13 Shillings Equestrian Center

04/06/2026

Undeniable truth.

Perhaps excellent reasoning too why much of the horse world is also still “behind” - they simply have yet experience just how much more incredible it can really be.

INTEGRITY MATTERS

Once you’ve experienced it with a horse,
you never settle again.

And you don’t expect them to, either.

The same goes for people…

Once you’ve experienced the integrity you deserve, from yourself and others, there’s no going back.

03/08/2026

“What do we seek for ourselves, our horses, and the equestrian world?”

Psych Saturday: Principles

Last weekend Justin and I presented at the Horses and Humans Research Foundation's annual conference. It was Justin’s first professional presentation without a horse in his hand. In addition to giving me forty five minutes of proud papa moments, his talk shined a light on and gave voice to the core of what Riding Far stands for. Principles and values first.

In an equestrian world where everyone is jockeying for attention and market share, information that has been developed and refined over millennia gets tweaked, packaged, and repackaged. Complex and meaningful challenges are often simplified into a short lesson or a meme that promises amazing results. I know this because I have done it myself.

Personalities emerge as the face of each brand. They wow crowds with their skill and ability. Do not get me wrong. Some of these horsewomen and men are extraordinary. I am entertained and inspired by many of them. Yet a foundational truth is often sidestepped in the slick packaging and flashy expo demonstrations.

As M. Scott Peck wrote in the opening lines of his best seller The Road Less Traveled, “Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.”

Relationships between humans and horses are filled with challenges, complexity, and uncertainty even under the best of conditions. In our search for answers we are drawn, through our need to feel competent and safe in our sense of self, toward simplified versions of almost everything.

This includes training systems, gadgets, tack, tools, and even ideology. Then, in order to preserve our self esteem, we double down on our perspectives and opinions as if questioning our thinking or our work somehow questions who we are as people. I believe the contentious battles that fill our social media feeds are born and fueled in this dynamic.

When Justin and I started working together more than eight years ago, we talked about building Riding Far not as a cult of personality but as a values driven business in the equestrian world. Over the years we have worked to give that vision and those values a clear voice. Our language has evolved and we continue to learn from the many side roads we travel.

What do we seek for ourselves, our horses, and the equestrian world?

Regulation. Emotional, behavioral, relational, spiritual, and energetic.

The how is always guided by principles and values. Gentle and effective. In alignment with the nature of horses and humans.

Thank you Justin for this insight and this language. ~ Paul Haefner

PC - Erin Gilmore Photography

02/27/2026

Always trying to remain progressive and positive here, but …..you’re kidding right …?

How many ways around the solution can be found I wonder — no matter how ridiculous and counterproductive, some will fight to keep their ignorance till the very end.

Today on “unhinged training solutions that promote laziness in riders and encourage use of training tools for bandaid fixes”

Practical Horseman posted this “barn hack” training tip.

If your horse dips behind the vertical, perhaps consider using LESS restrictions, instead of continuing to use a tie down but adding a pool noodle to it so they’re stick between two points of resistance, if they lift their head too much or if they succumb to the pressure and go behind the vertical.

Groundwork and foundational training is always a better solution than this garbage and it’s shameful that big publications are posting stuff like this.

Edit: zoom in. The horse is wearing a twisted wire bit.

So, to people saying that they “ruled everything out…” if they didn’t even consider mouth pain and evasion from the fact that they’re using a bit that is reliant on abrasive contact to create false softness… they absolutely did not rule everything out.

On top of that, we can never completely rule out pain.

Let’s stop excusing poor training practices.

02/26/2026

“Groundwork is not simply a warm up or some ritual we must do before riding.
It is education, it is preparation - or it is noise.

And the difference lies entirely in the thought behind it.”

What Is Groundwork For?

Groundwork has become widely accepted as valuable. That’s a positive shift. But like anything in horsemanship, its value depends entirely on how thoughtfully it’s applied.

Nearly every professional has heard some version of this:
“I’ve already done lots of groundwork,” — which usually means, now I should be able to just get on and ride.

But what does that actually mean?
What kind of groundwork?
And more importantly — what is it teaching?

When I ask students questions about their groundwork, it’s not to dismiss them. It’s to sharpen their thinking.

For example, if someone is asking for lateral flexion on the ground, I’ll ask:
“Why are you doing that?”

“To get him with me,” they might say.

Okay. What does with you mean?
What are you looking for specifically?
What is the horse giving — and why does that matter?

If the answer is, “I want to see if he’s giving,” then I ask: giving what? His head? His jaw? His ribcage? His attention?

And furthermore - how does this connect into your ridden work? Where will you use it, and what does it build into?

A horse can physically bend his neck and still be mentally absent. He can “give” his head and still brace through his body. So does that lateral flexion actually prove he’s with you — or just that he has learned a motion?

