Un-Natural Horsemanship

06/23/2026

Zak and I have returned from an incredible weekend in upstate NY with KD Dressage. What a wonderful ride for the two of us to work with such an engaged, intelligent and deeply symbiotic community of horses and humans.

The first thing I want to express is an overall feeling of wonder…

I believe that without good horsemanship, healthy biomechanics are not possible. And without biomechanics as a driving lens, horsemanship alone cannot develop a healthy horse. In order for horses to thrive, we must have both and this is what Katrin embodies that we find so admirable and frankly, validating. The bridging of gaps, the merging of ideologies, piecing together the great Venn diagram of equestrianism.

Due to the nature of our host and her heart of solid gold, of course there were a few renegades in residence who were in the process of rehab, but the horses on the payroll displayed quiet minds, soft expression, healthy toplines and lovely work ethic. So too did their humans with big smiles, open minds and receptive bodies, all in healthy/authentic relationship. This is rare for me to find, particularly in the competition world of full-time performance. To be honest, I was gleefully surprised!

Something that came up for me that I’ve enjoyed sitting with are the complex dynamics around horse and rider education. I firmly believe that too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the soup. If I take one ingredient from 10 of my favourite recipes, I’m going to concoct something most likely inedible. I believe too that no one person, method or discipline can have all the answers. I’ve yet to see any isolated ingredient produce much of anything on its own. This is why collaboration is SO important. Yes, it needs to be in alignment and approached with discernment. Some concepts/practices truly are at odds and this cannot be ignored. But to lay it straight- no one rein can be much use if we’re afraid to use the other!

So thank you everyone for having us, auditors included! We adored working with each and every one of you and your participation means the world to us 💫

Until next time, my friends

Chiara 💕

PS- OMG I SAW FIREFLIES

Photo credit- www.craigsalmon.com

06/19/2026

So excited to head east this afternoon and spend the weekend working with a new group of humans and horses 💫

05/29/2026

Brilliantly presented powerful information-

When people talk about laterality in horses, the conversation often gets simplified into “left brained/right brained” or a horse simply being stiff on one side and hollow on the other, but laterality is much more layered than that.

One layer involves sensory preference, particularly which eye the horse prefers to use when observing something.

Studies suggest that information from the left eye is primarily processed by the right hemisphere of the brain, while information from the right eye is processed by the left hemisphere.

Those hemispheres process information differently.

The right hemisphere is associated with stronger emotional arousal, rapid responses, and physiological stress reactions. The left hemisphere is more associated with familiar routines and learned patterns.

This helps explain why horses often prefer to keep unfamiliar or suspicious stimuli in the left eye. They are processing that information through the part of the brain that is more specialized for assessing novelty and potential threat.

But laterality doesn’t stop at sensory processing.

There is also an anatomical layer.

The horse’s internal anatomy is not perfectly symmetrical (neither is ours). Organs such as the liver and lungs have heavier right lobes, which influences how weight is distributed internally. In response, horses often develop increased contraction through the left side of the body as a way of counterbalancing that asymmetry.

Over time, those tendencies can influence another layer of laterality: habitual muscular contraction patterns.

Habitual posture is essentially the body’s default unconscious organization based on resting muscle tone and there are many ways those patterns become established.

Pain and injury can create protective compensations through the withdrawal reflex.

Repeated exposure to stress or startle responses can habituate associated muscle contractions until the horse no longer realizes they are holding those patterns.

Repetitive movement patterns can also shape the body over time. Hauling, living on a slope, uneven hoof balance, or carrying a crooked rider can all gradually influence posture and coordination until those patterns become unconscious defaults.

All of these layers influence each other.

Sensory preference can influence movement.

Movement patterns influence muscular development and posture.

Posture influences balance, coordination, and nervous system organization.

This is why I don’t think the goal should necessarily be straightness.

In fact, I’ve heard it suggested that the word often translated as “straightness” in the training scale may be more accurately understood as balance.

That perspective makes sense to me.

The goal is not to create a horse that is perfectly symmetrical, but to help the horse become more comfortable, organized, and fluid using both sides of the body with greater ease and adaptability.

Part of that involves restoring access to areas that have become limited by chronic tension or motor-sensory amnesia.

And part of it involves training practices that thoughtfully develop both sides of the horse through movement as well as exposure, handling, and interaction with their environment.

Balance has a physical component but it also has neurological, emotional, and behavioral elements.

05/18/2026

Baby horse spam!

05/13/2026

In case you don't know, Zak specializes in building saddles that have traditional look and function, but are also astonishingly LIGHT!

05/12/2026

Baby steps! Getting stronger every day 🍀🦄💫

05/12/2026