Tipton Horsemanship Young Riders Program

03/13/2026

Great read, thanks Highland Equine
We have an active young rider program, as well as working students, it’s a real balancing act, but they are the future. And it’s important!
Highland Equine

The last article that I had seen was about how junior riders aren’t being given the opportunities they once were.

I’d like to, from a SMALL trainer perspective, give some insight from my own personal experiences, which may help shed some light on 1️⃣a smaller barn’s struggle with providing these opportunities, and 2️⃣ how riders can help secure better opportunities in the future.

Growing up (25 years ago… I know,
I’m soooooo old…) in order to become a working student, you had to first be a student at that farm. That meant either in active lessons on barn horses, a leased, or your own horse.

🤷🏻‍♀️In other words, you had to be a financially contributing member of the team.

👉A working student position meant you got freebies for proving your dedication by helping with extra chores around the farm, and making the farm owner and trainer’s life easier, while still helping to keep the lights on.
🫶We showed up at 6 am to do stalls and turn out.
🫶We learned to check for shoes and how to blanket properly; how to move efficiently while also giving the full standard of care, so we could spend more time having fun in the saddle.
🫶We cleaned all of the tack at the end of the day.
🫶We dedicated our time to our sport, not saying “well I can only come once a week because of theater, basketball, soccer, and debate.”
🫶We were there when the other kids weren’t. 🫶We did the things the other kids didn’t want to do.
🫶We didn’t get paid in cash, we got paid in experience.
🫶We rode the devil ponies, we rode the babies, we rode the lame ones working back in PT.
👉And we didn’t care.
🫶We trail rode, lunged, flatted.
🫶We took the saddle time and ran with it.

My personal trainer in my early teens didn’t just give me saddle time. She was my drill sergeant. She took my stirrups and reins away and had me 2 pt for a half hour on her ponies, three times a week, for a year to learn better balance. She would put me on an old fuddy-duddy that didn’t do enough hard work that week, and make me do transitions with no stirrups. She had me get on the pony that laid down in the corners, she had me ride the stoppers, and the dirty little evil things. 7 horses a day on the weekends, 2-3 after school. With farm chores. And I was in charge of cleaning my tack and grooming. It was just me, her, and sometimes her assistant trainer, and we got it all done, on top of my homework, and helping my mom with house chores.

🙌I learned grit, I learned useful life skills, I learned how to really ride, I learned efficiency and time management, and I learned that the faster I went, the more Jo-Ann would let me ride. If I didn’t do it right? I did it again, and lost out on saddle time. 👉No one fixed my mistakes but me; my mom didn’t help, my dad wouldn’t set foot on a farm, and Jo-Ann definitely wasn’t going to help. She already had a schedule for that day. It was up to me to help her make it Happen, because that’s how the lights stay on. If we aren’t working, the horses aren’t eating. End of story. 🙌

🐴At no point in my working student career did I ever not own or lease a horse. That was rule number one: the lights must stay on.
If you couldn’t help make life run smoothly, you couldn’t be there. It’s not fair for everyone involved.

🤷🏻‍♀️That’s how it was working for Tartan, Robin, the Muldoons, and Marlene. You had to contribute, and in more ways that just saddle time and half hearted labor.

👉Everyone👉Had👉To👉Contribute.

🤷🏻‍♀️Why am I telling everyone this? Because this just isn’t what people think of when they think of working students anymore.

🧡We used to call working students under the age of 18 Barn Rats. When they became an adult, they were called Working Students. We 👉worked to be students. And students contribute. ❎If the lights don’t stay on, we don’t have a farm to learn on❎

Fast forward to the last 3 years of the industry, and the dread I have of looking for a working student.

I will post: looking for a working student for a few times a week, minimal stalls, occasional feeding, clean tack, lots of flatting, trail rides and occasional jumping. 2-3 horses at the most.

The responses I get:
🤷🏻‍♀️How much does this position pay?
🤷🏻‍♀️Do you provide housing?
🤷🏻‍♀️Do I get a free stall?
🤷🏻‍♀️I’ve never ridden before in my life, can you teach me, and I’ll need paid.

