AHS Horsemanship

29/11/2025

Just because we can doesn't mean we should 🐴

A common theme with the horses I go out to see is that they have been given the “all clear” by vets/bodyworkers/various other professionals. Therefore the owner logically assumes they are definitely dealing with a behavioural issue as they have done all of the things they’re supposed to do as a caring owner.

Unfortunately diagnostics can be very limited and people seem to have trouble seeing the whole horse. Just because you haven’t found a solid cause yet doesn’t mean the horse isn’t in pain. Horses don’t lie and if they are behaving like they’re in pain I believe them. There is more to pain than hocks, kissing spine or ulcers and bute doesn't magically remove any pain that may be present.

With permission, I’m going to tell you a story which is unfortunately not an unusual one. I was called out to this horse as he had a “fear” of being mounted, but they said he was fine once they were on and they were jumping him competitively up to 1.20m. They had done x-rays of his back, stifles and hocks and scoped him for ulcers. A physio had also seen him and said they found no issues. The owner had tried every training method under the sun to fix this behaviour, pressure/release, chasing him around with a flag, clicker training, putting him against the wall, having someone hold a lick in front of his face etc. The horse was still biting, swinging away and becoming really agitated. I observed him being ridden and he was showing several conflict behaviours, tail swishing, unhappy in the mouth, head tossing etc. I didn’t do any training with the horse, to my eye the horse was definitely in pain and I referred them onto a recommended specialist vet. Upon investigation this horse had extensive arthritis in his neck and issues in his spine that had not been picked up by the first vet.

Horses are so, so stoic and we are also rubbish as an industry at seeing discomfort in them because it is so normalised. We see them as “fine” to ride as long as they aren’t actively decking us. We ignore them until they’re screaming and even then many do not listen because it is justified away as “quirky” or “sassy” behaviour.

Imaging is only useful if the person reading it has the skill to do so well and I have experience of one vet saying x-rays are fine then a second-opinion specialist vet making a pretty devastating diagnosis from the same images.

I am not saying we all need to spend thousands at the vet immediately, a huge part of what I do is gently, quietly improving posture and emotional health to see if we can start to help the horse feel and move better over time, but a hill I absolutely will die on is if the horse is unhappy with any part of tacking up/mounting then we do not ride the horse that day.

There are so many things we can do beyond just medicating and cracking on, if we can all learn a bit more about recognising postural issues and behavioural indicators we can potentially avoid a lot of heartache and frustration.

The industry as a whole is blind to postural issues, I’m still seeing horses regularly who have been “cleared” by several professionals who I find with saddle shaped dips in their back and incredibly poor hoof balance which is going to make their body really uncomfortable. Yet the owner has been told again and again the horse is fine and they need to crack on and get a trainer out, and then the training methods make the posture even worse…

If your horse goes to the back of the stable when you arrive with your tack, you need to restrain him in cross ties or he repeatedly moves away from the mounting block, I encourage you to think about why that is. There is a reason he doesn’t want to, be it physical or emotional discomfort with the situation. Making him move his feet and harassing him until his only option is to stand still isn’t going to change those feelings. A horse complying once you’re in the saddle does not mean they’re fine with it, they just know they have no choice once you’re on because nobody has ever listened to the no. 🐴

21/11/2025

Reiner Klimke told us: “The rider who is sitting a little bit forward, who doesn’t make himself heavy, is what I like. When I ride, I always try to not make myself heavy and bring the horse down, but to go with the movement and keep light."
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2021/07/wisdom-from-reiner-klimke/

18/11/2025

Top things we HATE to hear as c**t starters: 🐴

1. “I would do it myself I just can’t afford to get hurt”

And you think we can!? This is how we make a living, how we pay our bills and feed our children. 🤦‍♀️ We cant afford to get hurt either BUT we have the skills and program to do this in the most successful and safest way possible.

2. “I would do it myself it’s just I don’t bounce like I used to”

Yeah neither do we, and as professional c**t starters we actually don’t hit the ground very often and we hope to keep it that way (Knock on wood).

3. “I don’t need all that fancy stuff, I just need someone to ride the bucks out for a few rides”

You’ll need to find a different program. If all you care about is a crash test dummy be upfront about that and see what c**t starters call you back. Starting c**ts is hard enough on our bodies we don’t get paid enough to just hop on and see what your horse feels like doing to us.

4. “I did all the groundwork already so you can just start riding - because I can only afford 30 days training”

Thank you for trying to prepare your c**t, but I will still be going through my checklist on the ground to be sure your c**t is prepared and a first ride will be successful. We do not offer 30 day c**t starts as it’s just not enough time for your c**t to get a foundation built that will last when you take them home.

