you are really trying.
These next words are for you. You will fail as you learn. That is a fact. Your horse will fail in either understanding or interpreting your signals as you embark on your journey together. All of that failing is normal and fine…part of the process.

Think of it this way. You are developing an interpretive language with another being. That is hard just by definition. Work at the speed and gait you feel most physically and mentally comfortable learning how to communicate in, and one which your horse can relax and focus on your signals. Step by step, interaction by interaction, build your language. I often start in walk…and then on to small doses of trot and canter as you progress, to check your skillset. Here are some truths.
You CANNOT let a horse lean on you. Balance on you, or get behind you. So… what is the option?
Let them fail…
Yes…….
LET THEM FAIL!!!!! Don’t hold them together. Even at walk you and your horses cannot balance on each other. Your horse needs to balance himself over his own feet and under your seat and you… need to balance yourself on his back as he moves. No gripping or holding yourself on by any sort of rein, seat,or leg pressure.
You need to be able to relax and neutralize anything that your horse might interpret as an aid, or a signal, easily and fluidly.
Then you need to hone the ability to isolate your parts so you speak to the horse with only the part of you that he needs to listen to. Yup… super hard. But certainly possible.

I like to think of all my pieces and parts having individual volume control. Until it becomes easy and automatic for you to be aware of all of the parts you could communicate with you will have to relax and learn to control the volume or dosage of any individual aid or part and make sure that the volume is turned down, “neutralized” on any part you do not want to speak with.

Then choose the aid you want to speak with. Use it the way you would if your horse was the best he could be and gauge your horses specific response closely.
Was there a reaction? Was it the correct reaction? If so relax the aid, which will then become the reward. Was there no response?
Then you must repeat the aid a bit quicker or louder with increasing dosage until you get your response… or close to it. Then relax the part that asked immediately.
From these small actions and reactions, you build your language, the vocabulary between you and your horse that both of you can rely on.

Be consistent. Be fair. Be happy with small progress. The basics truly are the most important thing. All of that starts with conversations with your horse where you are willing to let them fail as part of learning.
Cheers folks,
Yvonne

07/02/2025

Good back to front riding, in essence, is about educating the hind leg. It’s about teaching the horse to flex the joints downward, so the front legs can flex upward. It’s about creating swinging, suppleness, stability, and a swinging, moving back.

To get this, the rider commits to becoming stable and supple themsleves. They commit to the discipline of learning to use aids subtly with good timing, and to never use an aid outside of their own center: the emphasis is on the seat, and so the hand is never a solution to a stability problem. The rider gains over time the discipline to check themsleves first: to not make knee jerk corrections to the horse when it’s likely the rider has lost center, feel, rhythm, or swing. It is a commitment to responsibility to be what you want the horse to be- to provide a balanced opening forward, not to chase, prod, beg, or threaten the horse into balance (which is an oxymoron and an impossibility)

This way of riding creates a very confident horse who is calm but energetic. One who can breathe deeply, feel unafraid of the aids but understands they are actually their friend , one who has very comfortable gaits to ride because of their suppleness. It creates long term soundness and best of all, it creates a deep and lasting friendship between horse and person.

The reason for so much pushing and holding Is because it’s easy and requires no real
Self discipline from the rider - the focus is all about making the horse take a shape and go forward. It’s cheap and easy enough to learn quickly.

The reason so little high quality back to front riding can be seen is because of the arduous commitment to better positioning and mind frame development - to be flexible mentally while maintaining commitment.

It could take two lifetimes to get it. I’m not perfect at it now, but I am committed to learning and grateful for the guidance toward the most beautiful way of being with a horse I’ve discovered. Some days it feels incredible, other days too difficult to manage. Some days I miss feeling like I know what I’m doing. But overall I adore the art, and the self development required.

If it were easy everyone would be doing it -

06/29/2025

Please share with your horsey friends!

06/26/2025

Gotta be a team game 🏇🏻

06/26/2025

Wednesday Wisdom.
As an instructor, one of the biggest challenges is watching your students struggle. One of the most difficult concepts for students to understand is that the training process is not linear. It is more like the waves of the ocean or the peaks and valleys of a mountain range.

When we begin our training, it seems like the horse learns new concepts each time we ride. These are the times when we feel most excited, accomplished and content.

Then come the setbacks, challenging rides and possibly mental blocks or physical injuries. These can leave even the most accomplished riders questioning their ability, their horse and even their decision to do dressage. This is when it is important to take a step back and rebuild your horse's confidence and grow your relationship - ask your horse to do something that they find easy or do well and praise him or her for their willingness and try. This will go a long way toward creating a happy and willing partner.

It is important to remember that horses are sentient beings - just like us. They have feelings and emotions - just like us. They have good days and bad days - just like us. As difficult as it may be, it is our responsibility to temper the valleys and give our horse's the support they need to pull through. Remember, your horse is your partner and together you will achieve great things. 🦄

06/22/2025

A horse cannot go to the hand if the hand comes to the horse.

The rider’s goal should be to maintain a soft, following contact—a feeling that is forward and slightly giving. In order for the horse to reach into the contact, there must be something for them to reach toward. If you ride on the buckle all the time (though it certainly has its place), there’s no consistent point of connection for the horse to seek.

The reins should be just short enough to allow connection when the horse is moving forward, pushing from the hindquarters, and moving through their body correctly. As the horse begins to engage from behind, the neck will naturally lengthen, and that energy will carry forward into the rider’s soft, receptive hands.

This process takes time, repetition, and feel—and it’s one of the most common and challenging concepts riders face.

Always remember: good hands come from a good seat. Without stability and balance in the saddle, true softness in the hand is impossible.