Stillwater Dressage

10/15/2025

I've been lost in thought recently over the needs of young horses and role we must play in their lives to ensure their success in this world of turmoil and man made law.

I have witnessed treatment of horses in my short life that would make the strongest stomachs turn, and where I get so lost is in how wildly different our perspectives can be in these situations.

As I wrestled with this exact thought I turned to a teacher I will never meet and decided to calm my mind by reading before bed. Horse Training: Outdoors and High School by Etienne Beudant.

I opened the slight paperback book and set my makeshift bookmark down. I picked up reading where I had left off and in a matter of paragraphs was hit in the face with the following:

"The ill-treated horse first gets excited, then, especially if a nervous type, he becomes maddened and exasperated, and the greater his exasperation the less he understands. Finally, he stands with all four feet firmly planted, al muscles contracted. I cannot imagine how, in such a condition, he can be brought to reason by continuing the abuse.

It is calmness, and nothing else, which converts disordered jerky gaits into smooth, flowing ones. Here is one very important phase of training in which there must be no struggle. A teacher must first get the confidence of his pupil, then reveal the presence of kindness, gentleness and a will, that though calm, is inflexible. This is the immutable and sovereign law of teaching, whether the pupil is man or beast."

This spoke deeply to me and I find myself wondering how, in many ways, we have regressed as a culture since these words were first published in French in 1931.

Then I turn to the weight of responsibility. It is our job to find, maintain, and be stewards of horsemanship that builds confidence calmly through kindness, gentleness and a clarity of our will.

Horses have given me everything, and if there is anything I can do for them in return, it is to attempt daily to bring these words to life.
~Justin

PC Erin Gilmore Photography

10/13/2025

Today I felt a wave of reflection… about the horses who lived through my learning curve.

They didn’t stay with me because they had the choice.
There were ropes, bridles, halters and fences—expectations.
There were times I led them without asking, touched them without listening,
and taught them what I had been taught.

They didn’t get to walk away when I did harmful things.
And that’s what humbles me the most.

I used to believe I was being kind.
And in many ways, I was doing my best.
But now I see how often doing my best still meant asking too much…
still meant silencing what they were trying to show me.

Most stood through it.
They bore it quietly.
They adapted—not because it was easy, but because it was safer to comply.

And still, they gave moments of softness.
A look. A breath. A leaning in.
Moments that taught me more than any lesson I ever tried to teach them.

I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
But now that I do… everything has changed.

I listen more now.
I question more.
And I honor every horse I meet as a being with their own life—not an extension of mine.

So this is for those horses, past and present.
You endured more than I saw at the time.
You lived through my becoming.

I owe you everything.

And I hope that now, in this quieter chapter,
I am someone worthy of standing beside you—without asking you to carry me.

With reverence,
🌿 Stormy

10/13/2025

Acceptance and compromise

Recently, I listened to a well known and much loved horsewoman talking about her teacher and how he didn’t turn his horses out once he began training them. He believed that once you started to prioritise balance in a horses training, you should never compromise that by putting them out with their friends to play. They stayed in and they were trained.

I know several modern day classical trainers who still adhere to this practice - prioritising a precise way of moving which can be found through ridden training in balance, and not wanting that in any way sullied by life in the pasture.

It is also ‘may’ be more likely that a horse will receive an external injury * from playing with their friends if we turn them out together, especially young boys. That’s why many valuable competition horses also don’t get turned out much, or if they do, it’s often solo.

I decide to compromise. I want to prioritise good balance in my horses training and understand there are risks attached to turning them out with friends. But, right now, I believe the positives for these social, movement primed, experient expectant, open landscape adapted creatures - far outweighs the negatives.

There are things I can do to mitigate risk. Most often no back shoes; provide everyone with enough space; monitor herd dynamics (as I’m the one making those choices after all); take care to ensure everyone has enough resources. It’s not just a free for all in a small paddock.

However, to my (tiny) mind the risk of not giving my horses freedom and friends, far outweighs the positives.

Horses are not, after all, lumps of clay to be shaped by my hand. They are not pieces of art work which we sculpt and mould to demonstrate our ability to train. They are sentient beings with complex social lives and a keen desire to make decisions and have agency.

While they may have cost us a lot of money and many of our hopes and dreams can be wrapped up in what they might do for us; they are not cars or yachts or a computer. They are not merely tools for us to show everyone else how marvellous we are. They are Horse.

This decision to have my horses living out with other horses may cost my ego its desires. They may get injured as a result. But the pay off for not doing my best to enable this is more than I can bear to witness. When it comes to what my heart knows to be true, that’s currently where it lands. And I have to accept the compromises this may entail.

————-

*I say an external injury, as we know how many horses develop emotional, mental and systemic ‘injuries’ from a life with little free movement and no direct access to friends. Ulcers, a decrease in bone density, breathing disorders, and the development of stereotype behaviours such as crib biting and wind sucking.

