12/11/2025
Love this
For anyone who needs to hear this — there is a lot of change going on at the moment seasonally, don’t feel the need to put the pressure on you and your horse to succeed/ride/“be normal”.
If your horse feels a bit too fresh to ride, just do groundwork. Or go home and try another day.
If it’s raining and you’re not feeling in the right headspace to ride, consider a shorter ride or trying another day when you feel you can be the person your horse needs.
If you’ve been in the school lots and you want to hack so your horse is having variety in their work, great. But if they’re unsettled and will spend most of the hack in negative posture, will it be worth it?
If you’re doing polework and your horse is continually spooking at the scary corner, give time to the corner and its problems… give space and patience and return to the poles after.
I’ve swapped from raised poles in a straight line to more complex flat poles like in the diagram for Meji, giving his brain something to focus on (alongside his core bands).
We have had a very dry Summer, followed by a mild and wet Autumn-Winter transition… a lot of the unsettled, different or slightly “off” behaviour from our horses at the moment can be due to metabolising these changes. It is often that type of “sharp” behaviour that cannot be relieved with exercise, so lunging 100 circles or riding for hours will not likely solve your problem (not that it should do!)
Don’t feel the pressure to get on and ride, this phase will pass & be kind to you and your horse 🤍
EDITED TO ADD: I have had lots of messages about polework designs, I have two polework inspiration manuals on my website that you can download!  https://www.vetphysiophyle.co.uk/shop/p/polework-inspiration-manual-vol-2
