Paradox Equestrian

Paradox Equestrian Training horses using the philosophies of Tom Dorrance, Ray Hunt and Buck Brannaman. I strive to tea

Horsemanship isn't serial monogamy.So many people get stuck in a loop on their journey to quality horsemanship. It's so ...
05/02/2025

Horsemanship isn't serial monogamy.

So many people get stuck in a loop on their journey to quality horsemanship.
It's so easy to fall for the shiny new idea. You get caught up in the magic of it, the newness of it, and the almost immediate changes you see being shared.

What happens when the magic faces? When the shiny new idea shows it's flaws and side effects? Most people become disillusioned, feel betrayed or let down, or like the person they idolized has fallen from their pedestal.
Those things may be true.
But we can't control their actions.

We can control our mindset and how we choose to go in search of the next piece of our puzzle.
Have you been hopping from mentor to mentor, guru to guru?
Horsemanship isn't serial monogamy! They can't fill the space you need them to.

Get into the day to day. The nitty gritty, the not so interesting practice that feel like nothing is changing.
Progress comes from the in between moments. The ones no one sees because they're "boring" to watch.

Success comes from being ok with the quiet monotony between highs.
And THAT is sustainable.

"It is not enough to do your best. You must know WHAT to do, and then do your best."- W. Edwards DemingBeginning attempt...
05/25/2024

"It is not enough to do your best. You must know WHAT to do, and then do your best."
- W. Edwards Deming

Beginning attempts at piaffe @ Joseph Newcomb clinic

"Connection is less about comfort than about challenge."Brendon Burchard📷 Candi Kintzley
01/12/2024

"Connection is less about comfort than about challenge."
Brendon Burchard

📷 Candi Kintzley

Let's talk about the walk.Pic 1:You can see balance of a horse easily when walking. A horse may look more balanced when ...
01/29/2023

Let's talk about the walk.

Pic 1:
You can see balance of a horse easily when walking. A horse may look more balanced when the hind leg is moving forward, vs the fore leg. But if you draw a midline through their body (white), it should help train your eye to better see.

The 2 blue dotted lines show where the front leg leaves the ground and where it lands. As a horse develops more balance, the spot that the forelegs leave the ground from, should move forward (to what degree, depends on the horse).

Pic 2:
Shows the same horse and where his hind leg is bearing weight, just as the front leg is landing. It is out behind the majority of his weight, although not completely out behind his body.

Pic 3:
This is another horse with a hypermobile hind end, and both horses are Thoroughbreds (for fair comparison). However, this horse, is further along in development of stabilizing/supporting structures.
Her front foot has also just landed, but her hind foot is still under her hind end, and supporting more body weight.

Take some videos of your own horses at the walk. Are they as balanced as you believe them to be?

01/27/2023

Watch this short trot clip. What do you see?
Maybe you see a beautiful mover.
Maybe you see pretty action.
Maybe you see a lovely, natural way of going.
Maybe this is exactly what you look for in a prospect.

This is a perfect example of a horse who "flings" their feet forward, instead of placing them. (At a trot)
If you saw my post about the canter, this is why it can be harder to see at a trot. Because the feet reach under to where they are supposed to, but it's HOW they get there that matters.

This is a horse that would go "in a frame", and easily at that, for some time, until he began to show mystery lameness, and/or he's also an excellent candidate for ligament and tendon injuries.

This horse is hypermobile in his hind end.
His walk over tracks by quite a bit. And while this is a desirable trait, we want to achieve it through strength AND flexibility, not just the latter.

Hypermobility in the hind end, can mean natural proclivity for upper level movements, and generally an easier time with changes. It also usually means, weaker through the stifles and all the major muscles for correct impulsion. Usually I find these horses are also the ones that tend to over bend and avoid the hand, or go behind the vertical.

Recognizing the hypermobile hind end:
👉 when they trot, the hind end can appear, "bouncier" than the front end.
👉 when they walk, (follow for walk video of same horse) their hips have "swagger"
👉 when trotting, the hind legs come off the ground MUCH too far out behind them, affecting their overall balance, as well as their ability to correctly collect
👉 canter strides look easy and like they naturally are compressing (which they are, it's just not from the correct muscles)
👉 in piaffe, the hind end bounces, usually bouncing up, (instead of the croup lowering) while the front end barely lifts
👉 hocks appear to have good bend in movement
👉 stifles that appear weak or the boney structure is easily visible

Please note, that just because one of these is true, doesn't mean your horse is hypermobile. But we are breeding towards that these days, so it is fairly common.

The hypermobile hind end doesn't have to be an early career ender. It just means your training program to develop the supporting structures needs to be carefully designed and executed.