Groundwork becomes meaningless when it turns into repetition without purpose. The horse learns to go through the motions. He anticipates. He falls onto a shoulder. He performs the shape without understanding the balance or the connection behind it.

Without a clear overarching theme, groundwork doesn’t build much of anything.

Sometimes people say they’re “getting the bucks out” before riding, or “making sure he remembers his homework.” But we should always ask:

How does what I’m doing right now connect to ridden work?
What feeling am I creating that will carry into the saddle?
Am I building the posture, balance, responsiveness, and mental state I want under saddle — or just burning energy?

Lunging is often criticized as mindlessly tiring the horse down — usually by those who haven’t seen it done thoughtfully. But if our groundwork lacks intention, aren’t we doing the same thing? Repeating movements until the horse is dull instead of organized? Winding him down instead of building him up?

Groundwork should develop clarity, balance, attentiveness, and coordination. It should prepare the horse for the ridden conversation — not replace it, not exhaust him before it, and not become a checklist.

To do that, we need:
• A clear picture of the end goal.
• An understanding of how each exercise connects to that goal.
• The ability to simplify when the horse doesn’t understand.
• The awareness to progress when he does.
• And the judgment to know when enough is enough.

Groundwork is not simply a warm up or some ritual we must do before riding.

It is educational, it is preparation — or it is noise.

And the difference lies entirely in the thought behind it.

02/07/2026

Unnatural as heck on the outside
— ungodly awful to look at on this inside.

Why is this an industry trend again?

When we talk about head and neck position, it’s easy to reduce the conversation to a shape or frame, but the poll is far more important than aesthetics. It’s a gateway.

The poll is where posture and perception meet. With so many nerves, muscles, and connective tissues passing through this small area, restriction here can change how the horse experiences movement throughout their entire body.

When the poll is restricted or fixed into a position the body can’t yet support, we often see compensations appear elsewhere such as the shoulders, the back, or the hind end. It's not necessarily because those areas are the problem, but because the gateway at the top is no longer allowing information and movement to flow freely.

There is a small but significant structure at the poll that plays an important role in how the horse moves and feels: the myodural bridge.

The myodural bridge is a connective tissue structure that links the suboccipital muscles at the base of the skull to the dura mater (the protective covering of the spinal cord). Through this connection, activity and tension in the suboccipital muscles can directly influence dural tension. In practical terms, forces in the musculoskeletal system have the potential to affect the central nervous system via this interface.

The greater occipital nerve also travels through this region, making it particularly sensitive to mechanical strain or compression.

Functionally, the myodural bridge helps anchor the spinal cord, prevents infolding of the dural tissue during flexion, extension, and rotation of the head and neck, and is believed to support the circulation of cerebrospinal fluid.

This region is especially significant because it is one of the very few places in the body where the spinal cord is not fully protected by bone. Due to its close proximity to the brainstem, sustained tension or irritation here can influence pain perception, sensory processing, and overall nervous system regulation.

Understanding these structures helps explain why Pillar One can have such a meaningful impact on the nervous system. As we've explored here, tension around the poll has the potential to influence tension on the spinal cord, which can interfere with reliable sensory feedback and proprioceptive input. When that feedback becomes inconsistent, the nervous system is more likely to organize around a sympathetic, protective state. By relieving unnecessary tension and restoring a comfortable range of motion at the poll, we support the conditions for clearer communication within the system and a greater sense of regulation and safety.

This area can be affected by prolonged or extreme head and neck positions, rein use, ill-fitting equipment, or traumatic events such as pull-back injuries. Over time, irritation here doesn’t stay local, it can change how the entire body organizes movement.

The myodural bridge sits within a much larger, three-dimensional myofascial network that connects the poll to the rest of the body. That broader network and how tension travels through it is where we’ll go next.

01/11/2026

Nicely said and nice new perspective on communication through behaviours.

01/08/2026

Better off to learn where that beautiful shape actually comes from and accept the fact the only one who can do it the very best and lightest is the horse himself

— when they feel strong - yet soft, balanced, confident and safe enough to do it.

Why I don’t use training aids…

Because the soft feel and the shape we get up front should be a result of what’s happening in the hindquarter.

We shouldn’t want a soft feel that doesn’t originate with a softening of the hind leg.

We shouldn’t want a shape up front that doesn’t originate from a balance in the hind leg.

Here, we’re gathering the outside hind for the very first time by introducing counter-shoulder-in, and we see the cascade of positive tension and soft feel that’s rippled forward.

This can be a huge Eureka moment for horses who haven’t realized how to offset centrifugal force on the lunge.

This was this horse’s very first time in the double lunge.

In particular, I’m looking at the changes in the shoulders and the base of the neck.

