05/26/2026
I was thinking about this very thing yesterday while grooming Freya and considering her first ride under saddle.
With her in particular, if you see me grooming her you’ll notice the hand without the brush is almost always touching her. Usually, on the hip or shoulder as shown in the blue (periwinkle?) here in this diagram.
Why? For all the reasons explainied in this write up.
Without fail, Freya in particular, will start to drop her head, lick, and let out sighs. She softens.
I’ve spent the last year really exploring what it means as a “trainer” to incorporate meaningful (therapeutic) touch with horses, even while grooming.
It’s a combination of something Warwick Schiller said about inappropriate touching by humans towards horses (but it applies to cats, dogs, etc) and
What Tristan teaches in the TRT Method about bringing awareness back to the horse’s body, so that they can regulate themselves and
Skills from Equine Body Work Online + The Masterson Method + Superior Therapy and
Working on my own breath work and regulation as a way of requiring it from the horse … also from Equine Bodywork Online
With Freya & Bella, as well as clients, you’ll also see me do a lot with the neck and chest.
This has been game changing for me and the horses.
What if we stopped slap patting them all the damn time and actually did things to promote in our horse what we want of them?
Be careful though. Once you start asking your horse, what do YOU need? You’ll start expecting the same treatment as a human … as your horsemanship grows you’ll find your human relationships changing too (for the better). Having said that, sometimes better is culling relationships that are toxic or firing clients/trainers that consistently cause you more stress. Sometimes better means voting with your feet, and leaving an environment you know isn’t good for you.
“She walks her horse a lot” yes jacka$$, she walked in hand again yesterday, but you didn’t see her doing roll backs in hand, at a lope, on hills just before that did you? Or roll backs in hand at a lope then transitioning down softly to a trot, on a hill.
🕸️ Exploring Fascia and Bitless Riding 👅
This diagram shows the spiral fascial line — a continuous myofascial sling that spirals through the horse’s body, linking the tongue and poll, cervical fascia, trunk stabilisers, thoracolumbar fascia, abdominal sling and hindlimb structures into one interconnected chain. The whole body is connected through various chains such as this.
Functionally, the spiral line plays an important role in:
• rotational stability of the spine
• coordination of diagonal movement patterns
• transferring force between forehand and hindquarters
• lateral bending
• postural balance and compensatory movement
The hyoid apparatus itself acts as a key anatomical bridge between the tongue, poll, neck and forelimb musculature; an extensive and intricate anatomical connection (Hart et al., 2021).
Studies using fluoroscopy have shown that rein tension changes tongue posture, increases tongue retraction and alters intra-oral movement patterns (Manfredi et al., 2010). This really raises questions as to the influence we have on the body when we place a bit into the mouth; we influence more than the lips and tongue.
The concept of this spiral fascia line in particular shows how parts of the body do not work in isolation. In this particular case, if the tongue and hyoid are mechanically and neurologically connected to the neck and body… what happens to the rest of the fascial system when tension, guarding or restriction occurs in the mouth?
…compensation through the cervical fascia, thoracic sling, ribcage or even the hindquarters?
…poor posture, asymmetry, bracing patterns or impeded movement quality?
Having anatomy at the forefront of our minds, rather than it being a “thinking outside the box” thought process means that we can continually assess how we influence our horses… through our equipment, training and whole life!
I have thought to give more attention and space for bitless riding with my own horse to see how he responds mentally and physically; an anatomical and therefore, welfare-based decision.
Image inspired by Equus Soma.
