"It is the purity, the perfection of the basics that is difficult and hence here it is that you will return again and again, to perfect, to clean, to empower. 

Think for a moment of what riding could be like if you have the knowledge, the awareness of what specific elements allow you to come closer to this perfection from the very beginning. 

This is why beginning movements and beginner riders can be riding exquisitely, beautifully from the very beginning. 

Because this is where Kjrsos lives.  This is our mandate. "

"If your very first step of piaffe is perfection then you can know that all the pieces that went into place before, did what they needed to do.  Prepare the horse for the balance, the strength, the carriage of piaffe long before you ever took your first step.  

If the very first stride of a walk to trot transition, leaps forward, lifts gloriously into the air with a free, open and powerful stride, then you know as an instructor that you have put all the right pieces into the hands of the beginner rider.

Thoughtful Development means that we prepare.  We prepare our horses, our riders for success.  The more knowledge that we have, the more likely that we can make those first steps amazing.  It is when we struggle that we know that we still have so much to learn.  Any failure of the horse, is actually our failure in preparation, in development, in our lack of knowledge, a missing piece that we have yet to find."  

From Thoughtful Development: The Study of Kjrsos

"Kjrsos. Creating freedom within the horse's movement, creating a merging between two diverse beings both physically and in conversation, creating soul lifting beauty even in a moment as enticing as a free-flowing walk or a beautifully released beginning trot."

When we get right, it is the most incredibly beautiful thing. We bring the horse to a bearing of incredible pride and joy. The power coursing through his/her body, the strength, is joyous to behold. The rider seems to disappear as all we can see is the horse, who seems to literally grow in stature. The horse grows taller, stronger, as we guide him into his full potential. His/her pride shines as they lift up as we empower our horses to ever greater efforts.And it all starts here a transformation that comes through knowledge starting with understanding the horse.  The study of how his body works, how his mind works, communication that goes both ways and how to build a connection between the two of us.  

It is learning what is healthy movement for the horse. Removing restrictions removes limitations.

But this is different then understanding when human and horse come together.  

The foundation of what some refer to as dressage is the study by thousands of riding masters exposed to hundreds if not thousands of horses in their lifetime for centuries.  Having opportunities to study the horse in ways that we can no longer emulate in this time, from the moment that alternate transportation became a reality.. 

Contrary to what some think though, it is not about fancy movements. Physically it was about creating the very best athlete, with a healthy body, that can last for years.  An athlete who we work together with to utilize power that is developed with precious knowledge and awareness of what we ask of our horses.

When we take the ethos, the study and the knowledge available to us from centuries of the study of the masters and combine that with the study of the horse's body available today, we come to understand how the foundation method evolved.  A base that is true to the horse in any discipline at any level, of any breed, in all times. 

The discipline might change, but the horse's body doesn't.  What is true for his body is true no matter how we ride or how we might use the horse.  What is healthy, doesn't change.

Combine the quest for an access to power, with a quest for a free-flowing released body, and you begin to work with a system that is the ultimate physical therapy for the horse.  And more...