The biggest drawback of using yield to pressure as the basis of riding and training is that once you head down that road it is very difficult to come back, meaning that if your horse does not yield to pressure the only option is to increase the pressure, and if that does not create a yield, the only option is to increase the pressure. At what point do you call pressure force? What is the line between pressure and force? No matter how light the pressure, I believe they mean the same thing to the horse.

Yield to pressure is wrought with problems as a way to approach another Being, it pits strength against strength and if your horse is your “other Being”, I’ll bet on your horse. And because the horse is bigger and stronger than the rider, the rider inevitably needs an advantage when it comes to applying pressure and that is where reins, stirrups, spurs, ropes and whips or sticks come in.

The mindset of yield pressure is also an emotional minefield for a human being if the answer from the horse is no. With nowhere else to go but more physical pressure, that pressure can also build within the rider leading to emotions such as frustration, anger, resentment which can and often does lead to complete dominance and punishment. However subtle the force is, the horse knows the difference and the rider is completely unaware of their own imbalance and disconnection from the horse at all levels, physical, emotional, spiritual resulting in a very unfulfilling experience for both parties.

There is no judgment in this, we don’t know what we don’t know. But simply put, “yield to pressure” amounts to TELLING the horse what to do, not ASKING. I believe our horses know the difference better than we do.

The alternative is to create an open space for the horse to move into. This puts the focus on the rider and to achieve this the rider must be and stay connected to themselves first.

Ride From Within seeks to give you an alternative that never opposes your horse’s movement and never uses force against force. This allows for fluid harmonious connection and removes the resistance and tension in the body that wears us down over time.

ALL MOVEMENT COMES FROM THE CENTRE (YOUR SEAT) – STILLNESS IN MOTION.

This ancient Principle is at the very core of Ride From Within. I have often heard highly accomplished riders and trainers say that “the (rider’s) seat is everything” and then follow that statement with instruction and tuition that is based on rein and leg aids with very little, if any, instruction on what the seat is and how to use it! At Ride From Within, the seat is way more than where your butt contacts the saddle. We clearly define the paradigm shifting 3 dimensional seat and how to use it.

This ancient governing Principle states: All movement is directed from the center, moves through the center and is redirected with the center. This truth absolutely applies to riding and in Ride From Within we replace the word center with the seat. In the rider, the center is the seat and is made up of three parts: the lower lumbar spine, the pelvis/sacrum and the femur bones.

Using all 3 components of the seat in dynamic fluid movement exactly as your horse does you can achieve a state of “being balanced” on your horse. Being balanced requires the seat (as defined above) to move in relation to the forces flowing through it (gravity and the power of the horse). The more refined this movement of the center is the less the extremities of the body (the hands and lower legs) move. This creates the vision of stillness in motion where the rider appears to be still, relative to the horse but is actually moving a great deal from the seat. Being balanced is the highest form of harmonious movement and can be achieved through relaxation of the large muscle groups allowing the horse to move freely and naturally.

Without the 3rd dimension to movement in the seat the only other option in riding is “keeping your balance”. To keep your balance on the back of a horse the rider has to hold their seat, their center still which not only blocks the flow of force from the horse, it causes the extremities of the body (hands and legs) to move and the only way to quiet the hands and lower legs is to tighten even more. This creates a great deal of tension and restricted movement which is completely and directly mirrored in the horse’s movement.

This principle can only be true if the rider receives the power of the horse into the entire seat (the lower lumbar spine, the pelvis/sacrum, and the femur bones). When this state is achieved, the horse and rider are truly joined. When the rider has effectively received and redirected the power of the horse through their body and back to the horse and there is no opposition to the flowing of the forces, (horse energy up, gravity down) they have achieved Oneness. The rider can then influence all movement through their seat or from connection to the seat.