Skyline Farm

When I was younger and training in dressage, I completely subscribed to the idea of “long and low.”

I did what I was taught, followed the instructions I was given, and never really questioned it because everybody around me was doing exactly the same thing. It was considered correct. If the horse stretched the neck down and forwards, that was seen as positive and was encouraged constantly throughout warm-ups, training sessions, and everyday schooling.

At the time, I never really stopped to think about where the idea had actually come from. I simply accepted it as part of correct training, and to be honest, I think a lot of us did.

It wasn’t until much later, after years of studying posture, movement, rehabilitation, biomechanics, nervous system function, and spending thousands of hours watching horses move, that I started questioning whether what we were calling “long and low” was actually the same thing as the original concept it was based on.

The other day, somebody asked me, “Why are people so obsessed with long and low?” and it genuinely made me stop and think, because the origin of long and low actually came from a very different place to where we seem to have ended up with it now.

Historically, within classical training systems, riders observed that when the horse began functioning correctly through the body, certain things naturally happened. As the thoracic sling stabilised and lifted the body up between the front legs, the base of the neck gained more freedom, the back could begin to lift and connect, and the hindquarters could engage more effectively. The horse could organise balance differently and start carrying itself with more ease.

As a consequence of that improved function, the frame would often extend. The neck would lengthen forwards and slightly downwards as part of a whole-body postural change. The lowered neck itself, however, was never really supposed to be the goal. It was simply the result of improved function occurring throughout the body.

Somewhere along the way, though, I think we started focusing more on recreating the visible picture than understanding what created the picture in the first place, and I think that misunderstanding has probably caused far more issues than people realise.

Now, in many situations, “long and low” simply means getting the horse’s neck lower, but lowering the neck alone does not guarantee that the horse is functioning well.

A lowered head does not automatically mean the back is lifting. It does not automatically mean relaxation, connection through the topline, or correct self-carriage. In many horses, the exact opposite is actually happening.

The horse drops down onto the forehand, the thoracic sling collapses, the base of the neck lowers, the back disconnects, and the horse simply learns to travel in a lower outline without the posture underneath it truly changing. The shape changes, but the function often doesn’t.

That was probably one of the biggest realisations for me personally.

The neck position itself was never really the important part. The important part was always the quality of movement, the organisation of the body, the balance, the lift, the connection, and the function occurring underneath it.

Over time, I think we gradually confused the outcome with the method. We became so focused on producing the outline that we stopped asking whether the horse was actually functioning better inside that outline.

For me, that changed everything about the way I look at training now, because these days I’m far less interested in whether the horse’s neck is low, and far more interested in why the neck is where it is in the first place.

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This date in Midland history ... Happy Derby Day!
May 2, 1987: Alysheba, owned by Dorothy and Pam Scharbauer, won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
May 2, 1959: Tomy Lee, owned by Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner Jr. held off Sword Dancer to win the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

Did you know that landowners are protected from liability, except in cases of negligence?

We are blown away by the response to last week’s Fast Fact and are excited to keep the theme going! Welcome to our new followers! We are glad you’re here!

Make sure to click the link to learn more about the laws and protections put in place to keep both landowners and riders safe at 🔗 https://elcr.org/reducing-recreational-riding

Skyline Farm

Announcing our 2025 Course Publishing Leaderboard 🏆

Congratulations to Adri Lea Doyal from the USA / Mexico for claiming this year's Course Publishing top spot ... with a final score of 1170 points 👏

A special mention to YETI, who kindly supplied an exclusive YETI Bottle for this year's Course Publishing winner - enjoy the prize Adri!

We would like to thank all course designers, builders, and organisers who have published such a wonderful array of courses this year. Your efforts have helped tens of thousands of riders prepare for, and succeed at, so many events throughout the 2025 season.

Login with your CrossCountry App account to check out the full leaderboard and see all who contributed throughout the year.

🔗 https://toolkit.crosscountryapp.com/leaderboard

(5 points are given for every course published and an extra 5 if they have photos).

USPC has an exciting new program coming in 2026! The USPC High Point Program was created to connect USPC with equine communities around the country by recognizing USPC members as ambassadors at shows or events outside of USPC.
Any show, horse trial, or event accredited or recognized by certain organizations* may apply for levels to be awarded at their event. Shows occurring in 2026 are invited to have their show secretaries apply now for the program!
* To find a complete list of recognized organizations, please visit ponyclub.org/activities/awards

Your horse’s skeleton is built for impact — not confinement.

Three decades of equine bone research makes one thing painfully clear: Horses kept in box stalls lose bone density.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

Confinement triggers the same biological process humans call osteoporosis — and it starts fast.

Key findings from the research:

- Horses moved from pasture into stalls and worked only at slow speeds began losing bone mineral content within weeks.
- A single short sprint per week (50–80 m) dramatically strengthened bone.
- Corticosteroids mask pain and increase risk of further injury
- Good nutrition cannot override a lack of mechanical loading.
- A skeleton that doesn’t experience impact simply cannot stay strong.

All of this is drawn from:
Nielsen, B.D. (2023). A Review of Three Decades of Research Dedicated to Making Equine Bones Stronger. Animals, 13(5), 789.

So what does this mean for our modern domesticated horses?

It means bone weakness is not inevitable.

It’s a management problem.

It means many “mysterious” pathologies — stress fractures, suspensory injuries, joint degeneration, chronic compensation, recurrent lameness — are downstream consequences of bone that never had the chance to adapt to the forces nature designed it for.

Box stalls create osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis creates a whole lot of other pathology.

Your horse doesn’t need to be an athlete. But their bones require impact. Free movement. The ability to respond to their own nervous system’s cues to trot, canter, play, stretch, and even sprint.

Turnout is not enrichment.

Movement is biology.

Bone health is built — or lost — every single day.

A question I encourage every owner to sit with:

If you knew your horse’s bones were weakening in silence every day they stood still, would you keep managing them the same way?

Because in the end, it’s not confinement that keeps a horse safe.

It’s a resilient skeleton.

And only you can give them the environment their biology requires.

Change begins with us.