And what I find, sadly, is that 9/10 “applicants” come out, ready to go, that has wanted paid, asked for housing and free board and lessons can’t find a diagonal, don’t know what a lead is, and can’t post in a balanced manner. To top it off, most hadn’t discussed this with their trainer. 😅I had one girl cry when I told her it’s not a good fit, and begged me not to call her trainer because she didn’t tell her trainer she was coming. This particular young lady showed up in spurs with a whip and then gouged my horses side (sans spurs) to ask him for a soft trot after I told her to be gentle. ❌She was also a half hour late to her interview and called me from Dunkin’s asking if I wanted anything, at the time she was scheduled to be there. 👉Side note: if I’m offering you an opportunity to ride my horses because I’m too busy to keep up, I don’t have time to wait for you to get your caffeine fix.
‼️Punctuality‼️is‼️kind‼️of‼️a‼️big‼️deal‼️

This is just one of the many head shaking experiences I have had, personally, from people that have wanted a working student position. ❌I’ve had “upper level” xc riders show up and gun my dead quiet hunter into a fence and then yank his face off when he charges the fences, which is what they asked him to do. ❌I had another drop my pony at every jump so my pony finally side stepped in the landing, and she fell off. she screamed he was dangerous. No, he’s tired of doing his job and yours 🤷🏻‍♀️

❌I’ve had “experienced” riders tack up the horses wrong.

❌I asked one girl to make sure the horse got a full bath and she responded with “I’m not being paid to be a groom.” You aren’t being paid to ride either, so take care of the horse you just rode or leave.

❌And many times these young ladies won’t get off their phones long enough to notice if the horse was missing a shoe when he walked in.

Now this is not to say that I haven’t had some wonderful ladies show up. Haley, Emma, Nicole, and currently Izzy and Ash. They give their all when they are here and want to learn.🧡

But every single one of these girls understands what goes into having sound, level headed horses to ride, a farm to ride on, and my time given to them. I break it down their first day: average barn labor is paid 15/hour. Average lessons are 75 in the area. 🟰That’s 5 hours of work for a free lesson. Average cost to maintain a horse with front shoes in the area (everything, not just board) is 1350 a month. Many of us small people don’t have largely funded backers, or barns full of expensive training projects (most of which don’t want working students on their horses anyway…) So what does this mean? It means that their payment for the work they do is their lessons, the knowledge and the experience they get.

❌They aren’t assistant trainers.

👉They’re at my farm for a maximum of 3 hours 2-3 times a week, they contribute to the work load, and they get an opportunity to work towards a goal that they’d otherwise have to pay for.

🧡Many of these girls understood that they had huge gaps in their education, and those gaps were not helping my horses, so whenI asked them to take a step back and learn how I do things, none of them were offended.

I have my two, and they help at shows, help out with paying jobs, and help save money, so it’s worth it for this small peanuts person to have them here. Many barns can’t foot the bills and pay/house part time working students and provide solid good horses for them to learn on.

👉👉👉It has to be a give and take or we won’t be able to continue with smaller trainers giving these young riders the opportunities They crave. And those small trainers are the ones who a. Need the help, and b. Will take more chances on the riders.

👉Here are some ways junior and young riders can help our smaller people out:

🧡Start with your trainer: ask if there are any opportunities at the farm you are already an established client at to ride other horses. Soak up every lesson you can, and help with the farm chores. You are never above mucking a stall or holding horses for the farrier.

🧡If you don’t have opportunities left at that farm, discuss it with your trainer, and seek out a new trainer to continue your education. Take your horse (if it is truly your horse) to that farm. Don’t ask someone to give you opportunities while paying someone else that can’t help you. You must contribute to keeping the lights on where you are being helped, and your old stall WILL get filled, I promise.

🧡Pay for a lesson. Even if it’s just one a week. Contribute to the electric bill. The feed bill. Something. Horses are expensive. Don’t leave all that expense to your trainer.

🧡Pick up shifts at the barn, even if you can’t ride that day, or don’t get an opportunity to ride that day. Barn time is barn time, and barn time will teach you things that just sitting in the saddle won’t.

🧡If you don’t have a horse, lease or partial lease one that you will be riding the most.

🧡Be open to relearning basics. Even the greatest riders in the world focus on basics. Basics build greatness. No one is above practicing basics.

🧡Be open to criticism. No one is perfect, and not every trainer does the same techniques. Learn from everyone and take all the lessons with you.

‼️And keep in mind, if you want to be paid for your work, you must be able to provide a service that warrants being paid. This will seem very harsh, and I don’t mean it to be, just realistic: if I am paying for someone to ride my horse and I have to go back and retrain that horse after every ride, that isn’t helpful. That creates more work. Much like if I pay someone to do a stall, and when they leave I have to redo them. It’s counter productive for any business to pay someone do the work twice. Understand that it’s not our job to sacrifice our riding time to do stalls so you can enjoy our horses. Help everywhere. Be a member of the team.

