Lisa King Equine

18/03/2024

The WALK - mother of all gaits

Most riders spend little time at the walk outside of "cooling out" or "warming up".

Not realizing it is the gait that BIRTHS everything you do, and REVEALS everything you may need.

"The FEI rule book once stated that it was at the pace of the walk that imperfections of dressage are most evident"

Every issue can be felt and seen through the magnifying lens of the walk.

"François de Lubersac, a master from the legendary School of Versailles in the 18th century, recognized that in dressage training, the first gait in which to train is always the walk.

Remarkably, de Lubersac, trained his horses only at the walk, and when he decided that they were ready, his horses were able to do everything at all gaits."

The walk is an anchoring gate. To teach and refine the horses balance, collectabilty, lightness, refinement, propreoception, suppleness, relaxation, lateral gymnastics, and understanding of aids... just to name a few.

There is no better gait to school these concepts then the walk. Testing things up the ladder of movement; trot and canter, and then anchoring back to the walk to fix, progress, or prepare.

The walk is the gait you "polish the stone" of all these qualities, more than any other gait.

It is the gait you come back to again and again, where the root of it all lives.

And remember, as with any gait, there is more than "just ONE walk".

Tempo, balance, stride, and frame can change in so many ways within any single gait that it lends itself to many "changes of gait within a gait", based on what that horse needs at any given moment.

In my opinion, a classical rider can easily spend an entire ride at the walk, and the higher up they ride, the more time they may spend at the walk...polishing the stone.

Mindful footfalls live in the walk.

What is your walk telling you?

08/03/2024

"My horse just spooks to get out of work."

FALSE

Spooking to "get out of work" is a thought process that requires an egoic part of the brain that horses simply don't possess.

They literally CAN'T think like that. They dont have a Prefrontal Cortex to think like that.

So let's just drop that ancient training perspective and talk about what's actually happening.

What's very likely happening is that the horse is operating in a chronic state of fight or flight. Its like someone left a light switch on in their sympathetic (fight/flight) nervous system, and its running up the meter.

Imagine being in a state of anxiety or stress, and potentially pain...

Now add to that a filter of the world where everything around is a potential threat to your survival...
..and in that state, add MORE stimulus to yourself with tasks you may or may not understand, pressure to figure it out, someone yelling at you, and maybe even hurting you.

What you likely will notice outside of fear, anxiety and stress, is a hyper reacitve state developing. Meaning that everything and/or anything could make you come out of your skin or fly off the handle.

It could be a pattern of triggers that set you off, or it could be random things.

Why random things? Because you're TRYING to keep it together. You're pretending to be ok when you're not ok. Sometimes you can kind of keep it together, and other times, the slightest thing sets you off. Maybe something that you didnt react to a minute or even day ago, all the sudden becomes the "random" thing that sets you off today because you're already maxed out.

OR it can become a pattern of behavior, that everytime a specific thing happens you loose it. You are now spooking or triggered by repetitive association and this becomes a pattern that easily gets looped over and over.

Think of how jumpy, nervous and on edge you might feel walking through a haunted house. Someone closes the door, drops something on the floor, the slightest noise and you jump, or even run depending on how nervous you are. Little things would set you off.

This is how your horse feels as a prey animal without the right tools.

When we see the behavior through the inacurate lens of "they are just being bad just to get out of work", it lends us to a place of punishment, or putting more pressure on our agenda to fix the situation.

This usually goes one of two ways, the horse gets worse and spooks more, or you intimidate them into an "obedient" state of learned helplessness(freeze state), which becomes robotic and potentially even more dangerous.

But if you see the pattern of spooking as a SYMPTOM of a chronic fight/flight state with repetitive triggers causing hyperreactivity(spooking, stessed, anxious, tense), and/or hypervigalance (cant focus, cant retain simple lessons) then you can address the issue appropriately and empatheticly.

So, how do you this?

🔸️ Learn what THRESHOLDS are and how to work with them appropriately

🔸️ Learn the many of ways to turn down your horses fight or flight response and switch on more of the parasympathetic nervous system to access relaxation and confidence.

🔸️ Learn what "letting down" signals mean and how to read them in your horses body language.

