The Steward of Dressage

05/30/2026

Just got back from teaching a clinic at Olivia's beautiful farm in Virginia... she kindly posted this on instagram. We have worked together for quite a long time... it has been an honor to be a part of her amazing program🙏🙏🙏

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY9kOqyOex3/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

05/03/2026

I often say the path is the goal. This quote of Mary Oliver's is another way to look at it. Whatever your passion is, you will have highs and lows, joys and frustrations, successes and failures. It just is this way... progress is not linear.
This is a nearly 40 year old picture of my Thoroughbred stallion learning half steps *. Shouldn't the haunches be more lowered? Yes indeed... but the flexion of the fetlock behind is greater than the flexion in front so there is some increased engagement here. Shouldn't he have lifted his knee more? Yep, but it is a moment in time and so perhaps he did, maybe not. Shouldn't the poll be a little higher? Could be...
Is the flexion in the poll correct? I would say it's pretty good. He is not folded up at C2, he is slightly in front of the vertical, his mouth is closed and relaxed, the curb rein has a tiny slack in it.
Is there adequate activity in the hind leg? No, but it's a good start.
Could the rider be sitting up more? Absolutely. Shouldn't her heel be down more? Yup. Wouldn't it be better if her thigh was more vertical? It would certainly be more elegant.
There is plenty to criticize here and plenty to commend. The point is to be honest in the evaluation of what is happening and then work on the weak spots. It is not the same journey for each rider and horse! Some of the most frustrating bits are the times you feel like you need to back track and clean up some core piece of the training that was not adequately developed. Just know that this is time well spent. Pushing harder at the training without addressing basic training issues will just make the work more diminished from its potential. Not working on symmetry and straightness in the canter will give you late changes one direction or a halfpass that is more of a leg yield one way and good the other. Not really training a correct half halt will give a poor rein back.
Take the time it takes
I also often say that if you take the time in the short run,
you will save time in the long run.
Get good, honest, eyes on the ground... everyone needs this!

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Instructor. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want some help with with your journey, I invite you to contact me through PM or my website tinastewarddvm.com

* No one wore helmets when schooling in Dressage 40 years ago, but rest assured that I and all my students wear helmets these days!

The photo is of myself and my Thoroughbred stallion, Cloned Steel at Camille Penhoet's property, Toyon Farm, in the Napa Valley of California.

04/22/2026

This is so true on so many levels. There are very important biomechanical reasons for developing the neck and whole thoracic sling correctly. There are also safety reasons for being able to manage a horses neck correctly. Often, the first physical sign of the horse saying "No", is in the neck. They throw their head up or stick it straight out and brace. If you have the neck, then you can "lead the dance". In Dressage, one hears all the time that you send the horse forward to your hand and make them round. Okay... but how...

There are a 1,000 roads to Rome...
The bullseye is the result of 1,000 misses...

I have found that there are many horses that, when sent forward to very still fists, will go happily forward with a giraffe neck, hanging on the reins, forever. You can put them in side reins and, done very carefully, and shortened slowly over weeks, you might get them to round up a bit, but this often ends up shortening the neck and you lose the throughness, the losgelassenheit, and the freedom from tension you are trying to acheive in developing a rein connection.
I like to start with getting submission or yielding or softening to one rein at a time. I like to start this by yielding the outside rein and allowing the horse to stretch into the bend rather than just pulling and shortening the inside rein. The goal in Dressage is not really to have the horse "on" the outside rein, but to have the horse fill the outside rein. Yielding the outside rein, in a way, amplifies the effect of the inside rein, without the rider having to get stronger with the inside rein. The other thing that happens is that when the horse bends because of the yielding outside rein, they also lower the neck. This is just rein education 101A for the horse. Once you have the horse understanding how to soften and give to one rein, you can start to ask with both reins. The goal is the beginning of the understanding for the horse of a half halt. That you can send the horse forward from the leg to a still hand (not pulling and not yielding) and the horse answers by softening into the contact, perhaps lowering the neck a little and rounding the neck.
Early on, the horse needs to go in a lower frame so as to engage the nuchal ligament which biomechanically pulls the wither forward and up. This, in turn, engages the spinous ligaments which are responsible for supporting the skeleton so the muscles are free for locomotion rather than the muscles having to be braced to support the skeleton. We can now develop the muscles correctly so as to take over the function of the nuchal ligament and this is what allows us to get more engagement and a more uphill way of going, with the poll more up, without sacrificing throughness. A long journey indeed... it is strength training.