But I do see him dip behind the vertical initially.
I keep a close eye on that.

That should disappear within the next few sessions as he becomes more confident swinging his hind leg into the counter bend.

If it doesn’t, I may need to switch to headgear with a more lateral feel, or bring my lines up a surcingle ring.

I want that energy from the hind leg to flow unhindered up and out his crown…

12/13/2025

This was a huge part of what every rider had to learn when mounting any of our horses.
You want to distribute your weight across the top of the saddle (stabilize the tree over the back) rather than pull the saddle towards you to mount (cause the saddle to twist on the horses back, and dig the nearest tree point down into their shoulders) and create a pretty heavy force on not only your saddle’s tree (twisted tree origins - I think so) but also your horse’s entire system under you.

The best way to check your work, besides what your horses has to say — do they stay? Do you feel them lean to counterbalance? Do they give you an ear pin and new macular expression + tail swish?
— I guess is to pull that girth off !

Now, mounting from the ground girth less?
Now THAT’S pretty darn impressive Amy Bowers!!

12/06/2025

Bet your farrier hasn’t told you this —

Structure affects function - you outta start to learn what structure is all about

11/12/2025

“When a horse is calm and understands what is being asked of them, they don’t buck with a rider. Not because I train them not to, but because they don’t feel the need to.”

Celebratory bucks.
I don't believe in celebratory bucks, because I don't have bucks show up under saddle very often.
I don't punish bucks, or buck a horse out. I don't use restrictive techniques to prevent a horse from bucking, and I definitely don't use oppresive gadgetry. A buck is feedback that needs to be addressed,bnot repressed.

I still don't have bucks come up with any regularity. This photo was one of the three times I rode a buck over the last 5 years. Remeber my job is to start young horses, and work with troubled horses. Lots of them. It wasn't a celebratory buck. This moment wasn't from pain or anxiety either, but the other bucks I experienced were. All three were, however, the results of an error on my part.
I would say the most common reason I see for horses bucking is anxiety, but that doesn't mean it is the most common reason. Before I work with a horse with bucking issues, I ask owners to provide a clear vet and physio report. This means that I don't end up seeing as many of the pain related cases, as they are identified before I am needed. Pain may be the cause for bucking just as often as anxiety is. Saddle fit, injury or chronic pain.
Anxiety is the overwhelming cause for bucking that I see, but it is wide ranging. A horse may buck when it gets scared and can't get away from a rider holding them in, but it can also get anxious when it doesn't understand what is being asked of it.
For example, a cue for an canter transition. Kicking, or whipping to get the canter is not a communication, it is a forceful manipulation. A horse might stumble on the right answer and canter to get away from that force, but often they will get anxious about it and buck.
So, an anxious horse trying to get away, but being held, or an anxious horse not wanting to go, but being forced to,
might buck.
So what is the other reason? Like the horse in this photo. This guy used to struggle to take a united canter, and would buck to 'organize his legs'.
It is something I usually address on the ground, with exercises to help prepare for the canter depart. I am working on some videos on these exercises for my Patreon page, but it's obviously not in the scope of this article.
On this occasion I had a great photographer on hand and she asked me to canter. I knew I hadn't worked on this youngsters canter depart enough, but wisdom left the building, and I did it anyway. The smile was not glee at riding a buck, it was me laughing at my own stupidity.
It is usually around this point in the discussion about celebratory bucks that someone points out that horses run and buck from excitement when loose in their fields.
They do, and there is a function of this behavior.
If you have even seen. group of horses turned into a new pasture, you would have seen the run, kick and buck as they cover the entire area in a few seconds. They are in a heightened state, and this practice is designed to flush predators from long grass, while the herd is in a heightened state of alert.
I don't want to be riding a horse in that mental state. There have been studies on how often equestrians misread anxiety as excitement in horses, and this phenomenon adds to the celebratory buck myth.
When a horse is calm and understands what is being asked of then, they don't buck with a rider. Not because I train them not to, but because they don't feel the need to.

Photo credit: Catherine Grace Jackson

11/08/2025

Ok ok — now that’s something to be proud of !!!

The UK is NOT following the FEI's lead! 🚫
KEEPING THE BAR AT HIGHER WELFARE

British Showjumping (BS) confirmed they will NOT be changing their national rules. This means at British national shows, the presence of blood will still lead to automatic elimination.

This is a brave, clear commitment to putting horse welfare first and protecting the sport’s Social License to Operate (SLO).

If the UK can stand firm, other nations that voted 'No' (like Germany) can and should do the same.

We stand with the British Equestrian CEO, who said: "removing automatic elimination for visible blood is a step backwards."

The fight is now at the national level. We will continue to demand transparency from the FEI and push all our National Federations to follow the UK's ethical lead!

Fédération Equestre Internationale