Adamo Equestrian

11/08/2025

"They" say ("they" being people who measured this) say that a horse carries around 60% of his total weight on his front feet. So he is naturally "heavy on the forehand." This is not a "fault" of the horse, but rather a fact.

When the rider gets on, that percentage changes to 70%. So simply by getting ON the horse, we are increasing the amount of weight he is carrying on his front end, not just by our weight, but by a higher percentage of his own weight as well.

Keeping the numbers really simple, let's say our horse weighs 1000 pounds, and our rider an all their equipment weigh 200 pounds. Therefore:

This horse, by himself, then carries 600 (60%) of his 1000 pounds on his front end, and 400 pounds on his hind end, left to his own devices.

When the rider gets on, the horse/rider combined weight is now (in this simple example) 1200 pounds. Now he's carrying 70% of that aggregate on his front end, which is 840 pounds, and a mere 360 pounds on his hind end.

This math applies to all riders. "Just a trail rider" is not exempt from this math. People on particularly big horses are not exempt from this math. If you ride a horse, you are subject to this math.

This is why, since the beginning of our relationship with the horse, the human has worked on how to help the horse distribute this aggregate weight differently, so it is the least harmful to the horse as possible. Simply put, this is what learning to ride should be about.

The horse is designed to carry 60% of his weight on his front end. Left to his own devices, he will do fine with this out in the pasture. But when we add the rider and their equipment, that percentage changes, and the horse was NOT designed for that.

Knowing this, some people will choose not to ride horses. Others will follow the paths of so many who have gone before, learning how to help the horse carry us with the least negative effects possible.

11/05/2025

There is so much great information in this post AND the discussion comments. Please give it a read!

ONE BAD APPLE SPOILS THE WHOLE BUNCH…

I have people ask me time and time again WHY I dress the foot, why I don’t just deal with distortion at the ground surface…

Well, first of all, I’m obviously not doing it just for the heck of it. A set-up trim addressing distortion is a LOT of work. It would be so much easier to just work from the bottom.

It’s also not thrifty… do you know how many rasps I go through? 🤦‍♀️

The real answer is, one, no matter how well things are functioning at the ground surface the day of the trim, within a week, distorted tubules are going to be on the ground again, leveraging the capsule.

This is why many trimmers have to trim on such short cycles, and this is why trimmers who trim every week or so, or who have horses on a track system, CAN make progress, albeit over months and years. I know this because I used to trim exactly like that.

ONE DISTORTED TUBULE DISTORTS THE WHOLE BUNCH…
Two, all tubules are bound to each other and influence each other, so if a cluster of tubules at the toe is distorted, it will pull every tubule in the capsule in that direction as well, until we sever the connection, and how we do that is by dressing the foot and disconnecting the distorted tubules from new growth.

WHAT ABOUT ADAPTIVE ASYMMETRY?
An educated farrier can tell the difference between capsular distortion and natural capsular asymmetry, so I’m not even going to address that.
The hoof capsule does not ‘adapt’ once the coffin bone has stopped growing, but it can distort.

And for those who say you can’t ‘read’ the foot if you dress the wall, that’s not true…
We can read pigmentation to see where dressing has happened in the past, and evaluate distortion that way, we can see color changes due to serum leaking, we can see bruising, and we can judge distortion by the white line junction, wall thickness, and tubule angle at the ground surface.

CAN YOU GET AWAY WITH LEAVING DISTORTION?

Absolutely. For a while.

But keep in mind the collapse of the solar vault is a direct result of unaddressed capsular distortion.

Keep in mind damage over the long-term is insidious, and by the time we realize joint or soft tissue damage is occurring, it may be too late.

A capsule may hold itself together, flaws and all, until it quite literally folds in on itself and we see a quarter crack or the like ‘spring out of nowhere.’

The cry to ‘never dress the wall’ or ‘never trim the frog’ has probably lamed more horses than we’d care to know…

“But dressing the foot weakens the capsule.”

A distorted capsule is already weak, it’s already compromised.

Dressing the foot merely weakens the connection between distorted and healthy new tubules.

Yes, you may see crumbling until new growth hits the ground, but rest assured, it’s temporary, and the lesser of two evils.

A full thickness distorted wall isn’t strong, it’s just strongly sabotaging new growth.

(I do want to add, at the ground surface, I’m still leaving wall height and not going past what I would take with a mustang roll, and once the distortion is grown out, my mustang roll replaces top dressing…)

11/03/2025

I am absolutely loving these posts by Rosie Bensley Equine

Why Isn’t Your Horse on the Bit?

Here’s another common and misunderstood questions in riding: why isn’t your horse on the bit?

