22/09/2025
Unachievable expectation that your professional puts on you and your horse, yet they dont follow their own rules
So often i come across posts and I just feel yeah it all sounds nice yet in reality can that be achieved are they asking the impossible and the one that is doing the rounds is asking for a belly lift and declaring this is where your horses back should be when riding like 🤔
Its an impossibility and especially when the following pics are the same dysfunction which prevents the horses lifting its back is still there but the horse has no choice because we are activating the reflex points (often long spiels about consent and choice follow, erm yep no consent no choice when you are activating a reflex piont the brain isnt even involved at the initial stages ).
I never do a belly lift to achieve a lift i do it to look for dysfunction and if you are only focused on the lift then you may just miss the reason why the horse struggled in the first breath.
We do know how horses breathe right?? I mean breathwork is a hot topic everywhere yet the simple function of the breath is interrupted if we keep things up,
Up and out, down and inward is the rythum of breath if we only keep the horse at the up stage then well we are not only impeding them physically but mentally aswell, and we wonder why some horses hate it.
Do you know how a lift looks, bellies blowing out, lumbars roached, hind ends tucked under are, flanks sunk in is not a success its an issue that hasn't been addressed and will never be addressed by sticking a hoof pick in their sensitive areas. We cannot just lift away pain!!
What are reflex points ?? They are there to keep the horse safe, if activated they have no control over the reaction but the brain will receive a signal and if the irritant i.e our poky fingers do not stop the brain will initiate a further conscious reaction like a kick up or a bite, so what has the horse learned ??? Do you think the body will process and use the information in a positive way.
The lift even if perfect may be achieved but add negative forces such as a saddle and rider then how can the the horse then be in the same place that it was without the added pressure, was your saddle fitted to a lifted back ?? Does your saddle now fit if like in real life horse nor human walks around in a constant state of over active core, normal is not buff.
Vertical lift is a whole body action not a poke in the girth area and blinkering eyes just to the thoracic area, it comes from everywhere working together but a back like a cat stretch yoga pose is not an 24/7 action its a task which is doomed to fail.
