The Steward of Dressage

The Steward of Dressage My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Equine Chiropractor and an FEI level Dressage coach.

I help riders better understand horse biomechanics, horse nature and use this knowledge to develop the horses gaits and advance the training.

I think this is true for understanding horses. I always say the eyes are the window to the soul. You can tell so much ab...
08/07/2026

I think this is true for understanding horses. I always say the eyes are the window to the soul. You can tell so much about a horse from their eye... their expression. You can see the eye change expression even within a ride. It can go from suspicion to frustration to softening and hopefully relaxation or contentment. I think it is always very important to step back and try and figure out what the horse might be thinking about what you are asking of it... in a way, try to "feel" what your horse might be feeling. Some may say it is silly to anthropomorphize like that but we humans are so limited in language and especially horse language, why not adventure in that direction. It is the beginning of learning how to speak horse. Especially when, in training, you find yourself hitting a wall, step back and look at your horses eye, their expression. This is often the place that one may need to get some "eyes on the ground". Someone knowledgable to help you learn to read your horse and train your horse. In Dressage, so much is expected of the horse... often, sadly, the more talented the horse, the more they are pushed and muscled and misunderstood. So step back, think about how the horse may be trying to interpret what you are asking... it may help you come up with a different approach.
My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Equine Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage instructor. If you are interested in getting some "eyes on the ground", I am offering Virtual Dressage Lessons and I invite you to contact me through my website tinastewarddvm.com or FB message me.

The photo is my first Grand Prix horse who had been a troubled soul indeed... quite the teacher for me.

I love this… over 2,000 years ago… this was the sentiment of a military leader and philosopher. Different times indeed, ...
07/29/2026

I love this… over 2,000 years ago… this was the sentiment of a military leader and philosopher. Different times indeed, but a sentiment that is shared by all horse nuts still today. Reiner Klimke said “Finish the ride while you and your horse are still friends”. While it is easy to get caught up with trying to accomplish one more “something”… a flying change, a shoulder in, a square halt, a medium trot, a smooth trot-canter transition, etc… the horse needs a break and acknowledgment of their effort. Physically and mentally, the horse needs time to process and to register any small success in the work. Not just a break but some kind of a reward… a stroke, a kind word, a treat. I often say to my students “Why the hell would a horse want to do dressage?”. I feel it is so important to make the work fair and to reward often.
My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Equine Chiropractor and FEI level coach. If you are looking for coaching that is fair to the horse, classical and a wee bit of humor, I am offering Virtual Dressage Lessons. If this interests you, I invite you to contact me through my website ( tinastewarddvm.com ) or FB message me.
The drawing below is by Charlie Mackesy

There is nothing linear about much of anything in the experience of life. It is especially true for Dressage training......
07/28/2026

There is nothing linear about much of anything in the experience of life. It is especially true for Dressage training... "rocks" figuratively get in our way, frustrate us, hold us seemingly back from progress, make us trip, or fall or make us miss a timeline we have, and agenda unfulfilled. Invariably, months later, we find that that "rock", those "rocks", were the greatest gift of all. We find that our relationship with our horse has deepened, the horses trust in us has deepened, and we have been gifted a place of spaciousness to make observations about our 4 legged friend that we might not have ever made. This can be a game changer. Even for those who want to achieve great things, they find that there is grace in having to step back and wait... wait for the horse to heal a wound... either physical or emotional. Time given is never wasted.
So, hard as it is, let the "rocks" help you make the journey and the relationship with your horse more beautiful. Dressage is art... I often say it is like living sculpting... slowly changing the horses shape and making them more beautiful... it doesn't happen quickly, even the most gifted horses need time to develop strength, it can't be rushed. If you rush it, a "rock" will appear.

The Horse is the Clock
and
The Path is the Goal

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering virtual Dressage Lessons. If you are interested in help that is clear, classical, fair to the horse and with a little sense of humor, I invite you to contact me through my website tinastewarddvm.com or FB message!