Follow up from yesterday's post.Yesterday, this horse was viewed from the first phase (there are 4 in canter) of the can...
01/21/2023

Follow up from yesterday's post.
Yesterday, this horse was viewed from the first phase (there are 4 in canter) of the canter stride. This is the second phase.
This is the same horse. Top photo is from the sales ad when I bought him.
Bottom photo is now.

These 2 photos are in the exact same phase of the canter stride.
Things to note:
🔸️ flexion in the joints- stifle, hock, pasterns, knee
These are essential for longterm soundness, if they do not or cannot flex, the concussion impacts create strain that can lead to injection requirements.
Flexion and absorption of the concussive phase of weight bearing is REQUIRED for impulsion to be present in upper level movements

🔸️ space between the legs is longer
This means, not only have we increased range of motion, but also flexibility/elasticity

🔸️ top photo, there is a slight lean to the right, even though that foot hasn't landed yet (I can visually deduce this by the spine not being straight, as well as the muscling in the neck)
This constant lean added to this horse's high-low foot pathology. Something we are very close to fixing completely.

🔸️ his neck is not ideal here, but with more development of correct muscles, it will lengthen over the top line, dip in front of the withers will fill in, and under neck will stay soft

Correct balance.Biomechanics.Thoracic sling.There are many buzz words being thrown around these days. And I am soo grate...
01/19/2023

Correct balance.
Biomechanics.
Thoracic sling.

There are many buzz words being thrown around these days. And I am soo grateful for all the science coming out, to back up what is correct and not.

One of the pieces I commonly see misinterpreted, is the length/depth of stride.

At the walk and trot, a longer stride can be achieved in 2 ways.

One is from the horse flinging it's feet forward. They aren't strong enough, or developed enough, to carry the forward momentum, so they try to "catch" their balance by attempting to get their feet back under their bodies and on the ground as quick as possible. Often coupled with a hollowed back, collapsed thoracic sling (dropped in withers), and sometimes rotation of the pelvis in an attempt to catch the downhill trajectory of their weight.

The second is thru careful, and systematic approach to bring the body to balance on all 4 feet, and correct muscle engagement.

When training the eye to see this, I find canter is easiest for others to watch. If the inside hind leg is only coming under the flank area (orange lines) and not under the center of balance (green line), your horse may be lacking in balance, strength, using the wrong muscle groups, or some combination of those. Take a video of your own horse, or look at some still shots at a show, to see where this is at with your partner.

I guarantee you, if your horse is closer to the orange line, they have waaay more to offer you, if you'll help them get there 🥰

Dakota follow up.When someone says to me, "this horse was started right", or "this horse goes correct", the horse will t...
05/03/2022

Dakota follow up.

When someone says to me, "this horse was started right", or "this horse goes correct", the horse will tell you. Their body tells you.
This horse has just finished 30 days with me. And I'm so thankful I get him for another month.
Look at the progress he made in just 2 weeks.
Look at the change in his stance. His right side has opened up and lengthened.

How do you know if your horse is going "correct"?

This is Dakota. I'll be sharing a side transformation photo of him soon, so be sure to follow.Dakota came to me for trai...
04/29/2022

This is Dakota. I'll be sharing a side transformation photo of him soon, so be sure to follow.

Dakota came to me for training, landing toe first in the hind feet. And quite significant tension all over his body. His muscles were all backwards. What do I mean by that? All the muscles that should be supporting him in work, were underdeveloped.

This is 3 days of groundwork only. I hadn't saddled this horse yet because his back muscles were so tight, he was sore to touch along his spine where his topline should have been supporting the weight of tack and rider.

I'm going to emphasize lateral flexion here. When done correctly, allows the horse to carry themselves in a way that promotes soundness and longevity. I could say SO much more on this, but I'm going to keep it very simple for now.
This movement, is so misunderstood and misinterpreted. How you go about doing this is the key.

Here I want to point out the difference in the stance. In order for our horses to lift their front end up in lightness, like everyone is striving for, they HAVE TO, be able to open the shoulder blades. It's not something you can create by pushing the hind end under them more.

Things to note in these photos:
👉 in the first photo, the knees appear to be getting "pulled" in
👉 in the first photo, the chest muscles (pectoral) are actually being pulled slightly to the right (horses left)
👉 in the first photo, the right hind isn't even in the picture because the front legs are so narrow
👉 2nd photo (3 days after), the chest doesn't appear as concave
👉 2nd photo, wider stance of the front feet and square stance of the hinds
👉 2nd photo, chest muscles are balanced and centered

This is not after body work. Yes body work, chiro, massage, etc, all those things are great. But they really change your game if the horse has the ability to carry themselves differently afterward.

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14815 Allen West Road
Bow, WA
98232

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