Belvidere Farms, Kentucky

09/07/2026

09/06/2026

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.

📎 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

09/01/2026

08/15/2026

A little truth telling---

When an event rider talks about a “fast gallop” that would be a slow lope to a Thoroughbred racing jockey.

A nice Thoroughbred will cover a five furlong race at about 1,000 meters a minute, so by that standard an advanced event horse going at 570 meters a minute runs cross country at little more than half speed!

https://www.pedigreequery.com/reputed+testamony

08/15/2026

Much can be accomplished by schooling at the walk.

Horses have an easier time holding their balance at the walk than at faster gaits, and the walk is very calm, and the horse has time to understand and to process little signals from the rider.

So much of teaching a horse to understand the human equivalent of something like “Two plus two equals four” is by repeating simple aids until there is a conditioned response.

A certain set of pressures and releases by the rider is requesting a certain response from the horse, and many of these can be more clearly applied, and therefore more clearly understood, at the slower and quieter pace of the walk.

Leg yielding, simple transitions, as well as the basics of more complex movements can be taught in the steady and measured pace of the walk.

The walk is often somewhat neglected as a training pace.

08/11/2026

Horse owners are often taught to watch for obvious signs of discomfort such as pinned ears, tail swishing, bucking, or resistance under saddle, but what if we could pick up on much more subtle clues before an escalation into displays of discomfort?

A University of Guelph study of riding lesson horses suggests that tiny changes in facial expressions may provide valuable insights into how horses experience their work and interactions with riders. Equine Exercise Physiology PhD student, Aveil Oberhammer, used EquiFACS (Equine Facial Action Coding System) to examine lesson horses before, during, and after riding lessons. EquiFACS is a standardized system that records specific facial muscle movements. Rather than assigning emotions, it simply documents what facial muscles are doing and allows researchers to investigate what those movements might mean.

Read more at the link in the comments.

08/11/2026

This is a follow up to my recent post about the dangers of striding jumps as shown in the bottom left picture. This is a post about teaching a horse how to square up to jump as shown in the bottom right two pictures. Also, many comments asked whether a horse could learn to square up for takeoff at a trot, which of course they can.

A properly trained jumping horse should have no preference of gait regarding squaring up for takeoff at a jump. For example, if you are riding in a fox hunt and the Field of riders is riding at either a trot or canter, when the group comes to a jump you should be able to jump it with your horse's feet safely squared up regardless of the gait helping to keep the Field steadily moving forward.

Essentially, you want to stride your horse in the approach such that you "pitch" your horse into the takeoff area or "box" in a manner that causes them to automatically square up, using both their hind legs to jump. A rider's ability to settle the striding correctly in the approach and then commit the horse effectively to the jump are the keys to success.

The top image shows ground poles set at canter stride length, which is typically +/-12 feet for a common size horse. The takeoff box is set at +/-8 feet deep and as wide as the jump. Creating a box helps inexperienced riders see the center of the takeoff area.

The goal is to establish an approach with relaxation, rhythm, straightness and impulsion through the ground poles. I set the striding by settling the horse with a half halt before the first ground rail, so the horse begins their approach perfectly on stride over the first pole. Once in the stride over the first poll I commit them to the jump with firm leg that sets the required impulsion.

I use a garden rake to rake the box smooth before each jump so after the jump students can see the hind footfalls of their takeoff. If the footfalls are squared up in the box at takeoff, the 8 foot box was the correct box depth for the horse. If the hind footfalls are uneven and not squared up to the jump, I will shorten the depth of the box to approximately 7 1/2 feet deep. And if that doesn't cause the horse to square up, I will shorten the box again, and so on.

Warning, if you shorten the box too much, say to 6 feet or less, some horses will take off from the stride before the box, and give you a very long flat arch jump. Be ready.

For teaching a horse to square up for takeoff with a trotting approach the process is very similar. I set up trotting ground poles at +/- 4 feet apart and make a box +/- 7 feet deep the width of the jump. I have someone use a garden rake to rake the box smooth so after the jump I can see the hind footfalls of the takeoff.

I establish a trotting approach with relaxation, rhythm, straightness and impulsion through the ground poles, set +/-4 feet apart. I use the settle method explained above with a half halt before the first ground pole. This allows a horse to begin their approach perfectly on stride over the first pole.

Next, I give a solid leg cue to commit the horse to the jump, hoping that the ground poles will keep the horse in the trot when I give the leg commit cue without causing a cater transition.

If, when you give the commit cue, your horse goes into a canter you need to do some work on gaining impulsion in the trot using poles without causing a canter transition. In other words, rate your horse at the trot while you ask for increased impulsion over trotting poles.

The bottom right picture is me training a young TB mare, Velvet, recently off the track. This was her second round of jump training. She is squaring up nicely for a low jump. I am not using ground poles or a box because after many years of training horses to jump I see the striding and the box as clearly as if it was physically there.

In summary, this training is about settling a horse into correct striding in a straight line a few strides out from a jump and then committing the horse to the jump with leg for required impulsion. The effect you want from the settle-commit is to "toss" the horse into the box as one might toss a horseshoe to a stake in a horseshoe throwing contest.

*Link to previous related post about dangers of striding jumps -
www.facebook.com/BobWoodHorsesForLife/posts/pfbid0c83B1NpJScUGYPiX3ZT5AhyBb5XqjxQdpfmeUXzENonydhxsR2rrqyB8XxVfeBwWl