Dressage for fun

03/20/2026

Preparation before movement 💃

The importance of activating the deep prevertebral (muscles closest to the skeleton) before activation of the larger superficial muscles (bit of a long sciencey post but I've tried to keep it simple!).

I am referencing this information from Dr Nichole Rombach on Motor Control Based Rehabilitation for Equine Spine Dysfunction. One of the topics she discussed was the function of the deep prevertebral muscles and their importance in dynamic stability.

Bear in mind a lot of this information is still mostly anecdotal and primarily based on human studies but it is likely that similar principles apply in the horse.

Nichole explained the theory of Dynamic stability which is achieved by a combination of feed-forward ↪ and feed-back ↩actions.

Feed-forward 🧠➡🐎 action is the anticipatory function allowing deep muscles to activate before movement, they 'prepare/stabilise' the body.
Feed-back 🧠⬅🐎action responds to sensory input from mechanoreceptors, nociceptors (pain), proprioceptors and gives feedback to the brain on where the body is, and how movement should be executed.

Feed-forward and feed-back actions must function together 🔄 for optimal movement. Dysfunction may occur when feed-forward activation of the paravertebral muscles doesn't occur, therefore, communication with the feed-back action is lost...therefore stability is lost😵‍💫. When there is a lack of stability, the proprioception mechanism is affected and results in hypo (less) or hyper (more) mobility.

When deep muscles atrophy, superficial muscles tighten to compensate for the lack of stability which should be the primary role of the deep muscles. This is where we may see horses that have overdeveloped superficial muscles, such as the brachiocephalic (underdeck muscles) as they now need to work as stabilisers AND movers, which they are not designed to do (this also has to do with muscle fibre type but I won't delve into that). This is also why these muscles are often sore as they are working over time.

If you're completely lost after all of that🤯, in a nutshell, the deep skeletal muscles are important for stability💪 and need to be activated first in order to complete a larger motion. This can be achieved through slow and specific exercises which I am able to teach you during a session (shift back and rebalance is a common one I teach). Think of it as strengthening the chassis of a car so the wheels can turn and move safely and easily. Below is an image highlighting some of these larger superficial muscles and some of the paravertebral muscles in the neck.

02/10/2026

I was 4 Coke Zero's in when I asked Angela.

Not because we were hopped on caffeine and aspartame, we weren't, but because that's when conversations stop being polite and start getting strange. The kind of strange where you're suddenly debating what the opposite of dressage is at 11pm on a Tuesday in a Boston Pizza.

"Everything has an opposite," I said, gesturing with my glass. "Love and hate. Up and down. Fast and slow. Good and evil. So what's the opposite of dressage?"

She didn't even hesitate.

"Wu Wei."

I blinked. "What?"

"Wu Wei. It's this Taoist thing. Effortless action. Action through inaction." She was warming up now, the way you do when you think you've nailed something. "Dressage is all control, right? Every muscle tensed. The rider's hands and legs constantly talking to the horse, pushing it into these movements. It's beautiful, but it's... imposed. Artificial."

I was nodding, so she kept going.

"Wu Wei is the opposite. It's strategic surrender. You stop forcing. You let the natural momentum carry you. You stop talking and start listening."

She sat back. Pretty satisfied with herself.

I looked at Angela for a long second.

"You know what's crazy though?"

"What?"

"The best riders I know actually ride more like Wu Wei."

She opened her mouth. Closed it.

"Like... Wu Wei isn't the opposite of dressage," I continued. "It's the whole fu***ng point."
_______________________

I told her about watching Steffen Peters school his horses.

"When you watch him ride, it looks like he's doing nothing. Like he's just... sitting there. Barely moving. But the horse is dancing through the most difficult lines: piaffe, passage, flying changes, and it looks completely effortless. Like the horse is doing it because it wants to."

"Okay, but—"

"The beginner? The beginner is yanking and gripping and micromanaging every single stride. You can see the effort. The horse's body is tense, the rider's shoulders are up around their ears, everything is resistant."

I leaned forward.

"But the master? The master has done so much work, years of work, that the control becomes invisible. The horse isn't being forced into position anymore. The horse is offering it. Because the rider created the conditions where that movement became the place of perfect balance."

She just stared at me.

"Wu Wei isn't the opposite of dressage," I said again. "Wu Wei is what happens when you've done the work long enough that the work disappears."

___________________

I've been chewing on this for days.

Because here's the thing: I'm terrible at letting go.

I still feel like a beginner sometimes. Hands too heavy. Gripping too tight. Micromanaging every stride because I don't trust the horse, or myself, enough to just... ride.

And it can be exhausting.

I keep thinking I need to find the opposite of what I'm doing. I need to let go. I need to embrace Wu Wei. I need to stop controlling everything.

But maybe that's the wrong question.

Maybe the question isn't "How do I do the opposite?"