🔸️ SLOW DOWN

🔸 ️Be WILLING to CHANGE your AGENDA

🔸 ️Learn what EMOTIONAL FITNESS is and how to work on it.

🔸 ️Understand that your horses abiltiy to relax WITHIN ridden work is directly corilated with quality, athleticism, and bascially anything you're likely trying or wanting to achieve with your horse.

🔸️️️ DONT train high states of adrenaline and think its power.

15/02/2024

Another great example of how much a horses posture and suppleness can change.

This is after only 3 sessions under saddle. Imagine another month....year...etc.

Top photo:

- Improved softness of muscle tone. (Muscles are more doughy, soft, and smooth when free of tension)

- Lift in the base of neck and back

- Improved transition into the wither from back and neck, due to the lift of the thoracic sling.

- Increase in bloodflow and capillary fill, giving the horse a less "dull" or "gray" look to the hair coat.

Disclamer:

This is not achieved by excessive forward ridden work or gadgets of any kind.Those things will create an opposite result when trying to change posture, balance, or release tension within the posture or muscle(s).

What does achieve these results is SLOW ridden or in hand work, and many times, work at a standstill or in a stall initially....Can I emphasize SlOW again.

Anytime you are changing posture, balance, or relasing tension, SLOW is fast in regards to positive results.

From there you carefully build the horse back into more energy and develop strength on a foundation of balance, suppleness, and lightness that's free of tension or heavyness.

Obviously it takes a bit of skill and knowledge to do in hand or undersaddle, and thats where bodywork can be a great place to start learning some of these tools and concepts that are SO important to understand as riders and trainers!

11/11/2023

ENGAGEMENT....

Classical dressage tells us to slow down, traditional dressage tells us more forward? So which is it?

In my opinion, the truth lies in the middle...BUT with an understanding of how all the parts come together.

More forward on a horse that is blocked in the front end, base of neck or jaw, will rarely if ever lift properly.

Understanding how to PREPARE the forehand to RECEIVE the hind end to elevate is key.

This almost always means SLOW DOWN. Unlock the horse in the front and then carefully add engagement over time.

This is why I personally don’t talk about adding more engagemnt in the hind quarters UNTIL the horse is ready to recieve. And that is a dynamic process.

17/01/2023

"The successful warrior is the average man with laser like focus."
-Bruce Lee

The warrior can have intesity and awareness at the same time.

He knows whats happening to the left and right of him without his focus leaving its center.

His reflexes and balance reflect his ability to have peripheral awareness, yet he maintains his center focus.
..Or as Sally Swift would say, Hard Eyes vs. Soft eyes

A rider that has "soft eyes" does not lack a center focus.

There is an element of INTERNAL RELAXATION and peripheral awarness despite the center focus that allows for balance and reflex.

A rider that has internal tension (mental or physical) will have "hard eyes". They loose peripheral awarness, have poor reflex, and balance.

It seems paradoxical, but an athlete must have an internal center of calm to achieve great movement.

"True power comes from relaxation."

In the mental state; Hard eyes reach their conclusion from judgements and preconceptions before seeing the scene.

Hard eyes try to posses and label, they see the tree and miss the forest.

Soft eyes, meanwhile, stand back and let the scene unfold. Soft eyes see what’s there — the multiplicity of worlds, the teem of information, all the planes of existence intersecting.

Soft eyes are more generous. They lend themselves to the world and let impressions form. Soft eyes mentally respect things by letting them be rather than judging them.

To be soft does not mean you blow in the wind like a leaf. Soft eyes can be passive, but they can also be immensely powerful.

To be soft is to be strong....

P.C: Stacy Tierman Photography

15/12/2022

"More FORWARD!"

I do not think it means what you think it means...

One of my favorite lines from watching Charles De Kunffy was.... "When Steinbrecht said ride your horse forward and straight, he did not mean run like hell."

Makes me laugh everytime I hear him say that, unfortunately you see it in dressage all the time.

Horse's being sent excessively and constantly forward, despite loss of balance, tension, emotion, etc. It creates the false frames and the heavy contact so prevelent in our sport today.

