28/05/2025
The relationship between a well-schooled horse and a balanced rider is much like the chicken and the egg, each refines and educates the other, yet neither begins fully formed.
Often, riders are learning while also trying to train their horses, and without a clear foundation, this can quickly become the blind leading the blind.
No matter how skilled a rider may be, they cannot simply ride a horse into balance if the horse has not learned how to carry itself.
Likewise, the most correctly trained horse cannot compensate for a rider whose hands lack sensitivity, independence, or consistency. Or, sit in the saddle lobsided or bounce around on the horses back.
Balance, true, classical balance, requires education on both sides.
This is where Riding From the Ground Up, becomes so valuable. Through carefully guided groundwork, the rider begins to understand how to use the aids, especially the hands, with clarity and softness. At the same time, the horse starts to develop not only physical balance but a thoughtful understanding of the connection through the reins. Too often, the education of the horse’s mouth and the refinement of the rider’s hands are overlooked in early training, leading to resistance, confusion, and tension that could have been avoided.
By prioritising this foundational education from the ground, we create mutual understanding. The rider’s hands learn to listen as much as they speak, and the horse’s mouth becomes responsive and trusting. In this way, both horse and rider are better prepared to come together in true partnership, guided by each other. We become their teachers, and they become ours.
Kate Sandel recently reminded me of something Philippe Karl often said: any dedicated rider can train a horse to reach higher levels, and any horse can achieve those heights when they have a rider who teaches them as an individual. With a proper understanding of the principles of the school of légèreté, anything is possible.
