When the horse tenses, one side of the horse’s body will be more tensed than the other one. This is due to the natural unevenness of the horse’s muscles. One part of the body will be always a little bit stronger. During dressage training our goal is really not to make the weaker part of the body stronger, but to make the stronger part of the body more relaxed. When both sides of the body are equally relaxed, they can start to be equally relaxed when at work, and can grow equally stronger out from this state of evenness, relaxation and perfect balance. Tension leads to unevenness, and Calmness leads to the beautiful Rhythm and Straightness.