10/08/2025

Imaging (such as scans and X-rays) shows your current anatomy, not your pain.⁣
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A lot of people with back pain are keen to get an x-ray or MRI scan as they feel this will show them what the problem is.⁣
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But there is a large and growing body of research which shows that not only do the results of scans correlate poorly with symptoms in people with back pain, but also that people without any back pain have changes on scans and x-rays. It has been shown that using scans can cause false alarms, and make people fearful of moving. This fear of movement can actually make the symptoms worse.⁣
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A large scale study in 2015 looked at the results of scans in over 3000 asymptomatic people (people with no back pain). They showed that the prevalence of disc degeneration increased from 37% of 20 year olds up to 96% of 80 year olds. The prevalence of disc bulges increased from 30% of 20 year olds up to 84% of 80 year olds. And the prevalence of disc protrusions increased from 29% of 20 year olds up to 43% of 80 year olds.⁣
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Their conclusions were that many imaging findings are likely to be a normal part of the aging process. Think of it like wrinkles on the inside.⁣
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➡️ This is not to say that MRI scans or x-rays should not be used for back pain. In the presence of serious or sinister signs and symptoms, MRI and other investigative radiology are essential to make a quick and accurate diagnosis and fast intervention.⁣
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➡️ Scans are there to exclude the worst of the worst pathologies, but when it comes to everything else they cannot, and do not, tell us where the pain is coming from.⁣
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➡️ If you have severe, unremitting back pain with referred symptoms then it is definitely good to see your GP or a Chartered Physiotherapist for an assessment.⁣
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➡️ If you have had a scan and are worried about the findings, remember that people with no pain also have disc bulges, wear and tear, disc degeneration, etc on scans and that these findings might not necessarily correlate with your pain.⁣
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Don’t fear the language and don’t fear movement - movement is your friend 🤸‍♀️⁣
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💙 Breathe better, move better, ride better⁣
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Maeve⁣
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10/07/2025

10/07/2025

This is a beautiful stallion, producing very nice offspring ❤️

Available by shipped cooled, frozen, or limited live cover in 2026. Excellent cross for improving bone, foot quality and size, stamina, forward thinking, brilliance, and free movement.

10/07/2025

Available by shipped cooled, frozen, or limited live cover in 2026. Excellent cross for improving bone, foot quality and size, stamina, forward thinking, brilliance, and free movement.

10/06/2025

10/06/2025

The Power of Forwards

The first year I trained with Philippe Karl the main focus was getting our horses really ‘forwards’. I remember this coming as something of a shock as, a) I thought my horses were forwards and b) well, what about piaffe? There was one particular session riding my friend Nikki’s huge moving warmblood, while she was riding her utterly ridiculous WB x Lusitano, with both of us flying around the arena hysterical with laugher (about 3 strides would get you from one end of the arena to the other) with Philippe shouting, “This still isn’t his best trot!’

In retrospect, what I think he was actually doing in those early clinics was checking that the riders were really, really happy about turning loose and going forwards. Would our brain and bodies allow those horses to fly? Because without this capacity in us, and the desire in our horse to Go, Go, Go, everything else was going to be a struggle.

Ultimately, what Philippe is looking for is impulsion not speed. We may have used the speed to get all of us freed up, but what we are actually seeking is impulsion – a desire to ‘go’ even in the slowest of walks. I sometimes meet riders thumping horses along out of rhythm, on the shoulders, believing this is ‘forward’ when in reality, they’re just out of balance. Impulsion is about a mental release in horse and rider - which you can ‘feel’ even in halt

A majority of the issues I notice for horse and rider combinations are a symptom of a lack of this desire to really go. I saw Leslie Desmond talking about this, describing the main mistake people make when starting a young horse is dampening down their natural desire to go forwards. We want to impose control from very early on, so we try to slow their legs down. We think that by getting ‘stop’ installed we will be safe, but actually having forward readily available is much, much more helpful. When a horse bucks, it’s because his front feet stopped going forwards, when he rears it’s because the hinds got stuck. When he naps, you lost forwards all together.

This is an interesting conundrum. You will be far ‘safer’ with a horse that always and easily moves forwards from the very lightest aids, but the controlling part of our brain finds that hard to believe. I have had my own struggles with this – my Lusitano Des can be extremely, er, fizzy, and the desire in me to dampen him down has sometimes been strong. However, after many years of acting as a test tube for my teaching, it is absolutely clear that allowing him to go – Legs without Hands – is THE best thing for both of us when the proverbial hits the fan. And interestingly, (or not to those of you in the know) , the more I let him go, the calmer he has become. There may be some life lesson in there for us mightn’t there?

The thing with getting a horse to really free up and go is that it’s never going to be possible unless you’re happy to free up too. The leg aids are only a symptom of how you feel about releasing and going. If there is a little bit of you on the inside that doesn’t want to experience all of your horse’s power, then your horse’s response to the leg aid is always going to reflect that. You’re both going to have your mental handbrakes on.

If you know in your heart of hearts that you don’t really, really want your horse to go forwards then it might be worth having a little dig around in that. Could you get someone with a really solid horse to help? I know there are great people like Karl Greenwood who offer ‘cantering’ courses, getting you incrementally upping the speed in considered situations on sensible minded horses. Could you have a go at visualising what it would feel like to gallop down a beach, grinning and laughing, enjoying all of that amazing forwards? Could you get some help from a good therapist to help turn that fear into joy? And importantly, have you got a horse whose level of speed and energy you think you actually enjoy? A good friend of mine bravely decided to sell a horse who’s size and power did not suit her, and in his place has a steed who’s stature and speed bring her only happiness. This has been a most excellent choice to make.

Because once you have ridden a horse who’s mental handbrake is completely off – even in the slowest of walks – it’s something that you will become addicted to.

10/05/2025