Horse Training - Three Signs Your Horse Has Lost His Balance 

NO matter if you are riding a young horse or a more advanced horse it is always important to know where his balance is.

Super helpful! We are working on balance so this is perfect! Your approach to teaching is refined and relatable. Thank you!!

Falling out through the shoulder, one of my old ones was a good showjumper and so knew there was no way he should be doing that when I got him. Worked him on the flat with jumps in the school and used those to go around and he didn't fall out! So with no jumps in the school, I would just lightly rest a schooling whip on the shoulder and he wouldn't fall out. Only took 2 sessions and he didn't do it again. Horse I got earlier this year has been well schooled at some point as an Olympic Eventer had him, but leans with me and is downhill and running in canter 9 times out of 10. That is me 90% causing that and not him and so we will be doing lots and lots of transitions. He can also go so lovely on the flat with an extremely light contact. A lot of the time, once you rule out pain and fitness, you really have to look at yourself first own the problem and go back to basics until you establish a partnership. The pain and fitness being on both you and horse.....

Lovely demo, lovely horse, good explanation, such a shame it was ruined by the constant use of spurs!!

This is helpful! Thanks for sharing!

Very helpful!! Definitely notice the speed one for sure, and then I also notice the head toss when I become unbalanced which unbalances him - work in progress :)

thank you for putting out such helpfull videos for free 😻😸

Wonderful information! Could you please stand closer to the camera? We can only see a silhouette.

Hi Josie! Thank you! I'm waiting for your videos every week! Ina

Thank you!

Hi Josie 👋...I'm a new subscriber to your AMAZING VLOG! I have a 4 year old green gelding...your videos have helped meet like no other. THANK YOU SOOO MUCH xx Happy new year 🎉 ✨️

Please be my trainer 😅 I love your videos. They're always so well explained.

thank you

Love your videos Josie. Yes my horse can get heavier and also faster. Will use your fixes. Down transitions, halt & hold till she releases. When she falls out with the shoulder ill slow her down and straighten her up.

Are there exercises you can do to strengthen the shoulders, particularly where there is a greater imbalance on one side?

Very helpfull - thank you!For the"falling in" I am able to correct and I do it as you've described. For the falling out I found it extremely difficult and I have 2 cases: falling out with the shoulder, if I will relase even a bit my outer leg, mare will go out definitelly; so I do slow down as much as possible but keeping her with my outer leg -- is it good? I am not fully sure, as any slight leg release she uses to go out. So it feels like a struggle and not communication or balance ( ;-) ). The bigger issue I face is "falling out' with her mounth - if I can call it falling out; riding left with proper loooooong warm up, she fights agains the direction to the left with her head/ mouth/ bit ( the pressure that I give, my hands signals are not 'heavy', but her reaction is pulling head right like I would harm her with very strong hand -?? in walk I can slowly correct it, with trot not always and sometimes I endeed doing 'snake', with canter I am helpless; in one particular left turn she fights to turn her body with all her mights. and I am ending on the rampart ( btw; she is not turning even if she sees, she approaching this rampart obstacle). I am open to your suggestions or maybe you've already posted sth connected to my issue.

Hi Josie! Excellent lesson. I love the way you apologize to Rebel when you set him up to demonstrate something the wrong way. What a forgiving boy (as is Spyder)! I admire their (and your) patience. Thank you for emphasizing that it is the rider/owner' responsibility to listen to our horse and figure out a way to explain when they aren't getting it or not listening - tailor and adapt our approach accordingly. We can be consistent without being rigid. Often their resistance or "just not getting it" is because they are merely confused or maybe thinking about it. I like your philosophy of teaching in steps or blocks of lessons for assembly into something more complex later not expecting them to be perfect from the get go. They may be trying to put those blocks of information together...could be a whole Rubik's cube going on in their head! Some learn and process differently - same as riders! While horses and people learn well by repetition, they can also get bored. I had a horse that was good for 20 minutes of arena work but loved the trails... or maybe that was me! 🙄😅 We would "take it out on the trail" and practice bits and pieces out there. For him it was a fine balance between consistent and rigid. I, for one, don't learn well by rote. I have to understand the why and the logic of something so I tend to ask a lot of questions to clarify and put it all together. It may look like I'm not getting it but I'm just assembling it into something that makes sense to me (love the theory!) and incorporating into my muscle memory with practice (best done with humor) and viola!...it will all click in place for the bigger picture. I think you mentioned this in a previous video where you finish a lesson thinking well that could have gone better and the next time they do it beautifully! Obviously, we can't explain the bigger picture to horses, except telepathically. Don't laugh!...I was attempting this with my current horse the other day and was absolutely gobsmacked at the result! And, I had a dog that literally read my mind, but, then he was part border collie! There are some studies based on animals communicating in images which might explain how some dogs know when there owners are coming home. Tested very randomly. Mixing the schedule up, taking detours to run errands - but the dogs knew! So if you apply that to horses and picture something the way we see it happening?? For instance, if we look in the direction of the turn (which also changes our own physiology) and picture it playing out or do it too early and telegraph what we are anticipating?...just a thought. How many times have you looked out at the pasture or barn (not walking towards them - just watching/admiring/thinking of them without them knowing) and you're horse's head popped up looking your way? Anyway, I digress. Also, good reminder about elbow position. We may be so focused on correcting or anticipating we could inadvertently be doing something with our own balance or body language that is adding to the confusion. Thanks again, Josie. Keep up the great work and hope you're having a wonderful weekend. By the way, how is Grayson doing? He is stunning (as are all your horses) - most remarkable conformation and development in a colt I think I've ever seen.

Thank you for this video it’s very essy to understand. I never new how to balance a horse that isn’t bacause in my horseback riding classes the horses are already well trained. My older mare is very unbalanced and go faster when I want to ask her to galop and fall in or out. I will try these exercises with her. Do you think even tho she is around 20 years old and I never knew how to show her that she can becomes lighter? (I think she’s taking the habit and I was pulling on the rein to correct because i didn’t know). Thanks again, Cloe

I find this difficult as my riding area is not flat we tend to go faster down hill and slower going up hill and it’s both of us that cause it

I don;t understand what heavy in your hand means. Could you explain please

My mare falls in and goes for an upward transition as a result. Is this an issue of balance?

If u could tell us your hand and leg aids would be helpful instead of saying get his shoulder in