Archive

Essays

Ideas, analysis, and argument on equine welfare, horsemanship, and the future of dressage.

2026

Jun 25
The Soft Toy
On the difference between welfare for the horse and comfort for the owner.
 Jun 24
How to Build Your Horse's Topline
The answer is not in the arena.
 Jun 23
The Myth of Forward
"The horse is a born runner, and his natural will is to move without being asked to do so."
Originally published on Substack
Jun 19
Performance is not Proof of Welfare
Appearance is not experience.
Originally published on Substack
Jun 17
Dressage Got It Wrong
The training scale was never meant for the horse. It was a diagnosis — and the patient was always the rider.
Originally published on Substack
Jun 15
The Chimpanzee Smile
Why dressage sport can never reconcile with welfare.
Originally published on Substack
Jun 8
Horses Are Whole-Body Communicators
What positive reinforcement training reveals about equine expression.
Originally published on Substack
Jun 1
Freya Bites Me
And I love her for it.
Originally published on Substack
May 24
Hiding in Plain Sight
Chronic lip stretching as a welfare signal.
Originally published on Substack
May 24
Performance Is Not Evidence of Welfare
Affective state in horses.
Originally published on Substack
May 21
Emotions in Horses
On spending half a century in the equestrian world and then reading the science.
Originally published on Substack
May 20
How to Create Engagement in Dressage
It doesn't start with the hindquarters.
Originally published on Substack
May 12
From the Paddock to the Literature
Why I've been quiet lately — the first formal paper to emerge from Dressage for the Future.
Originally published on Substack
May 7
There's a Cockatoo in My Paddock
Actually, there are usually many of them.
Originally published on Substack
May 2
Could Posture Reflect Welfare State?
#2 in the Show Me the Science series.
Originally published on Substack
May 2
I Became a Scratching Post
I have recently replaced my grooming kit.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 30
When "Good Riding" Quietly Damages Horses
What a veterinary paper reveals about the hidden cost of ridden work.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 27
Carl Hester Says This Cannot Wait
But what is the horse supposed to do?
Originally published on Substack
Apr 27
Gaslighting in Dressage: Don't Believe Your Eyes
An ordinary person looks at a horse's face and feels discomfort. Then the institution tells them: you didn't see what you saw.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 24
How Do You Know Your Horse Trusts You?
The answer may surprise you.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 22
Coercive Control in Dressage
When 'Harmony' Means No Way Out.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 22
Stop Gaslighting Us: How Dressage Rules Manufacture Consent
"If you want to compete, you have to put metal in your horse's mouth."
Originally published on Substack
Apr 17
The Half Halt — There Is No Mystery
As long as you follow the rules of behavioural science.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 16
Harmony Is Ass-u-me'd
Because the system can't tell collusion from coercion.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 15
How a Sophisticated Tool Became a Blunt Instrument
The bit was never meant to do the job it is now asked to do.
Originally published on Substack
Apr 13
Something Huge Just Happened
Carl Hester admitted it.
Originally published on Substack
Mar 15
Show Me the Science
100,000 signatures. Ear hoods. Noseband gauges. A renamed collective mark. What is actually happening in dressage welfare right now — and is any of it enough?
 Feb 17
The "Patience Pole"
Horses cannot consent in any meaningful way. Does that mean anything goes?
 Feb 18
The 1850 Model of Biological Hierarchy Is Still With Us
Love is not the threat to horsemanship. Unexamined hierarchy is.
 Feb 15
Oh The Horse That Could Fly
A poem about Totilas — and what we were watching.
 Feb 13
His Mouth, Not Ours
The mouth belongs to the horse. It is not sporting equipment, not a training interface.
 Feb 13
A Faulty Premise
Classical Dressage has surged in popularity. But is the premise it rests on correct?
 Feb 12
But Is It Classical?
No, definitely not — and that might not be the right question.