StableManners, LLC

11/30/2025

11/27/2025

Great visual aid - this is helpful to see and trigger muscles that we don’t normally recruit!

11/27/2025

Be thankful for what you have!

11/27/2025

Some Horses You Just Can’t Sit—Yet

There are horses you simply cannot sit—and nor should you try.

If a horse is difficult to sit for any reason—tight in the back, heavy on the forehand, rushing in the tempo, pulling on the hands, or lacking strength—it’s a sign the horse is not yet in a place of balance or understanding where they can accept a deep (full) seat.

A rider should never try to sit deeply on a horse that does not have its back lifted, supple, and swinging in rhythm.
To do so only creates tension, prevents the horse’s back from lifting, and makes the rider brace or guard themselves. None of this leads toward true collection or a harmonious ride.

A horse struggling with any of the issues above should be ridden in a light seat—or even a two-point position. This frees the back, allows it to lift, and gives the horse the room they need to find their own balance.

Only through time and correct gymnastic exercises can a horse develop the strength, rhythm, and suppleness required to carry a deep seat without discomfort, tension, or fear from the rider. A horse must first learn to move through its back before that back can carry a rider fully.

Being able to sit the trot and canter is not a talent—it is a result of correct training.
It is allowed by the horse, not forced by the rider.

Be patient.
Wait for the right moment.
Sit only when the horse invites you.

That is when the deep (full) seat becomes effortless.

11/25/2025

A good frame isn’t something you put on a horse.

It’s something the horse grows into when the balance is right.

When the rider creates activity from behind, keeps the body supple, and allows the horse to find the connection, the neck frame appears naturally.

No pulling. No shaping. No forcing.

A horse in self-carriage carries himself, and that’s when the frame becomes real, not manufactured.

💭 Be honest: are you creating a frame with your hand, or allowing one to appear through balance?

classicaldressage

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.