Open Ranch

17/06/2026

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The problem isn't the philosophy. The problem is what's being left out.

Something that can be kind of controversial came up at the clinic last weekend.
But then the horses went out and proved the point for us. As they always do.

A lot of people have heard the saying, "light hands make light horses." And while there's truth in that, I think it's one of the most misunderstood ideas in horsemanship.
You'll notice that people who preach never using more than a couple ounces of pressure, never pulling, never getting heavy handed, always seem to have horses that can do certain things... but they rarely have much try. And they tend to fall apart under pressure.
Sure, the horse can lope around slow. He looks sleepy. He looks relaxed.
But that life, that effort, that willingness to really reach and give you something? The kind of thing you saw in Ray Hunt's horses? It's usually missing.

What is often referred to as a ‘natural horsemanship clinician horse’ can be a good example of this. And I feel like I can say that without being too offensive because I am one. I'm an advocate for that philosophy.
The problem isn't the philosophy.
The problem is what's getting left out.
And I think that's why so many horses in that world never really get beyond fourth or fifth grade.

Here's the missing piece:
The horse is never going to learn to handle some pressure or put in more effort if you don't:
Let him know more effort is required.
Give him a reason to offer it.
Let him experience a little arousal from time to time in a balanced way.
That simple fact is why a good three or four year old performance horse can often outperform a fifteen year old clinician horse.

Generally, the clinician world talks down about the performance world.
The performance world talks down about the clinician world.
I think what made Tom Dorrance and Ray Hunt so special is that they understood both. They knew when to lean a little more toward one side and when to lean toward the other.
They understood that softness and effort are not opposites.
They also knew how to get a horse to hunt for a better answer.

A few quotes come to mind:
"First you get it operating. You get your horse real sure and knowing about these things. Then you start tapering off how much you're using while still getting the same response. Then it gets to where it doesn't weigh much more than a thought."
"It becomes his idea eventually. It doesn't start out that way."
"I took the softest feel humanly possible, and then pulled with everything I had."
"If your horse is weighing four pounds and you're at three pounds, it'll never work."

What I see happen all the time is riders sacrifice try and effort in the name of lightness.
We want so badly for the horse to feel weightless that we miss the fact he's becoming lifeless.
I'd much rather use one pound of pressure and have a horse back up with energy, purpose, and effort than use two ounces and have him back up like a c**t with five rides for the rest of his life.
The goal isn't to see how little you can use.
The goal is to get the response you want, then gradually use less and less while keeping that same quality.
Real lightness isn't the absence of pressure. It's the presence of try.

14/06/2026

Eher selten posten ich aus meinem Alltag und meiner osteopathischen Arbeit mit Pferden. Da ich immer wieder vergesse Fotos vorher und nachher zu machen, warum? Weil die Pferde wichtiger sind als Insta und die damit verbundene Arbeit.

Doch dieses Thema ist mir wichtig: Warum läuft den Pferden nach und auch während der Behandlungen immer wieder Rotz aus der Nase?
Die Osteopathie ist eine Heilkunde, ein holistisches manuelles Behandlungssystem, bei der ich als Osteopathin mit meinen Händen untersuche und behandele. Dabei natürlich auch immer das Diaphragma/Zwerchfell mit behandelt wird. Oftmals erreicht man dann solche Ergebnisse.

10/06/2026

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You've probably heard me talk about the traditional hackamore before.
We have an entire Hackamore course on our membership site.
Some people think it's just a tradition thing.
A throwback to the old Vaquero days.
For me, it isn't.
The more horses I ride, the more convinced I am that almost every horse would benefit from spending some time in a good hackamore.
Not because it's old.
Because of what it teaches.

It Changes Where The Horse Looks For Answers
One of the biggest things I like about the hackamore is that it encourages a horse to search for the release instead of brace against pressure.
A lot of horses learn to get busy in their mouth.
Busy hands.
Busy reins.
Busy signals.
Pretty soon the conversation starts happening almost entirely through the face.
The hackamore tends to spread that conversation out through the whole horse.
Instead of pulling on a mouth, you're influencing the horse's balance.
His feet.
His posture.
His direction.
The answer becomes less about moving away from pressure and more about organizing his body correctly.
That might sound like a small distinction.
It's not.

It Protects What Matters
A horse's mouth is one of the most sensitive places on his body.
I think that's worth protecting.
The old California horsemen understood that.
The traditional progression wasn't designed to get a horse into a bridle as quickly as possible.
It was designed to develop a horse slowly enough that by the time he got there, he barely needed the bit at all.
The horse learned to carry himself.
He learned to respond to lighter and lighter suggestions.
The bit became the finishing touch, not the foundation.
I think there's a lot of wisdom in that.