👉This relationship has to be mutually beneficial or this relationship won’t happen, and from my latest experiences, this is part of the reason we aren’t seeing many of these opportunities left.

👉Working students aren’t meant to be paid, nor are they meant to be full time. That’s an employee.

🧡They’re meant to be taught.

🧡They need to be open to being taught.

🧡And they need to contribute.

🧡Everyone needs to contribute.

🧡At the end of the day, the lights need to stay on.

03/10/2026

Great read

We all want to learn to ride. That makes us curious. Curiosity leads to questions like: “How does this work?”, “How do I need to sit?”, “How do I ride a shoulder-in?”, “How do I teach a piaffe?”, etc. In pursuit of these questions, we take lessons, read books, and watch videos in the hopes of finding answers. Over the last 30 years the amount of equestrian literature has vastly proliferated, so that you can find many different publications to choose from on most topics. So far, so good.

The danger is that there is a long tradition in the history of dressage to believe that there is only one true and correct way of riding and training. Everyone believes that THEIR way is the one and only RIGHT way, and that everyone else is, therefore, wrong.

This has two negative consequences:

If you take a quasi-religious stance on riding, it puts you on the defensive because you feel attacked or invalidated by everyone who does things differently. So you end up attacking and putting down everyone else.
You limit your curiosity. You stop asking certain questions, and you stop searching for answers. When you stop asking questions and searching for answers, you stop learning, and you get stuck as soon as your method does not solve the problem you are facing.

Since creativity and innovation can lead to change, they threaten the status quo and challenge existing structures, including power structures. That’s why they are often strongly discouraged.

In traditional riding culture, for instance, the student is very much discouraged from questioning the teacher or from debating with the teacher. A good student was expected to follow strictly in the footsteps of his or her teacher without deviating at all from their path. This preserves the status quo, but it kills curiosity, and it keeps students in line. It keeps them small. It also prevents progress, innovation, or the evolution of horsemanship.

From that point of view, curiosity, creativity, and innovations are almost acts of rebellion against the existing structures.

03/04/2026

Great exercise from Dressage Academy!

Training Tip Tuesday. This week we are moving away from the half pass and into our series on the canter pirouette. The pirouette is a great exercise increasing the carry capacity behind, developing coordination and increasing concentration. In the long run, this will help to increase the hindquarter muscle strength. It is important to note that the canter pirouette should not be ridden too often as this will over-stress the joints and soft tissues of the hindquarter potentially leading to injury.

This exercise can be performed at the walk or the canter depending on your horse's level of training. Begin riding a diagonal line from B toward centerline at C. Approaching the center line, ask for a shoulder fore and then ask for 3 steps of pirouette. Ride out of the pirouette in shoulder fore toward E maintaining collection. Then, begin the shoulder fore and 3 steps of pirouette again at A.

The horse should maintain the rhythm of the gait throughout the exercise.

03/02/2026

Great post

02/28/2026

Should shoulder-in be ridden on 3-tracks or 4-tracks? 🤔

Although modern-day dressage competitions require shoulder-in to be ridden on three tracks (as illustrated below), some classical school versions of this movement require your horse’s shoulders to be displaced even further to the inside so that it is performed on four tracks; that is, with each of your horse’s legs traveling on its own track.

When training at home, you can ride shoulder-in on four tracks, but for competition purposes, you must ride it on three tracks, or you will lose marks.

----

Illustration created and copyrighted by HowToDressage

02/27/2026

Nuno Oliveira tells us: “Equestrian art, involves complete harmony between horse and rider, and makes the rider feel that there have been moments of beauty and greatness which makes a flight possible from all that is ordinary and mediocre."
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2022/08/nuno-oliveira-talks-about-competition-dressage/

02/27/2026

Great information

The Nuchal Ligament - one of the most important structures in the horse's body

It's a strong, elastic, rope-like ligament that is made from fibrous material with a relatively poor blood supply. It runs from the poll to the top of the spinous processes at the withers.

The nuchal ligament has several major functions, including:
🔹 Helping to support the weight of the head and neck, holding it in position
🔹 Acting as an energy saving device for reducing the amount of muscular effort needed to support the head and neck
🔹 Allowing the head and neck to be raised & lowered
🔹 Restraining and stabilising the movement of the spinous processes at the highest point of the withers
🔹 Maintaining the correct alignment of the cervical vetebrae

The nuchal ligament has 2 parts
1. The funicular part - 2 parallel cords that run along the nuchal crest from the occipital bone to the top of the spinous processes at the withers.
2. The lamellar part - made up of finger-like projections that run from the funicular cord to the tops of the cervical neck vertebrae below it.