If I’m honest, it’s also a question that once held me back from exploring French classical training. I was uninformed and, truthfully, a little judgmental about what I was seeing until I took the time to read and understand the theory behind why we should wait before asking for poll flexion.

Even now, it’s a question that can make me feel a bit exposed when I’m working through those early, messy stages of helping a horse find balance.

In the School of Légèreté, we don’t start by putting the horse “on the bit” by asking for poll flexion. We start by educating the mouth.

Before a horse can seek contact, he must first learn to accept it; with confidence, not tension. That begins with a soft, mobile jaw. When the jaw is relaxed, the poll and neck can follow, and the topline opens up. Without that first conversation in the mouth, any contact risks becoming a constraint rather than a communication.

From there, we focus on bending and extending the neck, left and right, forward and out. This isn’t just about stretch; it’s about symmetry. By gymnasticising the neck, we free and lengthen the spine so the horse can move straight and without contraction. Only once the body is supple, balanced, and aligned do we add the final piece; poll flexion, the cherry on the cake.

I often think about this through my own body. I’m tall, with a long neck, and I struggle with neck and shoulder pain. To avoid strain, I need to tuck my chin slightly toward my neck; a small flexion at the atlanto-occipital joint, the human equivalent of the horse’s poll. It helps enormously, but only if I’ve first lengthened and aligned my spine. If I try it from a collapsed posture, the discomfort multiplies.

Try it yourself; it’s a simple but powerful way to feel why a horse needs a long, symmetrical neck before you think about flexing the poll.

So, if you see a horse being ridden with their head ahead of the vertical, it might not be because the rider doesn’t know how to “get him on the bit.” They may simply be taking the slower, more thoughtful route; ensuring every piece of the puzzle is in place so that, when flexion comes, it creates lightness and stability, not restriction.

10/26/2025

10/26/2025

NPA reversal.

In 6 weeks.

By the owner.

Amazing what just a few simple trimming tweaks will do.

Negative Palmar/Plantar Angle and Broken-Back Hoof Pastern Axis, and all of the pathologies that go along with that, from navicular to a soft tissue injuries, are epidemic.

The methodologies being taught by the most common barefoot and farrier trimming styles are, at best, exacerbating it, and at worst, creating it.

Many hoofcare professionals aren’t recognizing the problem, because they haven’t been taught to look past the bottom of the foot.

But owners are noticing.

And the better their horsemanship becomes, the better their eye for biomechanics, the more they educate themselves on things like the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram… the more they notice.

Horses who lack expression in the gaits, horses who struggle with collection and extension, horses who struggle with baseline posture…

Owners are at the forefront of awareness, and many are taking over their own hoofcare as result.

And while handing something as important and intricate as hoofcare over to amateurs seems like a bad idea, the results say otherwise.

I think it’s time to stop underestimating owners, and time for them to stop underestimating themselves.

They are the driving force behind the way forward…evidence-based practices.

And some of them are pretty darn handy.

If you’re considering taking over your horse’s hoofcare, but doubting yourself, here’s your sign that you’re more than capable.

Like I told an owner recently, don’t feel intimidated.

If you’re listening to the hoof, and listening to the horse, and willing to adapt, you’re already way ahead of the game.

A lot of hoofcare professionals out there refuse to do so, and that’s what your superpower is!

10/25/2025

Why the High Hands? 🙌

It’s a question I’m often asked; sometimes with curiosity, sometimes with a hint of scepticism: why do we ride with high hands in Philippe Karl's School of Légèreté UK?

In much of modern riding, “hands low” has come to mean “hands correct.” It’s what we’re all shown early on: elbows in, reins straight, hands held quietly above the withers. But correctness isn’t about appearance; it’s about effect.

When the hands are too low, the line of contact from the bit to the rider’s hand acts downward and backward. This puts pressure on the horse’s tongue and bars, which can cause discomfort and defensive tension. The tongue contracts, the jaw tightens, and the hyoid apparatus becomes restricted. The hyoid is a small but vital structure that connects the tongue to the rest of the body through a web of muscles and fascia reaching the poll, shoulder, sternum, and the hind end.

And when the hyoid is blocked, the effects ripple through the entire horse. You’ll often see shortened strides, stiffness through the poll and neck, difficulty stretching over the topline, and even restrictions in breathing freely. What began as a “low, steady hand” can quietly lead to tension and heaviness throughout the horse’s body.

By contrast, an elevated hand, soft, mobile, and never pulling, acts upward and forward. It relieves pressure on the tongue and bars, freeing the jaw and allowing the hyoid to move. This release encourages the horse to lift the base of the neck, rebalance, and carry itself in lightness.

