12/18/2025
Love this! From the comments: “Give the horse a job to do, otherwise it becomes self-employed.”
Hot take:
Spooky horses are usually under-ridden, not over-faced.
Most riders respond to spookiness by doing less:
longer reins, fewer questions, “just let him look.”
But an unfocused horse doesn’t relax — he spirals.
Spookiness often comes from an empty brain.
So instead of removing pressure, add clarity:
small circle
simple transition
change of bend
a few steps of leg-yield
Not to control the horse —
but to organise him.
A horse with a job feels safer than a horse left to guess.
Agree or disagree?