The nuchal ligament continues as the supraspinous ligament, linking the tops of each vertebral spinous process from the withers to the end of the sacrum.

✅ Like and follow us for more....

02/27/2026

A great post

The word “fluency” is taken from the Latin word “fluentem,” meaning “to flow.”

In dressage, fluency refers to the horse’s overall way of going, transitions, medium or extended strides, and the harmony between the horse and rider. Everything the horse does should appear smooth, effortless, flowing, and graceful.

Any interruption in the rhythm, loss of balance, “clunky” transitions, stiffness, or resistance will destroy the fluency of the test.

In dressage tests, fluency is applicable to every movement and transition. So, the judge will look for:

✅ Smooth, even rhythm and tempo in all the paces
✅ Effortless, balanced, and flowing upward transitions and downward transitions
✅ Light, cadenced footfalls
✅ Suppleness through the horse’s back
✅ Harmony, and mental and physical relaxation between the horse and his rider.

----

Stock image from Shutterstock

01/21/2026

Great post from More than a Horse with Arthur Kottas-Heldenberg
Your position is directly related to your effectiveness, we all must work on this every ride! 💕

"Una buona posizione deve essere ricercata, controllata e padroneggiata. Non c’è vera equitazione senza una buona posizione. Per esempio, è fisicamente del tutto impossibile riunire un cavallo senza avere un buon assetto, perché la schiena del cavaliere, le gambe e il busto non possono dare gli aiuti necessari. Un assetto superficialmente corretto, ma fisicamente teso, creerà rigidità e ansia nel cavallo. Il cavallo può essere rilassato solo se il cavaliere è libero dalla tensione. Una postura teoricamente corretta che non permetta però al cavallo di muoversi liberamente e con leggerezza è solo un’illusione e una falsa apparenza. Può a volte riuscire a impressionare il pubblico, ma non a convincere il cavallo! Solo un assetto equilibrato consente al cavallo di sentirsi comodo, sia mentalmente sia fisicamente. Un cavaliere nella posizione sbagliata, sbilanciato, o rigido, impedirà al cavallo di rilassarsi e gli impedirà di maturare e sviluppare la propria muscolatura armoniosamente. In questo modo, a qualsiasi stadio dell’addestramento, ogni esercizio diventerà difficile, se non impossibile. Il miglior assetto è quello che permette al cavallo di essere in equilibrio e di sviluppare l’impulso (cioè, la propensione a portarsi in avanti) con la minima interferenza del cavaliere, in ogni esercizio. Un fattore determinante per stabilire un buon assetto è avere una buona immagine mentale del proprio corpo. Quindi, prestate un’attenzione attiva al vostro corpo: al vostro equilibrio, alla vostra posizione; siate consapevoli di ogni irrigidimento. Solo allora sentirete il vostro cavallo e sarete in armonia con lui. Il nostro obiettivo è proprio l’armonia tra cavallo e cavaliere!"

✒ Arthur Kottas

📖 Dressage

11/02/2025

Great article

Youth Rider Fitness: Why "Just Riding" Isn't Enough Anymore (for many students)

Let's have an honest conversation about young riders and fitness. I'm seeing more kids struggle with basic physical tasks that used to be standard:
- Can't post trot for more than a few minutes without exhaustion
- Lack core strength for balanced sitting
- Struggle with flexibility for proper leg position
- Get winded easily during lessons
- Can't maintain two-point position

And here's the uncomfortable truth: Riding once or twice a week isn't enough to build the fitness riding actually requires. This isn't about body shaming. This is about performance and safety.

WHY FITNESS MATTERS FOR YOUNG RIDERS:
🐴 Riding IS an athletic activity
We're asking their bodies to do complex movements: balance on a moving object, coordinate multiple body parts independently, maintain core engagement, react quickly to changes.

🐴 Fitness prevents injury
Weak cores lead to poor position. Poor position leads to falls. Falls lead to injuries. Strong, flexible riders are safer riders.

🐴 Better fitness = better riding
A tired rider can't focus on technique. A weak rider compensates with grip and tension. A fit rider can actually LEARN instead of just surviving the lesson.

🐴 Horses deserve fit riders
An unbalanced, flopping rider is hard on a horse's back. If we care about our horses' wellbeing, we need to care about rider fitness.