The drawing is by the lovely Charlie Mackesy

This always cracked me up. I was fortunate enough to work with Anders Lindgren for about 11 years. I would haul to every...
06/24/2026

This always cracked me up. I was fortunate enough to work with Anders Lindgren for about 11 years. I would haul to every clinic I could get to when he was coming to California. He had such a darling sense of humor. So often, with the big, suspended warmbloods, people would be boinging around the arena... too slow in tempo. This was his way of saying you need to be more forward!
Here is a remarkably accurate and simple way to see if you horse is moving actively enough and forward enough. Get a metronome... there are free apps for phones or you can buy little clip-on metronomes. For trot and Piaffe you set it to 140 BPM (beats per minute)... 70 BPM can work for posting trot. For walk, canter and Passage you set it to 90 BPM. It is amazing how universally true this is. Once you have the right tempo, many things become easier!

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering virtual Dressage Lessons. If you are interested in help that is clear, classicle, fair to the horse and with a little sense of humor, I invite you to contact me through my website tinastewarddvm.com or FB message!

This photo is of me (age 10) on my favorite rent horse, Red Fox galloping out in a huge field where the L.A. Equestrian Center now sits... a very long time ago!!!

I love this quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson's... it always reminds me of the importance of being happy with the little thin...
06/07/2026

I love this quote of Ralph Waldo Emerson's... it always reminds me of the importance of being happy with the little things, the simple things which are often the most important things in Dressage. A harmonious transition, a cadenced relaxed trot, a soft halt and reinback, or a nice bend on a circle. The building blocks can be the most important, hard won and delightful things.
So step back, take a deep breath, stroke your horse and reflect on what it is the horse is giving you that is working. Spend some time with that and just a little bit ignore what isn't quite right. It is surprising how all of a sudden the good stuff is getting better and the not so good stuff is diminishing. This is especially true for young horses that are a clean slate but, given time, the horse that has had a rougher start will come round. One must have clear boundaries of course, but give spaciousness to what is working. Horses must feel so picked on sometimes... I certainly have been guilty of being ambitious. I rode with a gentleman in Davis, California (where I went to vet school) named Herman Koopman. I learned so much about Classical Dressage from him. I would get frustrated with my 14.1 hand Bulldog Quarter Horse-Mustang mare who had a horrible canter. He was helping me develop some jump and strength for the jump in the canter by doing walk pirouette to canter transitions. I was struggling with the results and feeling impatient and he just said "You are young, you are in a hurry. I am old, I have all the time in the world." That was a profound statement and took me ages to get it on the many levels he meant it. So now I am old and pretty good at taking my time and taking joy in the little things.
My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian and a FEI level Dressage coach. I am offering Virtual Dressage Lessons. If you are interested in more information, I invite you to FB message me or contact me through my website tinastewarddvm.com
Below is a photo of DeeJay Johnson (owned, trained and ridden by Mari Valceschini) and myself enjoying a moment in the pouring rain before his I-1 test... tipsy with water indeed! See less

I often say the path is the goal. This quote of Mary Oliver's is another way to look at it. Whatever your passion is, yo...
05/03/2026