5. “I’m a super novice rider and I can’t wait to start riding my first 2yr old! Is 60 days enough?”

No it’s not, even the quietest c**ts need TIME to build a solid foundation that won’t crumble. They will learn so much while they are being started but it takes time for skills to become concrete, and for a horse to be confident making up for mistakes of novice riders.

So as we head into c**t starting season, give your starter the time they need, don’t rush the process and dont treat their body or skills like they are less than.

Stay safe out there yall 👍🏼🐴

www.topwindranch.com

**tstarting

17/11/2025

So many riders start their warm-up by shaping the neck… but that isn’t where true training begins.

A good warm-up starts with the horse in his own natural balance, the place where he feels safe, loose, and coordinated.

From there, you ride him forward, let him find the contact, and only then allow the frame to develop.

The frame isn’t something you put on your horse.

It’s something that appears when the horse feels relaxed, balanced, and confident in his own body.

Start with his balance, not your picture, and the rest will follow. ✨

11/11/2025

11/11/2025

When we bring in a new horse or pony, we must be patient!

So many animals advertised as ‘well broke’ do not make the transition to new ownership all that easily. Heck, I've purchased animals who take close to a year to settle in — and surprisingly, the ones described as ‘friendly’ can take it hardest of all. These are the ones who really bond with their people and changing hands is hard for them.

Even a quiet horse or pony can suddenly become spooky, hard to catch, or a halter puller upon arrival.

I can only recommend that when a new ride is purchased, sign up for a few lessons from the seller or former trainer, if qualified. Better yet, get yourself and your new horse into lessons with your regular coach. Waiting for things to be perfect is usually counterproductive.

So, we get to work straightaway but we don’t expect perfection. We might note what we’d like to change or improve upon, but we refrain from immediately ‘remaking’ the new horse. Human nature has a hard time with waiting for gradual change to happen, so be warned.

Some horses make the leap to their new lives with gusto, others grow homesick and troubled — and some, we discover, were never all that well broke, to begin with. The trick is in knowing what's what!

Finally, please remember that homesickness has no bearing on how much schooling a horse has, or has not received.

If we were talking about children, we’d know instinctively that a complete change in homes and routines would be an emotional rollercoaster. I’ve often thought that handling horses is little different from raising kids...

09/11/2025

Praise often and don’t ask for too much.
Reward the smallest try.
A release, a break, a pat, a long rein, a let go and gallop…
Nothing builds confidence and willingness in horses like the acknowledgement of a try and efforts to please…

08/11/2025

Sucked Back: About the Scariest Horse Problem I Can Think Of

In an attempt to. make horses safe to ride, much desensitizing focuses on stillness. Stand still while you see/feel/experience this stimulus. I hear often that people absolutely require stillness from their horses for certain situations, and I agree that being still is an important part of safety for mounting, tying and such.

But the thoughtful horse person must very carefully distinguish between still and "stuck."

Stuck is when forward is removed from the horse's vocabulary - blocked, shut down, repeatedly denied. A horse learning will squirm away, squiggle around, and naturally want to move away from a fearful stimulus or something they don't understand. An intelligent horse person knows how to channel that energy into something constructive, as opposed to shutting the energy down.

In time, the horse learns that CONSTRUCTIVE movement leads to calm - not evasive movement being allowed to continue. Constructive movement allows the horse to process through movement (the very thing they were designed for) what scares them, until they settle into stillness.

This preserves their forward nature - allowing us to build on it in their training. For things like trailer loading of course, we need some forward movement. Shutting down a horse's forward movement will come back to haunt you a million fold in trailer loading by producing a horse that balks, sucks back, pulls back, or flat out plants.

Shutting down forward movement creates more rearing, bucking, and planting - none of these desirable.

And of course, it is impossible to create contact, connection, bend, and any other desirable way of going without forward movement. You can't shape lack of movement.

Don't confuse "stuck" for calm. Don't remove the forward out of a horse just for the illusion of safety - a horse that does not go is in no way safe - it is not a matter of if, but when, this horse will react dangerously - and it is a travesty created entirely by human fear of the forward nature of a horse.

As always, the solution is learning to ride, learning to love going forward - constructively, not uncontrollably.
Human fear of forward is one of the greatest causes of flattening out and repressing the most beautiful parts of a horse: their love of movement.

08/11/2025

01/11/2025

27/10/2025

Christoph Hess tells us - “Relaxation is very important. We see riders who can control tension and produce a spectacular test, but they are not able to show a supple horse. Contact is about stretching through the whole body. Is the movement starting behind, swinging over the back and to the horse’s mouth?”
https://www.horsemagazine.com/thm/2025/10/christoph-hess-dressage-is-harmony-and-balance/