THE FITNESS COMPONENTS YOUNG RIDERS NEED:
1. CORE STRENGTH
The foundation of everything. Without core strength, riders grip with legs, bounce in the saddle, and collapse through their position.

Off-horse exercises:
- Planks (start with 20 seconds, build up)
- Dead bugs
- Bicycle crunches
- Superman holds
- Stability ball exercises

Why it matters: Core stability = independent seat = better balance and control

2. LEG STRENGTH
Long, stretchy legs wrapped around the horse require strength AND endurance. Weak legs = gripping knees and tense lower legs.

Off-horse exercises:
- Wall sits
- Squats (bodyweight, then add resistance)
- Lunges
- Calf raises
- Step-ups

Why it matters: Strong legs can hug without gripping, maintain position without tension

3. FLEXIBILITY
Tight hips = stiff seat. Tight hamstrings = chair seat. Tight ankles = heels that won't drop.

Off-horse exercises:
- Hip flexor stretches
- Hamstring stretches
- Calf stretches
- Inner thigh/groin stretches
- Ankle mobility work
- Yoga (even 10 minutes helps!)

Why it matters: Flexibility allows proper position without force or tension

4. CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE
Riding IS cardio. If kids are winded after posting trot, they can't focus on anything else.

Off-horse exercises:
- Running/jogging
- Biking
- Swimming
- Jump rope
- Dancing
- Active play (yes, just playing outside counts!)

Why it matters: Endurance = ability to focus on technique instead of just surviving physically

5. BALANCE & COORDINATION
Riding requires proprioception - knowing where your body is in space while it's moving.

Off-horse exercises:
- Single-leg balance (progress to eyes closed)
- Balance board work
- Heel-to-toe walking
- Sports that require coordination (soccer, dance, gymnastics)
- Slacklining

Why it matters: Better body awareness = faster position corrections and safer riding

6. UPPER BODY & ARM STRENGTH
Independent hands require shoulder stability and arm endurance. Weak arms = pulling on reins for balance.

Off-horse exercises:
- Push-ups (modified if needed)
- Resistance band work
- Light weights (arm circles, overhead press)
- Rows
- Plank variations

Why it matters: Strong, stable shoulders = quiet, independent hands

HOW TO IMPLEMENT FITNESS IN YOUR PROGRAM: (For Instructors:)
1. Include unmounted exercises in lessons. 5 minutes of stretching before mounting makes a difference. Two-point holds at the end of lessons build strength.
2. Assign "homework". Give students 2-3 exercises to do at home between lessons. Make it simple and specific.
3. Make it fun, not punishment. "Let's build strong riders!" not "You need to get in shape." Frame it positively.
4. Show them the connection: "Your heels keep coming up because your calves are tight. Let's stretch them!" Help them understand WHY fitness matters.
5. Consider "Rider Fitness" clinics. Dedicate a session to off-horse exercises, stretching, and strength building (plus put a little cash in your pocket!!).

For Parents:
Your child's riding will improve dramatically with basic fitness work. Here's how to support them:
1. Encourage active play. Kids who move their bodies regularly have better body awareness and fitness for riding.
2. Limit screen time... I know it's hard, but sedentary time = weak bodies = struggling riders.
3. Make it a family activity! Do yoga together. Go for bike rides. Make fitness part of family culture, not a chore.
4. Support their "homework". If their instructor assigns exercises, help them remember and make time for it.
5. Celebrate effort: "I noticed you held two-point longer today!" Recognition motivates continued effort.

THE EXERCISES I ASSIGN MOST:
Daily (5 minutes):
- 30-second plank
- 20 squats
- 1 minute of stretching (hips, hamstrings, calves)

3x per week (15 minutes):
- Plank hold (build to 1 minute)
- Wall sit (build to 1 minute)
- 20 lunges (each leg)
- 20 calf raises
- Hip flexor stretches
- Single-leg balance (30 seconds each side)

It's not about being an athlete. It's about being FUNCTIONAL in the saddle.

REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS:
❌ Don't expect kids to become gym rats
❌ Don't make it overwhelming or complicated
❌ Don't use fitness as punishment for "bad" riding
✅ DO make it simple and consistent
✅ DO connect exercises directly to riding improvements
✅ DO celebrate small progress
✅ DO make it fun when possible
Even 10 minutes, 3x per week makes a difference.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Riding is a SPORT. Like any sport, it requires physical preparation. We wouldn't expect a kid to play soccer without running. We shouldn't expect them to ride well without the fitness riding requires.

