54 / HorseandRider.com
How It Works
You may be thinking, “But I
don’t want my horse to go
fast!” Let me be clear: I’m
not talking about speed;
I’m talking about controlled
energy and readiness.
Think of a cutting horse,
alert and ready to move
whichever way the cow
does. Or a tennis player,
crouched and waiting for
the serve, feet apart, per-
fectly balanced. Both are in
a state of readiness to do
whatever’s needed next.
That’s what you want
from your horse—readiness
to do what you ask of him,
whether that be move
ahead, turn, stop, whatev-
er. To achieve this state inIs riding your horse
like peddling a bike
uphill? Use self-
carriage to improve
your horse.
“Self-carriage”—what
is it? A horse with self-car-
riage moves with bundled
energy, pushing off vigor-
ously with his hind end. To
do so, he must change the
shape of his body, picking
up his shoulders and shift-
ing his weight back. His
hind legs must reach well
up underneath his belly in
order to carry weight and
provide forward impulsion.
Why would a horse offer
this kind of controlled
energy? Not because you’re
kicking him like crazy—
your legs would wear out
before you could achieve
this result consistently. It’s
because he’s been trained to
be sensitive to your lightest
leg cue. It’s as if he’s just
waiting for your signal and
is eager to respond.
I’m going to show you
how to develop self-car-
riage to improve your
horse in this way. You’ll
urge him forward at the
walk in a way that makes
clear over time that what
you want is energy, not
speed. You can then use
this same approach to
promote your horse’s
self-carriage at the other
gaits, as well.
Ride&TrainBoost Self-Carriage
your horse, you need “not a
stronger leg, but a stronger
response to the leg”—the
words of Philippe Karl,
former head of the famous
military riding academy
École Nationale d’Équita-
tion in western France.
Here’s another way to
think of it: like peddling
a bike. Before your horse
has the readiness of
self-carriage, getting and
keeping him moving can
be like peddling a bike
uphill. Exhausting work!
When he’s in self-carriage,
by contrast, it’s more like
coasting a bike on level
ground—you only have to
peddle lightly now and
then because the impul-
sion is already there.That’s your goal; now
let’s see how to achieve it.Step 1:
No Self-CarriageThis photo shows a horse
with zero self-carriage.
You’ll recognize this state
in your own horse by his
lack of energy, the short-
ness of his stride, and the
slack shape of his body.
Note how my horse’s
topline is flat, his muscles
are relatively inactive, and
his overall demeanor is
sluggish.
Most of all, note how his
hind leg fails to reach well
up underneath his belly.
He’s as much draggingPROBLEM SOLVED BY WARWICK SCHILLER, WITH J. FORSBERG MEYER
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