Maybe the question is: "Have I done enough of the hard work yet that I've earned the right to let go?"

Because effortlessness isn't the opposite of discipline.

Effortlessness is what discipline becomes when you've done it long enough.

The rider who looks like they're doing nothing? They’re actually doing everything. They spent forty years learning exactly which muscles to engage, which aids to give, how to sit, how to breathe, how to think in rhythm with raw, living kinetic energy.

Now it's invisible.

Now it's Wu Wei.

But it wasn't Wu Wei on day one.
_________________________

I don't know what the opposite of dressage is. Chaos, maybe. A bucking bronco. A horse with no rider at all.

But I know what it's not.

It's not effortlessness.

Effortlessness is graduation.

And I'm still in school.

12/25/2025

Yes! Brilliant!

The Thoracic Sling: The Horse’s Primary System for Balance, Posture, and Force Organization

For generations, equestrian tradition taught that the hindquarters were the horse’s primary source of power. Riders were encouraged to “ride from behind,” develop engagement, and focus training almost exclusively on the rear of the horse. While the hind end is indeed responsible for propulsion, this view does not fully explain balance, posture, straightness, elevation, or whole-body coordination.

Modern biomechanics presents a more complete picture. The hindquarters generate thrust, but the thoracic sling organizes, stabilizes, and directs the horse’s movement. The forehand—specifically the thoracic sling and its integration with the core—the primary system for organizing balance and posture in motion.

The Traditional View Was Hind-End Dominant

Classical training emphasized the hindquarters as the horse’s engine. This is accurate in terms of generating forward thrust, contributing to carrying power, adding part of the horse’s ability to collect, and sharing load with the forehand.

However, the hind end does not independently determine where the body mass travels, the height of the trunk, the organization of the spine and ribcage, straightness or lateral balance, or the ability to elevate the forehand.

The hindquarters push, but they do not control the system they are pushing into.

The Thoracic Sling Is the Horse’s Primary Balancing and Postural Engine

The thoracic sling is a muscular-fascial suspension system that holds the trunk between the forelimbs. Functioning in place of a clavicle, it does far more than support the front end.

The thoracic sling suspends the ribcage between the forelimbs, regulates trunk height, absorbs landing forces, stabilizes the shoulders during movement, initiates upward shifts of the center of mass, determines how weight is distributed front to back, controls straightness and lateral balance, and integrates with the deep core to manage whole-body posture.

In biomechanical terms, the thoracic sling is the horse’s primary balancing and postural system. Without a functional sling, the hindquarters cannot translate their power through the body in a stable or organized way.

The Hind End Pushes — The Thoracic Sling Catches

This concept aligns with findings from force-plate studies, kinematic analysis, and myofascial research.

Current research shows that the forehand is responsible for most vertical control of the trunk, the thoracic sling plays a substantial role in stabilizing the ribcage, the trunk cannot elevate unless the sling and core activate first, self-carriage depends on thoracic suspension rather than hind-end drive alone, and power from behind becomes ineffective if the front cannot control incoming forces.

In motion, the forelimbs do not simply carry weight. They manage balance, braking, and impact absorption. The thoracic sling processes these forces and determines how effectively they are redistributed through the body.

The Modern Shift Across Disciplines

This updated understanding influences every area of equine performance and care.

In rehabilitation and return-to-work planning, thoracic sling function is now prioritized before intensive hind-end strengthening.

In dressage and classical schooling, true self-carriage requires elevation of the withers through the sling rather than force from behind.

In jumping, a functional sling is essential for correct bascule, shoulder freedom, and safe landing mechanics.

In bodywork and movement support, thoracic sling tension and fascial organization influence cervical mobility, forelimb swing, and trunk lift.

In hoof care, the way the foot lands and loads directly affects how both the hindquarters and thoracic sling must compensate during stance and motion.

Across disciplines, the thoracic sling is increasingly recognized as central to posture, balance, and performance.

Why the “60 Percent Forehand Weight” Rule Is Misleading

The commonly cited idea that the forehand carries 60 percent of the horse’s weight applies only to a standing horse on level ground without a rider. In dynamic movement, particularly under saddle, this percentage increases.

Forehand load rises due to the horse’s naturally forward center of mass, the added weight of the rider, variations in hoof balance and trim, posture and core strength, gait mechanics, landing forces, and weakness or collapse within the thoracic sling.

During trot and canter, forelimb loading often exceeds 60 percent and may reach 65 to 75 percent or more. This increased demand makes the thoracic sling the primary structure responsible for stabilizing and supporting the trunk in motion.

Steering Comes From the Shoulders

In horses, steering does not originate in the head or the hindquarters. Direction, line, and balance are determined by the orientation and control of the shoulders, which are suspended by the thoracic sling.

