Sneeze Atkinson dressage training

01/09/2025

Hard work, consistency and buckets of commitment needed for a young horse.

This isn’t aimed at anyone in particular and is more for the novice and nervous riders out there, and it’s genuinely meant in the nicest way 🩷. It’s just something that’s been heavily on my mind for a while, because I’ve seen the impact it can have on young horses when riders aren’t fully prepared. 😓

When you send a young horse away for backing, the hope is always that they’ll come home well-started, happy, and ready to begin their ridden career… that’s our priority and the goal with every horse here! 🥰

But, what happens next when they go home is equally important… and sometimes, this is where problems begin!

There’s been a huge rise in people buying youngsters because it’s a lot cheaper than buying an older more experienced horse, but unfortunately not everyone is at the standard of riding needed to bring these young horses on.
A common misconception that I am starting to see more often is: “I rode when I was younger, so I’ll be fine.” But a 10, 15, or 20 year gap away from riding means your balance, reactions, and muscle memory aren’t where they used to be. Riding your friends super safe plod or a well-schooled riding school horse in a lesson is VERY different from sitting on a green youngster who is still learning the ropes and what a rider even is.

Another mistake I see is people thinking: “we’ll learn together.” It sounds romantic, but in reality, green on green makes black and blue, and it’s almost always the horse who pays the price or gets blamed. Young horses don’t need a rider who is also figuring things out. They need someone consistent, confident, and kind, who gives them clear signals and helps them learn how to carry a rider with ease.

Here’s why it matters:
- A young horse’s back is still developing. Landing heavily in the saddle, bouncing, or riding out of balance can cause long-term discomfort and even physical damage.
- Green horses are like sponges. They quickly absorb habits, both good and bad. If you ride with unsteady hands and sock them in the mouth when you lose your balance, they can learn to fear or resent the contact. If your aids are unclear, they can become confused, anxious, or resistant.
- Horses don’t understand “but I thought I asked correctly”… they only know how they felt in that moment. If what you asked didn’t make sense, their trust in you decreases… and it really doesn’t take much for a young horse to lose confidence. I’ve seen it happen in 10 minutes!

I always suggest riders watch themselves on video, it’s such a great tool that we all have these days!! What feels correct to you in the saddle often looks very different from the ground. That canter transition you thought you were sat up and asked calmly and clearly, might actually show that you tipped forward, kicked, and flapped like a lemon so your horse ran off in trot. The horse didn’t ignore you, they simply couldn’t make sense of what was being asked.

So, before you buy a young horse, please PLEASE ask yourself honestly:
- Am I balanced, fit, and confident enough to ride one consistently?
- If my horse spooks, am I confident enough to ride them forward up to the thing they’re spooking at and show them it’s not actually going to eat them? (I make them touch everything with their nose 😆)
- Do I have the support of a good trainer who can help me if I get stuck?
If you answered ‘No’ to any of the above, it’s hard and frustrating, but you might want to ask yourself the question below and really weigh up the options;
- Would an older, more experienced horse suit me better right now? Even if I don’t have the budget needed at the moment, would it be best to wait a little, save up and get it right?

Backing and producing young horses is one of the most rewarding parts of riding and I’m very lucky and honoured that I get to start them on their journey ♥️ but it also comes with huge responsibility. They only get one first experience under saddle, and that will shape them for life.

If you genuinely care about your horse’s welfare, the best gift you can give them is being totally honest about your own ability. I know that’s going to be a hard pill for some people to swallow 😓 but sometimes the kindest decision is to wait until you’re truly ready, or to spend that time and money investing in your own lessons and coaching first. Then, when the right time comes, you’ll be prepared to give that youngster the confident, supportive start they deserve, and you’ll both be able to enjoy the journey safely and successfully! 😉

08/08/2025

Because visual learning just hits different 👀
Finding the right feel in your reins starts with your fingers. Too loose, and you lose connection. Too tight, and you risk tension in the whole body,
yours and your horse’s.

👉 Let’s break it down:
a. ✅ Correct – Fingers softly closed, fingertips touching the palm. You maintain light, consistent contact without gripping.
b. ❌ Incorrect – Fingers open. This weakens the connection and creates an unstable line to the bit.
c. ❌ Incorrect – Fist clenched. Tension travels up the arm, restricting softness in the hand and communication with your horse.