I believe it is also one of the reasons for so much unsoundnes and joint injections. You just cant burn rubber all the time, the body cant take it.

Unfortunately its a foundationally practiced principle on how to get a horse "uphill" or "over the back". But the truth is that usually in the way its practiced, it does the literal opposite.

Constantly and chronically riding your horse "forwards" will just get a horse heavy in the bridle, behind the vertical and heavier on the forehand. If you study good biomechanics, you will see it everywhere. Upper level horses that are actually MORE downhill in the thoracic sling.

There is a time and a place for everything, but "more forward" is something that I feel has been taken way out of context for a long time.

When we are talking about gymanstic development, generally speaking it is better to slow down, find your balance, find your suppleness, THEN carefully and mindfully add your foreward.

29/09/2022

“The basic techniques, or what they call the basics, are more difficult then what comes later. This is the trap of dressage. Correct basics are more difficult then the piaffe or passage.” -Conrad Schumacher

But what are the basics?

It depends who you ask.

If you ask a horseman, someone who spends their career putting a solid foundation on a horse they will give you one set of answers. If you ask a dressage professional, they will likely give you another sub-category of answers. And neither are necessarily wrong.

One is talking about the education of a grade school student, the other is likely talking about the education of a high school, or possibly even college level student.

They are both equally important, but one does come before another.

Everyone needs a grade school education no matter what their profession becomes, and many horses are missing a good grade school foundation before being educated in a highschool or college level conversations.

In my opinion, the basics are the ingredients; the fundamental and individual pieces that go into said movement, exercise, or issue. For me, the key to basics are isolations, understanding, and relaxation.

Everything is made up of something. So it’s always helpful to ask, what are the BASIC parts to the movement I am trying to achieve?

The basics of a horseman:

• Walk, trot, canter, on the buckle, the horse stays relaxed and can come down just off your seat.

• The horse understands how to follow the soft feel of a single rein.

• How to move to the side off each leg independently.
• Halt and back up with lightness.

• Find forward in all gaits softly and easily.

• Has excellent ground control of all its basic body parts in hand, and online.

• The horse is mentally and emotionally relaxed and confident in all these conversations and working environments.

I consider this a very brief overview of a grade school education that each horse should have before entering any discipline.

The dressage professional might talk about the training scale. (Despite some differences of opinion, its still a universally well known guideline for the sake of conversation).

#1 Rhythm/Relaxation
#2 Suppleness
#3 Contact
#4 Impulsion
#5 Straightness
#6 collection

The training scale is basic high-school guidelines, but still far from basics themselves. Each one of these categories has a large context of understanding, that is largely produced FROM a grade school education.

Here are some of the gradeschool basics that are required to produce the basics of the training scale.

#1 RELAXATION

• Can you put your horse on the buckle and walk, trot, canter in a relaxed consistent stretch, and come down off the seat alone?

• Can they hack out on a loose rein? Are they confident and comfortable in contact? In the environment you work in?

A horse who is responsive and relaxed is naturally rhythmic. A loss of rhythm or erratic rhythm is almost always a sign of tension, pain, or emotion. You can’t force rhythm, it is organic to relaxation.

#2 SUPPLENESS

• Does your horse understand isolations of the aids, in a relaxed yet responsive way?

• Can you pick up a single rein and your horse softly and easily follows the feel? Is their jaw clenched, grinding, or chomping?

• Can your horse yield softly to the leg on a loose rein and maintain a soft back?

• Can your horse easily follow the seat into lateral movements at the walk without holding anything in your hands?

• Does your horse maintain a stretch on a loose rein in all gaits?

• Can you pick up contact and there is no brace, tension, or change in throughness or rhythm of the gait?

#3 CONTACT

• What is the quality if your contact in all gaits and maneuvers? Is it heavy?

• Can you halt with just your seat at any given moment without brace in the hand?

• Can you reinback with ease and softness?

• If not, you’re likely using your contact for control instead of communication.

• What does your school halt look like? Can you talk to your horses balance at the halt, in all 4 feet?

• Is there always a quality stretch to the buckle that lives inside your contact at any given moment? If not, your likely holding your horse in inversion.

