09/19/2025
đź’Ż
In an industry full of stronger bits, training gadgets, and hours-long schooling sessions, it’s easy to believe that more is always better. But Geoff Teall argues the opposite: when it comes to good riding, less is almost always more. He outlines why the simplest solutions create the best results for both horse and rider.
Many riders turn to equipment or extra work as the first answer to a training problem. A horse feels heavy? Put in a stronger bit. Is the horse too fresh? Add more lunging. A horse isn’t responding? Try another gadget.
Teall cautions that these quick fixes don’t actually solve the issue. At best, they mask symptoms for a short while; at worst, they create new problems. As he explains, “All the bits in the world won’t make an unbalanced horse move correctly. The best they will do is mask the problem for a time.”
Instead of asking, “What equipment will fix this?” Teall encourages riders to ask, “Why is this happening?”
Take the example of a horse that leans heavily on the bit. The heaviness isn’t the real problem. It’s just a symptom. The root cause is often a lack of balance and engagement from the hind end.
The solution isn’t to pull the head up with leverage. It’s to go back to the basics: teach the horse to move forward from the leg, carry more weight behind, and balance himself properly. Only then will he feel lighter in the rider’s hands.
Simplicity doesn’t stop at tack. Teall also urges riders to rethink how much they drill their horses before stepping into the show ring. Too often, riders spend hours in the schooling area, jumping fence after fence until both horse and rider are exhausted before the class even starts.
Teall takes a different approach. “If your horse knows what is expected of him, he doesn’t need a lot of warming up,” he explains. A few well-placed jumps are enough to get a feel for the venue and fine-tune the ride. That means fewer takeoffs on the horse’s legs, less wear and tear, and a fresher horse who walks into the ring ready to perform.
Another common mistake is assuming more time equals better results. Teall describes a horse he inherited that was worked into the ground by his previous owners, who thought more riding would eventually make him quiet. Instead, the horse just became harder to manage.
Teall flipped the approach. He set strict, short schooling sessions that ended on time no matter how the horse went. Within weeks, the horse settled because he knew his workload was never endless. Instead of being drilled, he was trained, and that made all the difference.
đź“Ž Continue reading this article at https://www.theplaidhorse.com/2025/09/17/less-is-more-why-simplicity-beats-quick-fixes-in-riding/
📸 © Heather N. Photography