Better fitness = Better riding = Safer riding = Happier horses
It's really that simple.

For Instructors: Do you incorporate fitness work into your program?
What exercises do you find most effective for young riders?
Have you seen dramatic improvements when students work on off-horse fitness?

Let's talk about building stronger, safer, more capable young riders! Drop your tips, experiences, and favorite exercises below! 👇

10/28/2025

Great read from Thomson Classical Jumping thank you! 🥰
Thomson Classical Jumping

The timeless lesson? What we feel in our hands so often begins behind the saddle. I was incredibly fortunate to learn under 𝗚𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘆𝘀 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘆, who trained with 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘇 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿, 𝗡𝘂𝗻𝗼 𝗢𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗿𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗱𝗴𝗮𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗰𝗵𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗸 - a tradition that shaped my understanding of true connection and self-carriage from the very beginning.

Nuno Oliveira said, “𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩.”

Decades later, 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗘𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 explained the same principle in his own way, using a brilliant analogy between engagement and athletic discomfort. Both of these wise horsemen’s words still make me pause and think - not only when I feel too much in my hand, but especially when I see a pupil learning to lighten theirs.

It’s a reminder that what we feel in our hands so often begins behind the saddle - not only in the clarity of the rider’s seat and legs, but also in the strength, balance, and weight-lifting ability of the horse’s hindquarters.

So next time you feel your horse leaning on your hand, or you’re tempted to tighten or fight the contact - pause. 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙨𝙠 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙨?

With respect and gratitude to 𝘋𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘺 𝘌𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 (𝘛𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘍𝘢𝘳𝘮) for articulating this so clearly. His full post follows - it’s well worth the read.

"My horse leans on my hands" and other similar comments----A discussion.

Let's say we jog in place---we humans. Now let's say we squat down while jogging in place.
Try it, it hurts more. Now squat lower, jog higher----It hurts still more, we pant more, we struggle more. We are feeling the effects of athletically induced discomfort.

Now imagine that you are sitting on a horse being ridden (correctly) back to front. You drive with seat or legs, create some impulsion, and simultaneously you "contain-receive-balance" that impulsion with your quiet, negotiating hands, so that the horse is being asked to take a "deeper" step, come more under himself, and lift himself more rather than simply push himself along, as he'd do naturally.

We call this things like "asking for more engagement", "asking him to carry himself".

Even though what we are doing may be careful asking rather than forceful demanding, it STILL hurts the horse. No, it doesn't INJURE the horse, but it causes him athletically induced discomfort, because when you ask him to engage his hocks, and start to lift and carry his own weight, it's the same as what you felt jogging in place while squatting, lots of physical exertion.

Now the horse, feeling the effects of being asked to be a weight lifter, (and having zero incentive to become a well trained dressage horse---hahahaha, you anthropomorphic dreamer!) the horse tries to avoid the engagement.

He can invert. He can roll under. He can lean on the bit. He can flip his head. ALL these front end/head evasions are---listen here---to get rid of the "correct" connection between the driving aids and the receiving aids, because that connection makes him weight lift, and he'd far rather not.

In other words, we FEEL the resistance up FRONT, in the bit, reins, hands, but the resistance we feel up front is because he doesn't like the pressure of engagement BEHIND. (It took me about 212 years to figure this out, by the way)

So now we MAY think, as many of us do---"My horse is "resisting" in his mouth/jaw. I need to use stronger rein aids. I need a sharper bit. I need draw reins. I need one of those leverage rigs."

(This process can turn, easily, into ugly adversarial fighting, rider demanding, scared, uncomfortable horse resisting)

NO---What we need is to think very long term about strength training.
We ask him to step under (engage), negotiate for some moments of semi-lift, back off, let him recover, ask for a little more, back off, repeat, repeat for months, tiny increments, little by little, "building the horse like an onion", one tiny layer at a time.

WEIGHT LIFTING IS SLOW. WEIGHT LIFTING DOESN'T FEEL GOOD. Yes, it will eventually turn your horse into a better athlete, but your horse doesn't know that. He isn't "being bad" when he resists, he's trying to get away from athletically induced discomfort. So----GO SLOW, HAVE COMPASSION for what he is undergoing.

End of long discussion. I was no big saint about horse training. It took me too many years to equate much of this. Don't make the mistakes I made, and that so many riders make. Be better than that.

Denny Emerson, Tamarack Hill Farm

(𝘗𝘚 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 - 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴: 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥.)