#4 IMPULSION

• How is your horses forward off the seat and leg on a loose rein?

• Is the leg or seat aid almost invisible to someone one the ground?

• How well does the horse engage in all gaits on a loose rein?

• How well does the horse maintain engagement, are you begging with the leg?

• Does the quality change when you pick up contact?

• Does the horse understand how to step up to hand with a hind leg and not brace in the jaw or rein? If not, slow down. Don't push a lack of understanding or ability into the hand.

#5 STRAIGHTNESS

The quality of the lateral maneuvers determine Straightness. Lateral maneuvers correct imbalances and release a horse into straightness if done correctly.

• Can all the lateral maneuvers be produced in balance, self carriage, and lightness at the WALK first? Does the balance, self carriage, or suppleness change in the trot?

#6 COLLECTION

• How is your halt? At any moment, from any gait? Was hand needed?

• How is your reinback?

If your horse is unable to do this well, no amount of half halts in the world will fix heaviness, collectability, or balance issues.

• How are your transitions?

MINDFULL transitions teach balance and collection, IF they are done well and off your center of gravity.

• Is your center of gravity connected to your horses center of gravity, through the seat alone?

If your contact gets heavy in transitions there is a loss of balance.

• If your horse struggles with engagement in collection go back to the basics in principles #3 and #4.

To understand basics there has to be a core understanding of how to ACHIEVE basic principles. The rest does (as annoying as it sounds) fall into place.

GYMNASTICISING movements in sequence is many times a COLLEGE level conversation.

Movements are only gymnaticized upon the self carriage, balance, and understanding of the maneuver.
Which is directly based on the quality of the gradeschool and highschool education.

It is a common approach to try and ride a horse excessively forward through a sequence of movements to gain improvement in a multitude of things.

But more times then not the horse isn’t educated enough for that level of conversation and it becomes a pushing, bracing, struggle of tension that lacks quality, understanding, relaxation, suppleness, balance, proper engagement, or biomechanics.

A horse cannot catch its balance, "come over its back", find relaxation, or understanding by being chased more and more forward, or if too many aids are talking at the same time. This approach breaks down the body and the mind.

It is amazing that taking the time to SLOW DOWN and teach the horse step by step, that in just a matter of days the horse can understand a lateral movement, position, or posture, and is able to carry themselves down a long side or in a figure with balance, lightness, and relaxation, simply because you took the time to break it down.

From that level of understanding it is then far easier to develop, build strength, or carrying power of that maneuver, posture, or balance point.

If the horse struggles as you progress (and they will) you simply slow down to clarify as needed.

The point is people are usually doing WAY to much to fix issues or produce results.

Have you asked your horse if they understand your aids in isolation first? You might be surprised what you find.

If you're getting stuck or struggling…..congratulations, your being called to a higher level, the master level of revisiting and polishing the basics. And you will keep getting called back, over and over.

Until one day, you may find that your basics effortlessly produced a glimmer of piaffe hiding under the surface, and you will be blown away because you didn’t even try… you just had really good basics.

And the best basic of all…..slow down.

18/08/2022

Love this!

I think we forget sometimes that horse's are not designed to be ridden.

It is our responsibility to help them take on that role in a way that is healthy for them...mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Training of the horse should hold therapeutic and rehabilitation values for the horse and his body. If the training routine doesn’t hold these values, it’s just wear and tear on the body, and abuse to the mind.

19/07/2022

Is your trot SITTABLE ??

Many people have difficulty sitting the trot. It is certainly a skill that takes practice. But many times people are practicing sitting a trot that is not very sittable in the first place.

What makes a trot sittable??

A supple, lifted back (including low back), engaged abdominals, a lifted base of neck and thoracic sling, soft Jaw, and self carriage.

If you have had the pleasure of feeling a horse that can do all of this, the sitting trot is far easier to sit.

In my opinion, until the horses back is able to RECIEVE a sitting trot, it’s better if the rider maintain a post or light seat.

As the horse is learning and finding moments of lift, the rider can carefully sit for a FEW strides, and then release back into a post before the horse looses its carrying power and suppleness. As the horse gains strength and understanding, the rider is able to sit for longer periods of time.

