Whispering Winds Training Center

05/10/2026

02/22/2026

The shoulder-in is often referred to as the “aspirin of dressage” because it has many benefits for the gymnastic training of the horse. It is a lateral movement in which the horse is bending against the direction of travel and the inside hind leg steps closer to the front legs and closer to the outside hind leg when the angle is relatively shallow. When the angle is steeper it steps in front of the outside hind leg.

It is a highly effective tool for bringing the inside hind leg closer to the center of gravity and more underneath the rider’s seat. Once the inside hind leg has arrived under our seat, we can flex it with the help of the combined weight of the horse’s forehand and the rider. This is why it is a great stepping stone in compound exercises.

The shoulder-in helps to bring both hind legs closer together, which is a prerequisite for collection, as the Duke of Newcastle discovered.

It improves the lateral bend and supples the horse’s hips and shoulders.

However, it can only be truly effective as a gymnastic tool when the outside hind leg does not swing to the outside and away from the body mass. It has to step forward towards the center of gravity and support the body mass so that the horse’s back is able to lift and rotate in order to produce the correct lateral bend. When the angle between the horse’s body and the line of travel gets too steep, the outside hind leg no longer steps under the center of gravity, which results in a loss of balance and a loss of bend. �From a practical riding point of view it is therefore better to focus on feeling the outside hind leg underneath our outside seat bone as well as the correct lateral bend, rather than the crossing of the inside hind leg.

There are specific uses of the shoulder-in to to solve specific training problems and develop the horse.

It is both a movement and a component of exercises. �

01/30/2026

If there is one thing I’ve done throughout my career, it’s ride a lot of young horses.

When you spend that much time starting horses from the ground up, you start to realize that we often talk about "suppleness" as if it’s a gym goal, something to be achieved through more bending, more lunging, or more "work."

But with a young horse, stiffness isn't a physical problem. It’s a mental one.

Stiffness is the physical manifestation of doubt.

When a young horse is out of balance, they feel vulnerable. Their instinct is to brace, to lock their neck, hollow their back, and wear their muscles like internal armor. They are holding onto themselves because they don't yet trust that they can stay upright without that tension.

You cannot force a horse to be supple. You can only invite them to be balanced.

Suppleness is what happens the moment the horse feels secure enough to let go. It’s the "release" of the internal brace. As the rider, your job isn't to "bend" the horse into submission; it's to be so steady in your seat and so clear in your intent that the horse feels safe enough to let go.

This is the ultimate parallel in life and training:

★ Balance is the prerequisite for freedom. It is the rider being so predictable that the horse can find his own center.

★ Suppleness is the evidence of that freedom. It is the "release" of the muscles once the fear of falling is gone.

★ Trust is the bridge between the two.

Suppleness isn't something you create; it’s what’s left over when the horse finally feels secure enough to drop their internal armor and let the movement flow through them.

Next time you feel resistance under the saddle, don't ask "How do I make them bend?" Ask, "What am I doing that makes them feel like they need to hold on?"

Mastery isn't forcing the suppleness. It’s creating the safety that allows the suppleness to emerge.

10/11/2024

09/20/2024

I wanted to take a minute to give some much-deserved praise to one of my students. Tori Goddard has worked hard and has done her homework after every lesson. Through her hard work and trust in me as her instructor she has qualified both of her horses for the regional championships. I am so very proud of her!!! Look out! Here we come!!

06/23/2024

I am so proud of my students, Lydia Griffith Jileka and Sharon Miesen! Mantis and Shah were really on today at the Morgan Show at Meyers Event Center in McKinney.

05/09/2024

10/05/2023

German Olympian Hubertus Schmidt explains the functioning dynamics of the half halt.

10/05/2023

Jonathan Wentz 1990 – 2012; Nine years ago, Jonathan entered the presence of our Lord…. I still vividly remember our last phone call. You were so excited about building on your success at London with the possibility of a new horse and an additional sponsor and plans for working toward Normandie and beyond. Determined that the US would take its place on the medal podium! Well Jonathan your advocacy, your drive your competitiveness continued…They did it!! Tokyo would be the place and time that the US would make the podium for a Team bronze and two individual Golds!! I know you would have been wildly cheering them on, pumping your fist, beaming with pride and the first to congratulate them and ALL the Individuals & Horses behind them that made it possible! Well done Team USA…. ! “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, But we will remember and trust in the name of the Lord our God.” Psalms 20:7