It Makes The Rider Better
Here's the selfish reason I like riding in one.
It makes me ride better.
When I'm in a snaffle, it's easy to get a little handsy.
A little correction here.
A little tug there.
We've all done it.
The hackamore doesn't let you hide from that.
If the horse isn't responding, you can't just pull harder and hope things improve.
You have to look at your timing.
Your release.
Your seat.
Your life.
Your feet.
You start paying attention to details you might otherwise overlook.
In that way, the hackamore is a pretty honest teacher.
Sometimes brutally honest.

The Tool Isn't The Magic
I've seen people buy an expensive bosal and expect it to transform their horse.
It doesn't work that way.
The magic isn't in the rawhide.
The magic is in how the tool encourages you to communicate.
A great hackamore in rough hands is still rough hands.
A simple rope halter in good hands can teach a horse a lot.
That said, there is a reason good bosals have been valued for generations.
The balance matters.
The feel matters.
The way information travels through the setup matters.
You can feel the difference.
More importantly, so can the horse.

The Bottom Line
I don't recommend the traditional hackamore because it's traditional.
I recommend it because it tends to encourage the kind of riding I want to do.
Lighter.
Quieter.
More particular.
It asks the rider to improve instead of relying on equipment.
And it gives the horse a chance to learn without constantly carrying the conversation in his mouth.
That's a trade I'm willing to make every time.

27/05/2026

Früher hat man nach dem Reiten die Pferde mit Stroh abgerieben. Leider wird das heute nicht mehr gemacht.
Damals wurde es gemacht um die Feuchtigkeit aufzunehmen. Allerdings hatte das ebenfalls zur Folge, die Kompression in der Faszie aufzulösen. Einfache Verklebungen lösen sich bereits durch die kreisenden Bewegungen auf. Wenn euch kein Stroh mehr zur Verfügung steht, nimmt eine Massage Bürste und geht in kreisenden Bewegungen über die Stellen am Rücken und beugt so vor. Verklebungen sind übrigens sehr schmerzhaft. Nicht nur das der Muskel darunter kaum wachsen und sich bewegen kann. In der Faszie sind mehr Schmerz Rezeptoren als im Muskel.

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The Lumbar-Sacral (LS) Junction is the ‘engine room’ of the equine athlete. If this hinge is restricted, true engagement is physically impossible.

In performance horses, a lack of ‘tuck’ or pelvic tilt is frequently observed. While often dismissed as a strength issue, the physiological reality often lies in fascial restriction. The fascia surrounding the LS junction must glide freely to allow the sacrum to oscillate and the hind end to reach under the centre of gravity.

Proven: Fascial adhesions in the lumbar region limit mechanical range of motion in the lumbosacral joint.
Plausible: Targeted grooming: working from the lumbar toward the croup: mechanically supports fascia glide by warming the ground substance and stimulating the sensory network.

In practice, we do not simply clean the coat; we regulate the tissue. By following the correct sequence with our patented systems, we encourage the ‘opening’ of the junction, preparing the engine for work.

Deepen your understanding of functional grooming in my ebook, ‘The Regulated Horse’.

Comment EBOOK to get a link.

Note: This visual is for illustrative purposes to aid the understanding of the grooming sequence and may not be 100% anatomically accurate.

26/05/2026

Darstellung der Spannsägenkonstruktion beim Pferd.
Beugt das Kniegelenk, beugt auch das Sprunggelenk

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26/05/2026

Spannend

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🕸️ Exploring Fascia and Bitless Riding 👅

This diagram shows the spiral fascial line — a continuous myofascial sling that spirals through the horse’s body, linking the tongue and poll, cervical fascia, trunk stabilisers, thoracolumbar fascia, abdominal sling and hindlimb structures into one interconnected chain. The whole body is connected through various chains such as this.

Functionally, the spiral line plays an important role in:

• rotational stability of the spine
• coordination of diagonal movement patterns
• transferring force between forehand and hindquarters
• lateral bending
• postural balance and compensatory movement

The hyoid apparatus itself acts as a key anatomical bridge between the tongue, poll, neck and forelimb musculature; an extensive and intricate anatomical connection (Hart et al., 2021).

Studies using fluoroscopy have shown that rein tension changes tongue posture, increases tongue retraction and alters intra-oral movement patterns (Manfredi et al., 2010). This really raises questions as to the influence we have on the body when we place a bit into the mouth; we influence more than the lips and tongue.

The concept of this spiral fascia line in particular shows how parts of the body do not work in isolation. In this particular case, if the tongue and hyoid are mechanically and neurologically connected to the neck and body… what happens to the rest of the fascial system when tension, guarding or restriction occurs in the mouth?

…compensation through the cervical fascia, thoracic sling, ribcage or even the hindquarters?

…poor posture, asymmetry, bracing patterns or impeded movement quality?

Having anatomy at the forefront of our minds, rather than it being a “thinking outside the box” thought process means that we can continually assess how we influence our horses… through our equipment, training and whole life!

I have thought to give more attention and space for bitless riding with my own horse to see how he responds mentally and physically; an anatomical and therefore, welfare-based decision.

Image inspired by Equus Soma.