This is not meant to be a scientific post, but one based on decades of observing horses and humans trying to learn together. Many domestic horses have been handled by numerous people over the course of their lives. In the process, they often learn something very specific: humans move their bodies in ways that are inconsistent, poorly timed, and unpredictable. Faced with this constant stream of incoherent information, horses do what any intelligent being would do — they filter

A prospective student recently asked me a very good question: what do you actually teach? It made me pause and really distil the essence of my work. What I teach will always look different for every horse–and–human combination, because no two are the same. But at its core, my teaching is about balance — for both the horse and the rider. Balance is especially vital for horses. As prey animals, their sense of safety depends on it. Their cerebellum, the part of the brain respons

I always try to avoid making hard rules, because every horse is an individual. While I personally enjoy riding bitless, Monty has shown me very clearly that it’s not what works best for him — especially when we’re doing balance work (not just heading out for a relaxed trail ride). In his case, the action of a bit actually seems to help him organize his big body and feel secure. No matter which bitless setup I’ve tried, he ends up rushing, bracing, and feeling unbalanced. With