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Instructor. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want some help with getting your horse's neck to function correctly and beautifully, I invite you to contact me through PM or my website tinastewarddvm.com

This is a drawing I did over 50 years ago... yep... I am an "old boat" 😁😁😁

04/12/2026

My friend and student, Tamara Shivers, shared this quote with me the other day while we were working her horse during a virtual lesson. I love it... We all get frustrated at times during a ride and we are tempted to use stronger aids to try and get a specific answer from the horse. Unfortunately, this rarely works and we end up frustrating the horse and they either act out or the check out. Alois Podhajsky said that in these moments we must stop and ask ourselves why it is going wrong. He would say to be a "thinking rider". Invariably the horse either doesn't have the needed understanding of the aids being used to give the right answer or the horse can't physically do what is being asked of them, or some variation on a theme of the two. This is the place you need to step back and check that all the "holes are filled".
It may be something seemingly simple such as a leg yield at the trot. The horse may be able to do it one direction and not so well the other. This might be the place you go back to the walk and see if you get a more equal answer to the leg on each side. If not, then the goal is to make the horse lighter to the leg on the duller or stiffer side. You don't want to use stronger and stronger aids. This will just feed into the asymmetry of response you are trying
to diminish. You would apply a little leg, if no answer, or the horse tries to just go forward, then you stop and bump them with your leg. Charles De Kunffy would say to use somewhere between a 10 lb. and 40 lb. kick!😅😅😅 You may have to tap them with the whip. You may also need a firmer, still or immobile fist on the side of the leg you are using. This will help minimize the horse try to just go forward. You are trying to teach the horse that one leg means yield and two legs mean go! An important thing to remember is to try and ask just once and give the horse some time to answer you, don't kick 10 times in a row, just once and wait. When you get any effort to move from your leg, stop and reward. The goal will be to get more response with less strong aids. Once this seems improved, you can try in the trot again. Odds are you will have to step back and do this often. You are changing your horses sensitivity to the aids and also changing their balance and proprioception. It takes time! These building blocks are critical to moving forward!
Remember

The Horse is the Clock
and
The Path is the Goal

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Instructor. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want some help with getting your horse "in the aids" (not on the aids🙃🙃🙃), I invite you to contact me through PM or my website tinastewarddvm.com

04/05/2026

This is so true... I always tell the folks that ride with me that it is up to them to be their horses advocate (and your own!). This is something that one often faces when riding in clinics. The clinician wants you to do something to get a certain result or the lesson goes too long with no break for the horse or they just keep yelling about something you are not understanding and you are going round and round. This is the place you need to stop and say that you and/or your horse need a break. It may also be the place where you stop and say you don't quite understand what is wanted or where this is going. Most clinicians will actually appreciate the honesty and will try to break it down and explain more clearly their goal for you. If you really disagree you can politely say you have to think on this approach and request a different approach or walk out. I have done all the above at times with my own horses. I know that the instructors genuinely want something "better" for you and your horse, but the way they are going about feels wrong somehow, at least for you. It's not out of arrogance or an attitude that one knows more than the instructor but rather a concern for the horses well being. We must be their spokesman... they don't have, or at least are not allowed, much of a voice often.
Moments like these open doors. You might feel like you are surrendering and failing in the midst of the situation but remember this. Surrender is not giving up, it's opening up.
When I teach I always tell people that if they need a break, take it. One can't ride effectively if the body is getting fatigued. This is also so true for the horse. When teaching the horse something new, you need to explain it to them, show them the right answer and then allow them the spaciousness to think on the answer. Take a brief break then repeat... this isn't the place to develop fitness, this is the place of building a new answer or depth responsiveness to an aid.

"To thine own self be true"
W. Shakespeare

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering Virtual Dressage Instruction. If you are looking for help that is respectful of your journey, I invite you to contact me through my website, tinastewarddvm.com or through FB messenger.

04/03/2026

Good read!!!

03/29/2026

I love this quote... easier said than done sometimes...
Our job as horseman is to try and explain to the horse what it is we are wanting and, in a perfect world, the horse finds the right answer and we confirm it with a moment of spaciousness in the form of a pat, a kind word, a break in the work, a treat. The need to get the right answer, right now, often leads to resistance on the horses part due to a misunderstanding and frustration and then exhaustion. It can be tricky to decide when to dig a little deeper and when to take a break and rethink the approach.
This is where eyes on the ground are essential. Sometimes things don't look how they feel. The rider thinks they are asking correctly and the horse isn't responding as hoped. The person on the ground can see what's going on and can confirm that either the rider isn't asking as effectively as needed or the horse is ignoring the rider or just truly doesn't understand what is being asked for.
Alois Podhajsky said, be a thinking rider. As a rider, when things go wrong, stop and ask yourself if the horse really understands or is capable of what you are asking. If you are not sure, get some help. Go do something else and come back to it. If it is something the horse understands and has done in the past, either you aren't asking correctly or there is some core issue in the horse that isn't allowing them to do what they have been able to do in the past. I have many clients who have bought FEI horses for a lot of money and the horse arrives and they cant get the Tempi changes or the Pirouette or the Piaffe. Usually, it takes at least a year for the horse to come to understand the new rider and often there is a core issue with gait purity and throughness that should be addressed before worrying about the "tricks".
It takes time and patience and a willingness to dissect the issue and thoughtfully put the pieces back together.

