Amelia Poole - Accredited Coach and Trainer - True Balance Training

10/08/2026

💜💜💜

Happy Monday, Happy Profile


🌐 lmsaddles.com

07/08/2026

When groundwork is done well, your horse should grow! 🐴✨

As the body begins to work correctly, the back expands and lifts with upward movement. The underneck softens, the shoulders become lighter and more elevated, and the whole body starts to become more supple and connected.

The legs can then support the body rather than simply carrying it, creating a much more balanced and correct posture.

This is what I’m looking for in groundwork, not just a horse that is obedient or doing a pretty movement, but a horse that is changing shape, developing strength and learning how to use their body well.

I’m so pleased with Joe’s progress. Watching him grow, soften and develop through these sessions is just wonderful. 💙

07/08/2026

If my saddle needs widening, does that mean my horse is fat…? 🤔

This seems to be the topic of conversation this week, and perhaps the confusion comes from the way we have been conditioned to look at the equine body.

When a horse’s back becomes broader, rounder and more developed, the immediate assumption is often:

“My horse must be getting fat.”

But is that always true?

Or could we be seeing something that has become so unfamiliar that we no longer recognise it as healthy?

For far too long, the horse world has normalised backs with poor muscle development. Hollow areas behind the shoulder, prominent withers, deep dips beside the spine and a lack of topline are often accepted as “normal”...or even mistaken for a fit, athletic appearance.

But a poorly muscled back is not a healthy back.

Muscle atrophy is the loss or reduction of muscle tissue. It can develop when muscles are not being used effectively, when movement is restricted, when the horse is working in compensatory patterns, or when discomfort prevents the body from functioning as it should.

The back is not simply a platform for a saddle.

It is a dynamic, living structure that changes shape throughout movement.

When a horse’s body works in a healthy, balanced posture, the muscles supporting the spine become active. The back can lift, the ribcage can move, and the body can broaden through the saddle area. This is not the horse “getting wider because it is fat.” It may be the horse developing and using its body more effectively.

As described within the LM approach, biomechanics show that when a horse works correctly over its back, the back naturally lifts and widens during movement. This is why saddle fitting should consider the horse’s moving, functional shape, not simply the narrower shape seen when the horse is standing still with its back dropped.

So, if your saddle needs widening, the question should not automatically be:

“Has my horse become fat?”

Perhaps we should first ask:

✨ Has my horse developed more healthy muscle?
✨ Is the back lifting and functioning more effectively?
✨ Has the posture improved?
✨ Is the horse becoming stronger and more comfortable?
✨ Has the body changed because it is finally being allowed to move and develop naturally?

Of course, body fat and muscle are not the same thing, and neither should be judged by saddle width alone. A horse’s overall condition should always be assessed holistically, considering body condition, muscle development, posture, movement, health and individual conformation.

But we must also be careful not to mistake healthy development for excess weight simply because we have become accustomed to seeing underdeveloped backs.

A healthy back should be broader.

A healthy back should be rounder.

A healthy back fills the space that we have traditionally expected to see as hollow.

And if a horse’s body changes, the saddle must change with it.

The saddle should support healthy movement, not encourage the horse to remain narrow so that it continues to fit.

At LM, our focus is on working with the horse’s natural biomechanics, allowing room for the back to lift, widen and function during movement. Their holistic approach considers posture, muscle development, movement and the whole horse, not just the static shape beneath the saddle.

We are on a mission to normalise the healthy equine back!!

To stop seeing muscle development as a problem.

To question why a broad, lifted, well-supported back can be mistaken for a fat one.

And to recognise that a horse changing shape may not be “outgrowing” its saddle through weight gain, it is developing into a stronger, healthier and more functional version of itself.

“When we change what we consider normal, we create space for horses to become healthy—not simply to remain familiar.” 🐴✨

🌐 lmsaddles.com

07/08/2026

Have you checked your panels lately? 🐴

It’s something we probably don’t do often enough!

I always suggest to my clients that, as part of their regular saddle care routine, they check their panels themselves.

Place the saddle with the pommel side down resting on your feet. Starting at the top (the back of the panel), run your hands gently down the length of the panel, feeling for any indentations, empty areas, substantial lumps or bumps.

Most saddles use natural materials and wool flocking, so the flocking can change and settle over time. Regular checks can help you spot any changes before they become a bigger issue.

If you feel your flocking needs some attention, get in touch with your LM Saddles Ltd Horse-friendly Saddles, Holistic & Remedial Saddle-fitting and arrange a check. A little regular care 6 monthly or less for remedial cases can make a big difference to the comfort and fit of your saddle for both you and your horse. 💕

04/08/2026

Have you ever noticed what your horse does when they catch sight of something at the side of the road or arena? A different coloured patch of grass, chalk markings, a flower pot, or something you’ve walked past a hundred times before. Our instinct is often to say, “Pay attention,” shorten the reins, or ride them more forward.

But what if, instead of immediately correcting the behaviour, we paid attention to what happens in their body?

As your horse turns their head to investigate, notice what you feel underneath you. There is often a subtle lift through the ribcage, if you have a well fitting saddle it might not be so subtle, as the serratus ventralis engages to support the trunk between the forelimbs. The body reorganises, one side of the ribcage expands while the other softens, and a gentle bend develops through the spine. If you’re tuned in, you may even feel the weight distribution change through the shoulders and hindquarters.

These are not random movements. They are part of the horse’s natural postural and balance system. The horse isn’t simply looking with their eyes,
they’re organising their entire body around where their attention is directed.

