10/28/2025
This takes a minute to read but so worth it. As a rider, if you are feeling problems in your hands or the front end of the horse, review these concepts. I love the description of what it feels like to be a horse.
The timeless lesson? What we feel in our hands so often begins behind the saddle. I was incredibly fortunate to learn under ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐น๐ฒ๐, who trained with ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ, ๐ก๐๐ป๐ผ ๐ข๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฎ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฑ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ - a tradition that shaped my understanding of true connection and self-carriage from the very beginning.
Nuno Oliveira said, โ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ.โ
Decades later, ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ ๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป explained the same principle in his own way, using a brilliant analogy between engagement and athletic discomfort. Both of these wise horsemenโs words still make me pause and think - not only when I feel too much in my hand, but especially when I see a pupil learning to lighten theirs.
Itโs a reminder that what we feel in our hands so often begins behind the saddle - not only in the clarity of the riderโs seat and legs, but also in the strength, balance, and weight-lifting ability of the horseโs hindquarters.
So next time you feel your horse leaning on your hand, or youโre tempted to tighten or fight the contact - pause. ๐๐๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ: ๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐จ?
With respect and gratitude to ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฏ๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ (๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ) for articulating this so clearly. His full post follows - itโs well worth the read.
"My horse leans on my hands" and other similar comments----A discussion.
Let's say we jog in place---we humans. Now let's say we squat down while jogging in place.
Try it, it hurts more. Now squat lower, jog higher----It hurts still more, we pant more, we struggle more. We are feeling the effects of athletically induced discomfort.
Now imagine that you are sitting on a horse being ridden (correctly) back to front. You drive with seat or legs, create some impulsion, and simultaneously you "contain-receive-balance" that impulsion with your quiet, negotiating hands, so that the horse is being asked to take a "deeper" step, come more under himself, and lift himself more rather than simply push himself along, as he'd do naturally.
We call this things like "asking for more engagement", "asking him to carry himself".
Even though what we are doing may be careful asking rather than forceful demanding, it STILL hurts the horse. No, it doesn't INJURE the horse, but it causes him athletically induced discomfort, because when you ask him to engage his hocks, and start to lift and carry his own weight, it's the same as what you felt jogging in place while squatting, lots of physical exertion.
Now the horse, feeling the effects of being asked to be a weight lifter, (and having zero incentive to become a well trained dressage horse---hahahaha, you anthropomorphic dreamer!) the horse tries to avoid the engagement.
He can invert. He can roll under. He can lean on the bit. He can flip his head. ALL these front end/head evasions are---listen here---to get rid of the "correct" connection between the driving aids and the receiving aids, because that connection makes him weight lift, and he'd far rather not.
In other words, we FEEL the resistance up FRONT, in the bit, reins, hands, but the resistance we feel up front is because he doesn't like the pressure of engagement BEHIND. (It took me about 212 years to figure this out, by the way)
So now we MAY think, as many of us do---"My horse is "resisting" in his mouth/jaw. I need to use stronger rein aids. I need a sharper bit. I need draw reins. I need one of those leverage rigs."
(This process can turn, easily, into ugly adversarial fighting, rider demanding, scared, uncomfortable horse resisting)
NO---What we need is to think very long term about strength training.
We ask him to step under (engage), negotiate for some moments of semi-lift, back off, let him recover, ask for a little more, back off, repeat, repeat for months, tiny increments, little by little, "building the horse like an onion", one tiny layer at a time.
WEIGHT LIFTING IS SLOW. WEIGHT LIFTING DOESN'T FEEL GOOD. Yes, it will eventually turn your horse into a better athlete, but your horse doesn't know that. He isn't "being bad" when he resists, he's trying to get away from athletically induced discomfort. So----GO SLOW, HAVE COMPASSION for what he is undergoing.
End of long discussion. I was no big saint about horse training. It took me too many years to equate much of this. Don't make the mistakes I made, and that so many riders make. Be better than that.
Denny Emerson, Tamarack Hill Farm
(๐๐ ๐๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ช๐ต ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ - ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ด: ๐ญ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ.)