I often say the path is the goal. This quote of Mary Oliver's is another way to look at it. Whatever your passion is, you will have highs and lows, joys and frustrations, successes and failures. It just is this way... progress is not linear.
This is a nearly 40 year old picture of my Thoroughbred stallion learning half steps *. Shouldn't the haunches be more lowered? Yes indeed... but the flexion of the fetlock behind is greater than the flexion in front so there is some increased engagement here. Shouldn't he have lifted his knee more? Yep, but it is a moment in time and so perhaps he did, maybe not. Shouldn't the poll be a little higher? Could be...
Is the flexion in the poll correct? I would say it's pretty good. He is not folded up at C2, he is slightly in front of the vertical, his mouth is closed and relaxed, the curb rein has a tiny slack in it.
Is there adequate activity in the hind leg? No, but it's a good start.
Could the rider be sitting up more? Absolutely. Shouldn't her heel be down more? Yup. Wouldn't it be better if her thigh was more vertical? It would certainly be more elegant.
There is plenty to criticize here and plenty to commend. The point is to be honest in the evaluation of what is happening and then work on the weak spots. It is not the same journey for each rider and horse! Some of the most frustrating bits are the times you feel like you need to back track and clean up some core piece of the training that was not adequately developed. Just know that this is time well spent. Pushing harder at the training without addressing basic training issues will just make the work more diminished from its potential. Not working on symmetry and straightness in the canter will give you late changes one direction or a halfpass that is more of a leg yield one way and good the other. Not really training a correct half halt will give a poor rein back.
Take the time it takes
I also often say that if you take the time in the short run,
you will save time in the long run.
Get good, honest, eyes on the ground... everyone needs this!

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Instructor. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want some help with with your journey, I invite you to contact me through PM or my website tinastewarddvm.com

* No one wore helmets when schooling in Dressage 40 years ago, but rest assured that I and all my students wear helmets these days!

The photo is of myself and my Thoroughbred stallion, Cloned Steel at Camille Penhoet's property, Toyon Farm, in the Napa Valley of California.

This is so true on so many levels. There are very important biomechanical reasons for developing the neck and whole thor...
04/22/2026

This is so true on so many levels. There are very important biomechanical reasons for developing the neck and whole thoracic sling correctly. There are also safety reasons for being able to manage a horses neck correctly. Often, the first physical sign of the horse saying "No", is in the neck. They throw their head up or stick it straight out and brace. If you have the neck, then you can "lead the dance". In Dressage, one hears all the time that you send the horse forward to your hand and make them round. Okay... but how...

There are a 1,000 roads to Rome...
The bullseye is the result of 1,000 misses...

I have found that there are many horses that, when sent forward to very still fists, will go happily forward with a giraffe neck, hanging on the reins, forever. You can put them in side reins and, done very carefully, and shortened slowly over weeks, you might get them to round up a bit, but this often ends up shortening the neck and you lose the throughness, the losgelassenheit, and the freedom from tension you are trying to acheive in developing a rein connection.
I like to start with getting submission or yielding or softening to one rein at a time. I like to start this by yielding the outside rein and allowing the horse to stretch into the bend rather than just pulling and shortening the inside rein. The goal in Dressage is not really to have the horse "on" the outside rein, but to have the horse fill the outside rein. Yielding the outside rein, in a way, amplifies the effect of the inside rein, without the rider having to get stronger with the inside rein. The other thing that happens is that when the horse bends because of the yielding outside rein, they also lower the neck. This is just rein education 101A for the horse. Once you have the horse understanding how to soften and give to one rein, you can start to ask with both reins. The goal is the beginning of the understanding for the horse of a half halt. That you can send the horse forward from the leg to a still hand (not pulling and not yielding) and the horse answers by softening into the contact, perhaps lowering the neck a little and rounding the neck.
Early on, the horse needs to go in a lower frame so as to engage the nuchal ligament which biomechanically pulls the wither forward and up. This, in turn, engages the spinous ligaments which are responsible for supporting the skeleton so the muscles are free for locomotion rather than the muscles having to be braced to support the skeleton. We can now develop the muscles correctly so as to take over the function of the nuchal ligament and this is what allows us to get more engagement and a more uphill way of going, with the poll more up, without sacrificing throughness. A long journey indeed... it is strength training.