The thoracic cage sits between the forelimbs as a suspended structure. Wherever that structure is directed, the rest of the body must follow. The head follows the shoulders because it is attached to the cervical spine, which is anchored to the thorax. The pelvis and hind limbs follow because they are connected to the thoracic cage through the spine and continuous fascial chains.

A horse cannot truly go straight if the thoracic cage is crooked between the forelimbs. The hindquarters may push powerfully, but they will simply propel the body along the path the shoulders have already chosen. This is why pulling the head does not create straightness, pushing the hindquarters does not correct drift, and controlling the shoulders changes the entire trajectory of the horse.

When the thoracic sling is balanced and functional, the shoulders set the line and the rest of the body organizes naturally behind it.

Thoracic Cage Balance Determines Hind-End Function

The balance and alignment of the thoracic cage directly determine how effectively the hindquarters can work.

If the thoracic cage is dropped on one side, rotated between the forelimbs, collapsed through the sling, or unstable in vertical suspension, the hindquarters are forced into compensatory strategies rather than true engagement.

This often presents as asymmetrical stepping, uneven push mistaken for strength differences, difficulty bending evenly left versus right, loss of straightness despite strong hind-end effort, and increased strain through the lumbar spine and sacroiliac region.

The hindquarters do not choose these patterns. They respond to the balance problem they are pushing into.

When the thoracic sling lifts, centers, and stabilizes the ribcage, both hind limbs can step under evenly, propulsion becomes directed rather than wasted, carrying power improves without force, and collection becomes easier rather than more demanding.

Hind-end quality, therefore, reflects thoracic organization rather than the other way around.

A More Accurate Model of Equine Power

A modern, biomechanically accurate model is emerging.

The hindquarters generate propulsion.
The thoracic sling organizes the body, stabilizes the trunk, and distributes forces.
The core integrates the two into a coordinated whole.

This framework explains why straightness cannot be achieved through hind-end work alone, why self-carriage depends on wither elevation, why forehand heaviness is rarely a hind-end problem, and why movement quality arises from postural control rather than raw power.

Power without organization creates imbalance which crrates tension. Balance allows power to express itself. The future of equine performance lies in organizing the power the horse already has.

https://koperequine.com/the-thoracic-sling-axial-skeleton-interplay/

10/17/2025

Fun. Many times I hear that Dressage is not fun… I came back from vacation, sat on my horse. He was consistent, connected, adjustable- Ohh what FUN !!! If you would make a picture and will start picking on it, you could start piling up the imperfections. If that is YOUR FUN - I understand. But my fun is riding, Feeling as one with my horse. When he reaches for my hand, listens to my body and waits for my aids - all this gives me joy. When he tries hard - it gives me goosebumps. 🙂 Dressage is FUN! Just try to look at it differently. :)

08/16/2025

Hahaha

08/09/2025

Beautifully put.

The Art of Producing the High-Level Horse

In today’s world, where goals are king, results are worshipped, and egos often take the reins, we’ve lost touch with something essential: the art of the journey. The quiet, thoughtful process of developing a horse, not just for performance, but for partnership.

Too often, the pursuit of high-level training becomes a checklist of movements, an external badge of status. Grand Prix as the pinnacle. Piaffe, passage, pirouette all proof of success. But we rarely stop to ask: Success by whose measure? And at what cost?

Because if a horse’s well-being were truly at the centre of our goals and not just a footnote in our mission statements our training would look radically different. It would move slower. It would feel softer. It would sound quieter. And it would be far more beautiful.

Producing a high-level horse is not about simply teaching them the movements required on a score sheet. It’s about cultivating a horse who is sound in body, stable in mind, and joyful in spirit. It’s about shaping one who offers those movements willingly, expressively, even playfully. Not as a result of pressure, punishment, or the clever placement of aids that corner them into compliance but from a place of physical readiness and emotional trust.

And this……….this is where the art comes in!

Imagine dressage as a painting. Each training session is a brushstroke, delicate, deliberate, layered. The impatient artist might throw out the canvas at the first mistake. But the true artist? They work with the paint, blend it, adjust it, stay curious. They know that beauty often lives in the imperfection, in the subtle corrections, in the layers of time and care.

The same is to be said in riding: the art lies not in domination, but in dialogue. Every stride, every transition, every still moment is part of an evolving composition. The rider’s aids are not commands but questions; the horse’s responses are not obedience but answers. Together, you create something greater than the sum of its parts.

The highest levels of dressage are not the goal. They are the byproduct of a thousand conversations, a thousand small moments where the rider listens, adjusts, supports, and receives. When done well, Grand Prix is not a performance. It is the horse’s voice, amplified through movement.

To produce a horse to that level is to understand that their body is not a tool, but a home. Their mind, not a machine, but a mirror. Their spirit, not a resource, but a companion.

This is not just training a horse
It is stewardship.
It is art
And it begins not with ambition,
but with reverence.