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want help avoiding resistances I invite you to contact me through my website tinastewarddvm.com or via FB message.

Below is a drawing by the lovely Charlie Mackesy.

03/15/2026

While this is based in science, there is magic in these words. I often say that Dressage is like "Living Sculpting". We are shaping the clay of our horses. The clay seems to hold no shape at all when we start, but our energy and the energy that lies within the clay changes form from one shape to the next, to the next and to the next. One of the most important places that I think we miss proper shaping is in the halt. The shaping of the energy before we halt and the shaping of energy as we move from the halt. And very importantly, within the halt. This is the place that we can truly start a dialogue with the horse to help them understand being between our leg and hand.
In the halt, one should be able to put a little leg on, get a slight forward answer from the horse, the hand tells the horse not to step forward, the horse then softens their neck and jaw, rounds the neck, flexes a little through the throatlatch, lifts the back a little, engages the core and then says "what's next?". This is a magical place where the horse is between the leg and hand. This is the place that determines a good reinback or a Piaffe or a walk, trot or canter transition. This is the place where energy is changed from one form to another.

My name is Tina Steward. I am en Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering Virtual Dressage Lessons. If you are interested in shaping your horses energy, I invite you to contact me through my website tinastewarddvm.com or PM me!

The photo is Michelle Woollard and the lovely Zorin in a energetic halt!

03/10/2026

I love this quote... it takes you one step past "nearly getting it"... it makes me think of pirouette work. It really takes years to get a good canter pirouette. A pirouette where the canter stays fairly pure ( it has a quality of acceptable 4 beat canter because of the intensely engaged hind legs but the hind legs never loose a quality of energy in the movement ), the horse uses their whole body to lift the forehand, not just the neck, and it has a quality of stride by stride control shared by the horse and rider.
It starts with just being able to get a good trot-canter transition, then being able to do smaller circles in the canter, then good walk-canter transitions, then the ability to develop a good "canter on the spot" or a very collected canter ( like the school canter in the Spanish Riding School ) because you need this to execute a really good canter-walk transition. You rarely see really good canter-walk or canter-halt transitions... it should look like "a snowflake landing"... not a plummet to the earth with braced joints. Then you need to develop the lateral work in the canter... a good haunches-in and shoulder-in at the canter... then add the lateral work to the circle... then add the " canter on the spot" quality to this work. It is all about slowly building strength, systematically, slowly and stride by stride canter control. It takes a very long time generally and a lot of patience and then... magically... one day... you collect your canter and turn and your horse comes around with you. A feeling of no effort happens... final abandonment...
The picture below is an example of the beginning of school canter work where Michelle Woollard and "Z" are getting the increased hind leg engagement, sitting and engaged on the outside hind, super separation of the hind legs allowing for maintenance of purity of gait, in a lovely round frame, albeit a little behind the vertical. This is a work in progress and so it is not perfect... one can find all sorts of flaws... but it is a moment in time that has more to commend it than condemn it.
It is critical to remember 2 things

The Horse is the Clock

and

The Path is the Goal

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering Virtual Dressage Lessons. If you are interested in getting instruction that is systematic, classically based and fair to the horse, I invite you to contact me through my website ( tinastewarddvm.com ) or PM me.

03/03/2026

Caroline so beautifully said what my goal in training horses (and riders) is! Thank you Caroline!!!🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

One of the things that really stuck with me from my recent lesson with Tina Steward (The Steward of Dressage) was the importance of range.

Not just range of movement, but range of posture. Range of energy. Range of expectations.

When we are working on something specific, it is easy to hyperfixate. To stay in one frame, one exercise, one correction, trying to perfect it.

But horses are not built to live in one gear.

As we refine something, we still have to work through the whole range. Forward and back. Longer and shorter. Higher and lower. More and less.

The goal is not just a moment of correctness.

The goal is an engaged horse.
A thinking horse.

A horse who can move dynamically through the work without losing their brain.

And maybe most importantly, we have to be honest about the horse we have today.

That is where good training starts.

🐴✨