As riders, we often spend hours trying to create lift through the thorax, improve lateral suppleness, encourage healthy spinal movement, and develop better self carriage. Yet when the horse naturally offers these postural adjustments, we sometimes interrupt them because we see them as a loss of focus or just being silly and spooky.

This invites us to become more curious. Instead of asking, “How do I stop them looking?” we might ask, “What did that movement feel like? Can I recognise that lift? Can I encourage those same qualities when I ask for a circle, a shoulder fore, a half pass or a transition?”

Sometimes the greatest lessons come from the moments we are tempted to correct. I am known, thanks to my mother who trained me from 12 years old, If we can observe first and react second, our horses often teach us exactly what good posture and engagement of muscles feels like. From here we can turn a spook into a half pass or a shoulder in perhaps!

Biomechanics isn’t just about exercises, it’s about developing the feel to recognise healthy movement when it happens naturally. The more we learn to notice and appreciate these subtle changes in posture, weight shift, and muscular support, the better we become at guiding our horses into true balance.

Here’s a video of Joe and I riding up a newly surfaced road with lots of chalk writing!! It was lovely to feel how free he was in his back and how easily the lift came too. ❤️

26/07/2026

🎯

'Stop it!'

In the horse world, it often seems that our first instinct is to stop horses doing things.

Flashes and nosebands are tightened to stop horses opening their mouths.
Gadgets are used to stop horses lifting their heads. Horses are told off for touching and mouthing us. Behaviours are shut down altogether.

But what if they're just trying to communicate?

Imagine this...

You go to a foreign country where nobody speaks your language. You're given a pair of shoes that are two sizes too small and you're forced to walk in them for an hour. You're not allowed to take them off. You must keep walking.

You'd probably cope for a while. Then you'd likely start complaining, stopping, walking differently, trying anything to relieve the pressure. You might lean on somebody. You may even become 'lame'. You'd probably become a bit snappy with the people around you.

Then you're allowed to take the shoes off and get on with your day.

The next day, you're made to do exactly the same thing again.

How do you react?

What if you were made to do that every day.

People calling you lazy, naughty, aggressive.

Just think about that.

This isn't a post about horseshoes, although sometimes they can be too small or too tight. It's about saddles, tack, equipment, rider balance and weight, management, environment, physical discomfort, emotional wellbeing... everything.

Your horse has a voice. They speak through their actions.

Not every behaviour means pain, and not every behaviour should simply be accepted. But before we ask, "How do I stop this?" perhaps we should ask, "Why is this happening and what is my horse trying to tell me?"

So many of the behaviours we dislike are the very ways horses try to communicate that something isn't right.
If you were silenced in that situation, eventually you would either explode or you'd stop trying to communicate altogether.

Maybe, before we focus on changing the behaviour, we should first make sure we've listened to what it's trying to tell us.

21/07/2026

THE DROP — TRAINING, THE PILLARS OF BALANCE, THORACIC LIFT & SADDLE FITTING

Here's a thought for you…

What happens to your saddle in the microsecond your horse loses their balance?

Because they will lose it.

Balance isn't a place a horse arrives at and stays.

It's a constant conversation.

Find it.
Lose it.
Reorganise.
Find it again.

Our Director, Jemma, talks a lot about the pillars of balance — and once you start to understand it, you begin to look at saddle fitting very differently.

If a horse becomes out of balance, guess where they can tense to help keep themselves up?

Through the thoracic area.

Even if it's just for a microsecond.

A tiny brace.

A tiny drop.

And suddenly the shape underneath the saddle has changed.

A space has appeared.

And guess what can drop into that space?

Your saddle.

⬇️

THE DROP.

Now, once?

Probably just a moment.

But what if it happens again?

And again.

And again.

The horse loses balance.

The thoracic area braces.

The saddle drops.

The horse feels the saddle drop.

So the horse braces against the feeling of the saddle dropping.

Read that again.

Because this is where we can start to see micro-bracing patterns developing.

And here's the question we should be asking…

Is the horse bracing because they're out of balance?

Or are they now bracing because they've learnt what happens to the saddle when they become out of balance?

🤔

This is where saddle fitting and training collide.

At LM, we don't believe you can simply fit a saddle to the horse standing beautifully on the yard and assume the job is done.

The horse underneath that saddle is going to move.

Lift.

Widen.

Lose balance.

Find balance.

Develop.

Change.

A horse working over the back can naturally lift and widen in movement.

So we have to think about the horse we're trying to help them become, while still supporting the horse physically standing in front of us today.

And this is where shims are bloody amazing.

Yes. We said it.

Because correctly used shims aren't there to “pad out a bad saddle”.

They can be scaffolding.

They can help us support saddle balance while the horse is learning to find their own physical balance.

They can help reduce the opportunity for the saddle to repeatedly drop into those microseconds of brace.

And that matters.

Because a horse learning to balance physically shouldn't also have to worry about what the saddle is going to do when they get it wrong.

We don't want the conversation to become…

“I lost my balance.
The saddle dropped.
That felt uncomfortable.
I'd better brace next time.”

We want…

“I lost my balance.
I reorganised.
I found it again.”

No drama.

No worry.

No need to protect themselves.

Just the physical process of learning.

Maybe saddle fitting isn't just about whether a saddle “fits”.

Maybe we need to start asking a bigger question…

Does the saddle allow the horse to safely explore balance?

Because those tiny microseconds matter.

The drop matters.

Training matters.

Thoracic lift matters.

Saddle balance matters.

And it's all connected.

🌐 lmsaddles.com