In the French classical tradition, the hands aren’t there to hold the horse together; they’re there to educate the mouth and invite self-carriage. High hands are simply a moment in that conversation, a way to restore freedom, sensitivity, and balance before the hands naturally descend again. An elevated hand says “please” to the horse, requesting a shift in balance. A lowered hand says “thank you” to a horse that has found good balance and returns to a neutral, following action.

So when you see a rider with high hands, no need to think “get back to the riding school.” Look closer and you might well see a rider helping the horse find relaxation in its jaw, lightness in its shoulders, and softness through its whole body.

That’s why the high hands.

10/22/2025

When I first learned about the piaffe, it seemed so important to get it right the first time. If you don't do it correctly from the beginning, you can never make it right. At least, that's how it felt back then.

But that's not how horses work. It's actually quite unfair to expect so much from our horses, but also from ourselves.

When we try something we've never done before, we tend to be bad at it. We make a lot of mistakes, and we adjust. When we start lifting in the gym, we might struggle with a small weight. Over time, by practice and progressive overload, we get stronger. It's like that with horses as well.

The only way to get to our goals is to make many small steps over a long period of time. Most importantly, it's about being kind to our horses and ourselves, to give us the space to make mistakes.

10/22/2025

We still have auditing space available!
$25/day or $60/3 days
Contact me if you would like to join us in a week of spectacular dressage education!

10/17/2025

10/16/2025

“Hands without legs, legs without hands.” ~ François Baucher

This short phrase captures the heart of École de Légèreté.
It comes from François Baucher (1796–1873).

A pioneering, controversial, and often misunderstood 19th-century French riding master who aspired towards total lightness (légèreté) and suppleness through refined communication rather than force.

Interestingly though, Baucher’s journey didn’t begin with the pursuit of lightness. Instead, his First Manner was one of power and control…. a style rooted in the military tradition of his time. Baucher sought obedience through strength and precision. But everything changed after a freak accident in 1855, when a chandelier fell on him during a circus performance. Baucher was seriously injured and unable to ride as before. Life, fate, or whatever you wish to call it forced him to find a new way...

His Physical limitations deepened a shift in training that had already begun…. leading to years of reflection, experimentation, and refinement. From this came a new philosophy of horsemanship: his Second Manner.

One of Baucher’s key insights was how tension in the jaw, neck, and poll underlies resistance throughout the body. When he began prioritising balance, relaxation, and the removal of resistance, he found true access to the horse both physically and mentally.

He also realised that opposing aids, as in, using the hand to restrain while the leg drives forward- created confusion, stress, and tension and dullness. Determined to end that conflict, he worked a huge amount from halt and walk with meticulous, almost meditative precision, seeking perfect balance.

From this came one of his guiding principles, published in the 12th edition of his Méthode d’équitation (1864):
“Hands without legs, legs without hands.”

It means- never giving contradictory aids…. Never pushing and pulling at the same time & never driving the horse into a blocking hand.

As Philippe Karl explains, it’s like driving a car with the handbrake and accelerator on at the same time!

When horses are ridden with opposing aids, they must choose: go or whoa, they can’t do both. The steadier types tend to obey the restraining aids, leaving riders forever chasing “more energy” or “more impulsion.” To the endless cry of “MORE LEG!”.

The more sensitive types obey the forward aids…. and their riders are left endlessly “rebalancing,” trying to contain energy that soon boils over into tension or panic. These are the “hot” horses…. the ones who feel like ticking bombs, where even breathing can feel risky.

And this compression between hand and leg will always yield over-flexion- where the obsession with frame before balance becomes the poison chalice. The horse has nowhere else to go so eventually it does its best to hide behind the rider's hand and save what little sensitivity it has left in its mouth by giving absolute submission to the hand.

And this is where so many riders get stuck.
And this is also why so many of us are finding resonance with École de Légèreté.

We’ve all been taught, at some point, to ride in tension, to hold, to collect, to “frame” the horse through opposition. Many of us have felt that inner conflict during our lessons: between our hands and legs, our intentions and the horses response.

Something feels off…. And through repetition we start to notice that- our opposing aids make horses heavier, not lighter. Duller, not responsive. Or tenser, not relaxed.

Baucher’s hard-won wisdom reminds us:
Harmony, lightness, trust or whatever else you wish you call it…. doesn’t come from control, it comes from clarity, timing, feel & RESPECT.

When our hands and legs no longer argue and contradict one another, the conversation becomes much easier….

To ride a horse trained in légèreté is unmistakable. There is a lightness, expression, and pride. You feel their balance, coordination, and power come together in an energised yet peaceful way.

Nothing else, in my opinion has come close.
Once you’ve felt it, you never forget it and you would never want to go back to “hand into leg” again....

It becomes an obsession- the pursuit of Legerete!