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Instructor. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want some help with getting your horse's neck to function correctly and beautifully, I invite you to contact me through PM or my website tinastewarddvm.com

This is a drawing I did over 50 years ago... yep... I am an "old boat" 😁😁😁

My friend and student, Tamara Shivers, shared this quote with me the other day while we were working her horse during a ...
04/12/2026

My friend and student, Tamara Shivers, shared this quote with me the other day while we were working her horse during a virtual lesson. I love it... We all get frustrated at times during a ride and we are tempted to use stronger aids to try and get a specific answer from the horse. Unfortunately, this rarely works and we end up frustrating the horse and they either act out or the check out. Alois Podhajsky said that in these moments we must stop and ask ourselves why it is going wrong. He would say to be a "thinking rider". Invariably the horse either doesn't have the needed understanding of the aids being used to give the right answer or the horse can't physically do what is being asked of them, or some variation on a theme of the two. This is the place you need to step back and check that all the "holes are filled".
It may be something seemingly simple such as a leg yield at the trot. The horse may be able to do it one direction and not so well the other. This might be the place you go back to the walk and see if you get a more equal answer to the leg on each side. If not, then the goal is to make the horse lighter to the leg on the duller or stiffer side. You don't want to use stronger and stronger aids. This will just feed into the asymmetry of response you are trying
to diminish. You would apply a little leg, if no answer, or the horse tries to just go forward, then you stop and bump them with your leg. Charles De Kunffy would say to use somewhere between a 10 lb. and 40 lb. kick!😅😅😅 You may have to tap them with the whip. You may also need a firmer, still or immobile fist on the side of the leg you are using. This will help minimize the horse try to just go forward. You are trying to teach the horse that one leg means yield and two legs mean go! An important thing to remember is to try and ask just once and give the horse some time to answer you, don't kick 10 times in a row, just once and wait. When you get any effort to move from your leg, stop and reward. The goal will be to get more response with less strong aids. Once this seems improved, you can try in the trot again. Odds are you will have to step back and do this often. You are changing your horses sensitivity to the aids and also changing their balance and proprioception. It takes time! These building blocks are critical to moving forward!
Remember

The Horse is the Clock
and
The Path is the Goal

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Instructor. I am offering Virtual Dressage lessons. If you want some help with getting your horse "in the aids" (not on the aids🙃🙃🙃), I invite you to contact me through PM or my website tinastewarddvm.com

This is so true... I always tell the folks that ride with me that it is up to them to be their horses advocate (and your...
04/05/2026

This is so true... I always tell the folks that ride with me that it is up to them to be their horses advocate (and your own!). This is something that one often faces when riding in clinics. The clinician wants you to do something to get a certain result or the lesson goes too long with no break for the horse or they just keep yelling about something you are not understanding and you are going round and round. This is the place you need to stop and say that you and/or your horse need a break. It may also be the place where you stop and say you don't quite understand what is wanted or where this is going. Most clinicians will actually appreciate the honesty and will try to break it down and explain more clearly their goal for you. If you really disagree you can politely say you have to think on this approach and request a different approach or walk out. I have done all the above at times with my own horses. I know that the instructors genuinely want something "better" for you and your horse, but the way they are going about feels wrong somehow, at least for you. It's not out of arrogance or an attitude that one knows more than the instructor but rather a concern for the horses well being. We must be their spokesman... they don't have, or at least are not allowed, much of a voice often.
Moments like these open doors. You might feel like you are surrendering and failing in the midst of the situation but remember this. Surrender is not giving up, it's opening up.
When I teach I always tell people that if they need a break, take it. One can't ride effectively if the body is getting fatigued. This is also so true for the horse. When teaching the horse something new, you need to explain it to them, show them the right answer and then allow them the spaciousness to think on the answer. Take a brief break then repeat... this isn't the place to develop fitness, this is the place of building a new answer or depth responsiveness to an aid.

"To thine own self be true"
W. Shakespeare

My name is Tina Steward. I am an Equine Veterinarian, Chiropractor and FEI level Dressage Coach. I am offering Virtual Dressage Instruction. If you are looking for help that is respectful of your journey, I invite you to contact me through my website, tinastewarddvm.com or through FB messenger.

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