This also goes for a RIDER who is learning to sit.
Waiting for the horse to be in the right moment and sitting for only a few strides, and then again back into the post.

If the rider sits for too long before they have become physically accustomed, the body will get more and more tense, bounce in the saddle among other things, and cause the horse to drop the back and brace; creating a cycle of tension between horse AND rider.

In the graphic above, the photos in the right-hand column show tense and/or dropped backs, braced base of neck, thoracic sling not lifted, and some are braced in the jaw on the contact.

In the photos on the left you can see the horses that have a lifted soft back and low back, lifted base of the neck and thoracic sling, and the horses in contact are soft in the jaw.

It makes all the difference.

So for you AND your horse, build up to a soft and supple sitting trot. Wait for the moments that your horse can RECEIVE the seat, sit just a few strides at a time, and then post out of it to release the body before tension takes hold.

I call it the touch and go… sit for a few strides, and release back to a post.

Before you know it you will be able to sit for longer and your horse will be able to carry you for longer while both of you maintain self carriage and suppleness.

But, also learn to understand WHY we sit the trot in the first place and how it can help your horse in moments of collection, rebalance, or carrying power.

When you understand WHEN the horse can recieve it, then think about WHY and what your trying to accomplish with it to begin with.......

Things to think about...Happy Trotting!

07/04/2022

A horse’s behavior is a mirror of their past associations, and present circumstances….

…and, If we put a human interpretation on a horse’s behavior, it says more about us than it does about them.

Just like you and I, horses life experiences are recorded by the brain and given physical and emotional associations.

They have some of the same basic parts of the brain as us, the reptilian brain: in charge of automatic functions like breathing, digestion, fight and flight etc... and the limbic system responsible for memory and emotion. But they don’t have the same cerebral cortex as us that is responsible for complex thought, ego, building a jet, or…. plotting against someone.

So UNLIKE you and I, the horse doesn’t create a story around a situation, hold grudges, manipulate, or intentionally be difficult. They also don’t dwell in the past or future the way we do.

They don’t have the part of the brain responsible for that type of thinking.

If something appears in the PRESENT moment that they have a past experience or association to, they will respond in the manner that that experience was impressioned.

If they have no familiar experience, they will usually respond with apprehension or worry, as the self-preservation of a prey animal...unless they feel SAFE enough to be curious and confident.

Learn to read your horse's behavior as a guide to what they NEED from you, not as a personal attack. They are not capable of being a “jerk”, “difficult”, “stubborn” or any other expletives that people use. Mares are not “nasty”, breeds are not “crazy”….

AND, unlike humans, they don’t have an ego. The ego is the "I" or self identity of any person; not just a term for inflated personalities.

Everyone has an ego, but if we place an egoic interpretation onto THEM, it is really just a projection of something in US!

Projection of the self is what the human brain does without conscious awareness…unless you learn to become aware of it, and even then it’s tricky.

So be careful the next time you call your horse a name or interpret an “egoic behavior” of your horse, you’re likely just revealing your own dirty laundry, and none of it has to do with your horse…. Mirror, Mirror.

So, in conclusion…..

A horse’s behavior is a mirror of past association or present circumstances…

….An EGO based interpretation of horse behavior is a mirror of something in you.

18/03/2022

LEADERS are LEARNERS

Just like in any other profession, when you stop learning, you stop growing.

Not only do you stop growing, but you can actually start SHRINKING in ability because you become finite to the infinite amount of information and experience able to be had.

In the equine industry, it is not uncommon for trainers to become self-proclaimed masters and/or be possessive over students and clients, not wanting them to work or train with anyone but them.

These atmospheres can be toxic environments full of judgment and sometimes shame teaching as a way to dominate and keep students under their wing.

Of course, this is all fear based in insecurity, and many times handed down attitudes and approaches from past trainers to students who become future trainers with these learned attributes.

But what you will find at a certain level of accomplished professionals is a common ground of respect for other professionals, a willingness to share, and many times collaborate (even between disciplines) and a never ending eagerness to learn.

