StableManners, LLC

11/20/2025

What’s so wrong with being at your current skill level?

Most competitors have this notion that they should be at the top with the blue ribbon, the gold medal or on the podium.

You put in the hard work, so of course you expect to be winning.

What most people don't seem to understand is that it’s okay to be where you are. Learn to enjoy the journey.

An incredible transformation occurs with retraining your mind and taking control of your nerves. It takes the pressure off, and you will find that being okay with where you are actually makes you feel better.

What’s really cool: when you feel better, you perform better.

🌻 Cara

📸 Photos by Furey

11/20/2025

You need to be doing something for your fitness besides riding 👀🏋️‍♀️🧘‍♀️

And hey, I hear you. We're busy. We have families and jobs and chores and friends and a million things to do and limited time in the day. But little things add up. I prescribe planks a lot; they're a wonderful whole-body exercise you can do in just minutes. And if you really are utterly slammed on time, even doing your normal household chores standing on one foot can improve strength, balance and coordination in the saddle. You owe it to your horse to be the best athlete you can be.

(If you're serious about improving your riding with fitness and conditioning work out of the saddle, talk to my friends at Coach Sando Training. They've been amazing for me, including working with me to improve old injuries and chronic asymmetry!)

11/19/2025

Correct bend isn’t when the whole neck moves to the inside. Correct bend is when the horse rotates the poll around its own axis, which creates concavity on the inside of neck. The horse’s nose really doesn’t need to pass the inside shoulder.
You can also think of putting their outside ear on the midline.
Sometimes I describe it as folding the head onto the neck and not folding the neck onto the body.

Sometimes I absolutely will bend the whole neck, nose passed the shoulder, while asking the horse to reach out with the opposite front leg/shoulder (abduct), and that’s a great suppling exercise, but it’s just an exercise. We don’t want to live that way. 

My lines are crooked but you get the idea.

11/17/2025

Kinda the whole point.

Earlier this fall, US Equestrian released a series of Horse Welfare Guidelines to members, including those based on the familiar concept of a stoplight guidance recently published by USEF.

11/17/2025

For real, for everything!

11/17/2025

11/17/2025

secret to a stable, shock-absorbing sitting trot isn't stiffness—it's mobility! If your pelvis isn't moving with your horse, your lower back (and theirs!) is taking the brunt of the impact.

Exercise Spotlight: The Backward Bicycle
The Goal: To simulate the subtle pelvic rotation required to absorb the motion of the sitting trot.

The How: Walk backwards, but before you do imagine you are slowly pedaling a bicycle backward. Focus on the movement initiating from your hips and pelvis, keeping your lower back relaxed against the floor.

The Why: This simple movement helps you connect your deep core to your hips, developing the subtle, independent movement that allows you to absorb the horse's energy without collapsing or tensing.

Consistency in this movement will unlock a deeper, softer seat.

Find detailed video instruction for this exercise and others in our course: Tools for Horse and Rider. https://www.felicitasvonneumanncoseldressage.com/https-felicitasvonneumanncoselpodiacom-courses

11/17/2025

11/17/2025

🐴 DRESSAGE SOLUTIONS!🐴 Create a Better Back-to-Front Connection

To create a better connection from the horse’s hind legs to the rider’s hands …

Imagine the energy coming from the push of the horse’s hind legs, through your arms and into the reins so that they feel like broomsticks. The energy connects the horse, and the “broomsticks” enable you to direct the horse’s neck up or down into the desired outline and prevent the horse from dropping behind the bit or getting short in the neck.
— Jackie Kinney

🎨 Sandy Rabinowitz

11/16/2025

11/16/2025

Chase it with all your heart.