It’s all about that sweet spot: closed enough to hold, soft enough to feel. 🖐️

( Image found off Pinterest )

12/06/2025

This an exercise I like to use….as some of you will know!

Training Tip Tuesday. Shoulder ins with a figure 8. This challenging little exercise really tests the rider's ability to be accurate. As always, the shoulder in really helps the horse to bend around the inside leg and increase the carrying capacity of the inside hind, while improve the shoulder mobility of the inside front leg.

When ridden correctly, the horse will be properly connected to the outside rein. The use of the Figure 8 in the middle helps the rider to prepare the horse for the new shoulder in because the bend of the horse should remain the same when riding the volte and the shoulder in. The rider can add the volte in the corner prior to beginning the shoulder in if needed to help prepare the horse for the appropriate bend to initiate the shoulder in.

Be careful not to allow the horse to deviate from the line of travel or merely fall through the outside shoulder. Remember, your head and shoulders should be in alignment with the horse's head and shoulders - otherwise you may cause the horse to become unbalanced. The inside rein does not bring the shoulders off the track. If you overuse the inside rein in this exercise, you will block the inside hind leg, cause the horse to fall through the outside shoulder and create tension in the neck and back.

If you want to add variety and see the result of the inside hindleg engagement, you can also add a lengthening down the long side. This will help you to see how the shoulder in helps increase the horse's impulsion and carrying capacity. You may also find that the horse lifts the shoulders more willingly in this lengthening because of the engagement created in the shoulder in.

For those with horses that are not quite doing shoulder in yet, you might thinking about riding a 10 meter volte in the corner and riding a little shoulder fore out of the volte. You will ride a full 10 meter of the rail and the continue the 10 meter on to the centerline. Think that you are going to continue the circle back to the rail, but instead apply the inside leg and outside rein to encourage the horse to travel down the centerline for a few strides. Then straighten the horse and begin the figure 8 sequence at X before trying a few steps of shoulder fore in the new direction.

08/05/2025

Dressage is not a sport of spectators.
It’s a discipline of solitude.

You can be surrounded by trainers, riders, judges, and still, you're alone.
Alone with your thoughts.
Alone with your horse.
Alone with every choice you've ever made in the saddle.

Most people quit dressage because they expect progress to feel like applause.
But here, progress feels like stillness.
Like tension giving way.
Like a breath you didn’t realize you were holding… finally let go.

The horse doesn’t care who’s watching.
And eventually, neither do you.

09/04/2025

Haha! Love Emily Cole Illustrations.

More snacks please!

©️Emily Cole Illustrations

07/12/2024

Keep safe everyone. Take care with your horses 🪁🪁🫣💨

29/11/2024

Another stretchy flexi cob. Meet Bendy Brian showing his Pilates moves after his lesson today! 🥰

19/10/2024

The days coaching started like this. Thank you to those who still had their lesson! 💧

09/09/2024

🐴 DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS: To maintain your balance ... 🐴

Imagine that your upper body is like a broomstick and your horse is a hand trying to balance it. If your body (the broomstick) starts to tip, your hand (horse) will automatically move underneath to keep it up. You cannot lean right and expect your horse to go left.
~ Great Britain Olympic gold and silver medalist Laura Tomlinson

18/08/2024

Carl Hester tells us:
“Self-carriage is really easy to see. It’s that tension into the hand that we were talking about with Valegro, the first place you see it is through the whole of the top line of the horse. The best thing you can do for self-carriage is the give and re-take of the reins. It is amazing how you forget to do that when you ride on your own. That constant giving the hand, taking, giving, taking, making sure that the outline is stable, the mouth is soft. You only have to look at the mouth to know how it is working, the horse is carrying its own head and neck. People that ride on their own, it can be something that they forget they are doing, people put in too much power and that’s why they find self-carriage difficult, and I always think you’ve got to create balance and then put power in, that way around.”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/02/balance-self-carriage-and-the-importance-of-rider-position/

26/07/2024

I’m a lucky coach. Not only do I get to spend all day in the beautiful countryside and interact with my favourite animal 🐴🐎 - I get to coach lovely people. All my clients are dedicated and have time and patience for their horses but particularly two clients this morning, (you know who you are) really have listened to their horses and reaped the rewards today. Then I got to ride the lovely Ceilo this afternoon. 😊🐴Thanks to you all! 👏

25/06/2024

Made me laugh! 😂

Never 👎 😂