They are not co-dependent on their students or clients, and regularly encourage them to attend clinics and other means of education or trainers that might be helpful.

If your leader in riding or horsemanship is not encouraging education outside of them, or pursuing education for themselves, proceed with caution.

If there is shame teaching or harsh negativity around mistakes, it doesn’t allow for a safe and calm learning environment, which all translates directly to the horses experience and ultimate performance.

Is your leader learning?

17/02/2022

If you're interested in understanding LATERAL work,
Join my husband at Patrick King Horsemanship for this lateral lecture on February 26th!

Check out the link listed in his post for more info..

Patrick is taking his current most popular in-person and online lecture, Understanding Lateral Work, and turning it into a multi week MASTERCLASS to help you not only to understand the lateral work but also teach it to your horse! EARLYBIRD PRICING until February 20! After February 20, the full pric...

05/02/2022

“HAND without LEG......LEG without HAND.”

A saying originating from the French classical tradition, and in my opinion, one of the big differences in approach between some Classical and Modern dressage practices.

In many dressage programs there is a lot of focus on “forward, forward, forward..!”
Driving the hind leg forward into contact in an attempt to get the horse round, on the bit, or uphill.

The problem with this is that the horse never really catches his balance in the excessive forward, and instead becomes heavier and heavier in the contact, tense in the back, and short in the neck, resulting in excessive leg moving action and false frames that we tend to see a lot of in dressage rings.

In some classical schools, the focus is the exact opposite…

When suppleness or balance is lost, you take energy AWAY to allow the horse to rebalance over the hind feet and/or regain suppleness.

Forward is added in a stretching frame, on a loose rein, or when the contact is free of tension and the horse is ready to add energy into its body or state of balance.

Forward is not asked for into a heavy hand, clenched jaw, tight back, or contact that lacks self carriage and lightness.

HAND without LEG:

* NO leg should be added to a hand that needs corrective.

* A hand that holds tension, brace, or heaviness should not have leg added to it.

* NO leg is added until the hand becomes free of brace or tension, and there is self carriage and suppleness in its connection.

* If there is tension, heaviness, lack of suppleness, lack of balance or relaxation there would be a SUBTRACTION of energy, downward transition, decrease in tempo, halt or lateral maneuver that is mindful to the unlocking of tension; instead of asking for engagement, energy, or impulsion.

LEG without HAND:

* NO hand should be added to a leg that needs corrective.

* A leg that is not well understood, dull, defensive, should not be addressed in contact.

* Defensiveness, dullness, lack of understanding of energy or engagement to the leg would be addressed on a loose rein or with one rein, never in contact.

* Leg would only be added to a contact that holds suppleness, lightness and self carriage; as the hand in that moment is a passive aid and freely allowing the circuit of energy to be completed through the horse.

This type of approach is one of the principles that results in the lightness and self carriage that some of the classical masters are known for.

This can be a confusing concept and can take a bit of awareness at first. What are your thoughts about this principle? Comment below ⬇️

17/01/2022

"Dressage is FOR the horse, NOT the horse for dressage."

Many people think the horse has to be suitable for dressage, and that couldn't be farther from the truth.

Check out this draft horse and western rider doing dressage.

Dressage is designed for every horse, every breed, body shape, size, and personality.

Not only is it not breed or body specific, it is also not discipline specific. Whatever your discipline of choice, dressage will amplify the quality of the performance.

Western, driving, jumping, etc... all benefit tremendously from a quality dressage foundation and continuing education.

Dressage teaches the horse how to be the best athletic, balanced, supple, flexible, and gymnastic versions of themselves.

It also teaches them how to properly carry a rider, maneuver obstacles with more agility and quality, and to move with more soundness and joint protection.

Unfortunately, in many of the modern and competitive dressage training we see today, it may look very breed or type specific, and often times what we are seeing more commonly showcased as dressage is not helpful for many horses (or any horses).

But if you have a quality instructor who understands not only good dressage theory but also good application, it can do wonders for any and all shapes, sizes, disciplines and even personalities.

So those who may say "my horse hates dressage" are likely approaching it in an unhelpful way for that particular horse.

Let's see pictures of your unique dressage partner if you have one!